Steroids
What TornLife's research has established about Steroids, and the questions players asked about it.
What TornLife has verified
- A developer discussing an NPC-loot-ticket bug (2023-12) cited Serotonin as an example of a temp that 'successfully debuffs the NPC' rather than dealing damage, indicating Serotonin functions as a non-damaging booster/debuff item in combat, not a weapon. (confirmed by Torn; NPC Looted with 0 Hits, )
- The wiki's addiction mechanics (loss of access to the Sports Science Lab drug-free gym above 150 combined Xanax/Ecstasy use, rehab, natural decay of 20 points per day at 3:30am TCT, various mitigation methods) are described under the Drug page, not the Steroid page, and are not stated to apply to steroid items. (documented; Drug › Addiction Effects (2/2), )
- As of patch #420 (10/02/2026) the item and Biology education perk descriptions for Melatonin, Epinephrine, Serotonin and Tyrosine were changed from calling them a 'steroid' to a 'needle'; staff confirmed the items were relabelled from 'Steroids' to 'Needles' per community terminology. (confirmed by Torn; Patch list #420 : 10/02/2026, )
- A 2023-02 bug report confirmed the 10% steroid-effectiveness education bonus was being applied before the required course had actually completed; staff passed it on as a bug to fix, indicating the bonus should only apply once the course finishes. (confirmed by Torn; Steroid boost before course complete, )
- Steroid (needle) boosts are combat-fight-only temporary effects and do not feed into the gym gains formula for permanently raising battle stats. Losing a fight removes all passive effects including the temporary steroid boost. (confirmed by Torn; steroids not working?, )
- Injecting a temporary booster needle (steroid) during a fight is explicitly excluded from counting as an 'aggressive action' for Distraction purposes, unlike attacking, so using a steroid mid-fight does not reset your Distraction level against opponents the way attacking does. (documented; Distraction, )
- A 2021-02-09 patch note reverted an earlier change so that steroid attack effects can again be replaced with fresh timers, implying steroid boosts have a duration/timer during a fight that can be refreshed by taking another dose. (confirmed by Torn; Patch list #179 : 09/02/2021, )
- Fair Fight (a 1x-3x multiplier based on relative battle stats) and Distraction/Suppression (defender's effective Defense and Dexterity halved per additional simultaneous attacker, capped at level 25) are the combat mechanics that determine whether a large temporary steroid boost actually translates into winning a fight. (documented; Chain › Gaining respect › Fair fights / Overseas attacking, )
- The wiki's Steroid page defines Steroid as an item that boosts stats temporarily during an attack: Melatonin gives +500% Speed (Hastened), Tyrosine +500% Dexterity (Sharpened), Epinephrine +500% Strength (Strengthened), each for 120 seconds; Serotonin gives +300% Defense (Hardened) for 120 seconds and replenishes 25% life. (documented; Steroid, )
- Steroids can only be equipped once a player has completed the Biology Bachelor education course, are purchased from the Pharmacy, are stackable with other steroids, and their effect is lost as soon as the player ends up in hospital. (documented; Steroid, )
- Steroids are a combat-use item (applied during an attack) and the wiki's Steroid page contains no interaction with the gym gains formula, happy, or energy; they are distinct from gym-training drugs and do not raise stats in the gym. (documented; Steroid, )
- The Steroid wiki page lists no addiction points, cooldown, or overdose chance for any of the four steroids, unlike the wiki's Drug pages (e.g. Opium, Xanax, Ecstasy) which list cooldowns and addiction points; the only stated downside is losing the effect if hospitalized. (documented; Steroid, )