PEAK: How to Survive the GLOOM Biome and Reach The Citadel

The GLOOM is one of the two late-game biomes added to PEAK, sitting after the Alpine or Mesa and before The Citadel. Instead of a steep climb, it drops you into a wide sea of drowsy fog dotted with islands, and the real challenge is crossing it without falling asleep, getting yanked around by frogs, or being blown apart by a ghost. Get your route and your items right, and the biome is far less punishing than it first looks.

Quick answer: Only dive into the fog while facing the next island, and clear the sleep effect by resurfacing on rocks and trees or by using a Candlestick, Belltower, Faerie Lantern, Cure All, or Fortified Milk. Avoid frogs and iron spike fences, burn any ghost with a Candlestick or Belltower, and keep moving until you light the campfire that opens The Citadel.

Where the GLOOM sits and how you beat it

The GLOOM is a horizontal biome, so it cycles with the Caldera as the second-to-last stop before the summit. You barely climb here. Instead you travel across the map from island to island, dipping through the fog that fills the low ground the way lava fills the Caldera.

Reaching the far side and lighting the campfire opens the entrance to The Citadel. Every living Scout who lights it also earns the Wanderer Badge if they don’t already have it, so the campfire is both your exit and your confirmation that the biome is cleared.

The fog and the sleep effect

The fog is the biome’s signature hazard. You have to enter it to cross, but every second you spend inside builds up the sleep effect on your stamina bar, which lowers the maximum stamina you can hold. Visibility also drops sharply once you’re submerged, so you can lose your sense of direction quickly.

The good news is that the sleep effect fades fast once you leave the fog. Climb back up onto the rocks and trees above to surface, catch your bearings, and let your stamina recover before the next dive. You can find solid ground under the fog and walk on it once you drop low enough, which helps when you need to reposition.

Tip: Resurfacing is your cheapest reset. Before you ever spend an item, try popping out on a nearby ledge to shed the sleep effect for free.

Every GLOOM threat and how to handle it

Unlike the Roots or Mesa, the GLOOM has very few enemies that chase you. Most of the danger comes from the environment. Here is what to watch for and how to deal with each one.

Threat	What it does	How to counter it
The fog	Builds the sleep effect and cuts your visibility while you cross	Resurface on rocks and trees, or use a Candlestick, Belltower, Faerie Lantern, Cure All, or Fortified Milk
Ghost	Rushes toward you and explodes, flinging you back and stacking a heavy cold/freeze effect	Burn it with a Candlestick or Belltower when it gets close, then get clear of the blast
Frogs	Croak from swamp areas and drag you in with their tongue if you’re in line of sight, causing damage and a ragdoll	Avoid them entirely; they can’t be killed, so break line of sight
Spike (iron) fences	Found inside the fog; you stick to them and take constant damage if you try to move	Spot and steer around them; never try to climb over them

Burning ghosts

Listen for a whirring or approaching sound. The moment you hear it, turn to face the ghost. If it explodes on you it deals a strong cold effect and throws you far in the opposite direction. Hold up a lit Candlestick or trigger a Belltower as it closes in to burn it up. Doing so also unlocks the Exorcist badge.

How to Burn Up Ghosts & Get the Exorcist Badge in PEAK (2)

The last stretch before The Citadel is the hardest, and a ghost is likely to appear there. Test the waters before committing to a long crossing so you aren’t caught mid-fog with no cover.

Frogs and fences

Frogs hang around lily pads and water in the swampy patches, and you can hear exactly where they are from their directional croaking. If a frog has a clear line to you within its radius, it drags you in with its tongue, even from outside the fog, and usually dumps you at the bottom of the biome. It won’t kill you, but it wastes time and can fling you into a spike fence, so keep obstacles between you and any croaking.

Best items for the GLOOM

Climbing gear is mostly dead weight here. What you want are items that remove status effects, cover distance, or keep the fog off your stamina bar. Most of these come out of Luggage, while the strongest healers come from Ancient Idols and Ancient Luggage.

Item	Why it helps	Where to get it
Faerie Lantern	Heals all status effects, burns ghosts, and fully stops the sleep effect on your stamina bar	Ancient Idol / Ancient Luggage
Cure All	Instantly heals, restores hunger, and removes negative effects like sleep	Ancient Idol / Ancient Luggage
Candlestick	Removes the sleep effect and burns ghosts; stays lit for about 30 seconds	Luggage
Fortified Milk	Grants a short window of damage immunity, so the sleep effect can’t hurt you	Luggage
Rope Cannon / Rescue Claw	Pull yourself up to trees or across to another island without diving into the fog	Luggage
Glider / Parasol	Cross large horizontal gaps from high ground and glide over the fog	Luggage
Jetpack	Fly up out of the fog for a breather to avoid the sleep effect	Luggage
Energy Drink	Powers you across a big fog stretch, but stacks a lot of sleep, so use it carefully	Luggage

Crossing the GLOOM without losing your run

Line up your route before you dive. Stand on an island and face the next piece of land above the fog, then commit that direction to memory. Frogs and ghosts spin you around often, so having a heading in your head stops you from wandering blind.

Dive, cross to the next surface point, and climb out before the sleep effect maxes. Treat every island as a checkpoint where your stamina resets. If a stretch is too long to clear in one breath, split it across two shorter dives.

Use Belltowers as you go. They sit under the fog, often near crows, and show up as a set of sparkles when you look down from a high point. Silver Stone Scout miniatures on the map also point toward them. Interacting with a Belltower lights a fire that instantly clears the surrounding fog, giving you a safe pocket to catch your breath and mark where you’ve already been. Light five in a single expedition and you unlock the Bellringer badge.

Push through the final stretch with a Candlestick ready, since that’s where a ghost most often appears. Reach the far tower, light the campfire, and the entrance to The Citadel opens. That campfire also awards the Wanderer Badge to every living Scout who hasn’t earned it yet, which is your confirmation the GLOOM is done.

Keep the pattern simple. Aim, dive, surface, repeat, and lean on Belltowers and a Candlestick when the fog, frogs, or ghosts try to knock you off course. Do that and the GLOOM becomes a steady walk to The Citadel rather than the run-ender it appears to be on your first visit.