Cot

Cot is the most basic and essential way to improve a duplicant’s standard of living. If a duplicant sleeps without a bed, they receive the Sore Back status, which increases stress and reduces Athletics. A cot is also one of the main requirements for the Barracks room, which provides a +1 morale bonus.

Although cots look like they occupy four tiles while in use, duplicants are treated as being on the left side of the cot for the purpose of decor, sounds, and similar interactions. This matters for effects such as Loud Sleeper and sneezing caused by Hypothermia, since those behaviors are evaluated from that left-side position.

A cot provides a health regeneration attribute of 25 per cycle, or about 1 HP every 25 seconds. Because duplicants usually sleep for only 50–75 seconds each cycle, the practical healing from a cot is usually only around 2–3 HP per cycle. Even so, it remains important early on because it prevents the Sore Back penalty and supports morale through room bonuses.

• If a cot is disabled, the duplicant will sleep on the floor instead.
• Duplicants without a bed develop sore backs from sleeping on the floor.
• Assigning duplicants with different sleep schedules to nearby cots can reduce disturbance from Loud Sleeper and sneezing without needing separate rooms.
• The cot is primarily a progression building for early colony comfort rather than a major healing structure.

Because the cot is tied to both morale and stress management, it is one of the first amenities a colony should provide. A dormitory of cots becomes especially useful once multiple duplicants are sleeping on a shared schedule, since it allows the colony to avoid unnecessary stress penalties while working toward the Barracks room bonus.