Project Moon left Early Access with Lobotomy Corporation on 9 April 2018, putting you in charge of a facility that farms energy out of caged Abnormalities. Each of the fifty days sets an Enkephalin quota you meet by ordering agents to perform Instinct, Insight, Attachment or Repression work on things that very much do not want to cooperate. A run of bad work results drives an Abnormality's Qliphoth Counter to zero, it breaches, and a facility that looked stable at 80 percent quota can empty out in ninety seconds.
Starting Lobotomy Corporation can feel overwhelming. This guide tells you exactly what to focus on during your first hours so you don't waste time on things that don't matter yet. For the full progression path, see our walkthrough.
What Kind of Game Is This?
Lobotomy Corporation is a simulation game built around Qliphoth Counter and breaches and Four work types and the Virtues. The core loop involves mastering these systems to progress through increasingly challenging content.
What to expect: Time investment in learning mechanics, experimentation, and gradual mastery. The game rewards patience and knowledge.
Choosing Your First Build
| Build | Beginner Rating | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Control Team (Malkuth) | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Information Team (Yesod) | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Training Team (Hod) | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Safety Team (Netzach) | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Disciplinary Team (Gebura) | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
Our recommendation: Start with Information Team (Yesod). It offers the most forgiving experience while teaching core mechanics.
Avoid Disciplinary Team (Gebura) as your first pick. It requires deep knowledge of game systems to use effectively. Once you're ready, check our classes guide for all options.
First Session Step-by-Step
Step 1: Learn Qliphoth Counter and breaches
The number above each containment cell falls on bad work results and on triggers written specifically into that Abnormality. At zero it leaves the cell and hunts your staff, and what happens next depends entirely on which one it is. Punishing Bird chases anyone who fights it while Queen Bee converts corpses into more problems, so the observation notes are the actual mechanic.
This is the foundation. Spend your first 15-30 minutes getting comfortable with how Qliphoth Counter and breaches works before worrying about anything else. Our combat guide breaks this down further.
Step 2: Head to Control Team (Asiyah)
Malkuth's department and the first one you staff, sitting in the upper Asiyah layer. Its missions teach work results and the Qliphoth Counter, and its Core Suppression randomises the work type buttons so you cannot rely on muscle memory.
Clear the main content here before moving on. Everything teaches fundamentals you'll need later. See our maps guide for all locations.
Step 3: Get Your First Upgrade
Look for Fourth Match Flame: it's the most accessible early upgrade. Scorched Girl's TETH grade Red weapon, usually the first real upgrade a run gets. The matching suit adds Red and Black resistance, which covers the two damage types the early Ordeals lean on.
Step 4: Understand Four work types and the Virtues
Instinct raises Fortitude, Insight raises Prudence, Attachment raises Temperance and Repression raises Justice. Fortitude is health, Prudence is mental health, Temperance sets work speed and success chance, and Justice sets attack and movement speed. Matching an agent's strongest Virtue to the work an Abnormality actually prefers is most of the game's difficulty curve.
This is the system most new players overlook. Invest time here early. It pays off throughout the entire game.
Step 5: Push to Information Team (Asiyah)
Yesod's department, which unlocks observation levels and therefore all E.G.O. gear. Its Core Suppression progressively pixelates the interface and the facility view, so you manage the day by memory rather than by reading it.
Essential Mechanics Explained
Qliphoth Counter and breaches
The number above each containment cell falls on bad work results and on triggers written specifically into that Abnormality. At zero it leaves the cell and hunts your staff, and what happens next depends entirely on which one it is. Punishing Bird chases anyone who fights it while Queen Bee converts corpses into more problems, so the observation notes are the actual mechanic.
Four work types and the Virtues
Instinct raises Fortitude, Insight raises Prudence, Attachment raises Temperance and Repression raises Justice. Fortitude is health, Prudence is mental health, Temperance sets work speed and success chance, and Justice sets attack and movement speed. Matching an agent's strongest Virtue to the work an Abnormality actually prefers is most of the game's difficulty curve.
Qliphoth Meltdown timers
A gauge fills as agents enter containment rooms, then flags specific cells with a 60 second countdown. Letting one run out subtracts energy equal to five times the meltdown level from your quota and empties that Abnormality's Qliphoth Counter completely, which is how a single missed timer turns into three simultaneous breaches.
E.G.O. weapons, suits and gifts
Completing observation unlocks an Abnormality's gear. Penitence comes from One Sin and Hundreds of Good Deeds, Fourth Match Flame from Scorched Girl, Justitia from Judgement Bird at five hits per swing, Da Capo from The Silent Orchestra at four, and Twilight from Apocalypse Bird. Gifts occupy body slots and carry trade offs, such as the Singing Machine gift Harmony giving 8 HP for 4 SP.
Core Suppressions
Clearing a department's missions unlocks a boss event for its Sephirah. Malkuth, Yesod, Hod and Netzach open from Day 21, Tiphereth, Gebura and Chesed from Day 36, and Binah and Hokma from Day 41. Most apply handicaps rather than fighting you, but Gebura's is a direct fight against The Red Mist across four phases and 12,000 HP, and Binah's puts An Arbiter on the field.
Common Beginner Mistakes
1. Working an Abnormality repeatedly to farm energy without watching its counter
Energy is worthless if the source of it is loose in the corridor two minutes later.
2. Assigning Repression work to a low Prudence agent
Repression drives mental damage, and a panicked agent attacks colleagues, which converts one bad order into a chain of them.
3. Treating every breach as a fight
Several Abnormalities are best handled by evacuating the department and waiting them out, and pushing agents into a losing suppression is how facilities lose an entire shift.
4. Attempting Core Suppressions at the earliest unlock day
Day 21 is when Malkuth, Yesod, Hod and Netzach become available, not when a typical roster is ready for them.
5. Ignoring the facility layers when placing Abnormalities
Asiyah, Briah and Atziluth departments unlock at different points, and putting a WAW threat next to your least developed team creates a permanent liability.
First 5 Hours Checklist
- Understand Qliphoth Counter and breaches and Four work types and the Virtues
- Choose Information Team (Yesod) as starting build
- Clear Control Team (Asiyah) main content
- Acquire Fourth Match Flame or equivalent upgrade
- Reach Information Team (Asiyah)
- Observation notes are the difficulty setting. Every Abnormality lists which work types it favours and what drops its Qliphoth Counter, and a facility that reads them survives Day 30 while one that guesses does not reach Day 20.
- Match Virtue to work, not agent to department. An agent with high Prudence handles Insight work safely while the same agent sent to do Repression on a Red damage Abnormality comes out at a fraction of their health.
Tips for New Players
- Observation notes are the difficulty setting. Every Abnormality lists which work types it favours and what drops its Qliphoth Counter, and a facility that reads them survives Day 30 while one that guesses does not reach Day 20.
- Match Virtue to work, not agent to department. An agent with high Prudence handles Insight work safely while the same agent sent to do Repression on a Red damage Abnormality comes out at a fraction of their health.
- A Qliphoth Meltdown timer running out costs energy equal to five times the meltdown level and zeroes that cell's counter. There is no work order worth finishing that is more valuable than answering the timer.
- Keep one agent with high Justice permanently unassigned. Justice governs movement speed as well as attack speed, so that agent reaches a breach across two departments faster than anybody already mid task.
- Bad work results are not random noise. Low Temperance means low success chance, so sending an underdeveloped agent into a HE or WAW cell is the direct cause of most first breaches players blame on luck.
- Ordeals arrive on a schedule tied to the day count and grow through Dawn at TETH, Noon at HE, Dusk at WAW and Midnight at ALEPH. Indigo Ordeals start appearing from Day 26, and the Ordeal of White replaces the normal rotation across Days 46 to 49.
- Netzach's Core Suppression disables healing except at meltdown transitions and through Army in Black, so contain that ZAYIN Abnormality before you attempt the Safety Team fight rather than during it.
- Gebura's Core Suppression is a genuine boss fight against The Red Mist with four phases and 12,000 HP. Approach it with at least two agents in WAW grade E.G.O. and full Fortitude, not with the roster you happen to have on shift.
- Spend LOB points on stat upgrades in the deployment phase rather than hoarding them. Stats gained through work are slow, and a run that reaches Day 36 with under levelled agents is already lost, it just has not noticed.
- E.G.O. gifts occupy body slots and most carry a penalty, such as Harmony from Singing Machine giving 8 HP while taking 4 SP. Build gift sets around the damage type your weakest department keeps failing to resist.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is a full run of Lobotomy Corporation?
A completed run covers fifty in-game days, though most players restart the loop several times before finishing. The game treats those restarts as part of the structure rather than as failure.
Which departments exist and who runs them?
Control Team under Malkuth, Information Team under Yesod, Training Team under Hod, Safety Team under Netzach, Central Command Team under Tiphereth, Welfare Team under Chesed, Disciplinary Team under Gebura, Extraction Team under Binah and Records Team under Hokma.
What happens when the Qliphoth Counter hits zero?
The Abnormality breaches containment and behaves according to its own rules, which vary enormously. Some hunt agents directly, some spread status effects, and some only become dangerous if you attack them.
Which E.G.O. weapon should I aim for first?
Fourth Match Flame from Scorched Girl is the realistic early target because she is a TETH Abnormality that most facilities receive in the first fifteen days. Justitia from Judgement Bird is the mid game goal at WAW grade.
Are the Core Suppressions optional?
They gate story progress and department research, and they lock from Day 46 when the Kether phase begins. Gebura's fight against The Red Mist and Binah's An Arbiter encounter are the two that fight back directly.
More Lobotomy Corporation Guides
- Lobotomy Corporation Lobotomy Corporation Overview
- Lobotomy Corporation Best Builds
- Lobotomy Corporation Tier List
- Lobotomy Corporation Walkthrough
- Lobotomy Corporation Tips & Tricks
- Lobotomy Corporation Weapons Guide
- Lobotomy Corporation Combat Guide
- Lobotomy Corporation Boss Guide
- Lobotomy Corporation Maps & Locations
- Lobotomy Corporation Crafting Guide
- Lobotomy Corporation Classes & Characters
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