Pill (Medical)

The Pill (Medical) is the remedy you can make yourself. The Chemistry Station makes it in 5 seconds from 10 fenoxitone, 1 silver and 1 cobalt. Fenoxitone comes from the Fern, 1 per fern – so you need ten ferns per pill.

According to the game data it heals 51 points (HealAmount) with a duration value (Duration) of 5. You take it like food, so you have to open your helmet for it (except on Easy and Creative); it has no nutrition value. Pills stack up to 10.

The game code shows what the numbers mean. The character has 200 damage points; the display warns above 50 and turns critical above 150. The pill starts a healing effect of 5 seconds. It only takes hold, however, while your total damage is above 51 %, so above 102 points. Then every tick it brings each damage type down to at most 51 / 5 · 0.5 = 5.1 points – almost a complete heal. For light injuries, on the other hand, it does nothing. So only take it when things get serious.

The Auto-Injector (Health) has the same healing amount and the same duration. The difference is handling: you eat the pill, while the injector also works with the helmet closed and can be fired by a chip in the Survival Belt. The injector is only available from traders and once in the starting kit; the pill you make yourself.

Do not mix them up: the Pill (Stun) looks similar but does not heal. It applies a high stun value (1000) for a duration value of 120.

Where damage comes from and how to avoid it is covered in Medicine and injuries: avoiding damage, using healing.