Power-ups
Every bug carries 5 power-ups into a run, one in each slot. You pick them in the menu before you play, and fire them in the arena with the keys 1 to 5 or their buttons.
- Charges. Each slot starts a run with a charge (some bugs start with more) and holds up to three. Firing a power-up uses a charge and starts its cooldown. More charges come from power-up orbs that dying bugs drop, from the caches at the center of weather circles, and from every 10th kill in a run, up to 5 times a run.
- Who can carry what. The 5 core power-ups fit every bug. The others fit only bugs with a matching trait from the real animal: a spinner can throw silk, a digger can burrow and a stinger can sting. Each card lists the bugs that can carry it.
- Rarity sets how often a power-up's orb turns up, when a bug dies and in the weather caches. The rarer it is, the less often you'll find one.
An orb for a power-up you don't carry is worth a little mass instead. The how to play guide has the rest.
The 5 core power-ups are free. The others unlock with XP you earn playing online, and some can be unlocked with coins instead. Charges, cooldowns and loadout slots are never sold.
The cooldowns and effect times below are the standard rules. Some bugs have a passive that shortens cooldowns.
Core power-ups
Every bug can carry these.
Nitro Wings
Burst of raw speed for 4s. Stacks with hold-boost and burns no extra mass.
Tip: Escape a closing net, or cross the last gap to cut someone off.
Standard rules: cooldown 10s · lasts 4s
Who can carry it: every bug
Molt Husks
Sheds a frozen copy of the tail of your body. The husk is lethal to other bugs for 4s.
Tip: Drop it across a corridor, then loop back so a chaser runs into it.
Standard rules: cooldown 14s · lasts 4s
Who can carry it: every bug
Phase Shift
For 3s you pass through every other bug. You still die to walls, husks, venom and weather.
Tip: The universal panic button when you are boxed in.
Standard rules: cooldown 22s · lasts 3s
Who can carry it: every bug
Pheromone Call
Drags all food within 320u toward your head and widens your bite for 6s.
Tip: Best used in a corpse pile or a mushroom patch.
Standard rules: cooldown 16s · lasts 6s
Who can carry it: every bug
Shockwave
Instant radial blast: knocks back and stuns every bug within 300u for up to 1.2s.
Tip: Clear the escape lane, or shove a rival into someone else’s body.
Standard rules: cooldown 25s · instant
Who can carry it: every bug
Bug-specific power-ups
These attach only to the bugs they make sense for.
Venom Trail
For 8s you leave lingering venom clouds behind you that squish any head entering them.
Tip: Lay a trap across a choke point, then bait a rival through it.
Standard rules: cooldown 20s · lasts 8s
Who can carry it: Bumblebee, Fire Ant, Honeybee, Centipede, Stag Beetle, Dragonfly, Praying Mantis, Wolf Spider, Black Widow, Bullet Ant, Emperor Scorpion, Tarantula, Tarantula Hawk, Asian Giant Hornet, Deathstalker Scorpion, Titan Beetle
Silk Snare
Fires a silk bolt up to 520u. On hit the target is slowed 60% and cannot turn well for 3s.
Tip: Snare a fleeing bug, then swing round and cut across its nose while it crawls.
Standard rules: cooldown 12s · instant
Who can carry it: Luna Moth, Praying Mantis, Wolf Spider, Black Widow, Tarantula
Burrow
Go underground for 5s: untargetable, invisible to bots, 40% slower, cannot eat.
Tip: Vanish from a hunt, then surface inside a food patch.
Standard rules: cooldown 24s · lasts 5s
Who can carry it: Ant, Caterpillar, Fire Ant, Grasshopper, Centipede, Dung Beetle, Millipede, Mole Cricket, Rhinoceros Beetle, Stag Beetle, Termite, Cockroach, Praying Mantis, Wolf Spider, Bullet Ant, Elephant Beetle, Emperor Scorpion, Deathstalker Scorpion, Titan Beetle
Hyperdash
Instantly teleport 420u forward; for 0.4s only the wall can kill you.
Tip: Blink through a body wall instead of around it.
Standard rules: cooldown 9s · instant
Who can carry it: Bumblebee, Grasshopper, Honeybee, Ladybird Beetle, Mosquito, Cicada, Mole Cricket, Monarch Butterfly, Tsetse Fly, Cockroach, Dragonfly, Firefly, Luna Moth, Wolf Spider, Black Widow, Tarantula Hawk, Asian Giant Hornet, Deathstalker Scorpion
Barbed Carapace
Body swells up to 30% and grows barbs: enemies that hit your body are repelled and stunned instead of dying.
Tip: Block a busy lane and become the wall.
Standard rules: cooldown 26s · lasts 8s
Who can carry it: Bumblebee, Caterpillar, Ladybird Beetle, Cicada, Dung Beetle, Millipede, Rhinoceros Beetle, Stag Beetle, Cockroach, Praying Mantis, Elephant Beetle, Emperor Scorpion, Tarantula, Asian Giant Hornet, Titan Beetle
Colony Split
Spawns 2 allied bugs that hunt and forage for you for 20s, funnelling food back to your mass.
Tip: Send the colony into a fight while you eat the fallout.
Standard rules: cooldown 30s · lasts 20s
Who can carry it: Ant, Bumblebee, Fire Ant, Honeybee, Mosquito, Centipede, Millipede, Termite, Bullet Ant, Asian Giant Hornet
Nectar Bloom
For 10s every mouthful is worth double and you regenerate 6 mass per second.
Tip: Pop it the moment you reach a fresh grass field to bank a huge lead.
Standard rules: cooldown 28s · lasts 10s
Who can carry it: Bumblebee, Caterpillar, Grasshopper, Ladybird Beetle, Cicada, Dung Beetle, Millipede, Mole Cricket, Monarch Butterfly, Rhinoceros Beetle, Termite, Cockroach, Firefly, Luna Moth, Black Widow, Elephant Beetle, Tarantula, Asian Giant Hornet, Deathstalker Scorpion, Titan Beetle
Spring Leap
A big spring-loaded leap: for 0.8s you move 2.2x as fast and sail over every other bug.
Tip: Hop the body that is closing a loop around you.
Standard rules: cooldown 11s · lasts 0.8s
Who can carry it: Grasshopper, Cicada
Chorus Chirp
Instant loud song: every enemy within 260u is slowed 45% for 2.5s. Never squishes.
Tip: Sing just as a rival starts to cut you off, then slip past while it crawls.
Standard rules: cooldown 18s · instant
Who can carry it: Grasshopper, Cicada, Mole Cricket
Stinger Strike
Instant jab at the nearest enemy head in front of you (160u): stunned 1.4s, slowed 50% for 3s and pushed back. Never squishes.
Tip: Jab the bug racing to cut you off, then turn across its nose while it wobbles.
Standard rules: cooldown 16s · instant
Who can carry it: Bumblebee, Fire Ant, Honeybee, Centipede, Black Widow, Bullet Ant, Emperor Scorpion, Tarantula Hawk, Asian Giant Hornet, Deathstalker Scorpion
Leaf Camouflage
Blend into the leaves for 6s: bots no longer see your head as a threat or as prey, and other players see you faded.
Tip: Slip past a hunting bot, or creep up on one that thinks the coast is clear.
Standard rules: cooldown 24s · lasts 6s
Who can carry it: Mole Cricket, Cockroach, Firefly, Luna Moth, Praying Mantis, Wolf Spider, Black Widow, Tarantula, Deathstalker Scorpion
Sap Siphon
For 5s every enemy head within 140u loses 3% of its mass per second, and 70% of it flows into you.
Tip: Hover beside a big bug that is busy eating and sip it smaller.
Standard rules: cooldown 26s · lasts 5s
Who can carry it: Mosquito, Tsetse Fly
Horn Charge
Lower your horns for 2.5s: 1.5x speed, wider turns and hard to shove. A body you ram is knocked aside and stunned instead of squishing you (barbs still bounce you).
Tip: Charge straight through the wall a rival is building around you.
Standard rules: cooldown 28s · lasts 2.5s
Who can carry it: Rhinoceros Beetle, Stag Beetle, Praying Mantis, Elephant Beetle, Emperor Scorpion, Titan Beetle