1. One with the Horde

You are no longer merely a survivor; you are an extension of the Sculk Horde. You possess all their horrifying advantages, but you must also bear their weaknesses.

XP is your Essence: Your body rejects normal food. Instead, everything you do—from regenerating health to casting abilities—is fueled directly by your Experience (XP) bar.
Biological Harvesting: Your bare hands have mutated, allowing you to quickly tear through infected terrain. Mining these blocks yields Experience Essence to sustain you. Furthermore, you can extract and consume Resin directly from infected beehives.
Acoustic Camouflage: To the horde, you are one of their own. Sculk Sensors no longer react to your presence, granting you near-perfect stealth against them and the Warden.
Horde Synergy: All Horde Support Units will now recognize you as their vanguard, applying dynamic buffs to you based on their unique abilities.
Biomass Recycling: By holding Shift + RMB on an infected mob, you can violently deconstruct them back into base components and items.
AND YES: YOU CAN RIDE AND FLY ON SCULK PHANTOMS!!

2. The Price of Ascension

Your transformation is powerful, but the natural world rejects your new form.

Corrosive Flesh: The acidic nature of your hands rapidly erodes normal tools. Using a standard shield is almost impossible, as your touch will destroy its durability in moments.
Vulnerability to Light: The Purity effect now burns you just as it burns regular Sculk mobs.
Purifier's Wrath: Infestation Purifiers will now target you with debilitating negative effects. You are too mutated to simply disable them by hand—you must physically destroy them.
An Outcast: The world fears you. Villagers will tremble and refuse to trade, peaceful animals will flee, and defenders like Iron Golems will attack you on sight.
Restless Existence: You can no longer sleep or set your spawn on a regular bed. To anchor yourself to the world, you must use a Sculk Summoner or the newly introduced Soul Anchor.
…And much more to discover.

3. The Voice in Your Head

You are directly linked to the Gravemind. It sees through your eyes and evaluates your worth. Serve it well, and it will reward you.

The Overseer: The Gravemind is your constant companion. It will dynamically comment on your actions, guide you through difficult moments, and shape your gameplay.
Seek Answers: You can commune with the Gravemind, asking it specific questions to uncover hidden aspects of the gameplay and the dark lore of the infection.
Evolution Points: By completing the Gravemind's tasks, you earn Evolution Points. Use them to permanently mutate and upgrade your body, unlock the ability to command Horde squads, or order the Gravemind to scout territories.
Faith Points: Show your devotion to earn Faith Points, which can be spent to call down direct, immediate assistance from the Gravemind varying in scale and devastation.

4. Infested Engineering & Rituals

Your infected mind can now comprehend and craft structures that sanity would reject.

The Soul Anchor: Craft this new block to tether your soul to the physical realm. By right-clicking it, you can set your spawn point absolutely anywhere (even in the Nether!). It must be fueled by Crying Souls to function.
Node Manifestation: By holding a Chunk of Brain and sacrificing a massive amount of your own Experience, you can birth an empty Sculk Node frame. Place it within a Soul Harvester to fully power it into a functional Node.
The Biomass Raid: Through the Gravemind's quests, you will obtain the Sculk Beacon. Place it and feed it a Mycelium Sprout to initiate an enrichment process. Prepare for a brutal defensive battle! If you survive the siege, the beacon will yield Rich Biomass, a crucial material for your ultimate physical evolutions.