Chemistry runs in a fixed order: measure the inputs, blend and react them at the right temperature, scan the mixture, separate what you do not want, and only then finish the batch. The finisher judges the result by active ingredient against total volume, so a batch can meet its volume and still come out as Junk Grade. Scan before you commit, and check every temperature limit twice.
Start as the Chemist or pay Joe Wild 1,000 Credits for the Retired Chemist. Both give you a Blender, Heating Plate, Evaporator, Chem Finisher and Composition Spectrometer, and the referral adds droppers, measuring cylinders, Bottled Water, Common Chemical Supplies and Coffee Beans.
Recipe volumes are true millilitres. The game counts thousandths of a mL internally, but a 2 mL requirement still means 2 mL, not 2,000. Keep a suitable container for each step, because liquid vessels are not interchangeable.
Blend the raw ingredient into a suitable vessel and check it has turned to mush. Add water or alcohol, then bring it up to the reaction's temperature on the Heating Plate. Each reaction has its own window, and more heat is not a universal speed-up.
Use the Composition Spectrometer to read composition and temperature. Heating, evaporation and blending are different operations, so scan after each one instead of assuming what happened.
Put the mixture in the Evaporator with a receiving vessel in its distillate slot. It runs overnight and removes every evaporative component in proportion, not just the one you are after. Scan again once it finishes.
Select the recipe in the Chem Finisher and meet its batch volume with a dry mixture. If it will not start, check the recipe, the volume and the wet or dry state, then power and output space. Inspect the output, because the finisher adds contamination of its own.
Machine modules →Purity is active ingredient divided by total product volume. Each figure is the minimum for that grade.
| Grade | Minimum purity |
|---|---|
| Lab Pure | 99% |
| Pharma-Grade | 90% |
| Near Pharma | 80% |
| Street Standard | 60% |
| Cut Product | 45% |
| Junk Grade | 30% |
| Starch Grade | 0% |
| Upgrade modules | Loss setting |
|---|---|
| 0 | 12 |
| 1 | 6 |
| 2 | 3 |
| 3 | 1 |
| 4 or more | 0 |
Every product line carries its own risk, and for chemicals that risk is addiction. A reference price is not an offer either, so check what buyers actually pay before you plan around it.
Every recipe needs a dry batch. Batch size is the volume the finisher takes per unit, and base value is a reference price, not a sale offer.
| Product | Active ingredient | Batch | Base value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vial of "Dream Dust" | Dream Cap Extract | 2 mL | 18 Credits |
| Vial of "Nightmare Dust" | Nightmare Extract | 4 mL | 36 Credits |
| Caffeine Pill | Caffeine | 5 mL | 10 Credits |
| Zyanide Pill | Zyanide | 0.6 mL | 33 Credits |
| Birth Control Pill | Contraceptive | 0.1 mL | 15 Credits |
| Phanta Pill | Phanta | 0.5 mL | 12 Credits |
| Nomore Injector | Nomore | 4 mL | 50 Credits |
Temperatures are the working window for each reaction. Scan the composition before every finish.
Blend Coffee Beans to mush and add water. Water extraction needs at least 80°C; the alcohol route starts at 50°C, and the two solvents may not give the same yield. The reaction leaves caffeine and plant matter.
Blend uncooked Dream Cap, add alcohol and heat to 40°C or above. Stay below 60°C, where the extract starts to degrade. Alcohol at five times the mush gives the best extract fraction.
Mix mash with alcohol and heat to at least 40°C. A 5:1 ratio reaches the extraction cap of 0.5, and more alcohol adds nothing. Keep the extract below 50°C, where it degrades faster the hotter it gets.
React Dream Cap extract with reducing agent and Lipobond, with alcohol at 10% of the volume or less. It runs faster from 50°C. One part Lipobond to four of extract hits the rate cap, and the output is 60% Nomore to 40% debris.
Combine Methylol and reducing agent, which reacts faster from 120°C. Stabilizer protects an equal amount of Methylol, so a batch with as much stabilizer as Methylol never reacts. At 130°C and above, Fantyl loses 2% per heat check.
Reagents change what is in the vessel rather than making impurities disappear. Run a small test batch, then scan it again before you relabel anything.
Stabilizer with acid or base makes debris, an acid and base imbalance can turn protein into debris, and Lipobond turns fat into debris. Filter the debris out, and avoid adding every cleaner at once.
From 70°C a heat check leaves 80% of the microbes, and at 100°C it clears them all. Alcohol-based removal needs at least 40% alcohol by volume.
Organic waste starts changing at 80°C. Below 100°C one check processes 15%, and at 100°C all of it, with about a third of what is processed becoming physical contamination.
| Mixture | After one check |
|---|---|
| 40 mL waste + 1 mL acid | All 40 mL processed into 4 mL mineral, using 1 mL acid |
| 20 mL microbes + 1 mL acid | All 20 mL removed, using 0.2 mL acid |
| 0.5 mL acid + 0.5 mL base | Both consumed |
| 8 mL fat + 1 mL Lipobond | 1.8 mL debris from 1.6 mL fat and 0.2 mL agent |
In a mixed batch, earlier reactions change what is left for later ones, and neutralization runs after mineralization, microbe removal and sedimentation.
Open any row for its sources and the buyers who take it.
| Item | Base value | What it does | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chemistry Manual | 50 Credits | Explains the basics of the workshop | Part of the Chemist start |
| Blender | 200 Credits | Turns raw ingredients into mush | Takes the Chemical Equipment Module |
| Heating Plate | 250 Credits | Runs heat reactions | Underpowered and inaccurate, so watch the reading |
| Evaporator | 300 Credits | Separates evaporative liquid overnight | Needs a receiving vessel for the distillate |
| Chem Finisher | 300 Credits | Packs chemicals into pills, vials and injectors | Adds contamination unless upgraded |
| Evaporator Solvent Recovery Module | 275 Credits | Limits recovery to alcohol | Removal from the input stays the same |
| Chemical Equipment Module | 250 Credits | Improves the Blender, Heating Plate and Chem Finisher | Needs a module extractor to remove |
| Chemical Supplies (Common) | 50 Credits | Unpacks into basic crafting items | Restricted supplies cover advanced work |