Infestation Origins: A Beginner’s Guide to Weapons, Perks, and Boss Strategies

**Infestation: Origins** is an indie survival horror game that challenges players to confront various creatures, including the infamous Steamboat Willie. Given the limited tutorial available, new players often seek strategies to navigate the game’s mechanics effectively. This guide provides essential tips to kickstart your gameplay experience.

Essential Tips for Beginning Infestation: Origins

The gameplay cycle in **Infestation: Origins** follows a familiar structure, typical of indie horror titles. Here’s a breakdown of the steps required to successfully complete a contract:

Select your loadout, which includes weapons, outfits, and traps.
Choose a contract to undertake.
Within the contract, gather keycards to access new areas.
Clear out each new location of enemies and spawn points.
Locate a fuse and insert it into the corresponding fuse box for the area.
Find additional keycards for that specific area.
Unlock the maintenance room to progress further.
Engage with the pipes in the maintenance area using a crank to ensure full clearance.
Repeat the above steps for every designated area.
Trigger the chase by unlocking later levels, starting with Willy’s appearance when you open the Common Room in Level 1.
Once all areas are cleared, you can defeat Willie and complete the contract.

For the **Willie level**, it’s important to note that the first four keycards will always spawn in the same locations. However, the rest will be randomized, which adds to the challenge.

Keycard Locations in Willie Level

The main A Keycard can be found on the desk with fuel canisters in the Control Room.
The B Keycard is located on a cart in Room A, found to the right upon entering.
Utility Room A’s keycard lies on the floor to the left inside section B.
The Common Room keycard is centered in Utility Room A.

Unlockable Weapons and Items

The game features four primary weapons, each with two possible upgrades, along with traps and outfits available for players to unlock using in-game currency. Players can also enhance their fuel canisters, providing further customization options.

Poison (Starting Gun)
- Fuel Canister +: $50 (Increases fuel capacity and reload time)
- Fuel Canister ++: $300
- Fuel Canister +++: $650
- Lingering Odor: $150 (+2 secs damage over time, -25% damage)
- Paralyzing Agent: $550 (+10% paralysis chance, -25% damage)
- Contagion: $750 (+20% enemy spread chance, -20% damage)
Flamethrower: $200 (High damage, low fuel efficiency)
- Turn Up the Heat: $600 (+15% damage, +15% fuel usage)
- Lasting Impression: $900 (+2 secs DoT, -25% damage)
- Controlled Burn: $1200 (-20% fuel cost, -10% area)
Zapper: $400 (Effective against pests)
- Go Electric: $950 (-20% fuel cost, -10% damage)
- Showstopper: $1250 (+20% stun chance, -20% damage)
- Static Shock: $1550 (+30% spread chance, -30% damage)
Cryogun: $800 (Freezes enemies)
- Frostbite: $1100 (+15% slow, +20% fuel cost)
- Deep Freeze: $1350 (10% chance to freeze, -15% damage)
- Blizzard: $1600 (+20% spray width, -10% length)

Unlocking Traps and Their Upgrades

Players can also invest in various traps, each with upgradable features, enhancing their effectiveness in different situations.

Bear Trap (Starting trap): $25 for additional traps.
- Sharp Teeth: $350 (+20% damage, -30% duration)
- Reinforced Jaws: $1000 (+30% duration, -20% damage)
- Coated Spikes: $1400 (+3 secs DoT, 25% chance of breaking)
Area Spray Trap: $250.
- Concentrated Burn: $1450 (+50% damage, -10% duration)
Lantern Trap: $750.
- Tesla Coil: $1050 (+20% stun chance, +20% recharge time)

In addition to the initial selection of seven suit colors, players can unlock around 60 additional outfits, ranging from $50 to $275, though these provide only cosmetic changes without impacting gameplay.

Understanding and Unlocking Perks

Perk upgrades in Infestation: Origins. — Perk upgrades overview

The perks are accessible from the main menu. Players start with Tier I unlocked and can progress to higher tiers by completing contracts and engaging in gameplay. More detailed information on perks will follow in upcoming guides.

Tier I: Haste
- Dexterous: +20% reload speed
- Healing Touch: +20% healing from Medkits
- Interactive: +20% interaction speed
Tier II: Sight (unlocks at level 4)
- Locksmith
- Resourceful
- Priority
Tier III: Pest Off (unlocks at level 9)
- Peppermint
- Bug Spray
- All-Purpose
Tier IV: Weapon Expert (unlocks at level 16)
- Hot Shot
- Cryo Specialist
- Electrified
Tier V: Teamwork (unlocks at level 25)
- Encouragement
- Cover Fire
- Superior Numbers

Optimizing Your Loadout in Infestation: Origins

Various loadout configurations exist within the community. One recommended setup is credited to Hurrynd from the Steam community, offering an ideal balance for gameplay. Here’s a breakdown:

Weapon
- Flamethrower
  - Wide-tip Nozzle(+20% Spray Width, -20% Spray Length)
  - Fuel Canister+++(+30% Fuel Capacity, -30% Reload Time)
  - Modifier: Controlled Burn(-20% Fuel Cost, -10% Spray Area)
Perks
- Tier I: Haste – Dexterous (+20% reload speed)
- Tier II: Sight – Locksmith (Highlights keys through walls nearby)
- Tier III: Pest Off – Peppermint (Slows pests by 20% nearby)
- Tier IV: Weapon Expert – Hot Shot (+10% damage with Flamethrower)
- Tier V: Teamwork – Cover Fire (-10% damage taken per nearby teammate)
Trap
- Area Sprayer
  - Upgrade: Extended Nozzle(+20% Spray Length, -20% Rotation Speed)

Managing Objects and Their Usage

Players can carry up to three different types of objects: one medkit, one additional fuel canister, and either a fuse or crank. Keys, however, can be collected in unlimited quantities without restriction.

Medkits are automatically applied when needed.
Multiple keycards can be held, but each can only be used once.
Be precise when inserting fuses; they must be directed to the appropriate room.
Only one crank or fuse can be carried at a time.

Defeating Bosses

Engaging the bosses, such as Willie and the Moth Man, requires clearing all areas first. However, you can fend them off by utilizing your weapon, as traps are less effective in driving them away.

Maximizing Earnings in Infestation: Origins

Unfortunately, there isn’t a quick way to earn currency in **Infestation: Origins**. Completing contracts is the primary method to gain funds, and partial completions do not yield rewards. Aim for contracts that match your skill level; avoid the more challenging yellow or red contracts until you have suitable upgrades.

Contracts can be evaluated based on five metrics, with each metric assigned a difficulty rating from one to five:

Pest Health: Measure of non-boss enemies’ health.
Respawn Rate: Speed at which enemies return to nests.
Nest Quantity: Total number of enemy nests present.
Pest Speed: Mobility rate of enemies on the map.
Nest Growth: Difficulty of destroying nests effectively.

Green-labeled contracts are the simplest and typically reward around $270. Orange contracts represent medium difficulty, while red contracts, especially those marked hard, can yield near $600, particularly in Willie’s level.

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