https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2099078187

Specific quality of life buttons to mention: ALT (highlight objects/corpses to loot), RMB to move the map screen without walking to the spot, and Spacebar for Skip Turn in combat.

Thanks HaltFingal (https://imgur.com/gallery/jZQ8e) for the image.

These are all the default controls, and with recent versions you can customize the controls however you want, so this image is simply here to show you what all the buttons do from the start.

Unlike other RPGs, ATOM takes a different approach to handle its difficulty options. Most games offer tiers of options that scale the challenge by percentages either from a baseline difficulty at normal, or scale the difficulty down from the hardest mode. Neither case applies to ATOM because the game is consistently challenging while the difficulty system makes it more or less inconsistent.

In general, there are no noticable differences to how you play across all difficulties. In theory, this results in the world offering the same level of challenge no matter what setting you choose; in practice, however, you will play more conservatively on harder modes. XP rewards, the number of ability points per level, and the chance to encounter harder ambushes are the only noticable changes between each difficulty level, so playing on Easy doesn't really make the game any easier; it makes the game give you the most rewards. The only additional challenge is the Survivalist setting that adds permadeath into the equation with the Expert settings.

What makes the game truly more or less difficult is how familiar you are with the world as the non-linear nature of the game--similar to Fallout 1 without the Water Chip timer--determines how much hardship you will face. Once you know where to go, what you can use and what you can do, the game's difficulty will balance itself out to feel reasonably fair (around Level 6/7).


One feature added from v1.0 is the addition of outfits. These options are purely cosmetic as they don't have any major impact on the game; however, one of these options, Veteran, gives the player a few early-game advantages. Unless you bought the game during Early Access--if you did buy it beforehand but didn't play it, you can message the developers for a code--then the Veteran outfit is unavailable.

The benefits of this package include the ATOM tags (+9 Speechcraft), the ATOM beret (+1 Strength) and the Lenin handknife. You may be surprised to learn that from these offerings it's the handknife that offers any advantage; the 2 AP cost per attack can give you between three to five attacks per turn. It's not upgradable nor does it deal enough damage to break the difficulty. The only reason I've written this section out is to calm any concerns that if you do not have this outfit you will be at any gameplay disadvantage compared to other players. Really, the only benefit you get with this outfit is to look fabulous in these black, snazzy threads.


Similar to Grim Dawn, these Supporter/Loyalists Packs give you items or goodies you don't need to enjoy the rest of the experience. You have to go pick these in-game items up from the marked location on the helicopter crash-site. There aren't any quests or lore associated with the location, so there are no threats or any other incentive other than the new items themselves.

At the crash-site, you can find one Kikimora camo suit and an NKVD knife. (Also, you may find rope at the location if you’re having trouble obtaining one during the early-game.) The new weapon is essentially a better version of the Leningrad knife that Early Access backers got as a reward, and the real value of that weapon isn’t its damage values but its low AP cost. The Kikimora camo suit is a little more interesting since there are few items that boosts your stealth stat, and this outfit, which you equip on your face not your body like armor, grants you an additional fifty points to your stealth stat.

You could consider the camo suit overpowered, but if stealth played a more important role to the game, I would find its inclusion questionable. For lone-wolf players (or ones who play with the modded mutant dog companion for loners,) I imagine this outfit will be a blessing. Overall, it’s some new threads and a decent melee weapon for the early-game that you are paying for if you want the in-game items.

Somewhat related to this section is the game's overall difficulty, which I think is due in large part to how much damage you are truly inflicting after the penentration is calculated. Unlike Fallout 1/2 where ammo applies a flat-rate of penetration for standard and Armor Piercing (AP) rounds, ammo in ATOM has a wider range of penetration rates depending on the caliber and the quality of the gun. For example, a standard Zip Gun may deal 2 - 7 damage whereas a quality Zip Gun can deal 7 - 14 damage; in addition, pellets have 10 - 17% penetration, small handmade rounds deal 20 - 25% penetration, and heavy handmade rouds deal in 30 - 40% penetration. This calculation comes before including any armor resistance (or lack thereof), which can be affected by the Aimed Shots system.

Having played around with the Aimed Shots system only scarcely in Fallout and in ATOM, and after reading many posts on the topic, there are three advantages to using aimed shots. The first advantage is one you would not realize at first; you can bypass damage reduction penalties due to armor if you target unarmored areas. Second, there are additional effects from critical chances depending on the body part you target as well as certain weapons like scoped rifles that get damage bonuses. Finally, the extra AP cost results in sligthly better chances to hit for critical damage. Whether these bonuses are worth it depends on the player's build, critical chances to hit (although each area gets a bonus chance when aiming) and the given situation.

-50% to hit, +25% to critically hit and to stun for one turn.

-75% to hit, +25% to critically hit and to blind (enemy has 0% chance to hit) for two turns..

-25% to hit, +25% to critically hit and to cause bleeding (-10% HP) for three turns.

-25% to hit, +25% to critically hit and to cripple (-25% to hit) for two turns.

-25% to hit, +25% to critically hit and to slow enemies down (2 AP per square) for three turns.
Another major oversight people often overlook is the Damage Threshold/Resistance system and the option to use cover by lines of sight. In the current build, you should always manage Dodge (movement armor), Damage Threshold/Resistance and lines of sight when surrounded. If you can pop in-and-out behind cover, then use that to your advantage. Calling this style of gameplay a more "realistic" take on Fallout 1 and 2 would be incorrect, but if you use common sense then it makes some sense that standing out in the open is the quickest way to get killed; however, sometimes, it's the only move you can make as you're spawned into situations where cover is not easy to reach, and moving will lower your odds to avoid taking damage. This situation requires other strategies to win.

In these situations where you cannot avoid taking damage, the best solution is to play conservatively. You will amass so many healing items, food or medical supplies, and you should use them to your advantage. Sometimes the smartest move is to pop a few shots, then stand in-front of your companions to direct enemy fire. Other notable tactics to use are throwing grenades (even training grenades) to stun your enemies, and coordinating your attacks to pick off the biggest threats. Always target assault riflemen first as they will shred through most armor. (Also, be careful what equipment you give your companions, as they tend to throw explosives at the worst of times.) Finally, remember that you can heal yourself, reload and equip items at the same time when you open your inventory, but your companions cannot heal themselves on their own.

Between the Early Access version (before Peregon) and V1.0, there are no notable changes to the stats system outside of the new list of distinctions and how Dodge (Armor Class) works. Dodge now subtracts your total chance to avoid damage by the number of spaces you move, and the numbers seem slightly higher without armor. This rest of this section is untouched and the information can be used in the current release.

As someone who has played Fallout 1/2 within the past month, the character sheet of ATOM is very similar to the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats while deviating in very important ways. This section will explain each stat in regard to how it affects your character build (stats, skills, etc.) as well as the manner it affects your equipment.

• S (Strength) - The primary stat that affects equipment load, weapon requirements for the best handling, melee damage, and hit points (to a lesser degree than Endurance). Also affects melee and unarmed skills.
  
• P (Perception) -Primarily a stat to boost accuracy of ranged weapons, perception also provides extra dialogue options, distance from enemies in random encounters, and Sequence to attack. Doctor, First Aid, Lockpick and Traps are its associated skills.
  
• E (Endurance) - Physical resistance and HP stat, which provides bonuses to hit points, healing rate, poison resistance, and radiation resistance. Outdoorsman is the only skill it will benefit.
  
• C (Charisma) - Depending on the game, Fallout 1 only used this stat to boost Bartering and Speech, not the number of companions as with Fallout 2. Generally a worthless stat as you could boost speech and bartering by other means.
  
• I (Intelligence) - The most important stat when it comes to dialogue options and the number of skill points provided when leveling up. It also affects Doctor, First Aid, Outdoorsman, Repair and Science.
  
• A (Agility) - Out of all the SPECIAL stats, Agility will determine how you will play because it will determine the number of action points you have each round as well as the amount of natural armor you have (Armor Class, AC). This stat affects Big Guns, Energy Weapons, Lockpick, Melee Weapons, Small Guns, Sneak, Steal, Throwing, Traps and Unarmed.
  
• L (Luck) - As the name would suggest, this stat was primarily an extra challenge sort of stat as it boosted your critical chances of the dice-rolls as well as the gambling skill. People only used this stat if they wanted to get the most powerful weapon.

In order to highlight the major differences, I will draw attention to the deviations in bold like the stat names as I describe their effects in order of appearance. For the most part, these stats remain the same if you have played the classic Fallouts. After providing all the major details, I will mention other changes that couldn't be tied solely to one stat.

• Strength - Largely the same as in Fallout, Strength determines important factors such as Carry Weight as well as base Melee Damage, and it also affects minor skills like Rifles/Shotguns, Throwing Weapons, and Martial Arts. Similar to Fallout, guns and certain types of weapons require strength requirements to use without aim penalties. It also says it affects Subterfuge, which is something I don’t know what that is—Intimidation when Strength is a dialogue option?
  
• Endurance - Endurance is also largely unchanged as it provides hit points, resistances to toxins and radiation, but it also gives skills like Survival (Outdoorsman) a bonus and it helps regenerate lost health.
  
• Dexterity - This stat is analogous to the importance of Agility as it determines the number of Action Points per turn as well as the Armor Class rating to avoid attacks. Action points increases by one for every two points of Dexterity; Armor Class increases by one for every point invested. However, this stat also impacts lockpicking, sneak, all weapon types, the sequence in fights, and the accuracy of melee weapons (it also determines weapon requirements for max accuracy such as the crowbar with Dex 7.)
  
• Intellect - Intellect is useful for extra dialogue options, though if it’s only for Intel checks it’s not specified; this stat also provides the number of skill points per level along with improving First Aid, Tinkering (Crafting), Technology (Repair), Speech, Barter, and Survival.
  
• Attention - Formerly thought of as Perception, Attention is a stat used to spot objects, context clues in dialogue (and some dialogue options) as well as the primary stat to determine range weapon accuracy. Attention affects all guns, not Throwing or Melee weapons, Tinkering, Lockpicking and First Aid.
  
• Personality - Personality is essentially your Charisma stat from Fallout 1 as it primarily serves to boost your speech skills, but it also states it affects how people of the Wasteland view you—it’s not clear if that’s flavor text or a hidden dice-roll/attitude check.
  
• Luck - Lastly there is Luck, which is exactly the same in practice as in Fallout; it affects the Gambling stat as well as the dice-rolls for critical chances, up to 12% critical hits. It may also affect the caravan venders as the loot as my first character took a long time to find guns with low luck.

As previously mentioned, weapon requirements are now split between Strength and Dexterity, which usually decides strength in favor of guns and dexterity for melee weapons. (Strength checks can also be made with companions if you are too weak to do it yourself.) In addition to this subtle change, ALL stats outside of Luck have dialogue options or roles in conversation, so whatever build you make will affect conversations. You also will have 40 points for the character stats from the start that can range between 1 – 11 and 20 points for skills, so you can maximize one stat if you wish.

These changes make builds far more varied in ATOM with reasonable consequences unlike the gameplay restrictions of Fallout. In the next two sections, we'll look at their distinctions and five different builds.

In this section, I will list the available Distinctions (Traits) in ATOM as well as a summary as to how useful or harmful they are in the current build (0.7b). In general, most stats can be beneficial to both sexes with the exception of one, Sex Appeal, as female sexes truly do have the upper hand in this world with a majority of NPCs being male characters.

v1.0 Distinctions

If you use this distinction, then you will want to get Fidel ASAP for the early-game as you will suffer a significant aim penality for using most weapons. It wouldn't be too difficult to manage; however, the loss of Sequence would lead to more problems in the long-run unless you address it. Combined with Sex Appeal for female characters, and you will pretty much smooth talk your way through most of the game.


Honestly, this distinction makes no sense; it's not so much that the penalties are too great but that the benefits are too small, especially the hunger meter as you will want to eat to regain health.


Similar to the Diplomat, this distinction will give you some benefit as a smooth-talker as well as a slight benefit to range weapons. You probably shouldn't take both distinctions as multiple strength penalties(and lower Carry Weight) will make inventory management excessive, so choose one or the other if you desire. The problems with a lower Sequence will also require the same solution.


By far the worst option out of the whole lot, before and after the patch, as the ability to skin animals without a knife is worthless. You can easily get the ability to skin animals with a knife in the first town, and there's no penalty using a rusty blade. The animal damage bonus is nice, but not worth the personality and heavy carry weight penalties.


Of the combat related choices, this one is the most useful even if you decide to use melee weapons; it penalizes hand-to-hand combat while giving ALL guns a great bonus. The slight health loss can be ignored or balanced with your stats.


After a few updates, this trait now works as intended, but is it really worth it? Gambling is the only stat tied to your level in Luck, so getting a plus 3 bonus to Luck while suffering a massive loss in the related skill makes this trait self-defeating when you can easily make a Luck-based build without it.


This trait is optional, but plan your build in advance if you want all three companions. I don't see much value in this stat unless you plan to be a pure support role as the benefits only apply to helping your companions fight slightly better while you can use your skills to aid them.


Even if the damage bonus is small, there's nothing to complain about as you get a decent endurance bonus with a small odds of success.

Original Distinctions

EDIT: Originally, I had thought the trait penalized the player by taking off five ratings of Dodge (Armor Class) that would make players more likely to be hit. However, upon testing the trait in V1.0, the trait really buffs all three traits with some penalties to guns. This makes the distinction way more useful for melee dex-builds.

Confirmed by the devs (and it does work): https://steamproxy.net/app/552620/discussions/1/1744480966983919765/


Perfectly viable if you want to role-play as an addict or an druggy philosopher, but maybe not for a first-playthrough if you don't want to deal with addictions when healing.


EDIT: Even still in V1.0, Cannibal is more annoying than useful. You wouldn't be suffering too much from the added hassle, but the current system is, pardon the pun, half-baked.

For starters, you would be luckier if the other humans don't feast on you instead as they tend to have guns. Second, there are far too many plentiful resources of food (without glutton) if you have a knife and dead animals. In addition, no one has commented about unique dialogue options for Cannibals, so I can only assume they do not exist.


This is one distinction I do not understand the need to use; the tinkering skill can be easily ignored if you know the crafting recipe and if you're willing to save and reload when you break the parts. Once you have crafted something, it will then show the blueprints in your crafting menu. (It's essentially a dice-roll stat that trusts you won't break the honor system of saving.)


Singlehandedly, this option is the most beneficial stat for female characters as nearly all important NPCs and store owners are men, and you can fleece so much money with this one distinction. If for whatever reason you want to make the dialogue options harder, choose this option as a male with only easier access to make the women NPCs fawn over you.


In the current state, this choice would be worth it IF Endurance also increased your stomach size; however, every character shares the same gut. If you suffer hunger, which is more noticeable when wandering between large distances on the map, you also take penalties to your stats, so you have to eat more often to remove them. (It can cause further problems for random encounters.) The result is you will more likely hurt yourself when wandering the map than reaping the benefits of a few extra hit points.


This stat is the equivalent of Gifted as it's all wonderful benefits with small repercussions. It may seem not worth it to forgo the XP, but if you play the game on Easy then the bonus XP kind of counter balances its side effects.


As cool as it may sound to choose a thieving backstory, the downsides are more annoying and harmful to the experience, and you can mash the lock-pick button until you open something.


Out of all options, this is one I'm perhaps the most ambivalent towards; it's not bad nor beneficial, and you would be better off reallocating stat points and crafting a bag for extra inventory.


This distinction is probably the second worst as the small boost in range accuracy does not make up for the lower initiative in combat. Essentially, if you want to shoot yourself in the foot, literally, then you can choose this option if you want to roleplay as an unlucky S.O.B.

Abilities are a new passive tree included in V1.0 similar to the Perks system of Fallout 3; most upgrades are skill bonuses while a notable few provide distinct rewards. These bonuses aren't significant enough to change your whole playstyle, but they are useful enough to compliment or to suppliment flaws with your early game builds. None seem to provide anything wacky or to create role-playing choices as you might expect in Fallout New Vegas or New Vegas Perk Mods, which is why I described them best as Fallout 3 perks (ex. +10 to Handguns & SMGs, +20% chance to resist knockdown, +3 Skill Points per Level, etc.)

Anyway, here's the rundown of how it all works on Normal: Every level awards you two ability points while every purchase increases the next cost by one, and with a maximum of thirty levels that gives you sixty total points to spend. However, one important thing you should know, you will not be able to spend every point simply based on the calculations, unless you can earn ability points elsewhere. This consequence means you can only choose ten abilities, and if you spread them out too far you will gate off many other choices. (On Easy, you earn three points per level and on Expert you earn only one.)

This is the result of the math involved to obtain a new ability, which can be explaind by the following sequence of levels versus ability point cost: 1 (1), 2 (2) , 3 (3), 5 (4) , 8 (5), 11 (6), 15 (7) , 19 (8) , 23 (9) , 28 (10). The total of this sequence would be 55 points, and you will need another eleven points to obtain another ability, which is not possible by conventional methods. To help alleviate any concerns, I will list abilities in terms of their branches and benefits.

Gobseck

10% discount everywhere.

Fast Learning (req Gobseck)
+3 Skill Points per level.

Bookworm (req Fast Learning)
+50% to skills you get from reading.

Effective Training (req Bookworm)
+20% XP bonus.

Nurse

+10 First Aid.

Good Immune System (req Nurse)
+10 Resist Radiation (Percentage or Total?).
+10% Resist Toxin.

Feeling Good (req Nurse)
+10 total HP.

Self-Sufficient (req Good Immune System)
No addiction from drugs.

Liver of Steel (req Good Immune System)
No addiction to alcohol.

Posion Ivy (req Good Immune System)
Posion heals you.

Armor of God

+20% to resist knock down.

Oaken Skin (req Armor of God)
+10% to Resist Damage.
+10% to Protection from Damage..

Think Like the Enemy (req Oaken Skin)
Resistance to Damage increases (how much?) every hit for 4 HP or more (how long?)

Praetorian (req Think Like the Enemy)
No heavy armor penalties with or without a helmet.

Swindler (req Armor of God)
+20% Carry Weight.

Shieldbarer (req Swindler)
+50% Chance to Block.

Shield Master (req Shieldbarer)
No debuffs for shields.

Way of the Warrior

+10 Martial Arts
+10 Melee Weapons

Master of Dodging (req Way of the Warrior) (ABSOLUTE MUST HAVE FOR NOVICES!)
+1 Dodge for every Action Point Spent

Master of Unlocking (req Way of the Warrior)
Locks at lower ratings cannot fail.

Sambo (req Master of Dodging)
+10% Chance to Stun for melee

Quick Regeneration (req Master of Dodging)
"If health is less than half, you gain 2 HP." (Not sure if this is 2 HP per turn.)

Street Fighter (req Sambo)
+50% to base melee damage.

Adrenaline Rush (req Sambo)
When HP is halved, you gain 2 AP.

First Blood (req Sambo)
Guarenteed critical hit for first strike.

Ninjitsu (req First Blood)
+25% chance not to be spotted.

Weak Spot Knowledge (req First Blood)
+10% to critical hits in close combat.

Precise Jab (req Weak Spot Knowledge)
+50% to ignore armor in close quarters.

Quick Reaction (req Weak Spot Knowledge)
+20 Sequence

Burst Boy

+10 to Burst Fire weapons.

Butcher (req Burst Boy)
No debuff on point-black shots.

Focus on Target (req Butcher)
Scatter is lowered by a factor of two with burst fire.

Weapon Knowledge (req Focus on Target)
No strength requirements for firearms.

Gunslinger

+10 to Pistols and SMGs.

Duelist (req Gunslinger)
+15% damage towards enemies if you and enemy use a pistol or SMG.

Fast Hand (req Duelist)
-1 AP cost for Pistol attacks.

Quick Reload (req Fast Hand)
Reload cost (no restrictions) is lowered by 1 AP.

True Grit

+10 Rifles and Shotguns.

Monster Lore Expert (req True Grit)
"More info about enemies."

Witcher (req Monster Lore Expert)
Double damage to animals and monsters.

Cat's Eye (req Monster Lore Expert)
No handicap for fighting in darkness. (This is a thing?)

Eagle's Eye (req Monster Lore Expert)
+50% from the current critical chance to hit with scoped weapons.

Manhunter (req Monster Lore Expert)
Double damage to people with critical aim shots.

+10 to Survival.

Lover of Healthy Foods (req Survivor)
+20% HP restored when eating.
+20% Hunger restored.

Hunter (req Lover of Healthy Foods)
+20% chance to find animals.
+50% chance to find their tracks.

Fisherman (req Lover of Healthy Foods)
More chances to catch fish (how much?).

Supplier (req Survivor)
+10% Chance for Caravans

Lubricator (req Supplier)
Guns do not jam.

Gun Jesus (req Lubricator)
+20% damage with crafted weapons.

Hands of Gold (req Lubricator)
+100% odds for crafting.

Good Throwing Arm (req Survivor)
+50 throw distance.

Blaster Master (req Good Throwing Arm)
+30 Blast Radius.

Pyromaniac (req Blaster Master)
+30 Fire Damage.
+30% Fire Damage Radius.

(Before v1.0)

After playing Fallout 1 and 2, this was my approximation of what I assumed would work here as well; in hindsight, I feel like I should have taken more points into Dexterity to improve my armor class (at the moment with 17 hours of progress, my character now has an AC rating of 18 with both leather armor and a helmet.)

Here is where I also learned how much you want to invest into weapon types before branching out:
- Normal Knife: 45 melee (max accuracy)
- Exceptional Knife: 65 melee (max accuracy)
- First Pistol: 45 Pistol & SMG (max accuracy)
- First Rifle 45 Rifle & Shotgun (max accuracy)

(After v1.0) Jack-of-All-Trades Build
The only noticable changes I made between these builds are the stat distribution; I decided to not make too squishy of a character, and I put extra points into Dexeterity for more AP.

Suggestion for First Three Ability Points: You could build this character anyway you want from here as I didn't really plan any particular build. If you want a safe bet of options, either go for the Master of Dodging ability or you can do what I did.

Armor of God (towards Master of Dodge) --> Gobseck --> Gunslinger (towards Fast Hand)


(Before v1.0)

For this build, I decided to focus less on weaponry and more so on sweet words and deception skills for quicker access to money, and she will be able to pass most speech checks and technology checks for the early game. I also decided to make her a more "thick' character to see how more resilient characters in strength and endurance handle.

Sex Appeal: Male dialogue bonuses

Child Prodigy: More stats invested into other skills

(After v1.0)

Again, not many noticable differences except stat-allocation towards more Dex and more Attention for gun-related skills. Considering how few major NPCs are female, you could probably consider this build the most beginner friendly.

Suggestion for First Three Ability Points: Either the Burst Boy, Gunslinger or True Grit branches depending on what type of weapons you want to focus towards, but my recommendation is the True Grit branch for bonus damage.

True Grit --> Monster Lore Expert --> Witcher --> Manhunter


(Before v1.0)

Although I made this character weaker, I think his added Ap points will make up for it if given a revolver that costs 3 AP to fire and more geared towards social skills. I did notice, however, he was the MOST susceptible to getting knocked on his back from rodents, which makes me think strength/endurance affects the chance to trip.

Drug Addict: Mostly for role-playing purposes, but also for bonus health with recovery items and First Aid checks.

Child Prodigy: More stats invested into other skills.

(After v1.0)

Suggestion for First Three Ability Points: Gunslinger --> Duelist --> Fast Hand


(Before v1.0)

This character was built towards being a melee focused character as I wanted to see how the extra melee damage would be beneficial, and I wanted to make a bit of an intimidating character for Subterfuge checks. In most cases, he can outright slug enemies out in one or two hits.

Glutton: Wanted to test added hunger rate as the base-game is negligible, and the added Endurance boost would help live longer.

Child Prodigy: Bonus social stats.

(After v1.0)

Suggestion for First Three Ability Points:

Way of the Warrior --> Mast of Dodging --> Sambo (towards Precise Jab)


Honestly, I wanted to see how a luck-based character would fare, and when it comes to the early-game her additional AP and critical hits makes her equally as viable as my juggernaut character. Sex appeal helped make up for her social stats as I still passed most checks for extra cash. As of yet, I have not seen any noticeable benefits with Caravans or loot drops.

Sex Appeal: Extra cash rewards for being a woman.

Child Prodigy: Making up for investing so many points into Luck.

(After v1.0)

Suggestion for First Three Abilities:

Armor of God --> Oaken Skin --> Think Like the Enemy


(After v1.0)

Now, unlike my other suggested builds, this build is one I would only suggest for certain Survivalist/Honor-Save players who want a more distinct experience as handmade, pipe and DIY items are useful in the early-game to make up for their shortcomings. Most of these weapons have lower stat AND skill requirements that you can invest more into your non-combat skills at the beginning. Combined with the abundance of these resources and their cheap prices, you might be able to pull off surprising early-game feats with a well-place molotov or a Custom Made shotgun. The distinctions chosen are purely for role-playing purposes as I imagine a technophile would not put much faith into luck, and when luck does happen he can call it skill for his effectiveness.

Suggestion for First Three Ability Points:

Survivor --> Supplier --> Lubricator (towards Gun Jesus)

(Spoilers) Largest Craftable Recipe List

(English) Melee Weapon Tables[atom-rpg.wikia.com]

(English) Range Weapon Tables[atom-rpg.wikia.com]

(Russian, Google Translate needed) Unique Craftable Recipies[ru.atom-rpg-pa.wikia.com]

Due to the change from Armor Class to the Dodge system, Thorn Armor isn't as much of a must-have item if you want to prioritize dodging attacks versus taking more damage. You still should, ideally, have around 7 - 11 points invested into Dexterity for 8 or 9 AP points per round. Armor now subtracts from your Dodge rating, which still makes higher base scores more lucrative for the early-game as you need to manage Armor, HP points and Dodge to stay alive.

Again, I'm going to avoid major spoilers for the quests and characters, but this section will prepare you with the essentials you will need from the first town of Otradnoye. Most of these quests you will come across naturally but there are some caches that will also help you avoid wasting Rubbles.



One perk that is essential no matter what type of character you create is a quest reward called Entomoligist, which is a perk to skin animals for loot, meat, etc. Simply fetch some vodka for the fishermen and he will impart his knowledge to you.


In order to skin the rats, however, you will need to dig out one of the graves for a rusty knife. Rust does not result in harming the food/item condition nor does it result in any chance of infection.



Thorn Armor:

One item that will significantly increase your odds of survival is making your first type of armor. It will be many, many hours if you wait for the game to supply you one as I’ve only seen Thorn, Leather and Combat armor—the latter armors were only seen after twelve hours. Thorn armor provides an armor class (AC) bonus of four to increase your chance to avoid damage, a six percent damage resist chance, and a damage threshold bonus of one.


To create the item, you will need one piece of scrap metal, one pieces of rope/cord, one piece of rabbit fur, and two boxes of nails (thanks to JoylessDave for the recipe.). The nice thing about the Tinkering stat and the Crafting system is that there is no requirement to utilize recipes if you already know them. However, if you have a low Tinkering stat you will most likely ruin one or more materials, so saving before you try it is recommended.



Most of these ingredients can be obtained from thoroughly exploring the landscape and holding down the Alt key to highlight objects on the ground. Scraps of metal can be found in a pile to the north of the map; rope and cords can be found in trashcans, lockers or the hidden basement; and nails are bound to be in the same place or in people’s homes. The only ingredient that is more elusive to find is the rabbit fur, which only naturally can be harvested in the Roaring Forest. Traders usually have one piece available, but if you revisit Otradnoye--or, if you are luckier, after you take a swig from the special drink from the bartender’s sister--the animal part salesman will be there to sell you the fur.

Bag

This item is easier to create as you will only need a leather hood, an empty bottle and two pieces of cord, which are obtainable in the same locations as the ingredients as the Thorn Armor. If for whatever reason you cannot find enough rope/cords, you can purchase one cord far cheaper than one rope, so use the rope for the armor and the cords for a bag. This won't boost your carrying capacity by a significant amount but it will help until you get some pack mule companions.


Although these weapons are by no means required, you will rarely find guns unless you have killed a person, which is quite difficult even at level five and equipped with decent guns. These two weapons are obtained from two minor side-quests in Otradnoye.

7.62 mm Rusty Pipe Rifle


The first weapon is a pipe rifle which uses 7.62 mm ammunition and it can only load one round at a time. It's obtained simply by fullfiling an old man's request to harvest his corn for him. I always act politely to make sure he searches for it, but it may be a standard reward. Its ammunition is pretty scarce, so don't burn through it; however, the rifle will be helpful against wolves at a long range.

Do note that because it is rusty there is a 10% chance it may jam on you--I'm not sure if Luck affects the stat--so use the gun smartly in combat.

.30 caliber Rusty Revolver



WARNING! You may break this quest and many others if you sell the Toadstools for a side-quest!

In order to obtain this weapon, you have to complete to side-quest chains--one of which can be broken if you sell the Toadstools required to outside Caravans by accident, and there is currently no reliable way to solve it as all Toadstools outside the city are rotten. (I did try the duplicate cheat option, but the save files are no longer the same .dat archives, so I could not use the glitch to fix it.) You really do not want to make this mistake as it will not only affect obtaining a free handgun it will also deny you an entire questline with multiple side-quests for the Abandoned Factory.

(This isn't the side-quest, but it is the right person.)

Once you complete this minor task, you will then be able to talk with the Village Head; complete his tasks and he will reward you with a weapon request ticket for the shopkeeper in town, which will obtain you the handgun. This handgun is very useful not only because it has a low AP cost but its ammo is far more common and the weapon requirement stats are low. Like the rusty pipe rifle, there is a chance it may jam but the AP cost reduction balances it out in combat. (Again, you should conserve your ammo until a fight demands you need it.)


This goal will be easier to obtain as a female character if you have the Sex Appeal trait applied as all major discounts, quest reward bonuses, and blackmail options can be made easier. If you have a bartering/speechcraft skill of 40 - 60, then you should be able to pass most of these options with no problem whether a male or female.

Without spoiling most of the sidequests, here is a simple checklist for knowing when you've obtained as much loot as possible:

• Complete all odd jobs around Otradnoye, especially for the Village Head and the cowardly second in command.
  
• Find the three hidden caches; one of which requires a high strength requirement, or a companion to help you, but don't use the shovel.
  
• Loot all the graves and, if you're skilled, pickpocket anyone for useful goods.
  
• Sell all junk that you don't need after asking the town's trader for a discount, and you might as well sell off any items you will not use like alcohol. You might trade for ammo, health items or a knife, if available, when the Rubbles run out, but you could stay with your fists/brick found on the ground until you find these items out in the world.

Once you have around 800+ or so Rupples, you're ready to go venturing out into the Wasteland wherever you wish to go, and you'll have enough decent supplies to get you where you need to be.

In addition to the new Abilities' tree, squadmates now have their own character sheets when leveling up, which allows you to see what are their strengths, weaknesses and their base stats. This addition is especially useful if you don't know what weapons to give them, and if you want to keep your squadmates alive as much as possible ALWAYS invest into the Master of Dodging ability (bonus dodge for every AP spent) as well as Armor of God related abilities.

Fidel is built to be a pack-mule and distraction for any type of character build. He has equal amounts of Strength and Attention, but his low Dexterity means he won't attack more than once per turn. This drawback essentially makes him only really good as a decoy during battles, especially when the AI selects the most unhelpful weapon in his stash, so don't be surprised if he throws a training grenade instead of using the Custom Shotgun you gave him. Positioning him to target weaker enemies to finish off is the best strategy when he's on your team, but don't be surprised if you have to patch him up a lot due to his average Dodge rating.

Suggested Abilities After Recruiting Him:

Hexogen's stats are much more focused on Dex-Focused melee weapons or ranged combat, but his default skill distribution is stranger than Fidel. For whatever reason, Hexogen is oddly proficient at hand-to-hand combat and pistols whereas his rifle skill is somewhat lacking; its strangeness comes from how you are introduced to him holding up with a rifle within an infested village. His default weapon, however, packs some serious punch as well as advantages for long-range combat, which is made more useful if you can get to him at Level 5, so even his peculiar skill allocations will not make him a liability.

Suggested Abilities After Recruiting Him:
(Need photos of his skills, traits and gear for the guide.)


However, of the new additions, the most useful feature that needs greater attention is how much extra options you now have to improve the limited squad-based combat. This changes so many flaws with the Fallout 1/2 style of gameplay that it deserves its own section. While it's nowhere near as straightforward as Wasteland 2 where you control each party member, you can now plan out targets and make suggestions DURING combat rather than relying on total RNG from the AI. Some options can be chosen whether it is your turn or not, but consider the order of every squadmember's sequence first.



This option really means "Mark Target." Available only during your turn, you can select one target to prioritize. (Really could use some tooltips for percentages, or an "aim at X" feature if the unit doesn't automatically take the best odds.)


This option really means "Move to Position." Also available during your turn, you can point to a place on the map to send your unit--if you know he or she will have any AP left, then the unit will follow your Target order too. (Again, some tooltips like AP use for squadmates would be helpful.)


Sometimes this option can be buggy depending on what the unit is using, but you can reliabily order a unit to use a melee weapon or gun. Important note: You cannot order what weapon to use, so if you give a unit throwable weapons like grenades he or she may use it.


Orders the unit to stay-still and target the nearest enemies.


Orders the unit to advance on enemies and to close the gap.


Orders the unit to flee in the opposite direction of enemies, but you would be better off using "Show Position" instead.

Out of all the sections from this guide, this one will be hard not to spoil the surprises in store if you want to go into the game blind. This section is for those who are afraid of "starting over" so soon into the game as well as mentioning how to resolve the situation in several ways.

When you explore the perimeter of Bunker 317, you will stumble across a group of armed men who will be glad to let you get inside to clear the base out yourself. This should be the first eyebrow-rasing moment, but if you do accept their help to open the door--it's a high lockpick check, so chances are you will need their help. However, you can dupe the poor sods by having them open the door for you, and then, if you have decent strength (5/6) and high technology and a remote bomb, you can send a bon voyage their way. (I could only find one Dynamite at the Drunken Lair, so I had to buy a Remote Bomb from a Caravan or loot it off a cult member's corpse.)
If for whatever reason you did enter the facility with the guards, which is bound to happen the first time, then you will be faced with a troublesome decision early on into the game. As you finish up your business, the men who let you in will stop you at the entrance, demanding you hand over EVERYTHING in your possession in order to be free. (You may be able to pass a speech-check, but even with a 70 skill in Speech, I only got half-success where I kept only half of my money.)

You may be clever enough to deduce that you can fool the guards into giving them barely anything by stashing your loot in the locker near the entrance; however, the developers noticed this exploit and so they added a new response:
As far as I could fathom from a lot of testing, the reaction is not based on the weight of your inventory because I handed them a bunch of Microchips. It seems like you can store your best equipment into the locker and some ammo, some money, food, etc. but you need a decent load of necessities to pass any suspicions. (You can later get your stuff back from killing the guards, but even with a companion, maybe two, it's not an easy fight if you don't have decent gear. The more reasonable alternative is if you have a decent skill in pickpocketing you can take the key to their stash as lockpicking doesn't work on the stash near their camp.)
There's also another alternative solution, although I haven't tried it as I don't use in-game drugs or buff resources unless forced to use them, where you can get high and fool the goons into thinking the area is posionous. What item you would need, I'm not sure, but maybe the toxins down below can give you a boost. This should be your last failsafe if nothing works.

If all else fails and you are forced into giving up half your loot, then cut your losses; go elsewhere for a while; kill the guards or avoid them entirely--Bunker 317 has more than enough alternatives to not get upset when you walk right into the game's trap.

World Maps for Version 1.10X:

World Map created with ATOM TEAM's black-and-white map. If you want to read the location names, then there is another map to make it more legible, but it's a Frankenstein solution

In order to reach this location, you'll need 3000 Rubles to get to there; you'll also need another 1500 to return to the original location. You should only go here when you have the two Mushroom Cult quests to check more bunkers. These are the only notable locations I found while wandering the place, which feels like a lot of wasted space.

I will need to explore the whole area before I will post a completed map, but just like the Mountain Pass of Woes you will want to wait until you get the Mushroom Cult side-quests to explore the two bunkers. In order to reach it, you'll need 7000 Rubles to get there (or 5000 if you can barter); on your return, you'll need another 3000 to get back to the mainland.

An important thing to note is you do not have to follow the main questline from the start besides the first town. You can wander the map at your own peril, but you should decide whether to go to Krasnoznamenny to get Fidel, or to go inside Bunker 317. These two objectives will give you some structure as what to do "first" without imposing any restriction on your playthrough based on your playstyle and drawbacks, and the rest of the section will help you ease into the game.

Unlike modern RPGs, the difficulty behind ATOM is heavily influenced by gear, starting stats, difficulty settings and the number of party members--and how competent their AI can be at the best/worst of times. You can always level up by "grinding," but my rule for games is if I can do something more entertaining and "fair" at a low level, then I'll choose to do those things first. These ratings do not state level requirements as they are based on what level of challenge they offer. (You can naturally assume Easy areas are role-playing zones versus Difficult areas that focus on large-scale combat.) In addition, I'll write out a brief description as to why as well as a spoiler-free list of quests to gauge the quantity of content. You may find these suggestions relevant or not based on your own build; the point is to prevent most players from mashing quickloads from battles they probably weren't meant to fight at that moment.

Abandoned Factory (Easy): The second RP-ing HUB after Otradnoye where you can attempt to kill everyone, or infiltrate the camp for sidequests.

- Infiltration into the Camp
- Meeting the Boss
- Hospital Run
- Good Cop, Bad Cop
- Who's that Guy?
- What's the Value of a Human's Life?
- Finding Two Lackeys Around a Farm
- Find Out Why the Roaring Forest Roars
- Elections Just Like 1984

Berth (Easy): Fisherman asks for a favor.

- Twenty Spider Brains

Border Fortress (Easy): Small RP-ing area with some additional sidequests for later.

- Getting Pass the Border
- What's Cooking Over There?
- End of the Line: Another Recruit

Bunker 317 (Easy/Medium): The first tough-spot most players will encounter with a bunch of options to get in (and out of) the Bunker alive.

- What Do You Say, Sport?
- Tracking Down the Armed Group
- Intervention with a Confused Man
- Lots of Hidden Codes/Journals for Doors

Circus/Airplane Crash Site (Easy/Difficult): This area is more of a relaxation spot for easy quests, except for the one involving rats.

- Friendship is Like Making an Omlete
- Honorary Carny
- Rats, Why Does It Have to Be Rats?
- "Documentary" of the Carnies' Mating Habits
- Think of the Poor Mutants!
- Convince a Newly Wed Man into MGTOW

Death Tunnel (Difficult): Extremely high-level combat area even after level six. You'll want to have several key items to survive: Lockpick skill of 60+ (or get the Keyring), several douses of RAD-0 (min of 2), and a high damage gun with good stats for aiming.

- Mushroom Cult: Find the Water Chip

Drunken Lair (Easy) : Small RP-ing area for several sidequests from Abandoned Factory and Krasnoznamenny.

- Solve a Natural Remedy Problem
- Daddy's Girl
- Shard of a Shield
- Third Encounter with Looney Prophet

Maiden Spring Farm: Another small RP-ing area with higher skill checks, especially those who use the opposite sex trait.

- Ask about the Missing Goons
- Ask about the Family
- Female: Englishten a Farmlad
- Male: Nature with the Farmer's Daughter

Filling Station (Easy): Another small RP-ing area, which can lead to a shootout with bandits you can scavenge for their loot, and one difficulty sidequest for the End of the Line.

- A Bullet for Revenge
- What's Going On, Man?
- Defend the Station from Attacks
- End of the Line: Sniper's Task

Krasnoznamenny (Medium): Chances are you won't have high enough skill checks to get into the city itself, so the outside is another HUB for early sidequests to get XP and make money. Once you get inside, the city itself will provide more useful gear as well as harder tasks across the Wastes.

- End of the Line: Obtain Mission
- Encounter Some Looney prophet
- Accessing the City Council
- Oy Vey Bookburners!
- Finding Fidel
- Mushroom Cult: Initiation
- Mushroom Cult: Find a Lost Follower
- Mushroom Cult: Deal with Loony Prophet
- Mushroom Cult: Death Tunnel
- Mushroom Cult: This Little Piglet, Comrade...
- Dealing with those Mutants
- Male: Discussing "Literature" with the Nurse
- Male: Do the Nasty with Captain Nasty
- Male: Adultery!
- Male: Worker-Girls
- Suffering from NPC "You're Not Special" Syndrome
- Female: Become a Trained ♥♥♥♥♥
- Discussing Literature with a Richard
- Something's Rotten with the Meat
- Shield of Faith Quest Giver
- Chamber of Commerce: Coal Mining Situation
- Chamber of Commerce: Redeeming a Trader's Honor
- Chamber of Commerce:
- 10 Bigger Spider Brains
- 200 Pieces of Paper To Go; Rip One Down, Buy 12 Per Round...
- Do People Dream of the Cats of Ulthar?
- Bit-coin More than You Can Use
- I Can't Believe It's a Bottle!
- Disturbing the Elderly
- A Nasty Proposal
- Exclusive Interview with War Expositions (Three Vets)
- Binger of Cinema
- Mummyland Russia: Raiders of the Lost Lenin
- Get Into the Cool Thieves' Club
- Back to the Apocalypse, Not Pre-War
- Read All About the Circle of Stones
- Reclaim the Conduit of Lenin

Mysterious Caves (Difficult): You can pull this off at a low level (3) if you have decent equipment and Fidel, but don't expect an easy fight if you try.

- A Sniper's Task

Otradnoye (Training/Tutorial): The only area you have to visit from the start. Refer to the earlier sections of the guide if you need any more help.

- Ask About Passing Armed Group
- Fix the Water Pump
- Grab Vodka for Fisherman
- Try Some Booze
- Collect Five Schrooms
- Book Delivery
- Restoring a Trader's Pride
- Help the Town Leader
- Get a Guard a Beer
- Female: Flirt with Chivalrous Guard
- Male: Start a Tab on the Bartender's Sister
- Ask Town Leader for Help
- End of the Line: One Recruit
- Where are Thy Weapon, Nutcraker?
- Shard of a Shield
- Second Encounter with Wandering Prophet
- Discovery for a Daughter
- Reporting on Bandits
- Elections Just Like It's 1984

Peregon (Medium/Difficult): Having delayed this area until my character was Level 6, the quests themselves were fairly trivial skill-checks; I would suggest you get a pass for five trips for 150 Ruples as you need to exit the camp to complete the main political quest. You can also make better deals here for goods, but their selection is limited. One side-quest, however, can pose a difficult encounter if you're not prepared for it.

- It's Wolves Hunting Season
- Who's Side Are You On? : Meddlesome Merchants
- Who's Side Are You On? : Middleman for Office
- Who's Side Are You On? : You Can't Escape the Pirate's Life
- Hexogen: Trip Down Memory Lane
- Casanova Confrontation
- Hired for Merc Business

Radio Bunker

-

Railway Carriages (Medium/Difficult): So long as you hug the train, popping in and out of lines of sight, and you let the NPCs do most of the damage, this fight can be made trivial and an easy way to get better gear.

- The End of the Line: Finale


"Safe Journey" Farm: Small RPing area for no real rewards, which is surprisingly because it seems like you should get a companion here.

- 20 Gunpowder Salute
- A Toy Ring's Life

Roaring Forest (Medium): The top-side of Roaring Forest is fairly simple due to the old wolves and small spiders; however, if you decide to venture lower, prepare for tougher enemies.

- Dealing with Packs of Wolves
- Exploring the Hole
- Disturbing the Elderly
- Totem Pole
- It Belongs In a Museum!

Thug Fortress (Difficult): Couldn't clear out this encampment as the bandits were too difficult for me when I played during Early Access. It may be possible to do a quest later to make them non-hostile.

Red Fighter (Town Infested with Spiders) (Medium/Difficult): Equip some long-range weapons, health kits and other supplies as you're going to need a strong party to clear the spider infestation. Worth it to recieve a second companion.

- Hexogen Follower
- Unflood the Basement (500 Ruples)
- Repair the Generator (Fix it or 500 Ruples)
- Cleaning Out Toxins (1000 Ruples)
- Needs More Diesel (100 Bottles of Fuel, or 1000 Ruples)

Random Locations Across the Wastes: Most of these are fairly easy encounters or provide some light RP-ing to sate your curiosity. No real quests, unless you are sent there by a specific person.

- Resolving Three Accounts of a Story
- Wandering with Lenin's Books
- Explorable Areas (Caves/Basements)
- In Soviet Russia, Dog Find You! (60 Survival Needed)
- Death Squads Inbound (Two East of Peregon, One North of Peregon)
- Hired for Merc Business (Peregon)

If you want to suggest anymore side-quests, share your own funny summary, and I'll add them to the list. For myself, the threshold for comedy is pretty low. :)