Rimworld: 10 Best Xenotype Genes, Ranked

Summary

• Gene processors and xenogerms allow custom colonist abilities and xenotypes in Rimworld.
• Foam Spray gene helps prevent fire damage, useful during raids.
• Superfast Wound Healing gene increases healing efficiency for colonists.

Introduced in the Biotech expansion for Rimworld, gene processors, xenogerms, and gene assemblers can be used to augment your colonist with special abilities, or debuffs, that allow them to become more than your average baseliner. You can also create your own xenotype using a list of genes in the xenotype editor for a custom alien.

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The xenotype genes are pretty expansive and cover all areas of biology including skin and hair color, immunities, and resistances. It can even influence if your colonist is predisposed to being happy. Including the late stage archite genes, you can pick and choose the best genes that fit your starting colony or endgame transhumanists.

10 Foam Spray

One of the dangerous outcomes in the early game, especially with few colonists, is losing entire structures, colonists, and stored materials to a single Molotov cocktail. While later on you can craft smokepop packs and foam turrets to mitigate this danger, having a foam spray gene can accomplish this very easily.

This is especially important during raids where raiders using fire weapons, and especially Impids, can force your draftees out of cover, and they stop fighting to pat out the flames. As just a quality of life tool, it can put out flash fires without having to mess with home zones and waking everyone up.

9 Never Sleep

Best used on a colonist that doesn't mind spending time in the dark, the Never Sleep gene does what the name implies and allows your colonist to work day and night. Not only does this make base building, crafting, and growing much more efficient, but can solve a number of smaller issues.

No longer will your colonist not have enough time to enjoy recreation, need a room of a certain impressiveness, have a low mood due to disturbed sleep, or stop to rest during caravan travel. Even just one colonist with Never Sleep makes up for more than two colonists without it.

8 Superfast Wound Healing

Compared to Fast Wound Healing, Superfast Wound Healing has a 400 percent increase compared to 200 percent and only uses one more metabolic efficiency, making it more efficient if you need a colonist who heals quickly. With this speed, a colonist can rest after being hit at the beginning of an attack and rejoin fully healed before it ends.

This is especially essential for colonists used in caravans, as they are able to recover fast enough to remove the risk of death if they are not outright killed. The only downside is this gene doesn't help with immunity to diseases or healing permanent injuries.

Set your Superfast Wound Healing colonist to self-tend, so that your doctor can prioritize more vulnerable colonists.

7 Fire Spew

Perhaps the strongest weapon-based gene, Fire Spew gives your colonist a fire breath attacks that pools over a large area and is much more effective than a Molotov. Although only available every five days, this is enough time to prepare this attack carefully.

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When raiding outposts, this can save your colonist from having to equip flame based weapons, giving them an edge in combat that can be enough to win the encounter on its own. Although, it is best as an early game gene or if you happen to have an Impid in your colony.

6 Archite Metabolism

One of the few archite genes, Archite Metabolism decreases your colonists need for food by 225 percent while giving you a +6 metabolic efficiency score. While not wholly impressive on its own, this allows your colonists to adopt a number of additional genes that they otherwise wouldn't be able to afford with no downsides.

Because most beneficial genes cost somewhere between one and three metabolic efficiency, the Archite Metabolism gene can allow you to take anywhere from three to eleven additional genes before you reach the -5 limit. This essentially creates Superman if you're careful about your picks.

5 Perfect Immunity

Like penoxycyline, Perfect Immunity prevents diseases like malaria and the plague from event taking hold. However, Perfect Immunity also includes lung rot, infection, and the flu, all without having to take a pill every five days.

Since older colonists will slowly start to lose immunity efficiency, this can allow them to survive potentially fatal diseases, or colonists that are in caravans and away from your doctor. Combined with the Non-senescent gene, your colonist will live forever, albeit ever more wrinkly.

4 Scarless

Like what is available to colonists who sit in a biosculptor pod for 25 days using glitterworld medicine, the Scareless gene continually restores permanent damage (other than missing limbs) every 15 to 30 days. This includes brain conditions like Alzheimer's and dementia and all health conditions like asthma and cancer.

Any colonist with this gene will no longer suffer slowed movement, part efficiency, or conditions that make them consistently bedridden or suffering mental breaks. While it won't prevent them from death or heal them faster, it is essential for their long-term efficiency.

3 Non-Senescent

While the Scareless gene slowly heals brain conditions like Alzheimer's over time, the Non-senescent gene completely prevents them from taking place. This ensures that your colonists never become frail or inefficient due to age.

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Although implied by the wording, the colonist with this gene will never get age-related conditions, even from non-age-related sources. This means that your colonist won't die from age-related illness, but their immunity will still lower, possibly making them weak to flu and infection.

Your colonist will also still become infertile with age, but this will not likely cause issues.

2 Ageless

Similar to the effects of the Non-senescent gene, the Ageless gene stops your colonist from aging past 18, or whenever they received the gene. This automatically stops the effects of aging like dementia and bad back, but doesn't make your colonist immune to these afflictions from every source.

Although this likely won't matter, as other sources of these conditions are very rare, and Ageless still allows your colonist to maintain a healthy immunity level. If your colonist only has the Ageless gene, and you're careful with them, they will essentially be an efficient worker forever.

1 Deathless

A mix of Scarless, Ageless, and Non-senescent, the Deathless gene prevents the colonist from dying due to any condition not resulting in the destruction of the head. After entering a regenerative coma, the colonist will wake up and return to work like they weren't mauled to death by a bear.

While the other genes only prevented or repaired damage, Deathless gives your colonist the chance to be put in harms way with very little risk other than through total annihilation. Combined with a handful of other genes, you can make an immortal super being that can't be killed.

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