Hunger, Energy and Stress all tick down during expeditions and any one of them at a danger threshold stops forward progress. Cooked meals refill Hunger and grant a mood buff; rest at bedrolls and mid-dungeon rest stops restore Energy; campfires next to bedrolls, the Plant Necklace, and brewed mana crystals cut Stress. The roster rule is keep 10, run 4 — pair the 3-to-1 surface-to-expedition ratio with a 10-settler roster so a single loss is not a campaign loss.
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What each meter does
| Meter | What it represents | Refill source | Failure mode |
|---|---|---|---|
Hunger | Physical fuel during dungeon runs | Cooked meals from kitchen output | Health drain + mood collapse + stress dump. |
Energy | Action pool for walking, mining, building, skill use | Rest at bedrolls and mid-dungeon rest stops | Character passes out defenseless. |
Stress | Mental stability | Campfire next to bedrolls, Plant Necklace, alchemy consumables | Mental break — character becomes uncontrollable or gains a permanent negative trait. |
Hunger — cook before you starve
Hunger depletes constantly during dungeon runs and is refilled by food from kitchen output. Cooked meals grant a long-term mood buff; raw or spoiled food eaten while starving tanks mood and dumps into stress. Skipping farming past Floor 2 risks colony-wide famine. The recommended surface ratio is roughly 3 settlers farming per 1 underground explorer.
Energy — rest beats brute force
Energy does not regenerate quickly on its own. Combat actions, especially AoE and utility skills, drain it hard. Nature and Wave-type healing and shielding spells are the biggest energy hogs. Energy must be restored by rest at bedrolls and mid-dungeon rest stops; if it bottoms out, the character passes out defenseless.
Stress — build camp, equip cheap trinkets, brew
Stress builds from death by a thousand cuts sources: sleeping on bare ground, grim or industrial dungeon floors, big trap damage and underground rain. Wall off a cleared dungeon pocket to remove the roughing-it stress multiplier. Place a campfire next to bedrolls to cut stress buildup and speed mood recovery. Equip a Plant Necklace — a cheap early-game neck-slot passive mood booster. Brew mana crystals at an Alchemy Station into mood-boosting consumables kept in squad bags as an emergency valve.