Care is the Ranger's most-used action. It restores the function of a connection in reach. You choose one of two forms each time, and the choice decides what happens to a lingering response.
How it works#
| Form | Now | Later | Lingering response |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fast Care | +30 function | — | Keeps going (it does not fade this tick) |
| Recovery Care | +15 function | +15 more at the room tick, if you are still in reach (sustained) | Fades a step |
- Care on Supported ground is 50% stronger. Care on inflamed ground is half as strong.
- Releasing (a bonus action) ends a sustained Care early.
- A companion can Care at half the Ranger's amount.
- In Vessel Margins, only recovery Care settles a calling microglia. Fast Care is refused: "Fast Care doesn't settle a caller: use Recovery Care."
Numbers#
| Modifier | Effect on Care |
|---|---|
| Supported ground | ×1.5 |
| Inflamed ground | ×0.5 |
| Within Reach Imprint | ×1.15 on supported ground, ×0.9 elsewhere |
| Quick hands tool | ×1.12 |
| Steady grip tool | ×0.9 |
| Settling tuning level 2 | Recovery Care fades two steps |
| Settling level 3 ("Over-quiet") | Fast Care half as strong |
| Reach-out level 3 ("Over-extended") | Recovery Care unavailable |
In the brain#
Fast Care is inspired by microglia damping over-active neurons: they turn ATP into adenosine, which quietens activity (Badimon 2020, in mice). Recovery Care is inspired by slower support, such as microglial BDNF supporting stress resilience (Woodburn 2023; weaker evidence, one conditional knockout). Microglia do not "repair" a synapse on command; that part is fiction.
Development#
In real time, Care was a timed work rate (0.10/s) with a later "Soothe" recovery mode. Claude B found that "recovery where a response lingers" was a one-time lesson, not a lasting trade-off, and moved the lasting decision to where support goes. The turn-based form is in the alpha engine.
See also#
Settle · Link · Supported ground · Basic actions · Pressure & Aftermath
Sources#
215bfbf88:docs/game-balance/31-turn-based-encounters.mdb89f778c2:src/main-game/alpha/public/encounter/src/skills/turns/catalog.js215bfbf88:docs/game-balance/27-income-and-tuning.mde7656b980:docs/ops/agent-messages/2026-11-01-claude-a-expeditions-location-mechanics.md
What links here (40)
- Act I: The Long Wake
- An Hour Without a Request
- Anchor & Pull
- Attune
- Basic actions
- Care VFX
- Coordinator
- Dendritic Gardens
- Direct
- Engulf
- Flex Ward
- Full Length
- Glide
- Huddle
- Kit history
- Lessons
- Link
- Location verbs
- Long Reach
- Microglia
- Pressure & Aftermath
- Quiet Handoff
- Ranger
- Sentinel
- Settle
- Signal tuning
- Stand Fast
- Surfaces
- Survey
- Swap
- Tendrils
- The Space Between
- Threats
- Turn-based encounters
- Upgrades
- Vessel Margins
- Ward
- Warden
- Within Reach
- Workshop tools