Things to Do First - Atomfall Guide - IGN

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Atomfall presents vast regions for you to explore, and very little in the way of direct guidance or tips. As such, we’ve compiled a list of things we think are important to tackle as soon as possible to make your journey through the Quarantine Zone as smooth as you can.

This page acts as a comprehensive breakdown of several Things You Need to Do First in Atomfall, including how and where to do them.

Find a Metal Detector ASAP

There are a couple of different ways you can get your hands on a Metal Detector within the first half hour of the game. You’ll receive a pointer to go and speak with Molly as you go down the hill for the first time into Slatten Dale. You’ll also receive suggestions to visit traders, but nothing actively requires you to do so.

As such, it might be easy to overlook Molly (or other traders in general) for multiple hours. If you have a few things to trade, you can meet with Molly, as she has some incredibly useful items including the Torch and, more importantly, the Metal Detector which you can use as you explore to uncover Lunch Boxes and Caches which will provide additional (and often rare) resources and items. This in turn will allow you to craft items, and upgrade your equipment far easier.

If you don’t quite have the resources to create a good trade with Molly, you can also find a Metal Detector for free early on in Slatten Dale. Head to the small body of water by the Water Wheels in eastern Slatten Dale and you’ll find a corpse on the rocks by the waters edge.

Focus on Melee First

Depending on which difficulty you’re playing on and how frugal you’re wanting to be, it’s likely a good idea to conserve any and all ammunition you obtain to build up your reserves. You can only carry so much ammunition at a time, so if you’re nearly full (which you can see on the Backpack menu), feel free to fire a few shots in any larger fights you get into. Otherwise melee weapons are far more abundant and, if you’re careful, can be used far more stealthily than a gun.

Avoid Fights & Scare Enemies

Combat isn’t something you should be actively pursuing throughout your playthrough, as you can’t take many hits and most areas will have multiple enemies engaging with you at any one time and resources like ammunition can become scarce. Use tall grass to hide from enemies, let patrols pass you by, and if possible always back away from any danger before they become fully alert and hostile.

If you can’t avoid crossing paths with an opponent however, it doesn’t by default have to end in bloodshed. If you aim a gun at an enemy who isn’t wielding one of their own, there’s a chance that you’ll actually scare them and force them to retreat or surrender. This is effective especially if you’re low, or fully out, of ammunition, and can serve as a hail mary bluff to get you out of sticky situations.

Keep an Eye Out for Pneumatic Tubes

Dotted around various POI’s in the Quarantine Zone you’ll find Pneumatic Dispatch Tubes. Whenever you see one, you’ll almost always want to make use of it.

Your inventory space in Atomfall is remarkably limited, and Pneumatic Dispatch Tubes enable you to deposit up to 100 items into storage, freeing up space for you to collect more consumables and weapons as you explore.

Conveniently, all Pneumatic Tubes are connected so you’ll be able to access all your stored items from any Pneumatic Dispatch Tube, regardless of which one you used to store which items.

Pay Attention to Weapon Qualities

Whether you find weapons lying around or loot them from enemies you've defeated, you'll want to keep an eye on what quality each weapon is. There are 3 weapon qualities in Atomfall, and are as follows:

RustyStockPristine

Naturally, higher quality weapons deal more damage. But also you'll be able to unlock a skill that lets you upgrade weapons manually - the catch being that you'll need duplicates of weapons that you're wanting to upgrade, and they'll need to be the same rarity.

As such, be sure to hold onto an extra copy of a gun you love so you can make it even better later down the line. Be sure to use the Pneumatic Tubes mentioned above to keep them out of your inventory until you need them! For full details on how to improve your arsenal, check out our How to Upgrade Your Weapons page!

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