Lobotomy Corporation: Complete Survival Guide

A manager's handbook for Lobotomy Corporation: how work, damage types and employee stats interact, how to read Abnormalities you know nothing about, how to survive Qliphoth Meltdowns and Ordeals, and how to approach Core Suppressions and the long march to Day 50.

Researched September 2026 — current as of version 1.0.2.13f (the final patch, November 2021; the game is complete and no longer receives content updates). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

• You will lose employees. That's normal. Lobotomy Corporation is a roguelite; failure teaches you what each Abnormality wants.
• Use the Memory Repository. You can return to the start of earlier days. If a day goes badly, restart it or roll back rather than grinding through with a broken roster.
• Read the Abnormality's work results. Each work type (Instinct, Insight, Attachment, Repression) has a success rate. Early on, you learn by trying — watch which work produces good results.
• Keep low-risk Abnormalities for training. ZAYIN and TETH Abnormalities are safe places to raise employee stats.
• Match E.G.O and armor to damage types. RED, WHITE, BLACK and PALE hit different things. Resistances decide who lives.
• Watch the Qliphoth Counter. When it hits zero, the Abnormality breaches. Some drop it on bad work; some on specific conditions.
• LOB Points are for employees; PE-Boxes are for gear. Spend LOB Points hiring agents and raising their stats. E.G.O weapons and suits are manufactured with the PE-Boxes of the specific Abnormality once its observation level is high enough.
• Unlock information early. Spending an Abnormality's PE-Boxes on observation reveals its preferences, escape conditions and gear.

The Basics

You're the Manager of Lobotomy Corporation, a company that contains Abnormalities and extracts energy from them. Each day you must meet an energy quota by assigning employees (agents) to do work with Abnormalities. Abnormalities produce PE-Boxes; good work yields more energy.

The AI assistant Angela and the Sephirot — the heads of each department — guide you and have their own stories that unfold as you progress.

Departments and Sephirot

The facility has 10 departments across three layers. A new department unlocks every 5 days.

Layer | Department | Sephirah

Upper (Asiyah) | Control Team | Malkuth

Upper (Asiyah) | Information Team | Yesod

Upper (Asiyah) | Training Team | Hod

Upper (Asiyah) | Safety Team | Netzach

Middle (Briah) | Central Command Team | Tiphereth

Middle (Briah) | Disciplinary Team | Geburah

Middle (Briah) | Welfare Team | Chesed

Lower (Atziluth) | Extraction Team | Binah

Lower (Atziluth) | Record Team | Hokma

Lower (Atziluth) | Architecture Team | Kether

Each department holds Abnormalities and agents. Completing each Sephirah's missions unlocks research and, eventually, their Core Suppression.

Core Mechanics

Work types

Work | Flavor

Instinct | Basic needs (feeding, physical care)

Insight | Cleaning, intellectual engagement

Attachment | Emotional connection, conversation

Repression | Discipline, force

Every Abnormality prefers some works and hates others. Results are graded Good, Normal or Bad based on how many PE-Boxes are produced. Bad results often lower the Qliphoth Counter.

Employee stats

Stat | What it does

Fortitude | Max HP; resists physical harm

Prudence | Max SP (sanity); resists mental harm

Temperance | Work success rate and work speed

Justice | Attack speed and movement speed

Some Abnormalities check stats before or during work (for example, killing employees with low Prudence). Once you learn those rules, pick agents accordingly. Stats rise from doing work — each work type trains a related stat.

Damage types

Damage | Effect

RED | Damages HP

WHITE | Damages SP (panic at zero)

BLACK | Damages both HP and SP

PALE | Damages a percentage of max HP; terrifying late-game

Armor (E.G.O suits) has resistance values for each type. An agent in armor weak to an Abnormality's damage type will die quickly even with high stats.

Risk levels

Risk | Danger

ZAYIN | Safe

TETH | Low risk

HE | Moderate risk

WAW | High risk

ALEPH | Extreme risk

Each Abnormality's ID code and risk level appear in its window. Higher risk means stronger E.G.O but a much steeper learning curve.

Qliphoth Counter and breaches

Most Abnormalities have a Qliphoth Counter. When it drops to zero (from bad work, specific triggers, or their own mechanics), they breach containment. You then have to suppress them with your agents or wait out their special behavior.

Qliphoth Meltdowns and Ordeals

As you collect energy, the facility's Qliphoth Meltdown level rises. At each level:

• Some containment units enter meltdown — you must perform work on them before the timer ends, or the Abnormality's counter drops.
• At certain levels, Ordeals arrive: waves of hostile creatures that invade the facility.

Ordeal tiers and when they start appearing:

Tier | Starts appearing | Examples

Dawn | Day 6+ | Amber Dawn, Crimson Dawn, Green Dawn, Violet Dawn

Noon | Day 11+ (Indigo Noon from Day 26+) | Crimson Noon, Green Noon, Indigo Noon, Violet Noon

Dusk | Day 21+ | Amber Dusk, Crimson Dusk, Green Dusk

Midnight | Day 26+ | Amber Midnight, Green Midnight, Violet Midnight

Ordeals trigger at fixed Qliphoth Meltdown levels: Dawn at level 2, Noon at levels 3 to 5, Dusk at levels 6 or 7, Midnight at level 8.

Each color has a theme: Amber are food-themed worm creatures, Crimson are carnival clowns, Green are ancient machines, Violet are religious entities, Indigo is modern industrial/war themed. White Ordeals, each with its own theme, replace the normal ones on days 46 to 49 during Kether's Core Suppression.

Trumpets

The facility alarm escalates in stages (the Trumpets) as more Abnormalities breach or Ordeals rampage. If the alarm is climbing, stop doing risky work and stabilize.

E.G.O Gear

Raising an Abnormality's observation level lets you manufacture its E.G.O weapons and suits, paid for with that Abnormality's own PE-Boxes (costs range from single digits to hundreds for top gear). Gifts are separate: they drop randomly on completed work. For example, One Sin and Hundreds of Good Deeds (the tutorial Abnormality) gives Penitence; Punishing Bird gives Beak.

Rules of thumb:

• Weapon damage type matters as much as raw damage. Match weapons to what the target is weak to, and avoid types it resists.
• Suits determine survival. Check the resistance numbers.
• Gifts give small stat boosts and can be earned randomly by working with an Abnormality.
• E.G.O has a maximum amount per item (some rare pieces cap at 1 or 2). Save the best gear for your best agents.
• PE-Boxes spent on observation and PE-Boxes spent on E.G.O come from the same pool, so decide whether you need information or equipment more on a given day.

A First-Week Game Plan

Days 1 to 5

• Learn the tutorial Abnormality and the UI.
• Hire and train agents. Put new hires on ZAYIN and TETH Abnormalities for easy stat growth.
• Spend observation PE-Boxes to reveal work preferences of every new Abnormality.

Days 6 to 10

• Dawn Ordeals begin. Keep a couple of armed agents ready to respond.
• Start buying E.G.O suits for your front-line suppressors.
• Keep one or two expendable agents for dangerous "test" works.

Days 11 to 20

• Noon Ordeals appear. Build real suppression teams.
• Unlock more departments and choose research that helps survival (the Sephirot missions guide you).
• Avoid picking new HE or WAW Abnormalities faster than you can learn them.

Day 21 onward

• Dusk and Midnight Ordeals. Your facility needs strong, armored teams in multiple departments.
• Core Suppressions become the main challenge.

Choosing Abnormalities

Each day you choose one new Abnormality from a small set. Tips:

• Early: ZAYIN and TETH picks are low risk and grow your roster safely.
• Mid: HE and WAW give strong E.G.O but need knowledge.
• Late: ALEPH picks can end runs. Take them only with strong agents and PALE resistance.

Examples you'll hear about in the community (learn their rules the hard way or look them up once you're stuck): Punishing Bird (O-02-56), Big Bird, Judgement Bird, Plague Doctor, Scorched Girl, Spider Bud, Snow White's Apple, Silent Orchestra, Nothing There, Queen of Hatred, Der Freischütz, Beauty and the Beast.

Core Suppressions

Each Sephirah has a Core Suppression — a special day with unique rules, unlocked after completing that Sephirah's missions and research. Clearing one unlocks major rewards and progresses the story. Core Suppressions are among the hardest content in the game.

General advice:

• Enter with your strongest roster and full E.G.O kits.
• Re-read the Sephirah's mission rules; each suppression changes a core system.
• Expect to retry. The Memory Repository lets you prepare before trying again.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Doing work blind on dangerous Abnormalities. Spend PE-Boxes on observation first.
• Ignoring damage types. High stats won't save an agent with the wrong suit.
• Letting agents panic. Low SP causes panic; panicking agents can attack coworkers or wander into breaches.
• Overloading one department. Spread Abnormalities so breaches don't chain.
• Taking every ALEPH as soon as it's offered. Not every Abnormality is worth the risk on a given day.
• Never rolling back. The Memory Repository exists for a reason.

Advanced Tips

• Train by work type. Instinct trains Fortitude; Insight trains Prudence; Attachment trains Temperance; Repression trains Justice. Assign work intentionally to shape agents.
• Specialist teams: Build a PALE-resistant squad for late game threats and a WHITE-resistant squad for sanity-draining Abnormalities.
• Meltdown management: Prioritize meltdowns on Abnormalities whose counter is already low.
• Use clerks as early warning. Clerks wander the halls; if they die in an area, something has breached there.
• Research priority: Take research that improves agent survival (HP/SP recovery, bullets) before pure energy bonuses.
• Ordeals give rewards. Clearing Ordeals quickly is worth it — they grant energy and reduce chaos.

FAQ

Is Lobotomy Corporation still updated? The last patch listed on Steam is 1.0.2.13f (November 2021), which added official French and Portuguese support. The game is complete. ProjectMoon's later games (Library of Ruina and Limbus Company) continue its universe.

How long is a full run? The story spans 50 days, and many players need multiple attempts at later days and Core Suppressions. Expect a long campaign.

What's the best work type? There isn't one. Each Abnormality has its own preferences; learn them via observation and results.

Why did my agent die instantly? Usually a special rule (stat checks, specific work types, or conditions like looking at something), or armor weak to the Abnormality's damage type. Check the Abnormality's info page.

How do I stop a breach? Send armed agents with suits that resist the Abnormality's damage type. Some Abnormalities have special suppression conditions — read their info.

Is the English translation okay? The English version was completely re-translated in May 2020 (patch 1.0.2.13e), so current copies use the improved text.

Sources

• Lobotomy Corporation on Steam
• Lobotomy Corporation Wiki (wiki.gg)
• Lobotomy Corporation Wiki: Ordeals
• Lobotomy Corporation Wiki: Departments
• Lobotomy Corporation Steam news (patch notes)