How do you use Luciferium?

[Limdood]

I'm curious, and other people have commented as well on the controversial nature of the drug.  It would be interesting to see what people think about the drug, and how they use (or why they don't).

[Limdood]

I checked the top 2 results.  I do use luciferium whenever i get enough to make use of it (i treat it like a consumable, not a cash item...i never stockpile it to sell, only to use). 

But i use it in a calculated fashion on my best pawns, usually doctor first, followed by crafter or builder.  The disease fighting aspect (blood filtration) is amazing at keeping key pawns healthy (or fast recovering).  faster metabolism, increased consciousness, and (slightly) better sight and moving, along with self-healing scars are the other reasons my best pawns get this stuff.

In my opinion its not hard to sustain even a couple pawns (10-12 luciferium covers a whole year for 1 pawn - and thats about the threshold where I decide i have enough to get a pawn addicted, unless i'm close enough to an outlander to ensure a steady source, where i'll start earlier)

[TheMeInTeam]

I'll drop it on any pawn that is doing valuable work and can see enough benefit where I feel the expense is worth it.  I'm more likely to use it on a doctor who also does other work than I would on a dedicated cleaner/hauler of course.

I don't use it nearly as much as I would if I didn't play tribe exclusively.  To have a reliable supply you really want to be able to call in caravans.

The amount you can buy for the cost of a single bionic part should last most colonies a lifetime for a single pawn, and in principle should lead to the kind of productivity that you can push into future investment.

[sgtarpin]

I would use Luciferium if it was officially craftable somehow. I know there are mods out there that make this possible, but my playthroughs are already modded to ****, so am very picky with adding more. I only like using mods to improve quality of life, not to add more content.

[XeoNovaDan]

I generally refrain from using Luciferium until I get a reliable economy going, to make sure I'm not sending people on a one-way course to death in the longer run. In other words, I consider in the mid-late game.

[CiceroThePoet]

Step One : Give a small group of pawns the best combat gear possible.
Step Two : Give them the best bionic enhancements silver can buy.
Step Three : Give them every drug you can that improves performance.
Step Four : Put them in Stasis Pods.
Step Five : Give your Tacticool Death Squad a name.

Edit : Release them when necessary, naturally. Don't just let them live the rest of their lives in blood-lust.

[Sola]

Always to my doctor.  Rarely to anyone else.  And only if I'm at a stage in the game where I can sustain it.  (comms console and already have at least 8 pills)

70% blood filtration is insane. Maximum uptime is pretty good.  Finally, it's one of the few drugs that improves consciousness.  This thing has "doctor" written all over it.

[BeerMaester]

Get doc to practice his medical on crippling bad prisoners, pump em full of Luciferium and kick em out of the colony.

[Blastoderm]

Never. Premanent addiction hardly can outweight the benefits. The ONLY possible way I can use it is to drug some useless pawn and send him мы horde of raiders\manhaunters so he'll deal as much damage as possible and then be torn to pieces.
In all other times - seel it as soon as possible so pawn won't actually eat this crap.

[RimworldOx]

I like to use it as a currency. It's rarity gives it great value, and it doesn't take up much room. I hoard as much as I can for this reason, plus it has practical uses in advanced soldiers who you are upgrading with bionics.

Luciferium is def part of my colonist Spartan Soldier Program.

Passion for shooting
Jogger
Bionics
Luciferium
Power Armor

I'm straight up Dr. Katherine Halsey.

[Catastrophy]

There is a tag on the box: "Open only in emergency!" And skull and bones.

[TheMeInTeam]

The permanent addiction is a pretty big psychological block, but it's not a legit counterargument.

What you need to evaluate is your anticipated benefits against anticipated cost.  If you have a decent supply and a comms console, the risk of running out is extremely small...that colonist is more likely to die in any other number of ways. 

At 1 per 6 days, you will use 10 luci per year.  This costs slightly less than a bionic part per year.  On the other hand, a pawn on luci is getting bonuses to move speed, consciousness, sight, and manipulation, meaning you'd need 10000+ silver in bionic parts and silver to match the benefits with permanent prosthetics, all while having less mood hit from pain and eating less than average too.

As such, you can make a real case for using luci over using prosthetics as long as supply holds, since it has less up front cost and is only somewhat weaker than stacking a bionic pawn.

Refusing to use it even on old asthmatic pawns is NONSENSE, given it can clear old scars, non-destroyed medical conditions, and changes such a pawn from "vulnerable to disease" to "you won't even need bedrest if you contract something after you've taken this".

The devil's bargain can be an excellent deal if you're not overly aggressive using it pre comm console + stash.  Giving so much value to a prisoner is silly, unless you're just screwing around.

[Catastrophy]

The permanent addiction is a pretty big psychological block, but it's not a legit counterargument.

What you need to evaluate is your anticipated benefits against anticipated cost.  If you have a decent supply and a comms console, the risk of running out is extremely small...that colonist is more likely to die in any other number of ways. 

At 1 per 6 days, you will use 10 luci per year.  This costs slightly less than a bionic part per year.  On the other hand, a pawn on luci is getting bonuses to move speed, consciousness, sight, and manipulation, meaning you'd need 10000+ silver in bionic parts and silver to match the benefits with permanent prosthetics, all while having less mood hit from pain and eating less than average too.

As such, you can make a real case for using luci over using prosthetics as long as supply holds, since it has less up front cost and is only somewhat weaker than stacking a bionic pawn.

Refusing to use it even on old asthmatic pawns is NONSENSE, given it can clear old scars, non-destroyed medical conditions, and changes such a pawn from "vulnerable to disease" to "you won't even need bedrest if you contract something after you've taken this".

The devil's bargain can be an excellent deal if you're not overly aggressive using it pre comm console + stash.  Giving so much value to a prisoner is silly, unless you're just screwing around.

I took me 6 playthroughs (I often discontinue games and start a new planet) before I even touched beer. I run a strict limit on all drugs. So far I've never used anything but smokes, beer and yayo. Penicilline not counted. Why? My first ever colony had a guy on withdrawal - pretty big disadvantage when starting with only two more. It was quite the disincentive.

[TheMeInTeam]

I took me 6 playthroughs (I often discontinue games and start a new planet) before I even touched beer. I run a strict limit on all drugs. So far I've never used anything but smokes, beer and yayo. Penicilline not counted. Why? My first ever colony had a guy on withdrawal - pretty big disadvantage when starting with only two more. It was quite the disincentive.

Luci is different from other drugs though.  There's no overdosing, no overcoming withdrawal.  You commit the resources on a schedule and get the benefits unless/until you run out of the supply.  If you can attain reasonable assurance of that supply, it's effectively a "pay money to make this pawn faster, more effective, and more resilient" mechanic.  That level of money is not cheap, so you should be using it on pawns that will benefit from the greatest number of its conferred benefits, but if you're trying to optimize then you SHOULD be using it in some circumstances.

The other drugs have different benefits/drawbacks, but also can do things like build up resistance or do organ damage if overused.  Luci has none of that.  You take 1 per 6 days (ish) until you build the ship, stop playing that save, or the colonist dies.  There is no overdose, no organ damage, none of that.  You must plan to have enough or that pawn's off to a grave, dog food bin, or cryptosleep, but if you DO plan you're rewarded, consistently.