Combat in Atomic Heart can be quite difficult at times. Enemies respawn incredibly fast, sometimes making it hard to escape the area you are in due to the infinite supply of robots. Ammo supply and a limited carry capacity are also going to be an obstacle that you need to get over when it comes to surviving.
This is a beginner’s guide, written from the point where I am about halfway, maybe a little more, through the game. Here are some of the most useful tips I have found playing the game and having made it this far. If you are finding combat too difficult, these tips will surely help you out.
Save Very Frequently
Atomic Heart does not have a very generous auto-save feature. If you do not save often, you will find yourself repeating a lot of content in the game when you die. You can save the game at any of the red telephones. These can be found in various locations. Above ground, they are found inside mushroom-style buildings. Very hard to miss and quite common.
Below ground, you will need to look out for these private rooms that have a white sign outside, similar to the picture below. Inside here, you will find a save phone and a vending machine to purchase upgrades and build new weapons.
Use Shok…Often
Shok is the electrical ability that you pick up early on in the game. Even in its default state, it is a very useful attack to use in combat. It will stun most enemies and does damage too. With some of the upgrades that you can purchase from the vending machine, you can make the shok ability quite powerful and highly useful in combat. Anything that does not require ammo is going to be useful.
Make Use Of Energy Weapons
As you may notice early on in the game, shotgun ammo is hard to come by. Energy weapons make use of your character’s energy storage, essentially allowing ammo from the energy that will recharge. Energy will recharge faster if you use melee attacks. There are also various different upgrades that you can purchase using neuropolymer that will speed up the recharge of the energy and its expenditure.
Check Your Stash For Supplies
If you are running low on ammo, healing supplies, or any other items in the game, chances are you have plenty of them back in your stash. If your inventory is full and you run out of space, items automatically get sent to your stash. You can find your stash back at any vending machine in a safe room. Transfer what you need to your character to make life easy.
Purchase Weapon Upgrades
The UI for upgrading weapons is not the best but learning to navigate it is very important if you want to make combat easier. There are lots of great upgrades that you can purchase that increase damage, ammo capacity, and various other benefits.
Don’t Stay In The Same Place Too Long
As you might have noticed, there are lots of little pods that release little helicopters that will repair any broken robots in the area. Thankfully, they do not repair the mustache robots, but they repair everything else. If you stay in the same place and start destroying everything, they will all end up getting repaired, faster than you can likely handle.
Once an enemy has been destroyed, there is nothing more you can loot from them. When they are repaired, you can’t loot them again. So there is no real reason to stick around and grind your way through these enemies over and over. Always aim to be ducking and diving onto the next mushroom building or save room.
Gather As Much Neuropolymer as Possible
Neuropolymer is essential to survival in this game. All of the main upgrades in the game for powers, your character, shok, and the energy storage are all going to need neuropolymer to upgrade. These upgrades are going to make surviving a lot easier. Never leave a stone unturned, never leave an enemy behind. Kill every robot you can in order to get a lot of Neuropolymer. Make sure to save often so you do not lose it.
The video guide below will help you out if you are needing some help in understanding how neuropolymer works and how to get more of it.
Lower The Difficulty
Maybe it is the coward’s way out but this game can be quite unfair at times when it comes to the challenge level. If you are finding it too hard and are just not having fun, lower the difficulty. Games are about having fun and the world in Atomic Heart is pretty awesome. Lower the difficulty and enjoy yourself.
