This PEAK Roots Update Guide introduces several new survival mechanics, consumables, threats, and useful tools that change how you approach climbing the mountain. If you are jumping into PEAK after the latest patch, this guide breaks down everything newly added so you know exactly what to use, avoid, and prepare for.
PEAK Roots Update Guide: New Food, Enemies, Items, Changes
Food
These new consumables do more than just restore satiety. Many come with status effects that can either save your life or put you in serious danger if used carelessly.
Red Mushroom
A safe mushroom that restores a small amount of hunger and gives a minor stamina boost. It also provides a light healing effect similar to a weaker, faster bandage. Adds 2 spores on use.
Green Mushroom
Raises stamina slightly but hides your satiety and extra stamina bars for a short duration, making it difficult to track your condition. Adds 2 spores, so it is risky to spam if you are already infected.
Blue Mushroom
Provides a small stamina boost, but inflicts paralysis for a few seconds. Consuming it adds 2 spores. This mushroom has very limited value, making it one of the least useful options outside of niche situations.
Yellow Mushroom
Works somewhat like a temporary morale boost. Grants a short buff similar to the lollipop or friendship pipe and increases extra stamina slightly. Also adds 2 spores.
Purple Mushroom
Triggers a small blast that launches you upward when used, but only works once. Adds 2 spores and restores a bit of stamina. Situationally helpful for reaching ledges or escaping a bad fall, but not something you can rely on often.
Hot Dog
Can appear in place of marshmallows and restores roughly the same satiety whether raw or cooked. Straightforward food option with no special effects.
Fortified Milk
The most impactful new consumable. Grants brief invulnerability for several seconds, including fall damage immunity. Cooked fortified milk increases satiety for a short duration. It is fast to use and excellent for risky climbs or panic situations.
Mandrake
Appears harmless at first glance, but once harvested, it shrieks and rapidly increases fatigue. You can negate its scream in two ways:
- Drink milk to protect yourself from the effect.
- Transform into a skeleton.
Mandrake is powerful but must be handled with preparation.
Enemies
Several new threats now roam the mountain, and a few of them can end a run very quickly if you are not ready.
Fungal Scout
A former scout consumed by spores. Hits hard, inflicts severe stamina loss similar to scorpion venom, and can knock you down. Often follows up with a second hit while you are recovering. They climb walls and are relentless if you let them engage on their terms.
To dodge its leap, stay close, wait for the pounce animation, then jump sideways.
Becoming a skeleton using the Book of Bones makes you immune to its status effects, but you will die from any fall damage, so milk becomes essential.
Rhinoceros Beetle
Charges at you aggressively but deals no direct damage. Instead, it hurls you a long distance, which can result in deadly falls if your stamina is low or you are near an edge. Not as lethal as the Fungal Scout, but still dangerous in narrow terrain.
Spider
Not a major threat unless you get caught off guard. If it grabs you, rapidly spam the jump key to break free before poison stacks up. Poison will accelerate after a couple of seconds, so reacting immediately is the key to avoiding long-term damage.
Spore Mushroom
Appears harmless but releases spores at a very fast rate. Being near it can rapidly fill your spore meter and push you toward infection. If you notice spores building up, create distance quickly.
The Wind
Possibly the most punishing environmental hazard in this update. Wind can push you even through cover or locations where it feels like it shouldn’t reach. It contributes to falls, interrupts movement, and makes climbing significantly more risky, especially when in skeleton form. Treat the wind as a persistent enemy, not just a weather effect.
Items
These new items expand your mobility, safety options, and tactical tools.
Checkpoint Flag
Allows you or your co-op partner to respawn at the placement location after death. The flag disappears after one use and remains active only until you die or finish the area. Simple but extremely valuable for difficult segments.
Cloud Mushroom
When thrown, it will levitate in mid-air after a short delay. This opens up creative mobility use cases, such as forming temporary platforms or travel paths where no footing exists.
Bouncing Mushroom
Acts like a small trampoline that boosts players upward, but only up to a limited height. Can be combined with effects like Blue Mushroom paralysis for cooperative experiments or movement tricks.
Rescue Grip
A three-use grappling tool that lets you pull teammates or recover someone from a fall. It is extremely useful for co-op revives and can help secure an achievement.
Book of Bones
Transforms you into a skeleton, making you nearly immune to several hazards such as poison, heat, cold, and storms. Enemies also react differently to you. The tradeoff is severe: you become extremely fragile and will die from even a single fall. Always keep milk ready if you plan to play in this form.
Minor Changes and Patch Notes
A few subtle changes can influence how you use existing items and progress through the map.
- Heating an energy drink now causes it to explode when consumed, throwing you a fair distance. The buff lasts slightly longer, making it a high-risk utility tool.
- Antidotes explode when thrown into or cooked on a fire, allowing for amusing but hazardous interactions.
- Flags can now be crafted, but placing one instantly applies a noticeable amount of poison and does not grant respawn. Use crafted flags carefully.
- New character animations have been added. Hold the R key and navigate using the arrow to view them.
- For the Gourmet achievement, you no longer need to rely on long jungle sessions. Stumps in this area now contain one piece of honey, making progress easier.
A follow-up patch (1.41.A) adjusted curse values for the Book of Bones, refined new animations, and made localization improvements.