Keep Corrupted Items: Cleansing & Contraband

You finish an Ouroboros run with a build you genuinely love, and then most of it vanishes the moment the run ends. That disappearing act is why so many players go looking for Mycopunk how to keep corrupted items answers right after their first deep run. Getting Mycopunk how to keep corrupted items right comes down to one habit: reading the rarity label on every upgrade before you build around it.

There is no official "corrupted" rarity in the game. What players usually mean is the strange, run-only upgrades that appear in Ouroboros, the roguelite mode added on December 17, 2025. In that mode your upgrade set is rebuilt each run, and only some pieces can be carried back into your permanent collection. Everything else is designed to stay behind.

What "Corrupted Items" Actually Means in Mycopunk

The word "corrupted" is a search term, not a game term. It gets borrowed from other games where corruption is a real mechanic, and it sticks because Ouroboros upgrades feel odd and temporary. Inside Mycopunk, though, those upgrades are sorted by actual rarity labels, and the label is what decides whether an item can survive the end of a run.

Ouroboros deliberately rebuilds your loadout. That is the entire point of the mode — it lets a run feel different from your normal missions without permanently rewriting your main build. The trade-off is that most of what you pick up during a run is meant to be enjoyed in the moment, not banked forever.

Two separate systems govern what happens afterward:

• Cleanse is the mechanic that lets you retain an eligible upgrade permanently.
• Contraband is a rarity that exists only inside Ouroboros, and in the unmodified game it does not carry over.

Keeping those two ideas separate solves most of the confusion. Cleanse is the door out of a run. Contraband is a label that, in the base game, keeps an upgrade inside the run.

How to Keep Corrupted Items with Cleanse

Cleanse is the built-in tool for pulling an upgrade out of an Ouroboros run and making it permanent. When an upgrade is eligible, cleansing it adds it to your collection for good. The sequence is short, but the timing matters — you need to be at the point in the run where the Cleanse interface is actually open to you.

One detail trips up returning players constantly. Since update 1.6.6, released on January 20, 2026, cleansed upgrades arrive already unlocked. Older instructions that tell you to pay a second resource after cleansing describe a system that no longer exists. If a step-by-step list asks you to unlock a cleansed upgrade afterward, that list predates the patch.

Costs are another moving target. Rarity and pattern rules have been adjusted over time, so old forum posts quote prices that may not match what you see. Read the number on your own Cleanse screen rather than trusting a figure from months ago.

Before you commit, look at your permanent grid. An upgrade that carried a run can still be a poor fit for the limited space in your main loadout, where you are choosing between a handful of slots rather than an entire run's worth of picks. If the same upgrade would be cleansed anyway, prioritize the ones that slot in next to what you already run. Checking which upgrades are eligible for Cleanse before you start a run also helps you plan which ones to chase.

Cleanse vs. Contraband vs. Oddity: Reading Rarity Labels

Every decision about keeping an item starts with a single glance at its rarity label. During an Ouroboros run, look at whether an upgrade is marked Contraband, Oddity, or a normal rarity before you build your strategy around it. That one look tells you whether you are holding a run-only toy or a possible permanent addition.

Contraband is defined as Ouroboros-exclusive, which means it is built to exist inside a run and nowhere else. That is a design decision, not a bug or an oversight. Contraband is what allows a run to feel genuinely different from your normal missions without disturbing the balance of the loadout you take into standard play.

Oddity sits in its own category, separate from Contraband, and the two are easy to mix up because both look special. Rather than memorizing which is which and hoping the rules never shift, treat the label as a prompt to check the Cleanse screen. Because eligibility rules have changed across updates, the interface in your own copy of the game is always the most reliable reference — more reliable than any list of "keepable items" written before the last patch.

The KeepContraband Mod and Other Exceptions

On PC there is a mod called KeepContraband, published on Thunderstore, that alters the base-game restriction by making eligible Contraband available to Cleanse. That is modified gameplay, not a hidden option tucked away in the normal menus. If you have been searching for a way around the Contraband rule, this is the only documented route.

Two caveats worth knowing before you install anything. First, mods require a setup step — BepInEx has to be in place for a plugin like this to load. Second, multiplayer hosts can refuse modded players, so a mod that works in your solo sessions may lock you out of a friend's lobby. Compatibility with the current patch has not been confirmed, so treat the mod as an experiment rather than a guaranteed fix.

Console players should not expect a parallel option. Mods of this type are a PC workflow, and the PS5 release — which arrived on October 20, 2026 alongside the 1.0 update — follows the standard rules. Details on how Ouroboros behaves on PS5 are still thin, so open your own Cleanse screen to confirm what qualifies rather than assuming a PC player's result transfers.

Common Mistakes, Co-op, and PS5 Notes

Most failed attempts at Mycopunk how to keep corrupted items come down to a handful of repeatable errors. Fixing them costs nothing and saves entire runs of wasted effort.

Co-op adds a small layer of uncertainty. Cleanse and Ouroboros are described as game systems rather than solo- or co-op-specific features, but that does not guarantee every player in a session sees identical results. If you play with a crew, open the Cleanse screen yourself instead of assuming a teammate's outcome applies to your account. On PC, mods are one more reason to verify in your own game — a host running KeepContraband and a player without it are not looking at the same options.

There is also a strategic error buried in all of this: cleansing too much. A few well-chosen upgrades that fit your grid usually outperform a pile of mediocre ones that crowd it. An upgrade that was spectacular inside a run can be an awkward fit for a permanent layout with tighter space.

FAQ

Is there an official "corrupted" rarity I should be looking for? No. "Corrupted" is a search phrase, not a label the game uses. When you look up Mycopunk how to keep corrupted items, what you actually need to find is the upgrade's real rarity — Contraband, Oddity, or a standard rarity — and then check whether Cleanse lists it as eligible.

Can I keep Contraband without mods? Not in the base game. Contraband is Ouroboros-exclusive by design, so it stays inside the run. The only documented exception is the KeepContraband mod on PC, which adds eligible Contraband to the Cleanse pool. Hosts can refuse modded players, and compatibility with the current version has not been confirmed.

Do I have to pay again after cleansing an upgrade? No. Since update 1.6.6 on January 20, 2026, cleansed upgrades arrive already unlocked. Any guide that tells you to spend a second resource to unlock one is describing the older system and is now out of date.

Does the same Cleanse rule apply on PS5 and in co-op? Cleanse and Ouroboros are treated as shared game systems, but the safest approach is to confirm in your own game. PS5 players have no access to the PC mod scene, and in co-op the cleanest answer to Mycopunk how to keep corrupted items is to open your own Cleanse interface and check your own eligibility list.