Mortuus Perks: How to Find Machines and Plan Upgrades

How Mortuus Perks Work

Mortuus perks give you another way to strengthen a run as the zombie waves get harder. Buying them competes with opening doors, getting weapons, and upgrading your guns, so every purchase deserves a purpose. To get more from Mortuus perks, learn how machines, power, and the other upgrade systems fit together before spending your points.

You buy perks from machines scattered throughout the map. The catch is that Mortuus generates a new layout for each run: rooms, corridors, courtyards, and dead ends change, along with the locations of perk machines and other important destinations.

That makes exploration part of building your character. Memorizing a route from an earlier attempt will only get you so far. Read the current layout, locate useful machines, and keep track of how to reach them.

Perks also sit alongside two separate upgrade systems:

Upgrade system	How you access it	What you do
Perks	Machines scattered around the map	Spend points to buy perks
Gun Ascension	Gun Ascension altar	Upgrade a gun and choose how it becomes stronger
Upgrade draft	After every round	Choose one upgrade from the offered selection

Keep those systems separate when planning purchases. A perk machine, the altar, and the round draft each present a different decision. Check what each option actually offers before committing to a direction.

Mortuus supports solo play and online co-op for up to four players. In either setup, build around the equipment and routes you have in the current run. Start with the problem in front of you, then choose an upgrade that addresses it.

Finding Perk Machines and Turning On Power

Finding Mortuus perks starts with opening the map. You can buy doors and clear debris to reach additional spaces, and locating the power switch is part of that exploration.

Image: Steam / Hamuno

In the demo, look for a power room with a large lever and a red light. If you have reached a perk machine but still need power, continue exploring rather than repeatedly returning to the same inactive destination.

Explore With a Destination in Mind

Use this sequence to organize your search:

1. Inspect your accessible rooms. Identify exits, blocked routes, wall weapons, and any machines you encounter.
2. Open additional routes. Buy doors and clear debris to expand the area you can explore.
3. Look for the power room. Watch for the red light and large lever in the demo.
4. Turn on the power. Use the lever, then return to the perk machines you located.
5. Read the purchase information. Check the perk’s effect and price before spending points.

Treat that as an exploration plan rather than a fixed route. The procedural layout determines where you need to travel.

Map feature	What changes between runs	What to track while exploring
Rooms and corridors	Their arrangement is rebuilt	Connections between accessible areas
Courtyards and dead ends	Their placement changes	Open spaces and routes that stop
Perk machines	Their locations change	The path back to each discovered machine
Mystery Box	Its location changes	Its position relative to your current route

Keep a mental route from your fighting area to the machines you want to revisit. Follow recognizable connections between rooms instead of relying on a turn sequence remembered from another run.

Before approaching a machine, check the surrounding space and your return path. Enemies can chase you, cut you off, and take routes around you. Leave yourself room to react while deciding what to buy.

In co-op, call out the power room and machine locations as you find them. Describe the connecting rooms or nearby features so teammates can follow the route through the current map.

Spending Points on Mortuus Perks

Mortuus perks share your point budget with several other purchases. Opening another door, getting a weapon, trying the Mystery Box, and using Gun Ascension all compete for resources.

Image: Steam / Hamuno

Make each expenditure answer a specific question: are you trying to reach power, replace a struggling weapon, strengthen a gun, or buy a particular perk?

Point expenditure	What it provides
Doors	Access to additional parts of the map
Wall weapons	A weapon purchase at a wall location
Mystery Box	A chance-based weapon option
Perk machines	Purchasable perks
Gun Ascension	Further upgrades for your gun

Check Your Weapon Before Buying Another Perk

Pay attention to how your current gun handles the wave. If your immediate problem is ammunition, address ammunition. If you want to strengthen the gun itself, consider the altar. Read a machine’s effect before expecting its perk to solve either issue.

For example, suppose you have found a perk machine but still need to explore for power. Keep the cost of opening another route in mind before committing points elsewhere. Your next purchase should support the next task you intend to complete.

Once power is on, compare the machine purchase with your current weapon needs. Avoid choosing solely because a machine happens to be nearby.

Keep an Ammunition Plan

In the demo, you can buy ammunition from the wall location associated with your gun. There is also a Max Ammo power-up and a card that returns bullets after a round.

Ammunition option	How it works in the demo
Matching wall weapon location	Lets you buy ammunition for that wall gun
Max Ammo power-up	Provides an ammunition refill
Ammo-return card	Gives bullets back after a round

Remember the matching wall location when buying a wall weapon. Keep its route in mind alongside your perk machines and the power room.

Do not wait until you are empty to think about resupply. Check your reserves before making a detour for another purchase, and include ammunition access in your route planning.

For Mortuus perks, the useful spending question is straightforward: what will this purchase help you do next? Keep enough flexibility to respond when the next wave exposes a different weakness.

Combining Perks, Gun Ascension, and Round Upgrades

Your build develops through several decisions across a run. Perk purchases add one layer, Gun Ascension develops your weapon, and the draft gives you another upgrade choice after every round.

At the Gun Ascension altar, you choose how your gun gets stronger. You can upgrade it repeatedly as long as you can afford to continue. That creates an ongoing spending decision alongside buying perks and exploring.

After each round, read the draft choices in relation to the gun you are using and the purchases you are considering. Select one upgrade from the offered options, then reassess your next destination.

Read Effects Before Chasing a Build

Use the actual effect text to connect your choices. Ask:

• Does this choice address something that caused trouble during the previous round?
• Does it support the weapon I am currently using?
• Am I choosing an upgrade for my present equipment or for equipment I still hope to find?
• Does my next planned purchase still make sense after this choice?

Avoid planning around a gun you have not obtained. Mortuus includes wall weapons and the Mystery Box, but build decisions still need to account for what you currently have.

For an ammunition-focused example, consider the demo’s card that returns bullets after a round. If that card appears, weigh its effect against your current reserves and access to a matching wall purchase. Keep the timing in mind: bullets returned after a round serve a different moment from buying ammunition during your route.

Reassess After Each Wave

Use the completed round as feedback. Recall where you got cornered, when you needed ammunition, and whether your weapon handled the enemies you encountered.

Then decide what deserves attention:

• Open another route if you need to explore further.
• Revisit a machine when you have a specific perk purchase in mind.
• Go to the altar when you intend to develop your current gun.
• Choose a draft upgrade that fits the equipment and problems you have now.

Plan Mortuus perks alongside these decisions. Keep your next purchase connected to what happened during the wave rather than following a rigid shopping order.

Using Mortuus Perks in Solo and Co-op Runs

Solo and co-op use the same core loop: survive rounds, spend points, explore, and choose upgrades. Adjust your planning around how you are handling those tasks.

Solo: Keep Your Route Manageable

When playing alone, keep track of your weapon resupply point, useful perk machines, and the power room as you discover them. Before making a purchase trip, review the route there and back.

Inspect unfamiliar rooms before committing to a fight inside them. The map includes dead ends, while zombies can approach from more than one direction. Watch the space around you as closely as the target in front of your gun.

Use the dismemberment system deliberately: shooting legs can leave zombies crawling. Keep watching those enemies as you move; changing how they travel still leaves them in the fight.

Later enemies add further pressure, including the Lope, which moves on its arms, and the Skitter, which travels across ceilings. Check above ground level when scanning a room.

Co-op: Share Useful Discoveries

Tell teammates when you find power, a perk machine, the Mystery Box, or an important connection between areas. Keep calls practical: identify the destination and explain how to reach it.

Coordinate exploration and planned purchases. Before heading away from the group, say which destination you are trying to reach. When teammates discover machines, ask where they connect to areas you already recognize.

For your next attempt, focus on a short checklist:

• Locate power while opening the map.
• Remember discovered machine locations.
• Read perk effects and prices before purchasing.
• Keep weapon ammunition in mind.
• Review each round’s draft choices.
• Revisit your spending plan as the waves develop.

To try the demo or follow the full game’s release, visit the Mortuus Steam page. As of October 20, 2026, the full game is coming soon.

FAQ

How do you get Mortuus perks?

Buy Mortuus perks from machines scattered around the map. Explore by opening doors and clearing debris, locate power, and return to the machines you discover.

Where is the power switch in the Mortuus demo?

Look for a power room with a large lever and a red light. Open additional doors while searching, and navigate using the current run’s layout.

Are perk machines in the same place every run?

Their locations change with the procedurally generated map. Find them again each run and remember the routes connecting them to familiar areas.

How are perks different from Gun Ascension and draft upgrades?

Perks are machine purchases. Gun Ascension upgrades your gun at an altar and allows repeated upgrades while you can afford them. The draft offers one upgrade choice after each round.