Decontamination Pod

The Decontamination Pod is a terrain-recovery building that restores contaminated soil to usable land by gradually cleaning contaminated terrain within its effective radius. It is intended to reverse the persistent ground contamination left behind by badtides, allowing farmland and tree plantations to be used again without waiting for natural recovery. The Pod sits on a 1x2 flat footprint. In its current balance state its power draw was reduced from 100 to 50 (see history note below), and its healing time was shortened in the same change.

Decontamination Pods operate by steadily removing contamination from soil blocks inside their area of effect. Placing Pods at the edges of contaminated zones pushes the contamination boundary back over time, and having multiple Pods overlap on the same area increases the speed of recovery. The most effective use is to start decontamination immediately after a badtide ends while contaminated patches remain relatively compact, limiting how far contamination can spread before cleanup begins.

• Place Decontamination Pods along the perimeter of contaminated patches to work the contamination edge inward; overlapping radii shorten total cleanup time.
• Combine Pods with prevention measures: Contamination Barriers or Irrigation Barriers prevent further spread of contaminated terrain so Pods can focus on recovery rather than constant containment.
• Use Pods as part of a broader badwater workflow: intercept and collect badwater with Badwater Pumps, process it in Centrifuges to produce Extract, and treat contaminated terrain with Pods in a separate processing or containment district to avoid accidental recontamination.
• Start decontamination work immediately after badtides; the earlier cleanup begins, the fewer Pods are needed and the quicker farmland and trees recover.
• Consider faction strategies when planning recovery: Folktails favor prevention via Contamination Barriers and organic recovery techniques, while Iron Teeth often pair mechanical decontamination with industrial badwater exploitation (Deep Badwater Pumps, Centrifuges, and powered facilities).

Decontamination Pods are best integrated into a layered defense and processing plan. Use Floodgates, Dams, Levees and barrier lines to keep contaminated water away from critical farmland and living areas. Route contaminated flow into dedicated collection reservoirs and process badwater with Centrifuges; route terrain-recovery efforts to strategically important plots such as new district expansions, reclaimed farmland, or areas intended for tree plantations.

History: in an early version the building consumed 100 power and had a longer healing time. An update halved its power consumption from 100 to 50 and shortened its time to heal. Update 5 introduced further adjustments.