NPV Infection and phalanx pills
NPV infection can start from a zombie grab. Failed or stamina-empty grapples infect automatically. Official welcome text says NPV; official X names NPV-26. Infection 0.2.1 published the treatment loop that Armageddon still uses: onset, a three-dose bottle of phalanx pills that delays without curing, one experimental gene therapy spawn per match that takes 30 seconds and grants immunity, or self-sacrifice so the remaining squad does not fight your corpse.
Onset after a grab
Infection 0.2.1 is the historical patch that published Stage 1. Armageddon 1.0 did not replace that procedure. A zombie grab is the start condition. If you win the grapple with stamina left, you can walk away clean. If the grapple fails or stamina is empty, infection is automatic. There is no published dodge chance after that point.
Official X copy names the threat NPV-26. The welcome post says NPV. Both names refer to the same infection. This page uses both because the sealed sources do. Do not wait for a UI badge that this manual invented; watch for the official onset state and spend a Phalanx dose or start moving toward the gene-therapy spawn.
Sound and grabs travel together. An unsuppressed gunfight that draws Runners also raises the chance someone loses a grapple. The published start condition is still the grab, not a mystery airborne meter. Watch stamina before you swing into a cluster.
Staged medical chart
Open one stage at a time. Onset is the grab. Phalanx is the three-dose delay. Gene therapy is the single 30-second cure. Self-sacrifice is the last official option. The chart uses only those four fields. It is not a countdown timer we were not given and it is not a community spread-rate table.
If you are reading this during a match, stamp A2 first: find the bottle, spend a dose, then look for the one gene-therapy spawn. If another teammate already used the spawn, A4 is the remaining CRC choice. The exclusive open state on this chart is the same interaction as the FAQ: one procedure visible, the others closed.
A grab can start NPV. If the grapple fails or stamina is empty, infection is automatic. Onset is the published first stage: the Responder is already on a clock before any pill is spent.
Phalanx pills come in three-dose bottles. Each dose delays infection. The bottle does not cure. Spend the three doses to buy time to reach gene therapy or to reach an extract before onset finishes the character.
Experimental gene therapy spawns once per match. The cycle takes 30 seconds. On completion it cures infection and grants immunity for the rest of that drop. If the squad cannot hold the spawn for 30 seconds, the infected Responder still has Phalanx or self-sacrifice.
Self-sacrifice ends the Responder’s run without turning them into a zombie for the remaining squad. Use it when Phalanx is empty, gene therapy is gone or too far, and a turn would add a Prime-pressure body to the room your teammates still have to extract from.
Phalanx pills
Phalanx pills are a world-loot medical item in the 24-row arsenal. Three doses per bottle. Delay NPV without curing it. That is the entire official effect. Do not save the third dose for after extract; extract is a permadeath check, not a hospital. Use the doses to reach gene therapy or to reach an early extract if the spawn is gone.
The bottle competes with Frag Grenades, a Molotov, and the Rescue Beacon for attention, not always for the same slot. The published rule you need is medical: three delays, no cure. A squad that loots two bottles has six delays. A squad that loots none has only therapy or sacrifice.
A bottle is three delays. Count them out loud. Dose one to move, dose two to reach the spawn, dose three to finish the 30-second cycle or to reach an early extract. There is no official fourth dose and no official shop price.
Gene therapy and self-sacrifice
Experimental gene therapy is a rare medical row: one spawn per match, 30-second cycle, cure plus immunity. The squad has to hold that spawn. If Runners and Primes collapse the room at second 20, the cycle fails and the infected Responder is still infected. Plan the hold before you start the cycle, not after the bar appears.
Self-sacrifice is the official last step. It ends the Responder without turning them. That matters on Nightmare, where more Runners and Primes already fill the audio budget. Adding your own turned body to a speaker hold or an extract window is the failure mode 0.2.1 designed this button to prevent. Use it when A2 and A3 are spent.
Call the hold before anyone starts the cycle. Thirty seconds is long enough for a speaker wave or an extract horn to move the horde. If the spawn is across the map and Phalanx is empty, self-sacrifice is the remaining official button.
Related pages: First Deployment Field Arsenal Field Glossary