Is it necessary to visit disease research facility in order to beat the game ?

[𝓑𝓪𝓷𝓭ž𝓪ツ]

Is there anything useful I can get that will help me in the further game play. I don't want to get infected even more because Warpers will start to attack me and they will just be annoying (especially with their ability to teleport you).

[QueenPixxa]

I think the illness progression will go on even if you don't go to the disease research facility. I don't think you can stop the illness progressing just jumping that stage.
Anyway, if you just want to complete the main story in the least time possible you can avoid that place altogether and still get to the end.
I have done that in this game I am playing now, planning to get there lately, but I had warpers attacking me anyway.

[Cursed Hawkins]

Originally posted by QueenPixxa:

I think the illness progression will go on even if you don't go to the disease research facility.

WRONG, SO WRONG, the infection's progression is tied to your own progression in the story, the data bank entry for it says that it's incubation period is two weeks, but you can literally spend up to a month in-game time and nothing would happen to your character, take your time with the game you're not on a timer.

[QueenPixxa]

I went to the lava castle before going to the drf because I knew I could bypass that and the illness progression continues. . Of course if you swim up and down in the shallows, nothing will go anywhere. That's not what I meant.

[admiral1018]

No, it's not required.

Also, avoiding it does't really do much to stave off infection. Once you go below 1000 meters, which is required to beat the game, you are at maximum infection level.

[dreamrider]

@Cursed Hawkins:
Try "2-3-4 YEARS in-game time". I'm at over 1000 days right now.

(Admittedly, I HAVE been known to occasionally leave my character sitting or standing around in a base without remembering to pause, when called to dinner, etc. That'll add a few game-days, and probably a few no-impact base deaths. It's usually not worth it to go back to the previous save, even though I save regularly in base.)

[Voodoojedizin]

So you don't actually want to play the game, you just want to beat the game!
Or you just wanna do everything that's easy, and see if you can skip anything else that may be difficult.

[dreamrider]

@OP,
You can't totally avoid the disease progression, just as The Admiral advised you.

In fact, you are almost certainly infected enough that Warpers are hostile to you BEFORE you ever find the DRF. There is a typo in the wiki for the DRF that indicates that using the terminal there will give you the "first stage" of the Kharaa bacterium infection; the DRF is actually one of the possible triggers for the LAST active stage of the infection, Stage 4.

Stage 4 results in the visual signs of the Kharaa (green spots), and the Warper aggression level does increase (increase reaction radius, increase claw damage), but in the game Kharaa itself will never kill you.

Disease Progression Spoilers below:

The events below are not additive; they will absolutely advance you to the Stage indicated, and only to that Stage. However, there are apparently a few minor checks in gameplay which may (rarely) add in to advance your disease Stage.
One of those is being bitten by a diseased creature. Also eating a diseased creature.

Each of the events below may result in a Self-Scan prompt, and the 1st Self-Scan of each stage will have a distinct and progressively more serious PDA voice-over report.

Stage 0 - start the game - Scan normal - Warpers ignore character.
Stage 1 - Enter PRAWN or enter Cyclops (building them is OK) - Scan: infected - Warpers still ignore character, but you are closer and some other things could add up.
Stage 2 - Enter the Aurora, the Mountains biome, or land on the Mountain Island - Warpers recognize you as infected, if you are relatively close to them (closer than most people ever want to get to the ugly SOBs); noticeable and annoying level of claw damage.
Stage 3 - Enter the Quarantine Enforcement Platform or enter the Lost River biome (You see how inevitable infection ultimately is?) - Warper aggression increases, modestly greater aggro radius (probably still closer than you are tempted to go on purpose), and hurtful level of claw damage.
Stage 4 - Use the Alien Data Terminal in the Disease Research Facility, or decend to -1000m - Warpers get pretty dangerous; react further yet, and capable of a 2-shot.
Stage 5 - You're cured - Scan normal - Warpers don't care about character any more.

[QueenPixxa]

If going below 1000 starts the last stage of the illness, then DRF should be one before last stage, because it's about 800mt (IF you go to the facilities following the order of deepness - or discovery). I might be wrong of course...

[admiral1018]

There are multiple ways to trigger the final stage. Doing either of those will cause it to happen. However, by the time you're ready to visit the DRC, you're close enough to the end of the game that the 1000 meter trigger will get you soon anyway.

[luther84695]

You can beat the game without getting cured.

[RCMidas]

Originally posted by luther84695:

You can beat the game without getting cured.

Pray expand.

[luther84695]

Originally posted by RCMidas:

Originally posted by luther84695:

You can beat the game without getting cured.

Pray expand.

Maybe there are mods involved but I saw people who make videos about launching the ship while still infected. They don't get shot down or anything.

[Cursed Hawkins]

Originally posted by luther84695:

Originally posted by RCMidas:

Pray expand.

Maybe there are mods involved but I saw people who make videos about launching the ship while still infected. They don't get shot down or anything.

Word of advice, DO NOT BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU SEE ON THE INTERNET in that context, because most of the time those "videos" are nothing but clickbaiting pieces of ♥♥♥♥.

[admiral1018]

Originally posted by luther84695:

Originally posted by RCMidas:

Pray expand.

Maybe there are mods involved but I saw people who make videos about launching the ship while still infected. They don't get shot down or anything.

This isn't possible in the normal game. Curing the infection is required for completion.

[𝓑𝓪𝓷𝓭ž𝓪ツ]

Originally posted by luther84695:

You can beat the game without getting cured.

If that were possible QEP would be pointless. The game would be to easy