Brought up on mascot platformers and role-playing games from Japan, Ryan has been passionate about gaming for over two decades and has been writing about games for half as long.
Starting on day four of Pathologic 3, you’ll take on the crucial role of diagnosing patients suffering from intercurrent diseases – illnesses that slow the deadly Sand Pest. Accurate diagnoses are essential: each correct identification helps unlock a vaccine for the following day, dramatically reducing infection rates and allowing you to progress further into the game.
We’ll break down the diagnostic process step-by-step, explaining how to gather symptoms, interpret biological samples, and conduct field investigations. We’ve also included a complete table of patient diagnoses for those who need assistance or prefer to focus on other aspects of the game.
This is a guide-in-progress – we’ll update this with the rest of the patients as we make our way through the end of the game!
How To Diagnose Patients
To successfully identify diseases:
- Start with thorough symptom gathering. Examine each patient carefully by checking their dialogue options, inspecting their portrait for visible symptoms like facial discolouration or lesions, and conducting bodily examinations. Once you’ve identified potential symptoms and selected them in your casebook, discuss each one with the patient – any symptoms that unlock additional dialogue options are confirmed indicators worth noting.
- Narrow down the possibilities. After gathering all available symptoms, cross-reference them against known diseases. If only one disease matches your symptom list, you’ve likely found your answer, but often you’ll be forced to pick between a few.
- Use biological samples for ambiguous cases. When two diseases share similar symptom profiles, biological sampling becomes essential. The key is identifying which organ systems differ between the suspected diseases. Each disease’s info panel will show you with organs are infected when the patient has it, and which organs are healthy.
- Follow investigation prompts beyond the hospital. Some diagnoses require gathering evidence outside clinical examination. Your patient’s dialogue will hint when this is necessary, and a marker will appear on your map indicating where to investigate. These field investigations can reveal additional symptoms or help you eliminate false leads.
All Patient Diagnoses
The table below lists every patient in the game, along with their diagnosis. Only use this if you’re struggling or don’t find this part of the game engaging!
|
Day 4 |
|
|---|---|
|
Luta |
Anemic Vasculopathy |
|
Finch |
Burning Fever |
|
Filat |
Nephropathia epidemica |
|
Day 5 |
|
|
Bobok |
Burning Fever |
|
Oktay |
Stoneskin |
|
Sharp |
Consumption |
|
Day 6 |
|
|
Hardman |
Ink Syndrome |
|
Gannet |
Bradycardia |
|
Grouse |
Steppe Gastrodermal Fever |
|
Burdock |
Influenza |
|
Day 7 |
|
|
Tuutei |
Ink Syndrome |
|
Martin |
Pulmomucous Syndrome |
|
Emilia |
Bonkowski’s Fever |
Pathologic 3: Beginner Tips
Pathologic 3 has a brutal host of mechanics to wrap your head around. Here are some tips for newbies to the series.
