What are the best mods in GRAVHOUNDS?

For damage, the on-crit procs (Rocket Barrage, Live Wire, Gravity Bomb) stacked with crit mods (Lucky Strike, Critical Impact, Payback). For the base, Courtesy Turret, Industrial Grade and Field Mechanic. For money, Hazard Pay. Streamers called Hazard Pay 'such a good perk' and the gravity perk 'so good'.

How do you unlock mods?

Spend Research Points in the Mods tab of the Research Lab. Some need an earlier mod in the tree first (the card says 'Research more to unlock this'). Once unlocked, the mod can drop from reward pods during expeditions.

What is a Showstopper?

One of 12 top-tier mods. The Mod Deck Builder lets you take up to 2 Showstoppers alongside 10 common mods. The game doesn't label which cards are Showstoppers in the tree, so we haven't sorted them yet.

Do mods carry over between runs?

The unlock is permanent: it stays in your library. The mod itself is picked up from reward pods each expedition, so every run builds up from zero.

Upgrading mods. Since the demo, mod upgrades cost Biomass on top of Research Points. Fully harvested Biomass also heals 10 HP.

GRAVHOUNDS Mods List: Every Mod Effect, Cost & Best Mods (Early Access)

How mods work

Unlock a mod in the Research Lab’s Mods tab with Research Points. In-game text: “Anything unlocked here enters the reward pool.”
On an expedition, reward pods offer you mods from that pool. You stack them as the shift goes on. “The swarm grows deadlier by the second, but so do you.”
Upgrade a mod in the lab to raise its level (shown as LVL 1 > 2). Upgrades need Biomass as well as RP.
Once you’ve unlocked a few, the Mod Deck Builder opens: pick 10 common mods + up to 2 Showstoppers and reward pods only draw from those. See Mod Deck.

Octopus Panic counts 60 mods, including 12 Showstoppers, in Early Access. Below are the ones we’ve read on screen so far.

Costs

Action	Research Points	Extra
Unlock a basic mod	3	—
Unlock a top proc / utility mod (Gravity Bomb, Live Wire, Vampiric, Life Sap, Stay, Temporal Grenades…)	5	1 more item (purple icon, probably a blueprint ⚠️)
Upgrade level 1 → 2	4	50 Biomass
Upgrade level 2 → 3	6	75 Biomass
Rocket Barrage level 2 → 3	9	150 Biomass

Damage and crit mods

Mod	Effect (paraphrased from the card)
Rocket Barrage	On crit, fires a volley of homing rockets at nearby enemies. Cooldown
Live Wire	On crit, a high-voltage burst chains to nearby enemies. Cooldown. Best against packed groups
Gravity Bomb	On crit, fires a rocket that makes a gravity well: pulls in enemies, Build Kits and resources, then blasts them out. Stand clear
Dead Drop	Kills drop a timed explosive that goes off after a short delay. Cooldown
Lucky Strike	Higher base chance for random crits with any weapon
Critical Impact	All crits deal more damage, whatever the source
Payback	Taking damage briefly raises your crit chance
Hotshot	More crit chance against burning enemies
Big Shot	More weapon damage per shot
Quickshot	Higher rate of fire
Stockpile	Bigger magazine
Lock & Load	Faster reload on all weapons
Rising Pressure	Damage rises with each round fired before you reload
Last Round	The last round in each magazine deals bonus damage
Kill Chain	Rapid kills stack a damage bonus; keep killing to keep it
Trigger Happy	Each kill briefly boosts damage. Stacks
Last Stand	More damage while at 30% health or less
Blast Radius	Bigger explosions

Grenade and Grav Beam mods

Mod	Effect
Cluster Grenades	Grenades split into smaller explosives that scatter and detonate
Inferno Grenades	Grenades explode on impact and set enemies on fire
Temporal Grenades	Throws a gravity disruptor that makes a time-slowing field
Grav Leash	Nearby items tether to you and trail behind. Haul resources and Build Kits without the pipeline
Life Sap	Grabbing enemies with the Grav Beam stores health you can spend healing teammates
Grav Tether	A beam mod players discuss on Steam; some report it stops working at random ⚠️

Base, economy and support mods

Mod	Effect
Courtesy Turret	Gives you a free random turret Build Kit. Upgrading it adds higher-tier turrets you’ve unlocked to the draw (still random)
Industrial Grade	Turrets come with thicker plating and last longer
Field Mechanic	Repair structures faster with the mining laser
Safety Protocols	Take less damage while repairing
Cutting Edge	The mining laser harvests faster
Express Delivery	Objects, including your respawn token, move faster through the pipeline
Hazard Pay	Bonus credits for every kill. Since the demo, every player gets the payout, not just the host
Overtime Bonus	Instant bonus credits; more per level

Movement and survival mods

Mod	Effect
Skybound	Jump jets go higher and hover longer
Booster Bonus	More booster fuel: longer hovers, boosts and lateral bursts
Critical Surge	Crits refill some booster fuel
Pipeline Drift	Boosting along a pipeline gives a short speed burst
Grit and Bear It	Take less damage at low health
Vampiric	Kills drop small health pickups you vacuum up
Stay	A field around you slows nearby enemies and projectiles

Training also matters: each hound’s Mods stat in the Research Lab’s Training tab reduces Showstopper cooldowns.

Good combinations

Crit engine: Lucky Strike + Critical Impact + Payback to crit more often, then Rocket Barrage, Live Wire or Gravity Bomb to turn crits into area damage. The Pulse Rifle’s random crits feed this best (weapons).
Turret builder: Courtesy Turret + Industrial Grade + Field Mechanic + Safety Protocols. Fewer turrets lost and faster repairs while the swarm pushes.
Money run: Hazard Pay + Overtime Bonus early, so you can afford more Build Kits before the waves escalate.
Runner: Skybound + Booster Bonus + Pipeline Drift for the player who ferries resources and revives teammates, with Grav Leash to carry without a pipeline.

These pairings are our suggestions from the card text, not tested builds. Octopus Panic toned down Gravity Bomb and lowered upper-end mod scaling before the demo, and more balance changes are expected in Early Access.

Mods we haven’t read yet

That’s about 40 of the 60. The rest weren’t opened on screen in the footage we went through. We’ll add them, and mark which ones are Showstoppers, as we confirm them.

Mods: Every Mod We've Seen and What It Does