Plague Inc. Nano-Virus Normal Guide – Tips on How to Complete!

Nano-Virus is an interesting type of plague in Plague Inc., as you begin a game with humanity immediately being aware of it and working double-time to “cure” it. We say “cure”, as it’s more of a kill-code that deactivates the virus.

A Nano-Virus is a man-made form of plague that looks like a microscopic robot and can replicate itself. It shares many of the same symptoms and transmissions as the regular virus, so the actual gameplay doesn’t change too much, but your strategy will absolutely have to.

And that’s where we come in. We’ve put together a recommended strategy, tips, and more below that will help you master this plague type on Normal difficulty.

What is a Nano-Virus?

A Nano-Virus is an artificially created microscopic robot that has the ability to replicate itself inside its host’s body. Aside from that, it basically functions like any other virus, with plenty of the same symptoms and transmissions making an appearance.

A Nano-Virus can’t be cured though. Instead, you have to broadcast a kill-code, which will force all of the Nano-Viruses to shut down. This doesn’t change anything in gameplay terms though.

How Does the Nano-Virus Differ in Terms of Gameplay?

Quite considerably, actually. While with most of the plague types in Plague Inc. you’ll want to fly under the radar until you’ve infected everyone, you don’t have that choice here. From the moment the game starts, humanity is already aware of the Nano-Virus and will actively work on a cure, or kill-code.

That means that time is of the essence with this play style. While we’ll get into a general strategy in more depth later, your early game goal is very different. Sure, you’ll still prioritize infecting as much of the population as possible, but you’ll also want to slow development of the cure. Both are as important as each other at this point.

Nano-Virus Strategy

We managed to beat Nano-Virus on Normal on our first attempt. It was messy, and took us longer than we’d have liked, but it’s not overly challenging. We thought that stalling the cure would pose the biggest challenge but it’s actually infecting every country in time.

Here’s the strategy that worked for us. Given the random nature of Plague Inc., we won’t simply give you a bunch of steps to follow that will guarantee victory, but we will provide you with the information you need to succeed.

1. Infect the world’s population. Get Air 1 and 2, Water 1 and 2, Extreme Bioaerosol, Cold/Heat Resistance 1 and 2 (get the opposite of the temperature of the country you started in) and Drug Resistance 1 and 2.
2. Slow down the cure. Get Code Fragment Interception and Code Segment Interception as early as possible in the game to severely slow down the cure. As soon as the cure reaches 50%, get Radical Elements Stabilized then get Encryption Breached when it tops back up to 50%. Ignore Broadcast Interceptor Overload and Replication Factory Overload for now.
3. Once the world is completely infected, get Total Organ Failure by following any path of the Symptoms tree through the tiers. We prefer Insomnia, as it’s free and also slows down cure research.
4. Watch as the world burns. Spend your remaining DNA points on Genetic Reshuffle 1, 2, and 3 to slow down the cure. You can also speed up the kill rate by grabbing Hemorrhagic Shock and Necrosis. At this point though, humanity should be beyond help.

General Nano-Virus Tips

We’re just going to quickly fill in the gaps in our strategy to provide a few tips that didn’t make it into our strategy.

• You can grab Insomnia before you choose your starting country. It’s free and can slightly slow down cure research. Every little helps.
• Devolve any lethal traits that you get through mutation immediately, as these can lead to countries closing their borders. Given the difficulty of infecting the planet with this type of plague, you don’t want to make life harder for yourself. It’s not the end of the world though, as you can spend DNA points on further transmissions to mitigate this issue somewhat.
• It doesn’t matter where you start, though you do need to remember the temperature of the country. It’s vital that you get resistance to the opposite temperature or you’ll struggle to infect the entire planet.
• Broadcast Interceptor Overload and Replication Factory Overload are completely unnecessary on Normal, so you can save your DNA Points. They’re basically panic buttons that slightly punish you for using them. You’re best off not needing to.
• You will have to exercise some patience and restraint on this mode – particularly when it comes to DNA points. Provided you follow our strategy above, and don’t spend them on stuff you don’t need, you should have plenty left over once the world starts burning. The key is not to overspend initially, as you’re going to need over 50 at least to get Total Organ Failure once the planet is fully infected.
• As in our other guides, you can devolve all Transmissions, Heat/Cold Resistance, and Drug Resistance as soon as the entire world is infected, freeing up plenty of points to spend on Symptoms. Never devolve Code Fragment Interception or Radical Elements Stabilized Tiers 1 and 2 though, as you still need cure progress to remain slow.
• These tips are not for a speed mode, which requires a totally different strategy. Our guide is designed to avoid risk and to help you complete Normal difficulty with ease.