Atomic Heart is a game known for its intense combat and high level of difficulty. The game’s mechanics seem to be stacked against the player, with enemies that hit hard, gang up on the player, and repair quickly. As a result, players often resort to dashing through enemies or driving past them to progress through the game’s open world.
The game’s highest level of difficulty, Armageddon mode, is even more punishing. Enemies have higher health and hit even harder, making it extremely challenging to defeat bosses like Dewdrop. On Normal difficulty, Dewdrop can be defeated in just two or three combos from the Zvezdochka, but on Armageddon mode, this strategy will take many more attempts.
While the game becomes easier later on when Agent P-3 has found all the weapon blueprints and completed some of the Training Grounds, the game is much more challenging before this point. However, there are several tips that players can follow to increase their chances of completing the game in Armageddon mode.
Firstly, players should loot every chest they come across. Weapon blueprints are discovered in a set order, and players cannot find the blueprints for Zvezdochka until after they have found the ones for the MP. Upgrades, consumables, and ammo also work in the same way. The only upgrades that have predetermined locations are those earned through the Testing Grounds.
Players have a chance to discover blueprints each time they open a chest, particularly red and gold chests. Therefore, looting as many chests as possible will increase the player’s chances of finding blueprints and moving through the list of possible blueprints faster. Players should use the scanner to locate hidden chests in various locations throughout Facility 3826, such as in the backs of trucks, at the tops of towers, or tucked away behind buildings.
Secondly, gathering resources quickly is crucial for crafting. To gather resources effectively, players can bring down a HAWK to disable the security network in an area. This will make any robot that can be stealth killed an easy target. Players can walk up behind the robots, hit them once with a melee weapon, and then perform a stealth kill. Clearing a whole area of robots in this way repeatedly will net players plenty of resources.
Thirdly, players should focus on upgrading their character first. While players should select two glove powers to use, they should then turn their attention to character upgrades. Many upgrades in the character tree are essential to surviving Armageddon mode, such as Morning Exercise, which increases running speed to make dodging enemies easier. Sleazeball makes P-3 invulnerable while dodging, which is essential to dodging some boss attacks. Second Wind provides P-3 with a second dodge charge to avoid attacks, and Wild Boar, Musclehead, and Athlete all increase P-3’s maximum health, giving him more survivability.
Finally, players should know that every weapon and skill combination is viable, even on Armageddon mode. Players are free to use their favorite weapons throughout the game without feeling underpowered. There are also many useful upgrades to choose from, and following the above tips will get players to the point where they can enjoy that freedom sooner and survive while doing it.
In conclusion, Atomic Heart’s Armageddon mode is a significant challenge, but players can increase their chances of completing the game by looting every chest, gathering resources quickly, focusing on character upgrades, and knowing that every weapon and skill combination is viable. By following these tips, players can enjoy the game’s open world and brutal combat while beating Armageddon difficulty.
