The Gene Lab opens at breeder level 3. Ingredients come up on dives; the workbench crafts them into tools. Ingredients and tools can’t be bought or traded.
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Where |
|---|---|
| Glow plankton | Under the ice and Twilight drift |
| Abyssal pearl | Midnight water and the abyss |
| Vent sulphur | Hadal trenches and the vent floor |
Chance per dive: Under the ice 30%, Twilight drift 35%, Midnight water 35%, The abyss 40%, Hadal trenches 40%, The vent floor 45%.
Tools
| Tool | What it does | Recipe | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twin yolk | One extra egg in the next clutch you lay with it. | 3 glow plankton + 1 abyssal pearl | 1 h |
| Trait anchor | Pick a trait a parent carries: that parent always passes it on, for this clutch. | 2 glow plankton + 2 abyssal pearl | 2 h |
| Focused spark | Pick a part: one egg gets a mutation there (the new trait is still a surprise). | 2 vent sulphur + 1 abyssal pearl | 3 h |
| Gene probe | Use it on another player’s fish (a stud, a fish for sale, a fish in their deep) to see its hidden genes. Only you see them. | 2 glow plankton + 1 vent sulphur | 45 min |
Research
Permanent upgrades to the lab, paid in ingredients and credits.
| Research | Effect | Ranks open at breeder level | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faster bench | Crafting takes less time. (45% faster at the top) | 4, 8, 12 | 1,200 / 3,500 / 8,000 |
| Deep sampling | Find ingredients on more of your dives. (+18% chance per dive at the top) | 4, 9, 14 | 1,000 / 3,000 / 7,000 |
| Careful hands | Sometimes a craft makes two tools instead of one. (30% chance of a spare at the top) | 5, 10, 15 | 1,500 / 4,500 / 10,000 |
| Second bench | Craft two things at the same time. (Two benches at the top) | 10 | 15,000 |