Wyrms of Nyrus has multiple underlying game mechanics playing out all at once. By default, all mechanics are enabled unless if highly experimental.
| Mechanic | Description | Associates |
|---|---|---|
| Evolution | As Nyral Wyrms & The Creeped are killed by anything in large amounts, wyrms grow more powerful in response. Additionally, Wyrms might start out in stronger states regardless, if certain mods are present. Evolution points are reversible when associated mobs aren't given any pressure, and move down to less powerful states. Evolution was removed from Nyral Wyrms (but not Creeped) in 0.4 and replaced with Wyrm Genetics & Natural Selection. | Wyrms (pre-0.4) & Creeped |
| Invasion | After some time, Nyral Wyrms begin to take over the world, with daily events of increasing difficulty. As wyrms start getting kills, invasion points go up, and never decay over time. After some time, Hive Creep is introduced, and so are the options for Wyrmfollies. | Wyrms & Creeped |
| Hive Creep | Introduced near the end of the early-game, Hive Creep is planted into the world via Creep Pods, and it begins to spread. At this time, The Creeped are introduced as a second party that works for the Nyral Wyrms. | The Creeped |
| Wyrmfollies | Exclusively introduced by players, wyrmfollies act as the strongest, yet riskiest, means of fighting against the Nyral Wyrms. They require materials from The Creeped and Nyral Wyrms, along with terrestrial organics. | Follies |
| Gestalt | Introduced in v0.3.7, the Gestalt is the hivemind AI of wyrms. It features multiple parts, including an infamy mechanic. Wyrms that take part in the gestalt will slowly gravitate towards players on the map, and higher infamy levels speeds up hive movements. Maximum infamy features rapid-fire invasion events and increased Hive Creep spreading speeds. All wyrms that partake in the Gestalt will focus onto a target that attacked another wyrm within range, even if they usually do not target those enemies. | Wyrms & Creeped |
| Wyrm Genetics | Replacing the Evolution system in 0.4 outright, Wyrms maintain five genetic lineages and a wide range traits, along with modifiers to their basic stats. Wyrms start out as basic templates for each lineage, but over time as the invasion occurs, mutations will occur naturally. | Wyrms |
| Natural Selection | Wyrms of a specific genome in their lineage will have a favorability rating that decides if the genome is passed along or discarded and instead modified. Favorability is lowered when wyrms of that genome die considerably more than they get kills. It is fully possible to eliminate genomes and have wyrms permanently become more powerful. | Wyrms |
| Infamy | Part of the Gestalt mechanic, Infamy is increased with every hit of a wyrm. When wyrms are not being constantly attacked, infamy will quickly go back down, but never goes below 1, making wyrms still occasionally, yet passively, move towards the player. When infamy is at maximum (100), if it tries to go down, up to 5 times will it fail to go down and instead create an invasion event around every player on the server, before it returns to normal declines. There are sound cues for players for entering maximum infamy, and for each event spawned by max infamy. | Wyrms & Creeped |
| Total Awareness | Part of the Gestalt mechanic, wyrms that are close enough to the player will target them regardless of having line of sight or not. Maximum infamy tends to double this range. | Wyrms & Creeped |
| Rage | Introduced in v0.3, some wyrms will enrage if they have to switch targets, this causes them to let out an annoyed hiss, knock back their original target a considerable distance away, and gain a short damage and resistance buff as it focuses on the interrupting target. It is usually on a 20-second cooldown. | Wyrms |
| Digging | Introduced in v0.3.9, some wyrms will have the capability to break blocks, with each having varying limits such as range, height, and maximum block hardness. Some will only break blocks under certain conditions, while others will break certain types of blocks all the time. | Wyrms |
| Resources | Revealed in v0.3.8 as an upcoming feature. Currently not implemented | ? |