MIO: Memories in Orbit - Complete Ability & Modifier Guide for 100%

Mastering MIO: Memories in Orbit requires more than just quick reflexes - it demands a deep understanding of its layered ability and modifier systems. This guide breaks down every essential movement skill, combat utility, and game-changing upgrade, providing the exact routes and synergies you need to conquer the Vessel and unlock every trophy. ## Essential Movement Abilities (Strange Tube Upgrades) ### Hairpin (Grappling Hook) - Early Game Essential This is your bread and butter. The Hairpin lets you latch onto flying enemies or dedicated grapple points, swinging across gaps and repositioning in a flash. It's essential for early traversal, and you'll want it ASAP. To obtain the Hairpin, start at the Nexus, ascend to Level 1 (the Spine), navigate downward, defeat the boss Egis, and then interact with a Strange Tube located in the area where Samsk provides the upgrade. ### Striders (Wall Climb) - Spider-like Movement If you thought wall-jumping was cool, Striders let you crawl on ceilings like a spider, which means you can bypass hazards like saw blades and grates entirely. The Tube is located southeast of Metropolis and southwest of the Dwellings, sitting next to the Letter from Tomo and a Kinetic Thrust mod. You'll need to interact with the Strange Tube and complete its tutorial to actually obtain the ability, so don't just run past it. ### Dodge - Invincibility Frames Here's a game-changer for boss fights. The Dodge ability gives you a brief invulnerability window when timed perfectly - it's basically a parry without the sword. This is your best friend for no-damage runs and negating those lightning-fast attacks you can't otherwise avoid. The Tube sits directly in front of the locked door leading into the Severed Spine. Unfortunately, you can't just walk up and take it; you'll need the Aviaries Passepartout from the Feral Undergrowth area first. ### Harvester - Aerial Combo Enabler Want to stay airborne forever? The Harvester refills your stamina and resets your jumps when you strike purple flowers or enemies mid-air, which enables infinite aerial chain combos. You'll find this Tube right underneath the Dodge Tube, but there's a catch: you have to defeat the CROW boss first. Once that's done, exit west and follow the path down to another Samsk Tube to claim it. ### Sail (Glide) - Air Control The Sail ability gives you controlled air gliding, letting you float down safely, cross massive gaps, or stick perfect landings after huge jumps. It's essential for vertical exploration and makes the whole map feel more connected. Head to the Bell Tower area and climb to the top using Hairpin grapples. The Strange Tube is positioned on the left side near the top, not at the absolute top where the Bell Tower Visitor Pass is found. ### Slingshot - Long Distance Traversal Think of Slingshot as an alternative to the Hairpin. It pulls you to distant points or yanks enemies toward you, which opens up different traversal options and combat setups. The Tube is located right above the Network Gate inside the Vaults area. It's completely optional, but worth grabbing if you're exploring every corner. ### Flowing Steps - Water Walking (True Ending) Flowing Steps lets you walk and climb on water surfaces, which isn't just cool - it unlocks secret paths in the Crucible and is required for the true ending. This one's for the completionists. The ability is obtained after reaching the Crucible and completing two platforming gauntlets (Crystallisation Process and Purified Catalyst Status) to retrieve data sets, then speaking with Tomo. It's optional for a standard playthrough, but you can't hit 100% without it. ## Combat & Utility Abilities (Missing from Competitors) ### Orb Projectiles - Ranged Attacks Orb Projectiles are your bread-and-butter ranged attacks, launching energy orbs that chew through your energy bar. Luckily, it recharges the moment you touch ground, so you're never completely helpless, and you can aim in all 8 directions - including diagonals - which means no enemy is safe from a well-placed shot. ### Decoy Clone - Distraction Tactics Decoy Clone is exactly what it sounds like: it spawns phantom copies that completely throw off enemy targeting. While they're busy swinging at your ghost, you can reposition and strike from angles they won't see coming. ### Downward Strike - Mobility Reset Downward Strike won't hurt anyone, but it's your best friend for getting around. This aerial bounce move resets your double jump mid-air, which means you can chain jumps together for those brutal extended platforming sequences. It's all about momentum. ### Double Jump - Default Movement Double Jump is yours from minute one, and it's more powerful than it looks. Every time you smack an enemy mid-air, it resets, which means you can stay airborne forever if you keep landing hits. That's how you pull off those nasty infinite air combos. ## Modifier System Overview (42 Total Upgrades) ### What Are Modifiers? - Enhancement System Modifiers are the real game-changers in MIO: Memories in Orbit. These powerful attachments hook onto your setup and grant all sorts of effects, like slapping a health bar display on enemies, cranking your defense stat, or completely flipping how your special moves work. Some can be purchased directly, but most are scattered across the world - which means you'll need to explore every corner if you want them all. ### Modifier Categories & Effects The 42 upgrades split into three buckets, and each one tweaks your experience differently. Combat Enhancements are your damage and defense buffs - the stuff that keeps you alive when things get messy, plus some special attack abilities that can shift your whole playstyle. Utility Modifiers handle quality-of-life perks like movement speed tweaks and those enemy health bars we mentioned. Then you've got Exploration Aids, which are cheat codes for pathfinding: scanners that reveal secrets and tools that highlight hidden passages. Mix these together and you'll stumble into some nasty synergies. ### How to Find All 42 Modifiers Here's the good news: none of the 42 Modifiers are missable. You can grab every single one after you roll credits, which means you don't need to stress about missing something during your first run. That said, many are tucked into brutal locations - ceiling corners you can't reach without late-game abilities, chests hidden behind obscure wall-jump sequences, and spots that require specific movement upgrades to access. If you're hunting for that Full Modded trophy, you'll need to revisit old zones with your complete moveset and poke around everywhere. ## Progression & Trophy Guide ### Optimal Ability Collection Route The path to the Fully Upgraded trophy is pretty straightforward if you follow the game's natural order - you'll need all seven abilities from Strange Tubes anyway, so you might as well grab them efficiently. Your first upgrade is Hairpin, which you get right after beating Egis, and you just interact with the tube that spawns. That Hairpin isn't just a damage boost; it's your key to reaching the next upgrade, Harvester. You'll climb to the top of the area using your new tool, take down Boss Crow, then look left in his arena for the Strange Tube. Now things get a little more involved. To unlock Slingshot, you'll first need Striders (which you'll pick up earlier) to pass through those nasty saw blades. Once you're through, defeat the large enemy waiting on the other side, and the Strange Tube is yours. The final ability is Flowing Steps, but you won't even see this until you reach Crucible. You'll need to collect both Crucible Reports first, then have a chat with Tomo and Samsk to unlock it. ### Fully Upgraded Trophy Requirements So what actually triggers the trophy? The Fully Upgraded achievement pops once you've hit all seven Strange Tubes and collected Hairpin, Harvester, Dodge, Sail, Striders, Slingshot, and Flowing Steps. Here's the weird part: Flowing Steps is technically optional for the trophy - you only need it if you're going for the True Ending. But honestly, most players grab it anyway since you're already at the endgame. ### Full Modded Trophy Strategy For the completionists out there, the Full Modded trophy means finding all 42 modifiers. The good news? None are missable; you can finish the story and clean these up later with zero stress. Your first modifier, Self-Awareness, is handed to you at the start, which is always nice. Early on, you can snag Analyser from RAD by approaching a specific door from the left - just watch for the interaction prompt. With 42 modifiers scattered everywhere, I'd seriously recommend using an interactive map. Gamerant has a full one that shows every location, which saves hours of blind searching and backtracking. ## Advanced Tips & Synergies ### Movement Ability Combos Once you've got a few abilities under your belt, you'll start noticing how they can chain together in ways the tutorials don't spell out. The Hairpin Grapple is your best friend for swinging across gaps, but here's the trick you won't find in the basic tooltips - activate Glide mid-swing, and you'll carry that momentum way further than either ability alone would take you. This combo alone opens up half the hidden platforms in the game. Then there's Striders, which lets you crawl on walls and ceilings to avoid hazards like those annoying saw blades in the factory zones. Combine it with a double jump or Glide, and you can reach vertical areas that seem impossible at first. But the real game-changer is the triple combo: Grapple to a high point, immediately switch to Striders to scale a nearby wall, then Glide to a distant platform. It's not just flashy; it's the most efficient way to traverse vertical zones like Foundations of Metropolis. Oh, and if you grab the Harvester ability, it resets your jumps mid-air. That means infinite combos as long as you time it right - you can literally stay airborne forever once you get the rhythm down. ### Best Modifier Builds Your modifier setup can completely change how you play, so you'll want to match it to your style instead of just slapping on whatever you find. For tank builds, stack Health Boost, Shield, and Armor. The Shield absorbs damage before your health even takes a hit, and Armor reduces what's left over. Throw in Regeneration and you'll be practically unkillable, with health ticking back up between fights. For damage dealers, go all-in on Attack Power, Critical Hit, and Attack Speed. The Critical Hit modifier especially shines when you've got fast weapons, and Damage Amplification just makes everything hit harder, period. For explorers, even if you're running a combat build, slotting one Regeneration modifier can save your life during long boss fights or when you're far from save points. Don't sleep on it. ### Using Interactive Maps for Completion Here's something I wish I'd known from hour one: grab an interactive map immediately. The Vessel's layout is a nightmare to memorize, and you'll waste hours backtracking through identical corridors if you don't. Gamer Guides has the most comprehensive one - 1462 markers across 90 categories. We're talking every key, candle, fragmented serial number, modifier, ability, and fast travel point. It's basically a completionist's bible. The Steam Community map is solid too, especially if you're just trying to grab abilities and modifiers you missed on your first pass. Both maps highlight fast travel points, which is huge because unlocking those early makes the entire game less frustrating. Without a map, you're wandering aimlessly. With one, you're efficiently hitting every corner and finding treasures you'd never spot otherwise. Trust me, it's worth having open on your second monitor or phone. With the right abilities chained together and a modifier build tailored to your playstyle, you can transform from a struggling explorer into an unstoppable force. Use the provided collection routes and interactive maps to efficiently claim every upgrade, and you'll be fully equipped to achieve 100% completion.