KickStarter ATOM RPG - Wasteland Soviet style! - now with Dead City update

[flushfire]

Since I don't see an 'ATOM builds' thread I'm just gonna ask here for attributes advice. I'm looking for minimums, i.e. never go below this number because there are some checks in the game that will be impossible to pass even with buffs. Or because there are thresholds like in weapon reqs.

Spoiler

Endurance - most guides I've read advice 6, but they never give a particular reason, just some vague "the game will be harder if you go below". I'm looking for something more specific. There's a guy in steam forums that said there's a 6 End check and that is easily passed with 2x condensed milk if you start with 4 End, and you can go lower but will have to use expensive items. So is 4 fine? Also read HP gain isn't retroactive, true?

Intellect - almost everywhere the advice is 9-10 but just because of skill point gain, I've never seen checks mentioned. Granted skill points should be important but disregarding that, what's the lowest one could go for to pass most Int checks? I don't mind not passing one or two checks in the entire game that require 10 (if that's the case).

Attention - read that 6-7 is the common range for checks, true?

Personality - a couple posts I've seen claim 6 for males, true?

TYVM in advance any advice is appreciated.

 

[Zer0wing]

True but also -

Spoiler

Skills are more important than stats, that's why investing into high INT is important. You can go with 8 but sure it is better to go up to 9-10. All traits are trash except the 'Glutton' which gives you +2 END for a very little hassle with food. Which is plentiful, not very 1990s, Atomboy . You can also prebuff your main character by drinking chifir and evaporated milk and get some END from camping. Anyway, don't pick traits that trade your skills with stats unless you know the game through and through, don't EVER pick the trade that gives you bonuses in exchange for longer lvling up, period. Luck is extremely underused, you can lvl it up for checks from 1 to 11 with drinks, just like in real life.

 

[you know what time it is]

I "accidently" killed Dan during the fight in factory, but no one seems to be interested in that or his ring, what do I do with it?

 

[PsychoFox]

Finished as in no more minor patches either or are those still coming?

 

[Zer0wing]

Fixes for fixes and paid DLC is coming.

 

[Mikeal]

This thread in nutshell:
- Atomboy posts something about ATOM.
- Whole codex "Give this man 10^76 brofists!".

 

[RK47]

Alright run number ????

Well those are some new loading screens

When failing to craft Thorn Armor - you still misspelled 'furs' as 'fures'

I hate to say that the corpse physics still causes some to sink below the world (had that happened to ant man) although there's one change I barely noted in combat: upon killing an enemy there's a short post-combat animation where your character would seem to go into non-combat stance, and that delayed any response to input.

Barely annoying when you set the animation to maximum speed, but I certainly did notice.

I "accidently" killed Dan during the fight in factory, but no one seems to be interested in that or his ring, what do I do with it?

I think you're supposed to do this prior to the mayor of Otradnoye retiring as the 'violent' option to stop Dan if you botched the undercover path.

True but also -

Spoiler

Skills are more important than stats, that's why investing into high INT is important. You can go with 8 but sure it is better to go up to 9-10. All traits are trash except the 'Glutton' which gives you +2 END for a very little hassle with food. Which is plentiful, not very 1990s, Atomboy . You can also prebuff your main character by drinking chifir and evaporated milk and get some END from camping. Anyway, don't pick traits that trade your skills with stats unless you know the game through and through, don't EVER pick the trade that gives you bonuses in exchange for longer lvling up, period. Luck is extremely underused, you can lvl it up for checks from 1 to 11 with drinks, just like in real life.

More often than not, you only pick 1 combat skill to pump to 200 by end game therefore Lucky One is an excellent choice IMO. You can redistribute the extra points to PER & LUK elsewhere if you wish. Same thing with Glutton.

11 INT isn't overkill. Anabolics Fan is also a great pick if you're the type that loves to pick up every single scrap. Adds a lot of inventory space.

Lone Wolf is also pretty good if you don't like to manage companions.

The bunker also still has the descriptive message (bottom left window) popping out at the wrong time.

Spoiler

This 'Atom operatives' text should appear immediately upon opening the door, but it never did. It only appears AFTER I walked past the corpses when leaving.

Try it yourself. I'm pretty sure this minor 'bug' is present.

Ah, it's nice that now the skill books still works even if you go over skill level 100.
You can buy two books worth 34 Speechcraft for less than 2000 rubles.
That makes hitting 150+ Speechcraft even easier and more points for Weapon skills.

 

[SymbolicFrank]

Hi Atomboy , could you make a Fallout: Tactics sequel as your sequel? With real perks?

I mean, I like Atom, but it's very talky and that is where most of the energy went, it seems. Cool and all, but after the first play-through, you've seen it and done it. Slight variations.

A new thrill would be in a different battle system. And not superficial, with difficulty depending on the amount of hit points. You want new tactics, and even strategy, if possible.

The world can stay as it is, but companions and combat would require an overhaul. Make it lean and tight.

The thing is: stats and perks have to be very important. They should define what you can and cannot do, and how you do it. Not the Sawyer way, where only the class matters. If you have a low stat, you fail all the time and if it is high, you are badass.

The thing that makes games like Fallout: Tactics great is, that while you have many options, preparation is everything. You can take a team of sharpshooters, put them in a loose formation and on aggressive, and slowly walk them through.

Of course, a mine or enemy with a minigun behind a corner can ruin your day. But you can do that as well: hop your own minigunner just behind that corner, or plant a mine and shoot the sand to lure them out.

While not really practical in F:T, as the maximum fire range is rather short, being able to use the terrain to your advantage makes it a great level.

And make everything available from the start, it doesn't have to be through random encounters, as long as it is hard or takes time to get it. Allow those smart veterans to use their experience.

Edit: and, if you have a team, killing team members is totally fine, as long as there are enough recruits.

 

[Cromwell]

I think you're supposed to do this prior to the mayor of Otradnoye retiring as the 'violent' option to stop Dan if you botched the undercover path.

how do you do the undercover thing? I tried to doublecross him (dan) but the mayor just wasnt interested apart from the news about the engineer and the news about the elections. So I just got along with it and influenced the elections and thought thats whats supposed to happen.

 

[RK47]

I think you're supposed to do this prior to the mayor of Otradnoye retiring as the 'violent' option to stop Dan if you botched the undercover path.

how do you do the undercover thing? I tried to doublecross him (dan) but the mayor just wasnt interested apart from the news about the engineer and the news about the elections. So I just got along with it and influenced the elections and thought thats whats supposed to happen.

You can't.

Spoiler

The writer thinks that the 'good ending' to this conflict is to have the old man retire gracefully for his daughter to take over, drive into the sunset in a refurbished car, only to have the wastelands' harsh reality to slap the player awake later on.

Thing is, if you violently purged Dan's factory, Kolvayev would pay you for the ring, but in the post-ending slide, Otradnoye wouldn't be so rosy since his village is left without protection.

 

[Cromwell]

Is there a reliable way to get items for protection against toxicity? I have a gasmask and thought 50% was a good number but after having to go to some bunker for the car quest I still die very quickly to poison.

 

[RK47]

Is there a reliable way to get items for protection against toxicity? I have a gasmask and thought 50% was a good number but after having to go to some bunker for the car quest I still die very quickly to poison.

Boost your endurance to 11 with a mix of milk powder, onion and other consumables.
And equip antidote / bottles of water on your hand for quick consumption.

 

[Mark Richard]

Is there a reliable way to get items for protection against toxicity? I have a gasmask and thought 50% was a good number but after having to go to some bunker for the car quest I still die very quickly to poison.

A doctor at the Krasno hospital is offering work collecting Spider parts near the vicinity of Red Fighter, and in return she'll provide a batch of extra strength antidotes. After the quest's conclusion, the antidotes will be sold in stores from then on. That should provide a temporarily solution until you find the 100% gas mask.

 

[RK47]

I think the biggest issue with toxicity is that it continues to tick upwards even in combat.
The main complaint is that toxicity ticks way up too fast even in turn based - instead of having it tick upwards per turn which logically how it should work.
Don't know if they ever changed that.

Anyway, comment on starting fights, I still see no reason to get a pistol early game. I hit level 5 with just Melee 50 skill and AG 8, giving me roughly 80-90% chance to hit the rats, insects and most of the crap that was around Otradnoye and first bunker. If you don't avoid the combat, you should level up really quick. An encounter with rats and insects gave me 200-300 EXP and enough meat to restore HP back to full. As for humanoids, I just avoid them since they're rather unpredictable. The only exception is the lone traveler with the occasional dog - you should always buy their weapons and slaughter them. One of them may even drop their pack that's worth at least 1000 ruble when sold.

My normal run usually takes me up the martial artist path - since I use melee 100% until I secure a reliable rifle. The +10 to close combat skills, followed by Dodge boost from spent AP, coupled with additional stun chance and guaranteed critical on the first strike is used to its fullest potential on my way to Quick Reactions.

Of course, once I got a superior ranged weapon like the AK74, it's bye bye melee attack.

 

[JarlFrank]

Is there a reliable way to get items for protection against toxicity? I have a gasmask and thought 50% was a good number but after having to go to some bunker for the car quest I still die very quickly to poison.

There's a hazmat suit in the Dead City somewhere which gives 100% to both rad and poison resistance.

 

[Kem0sabe]

Rad-X is almost infinite duration for all intents and purposes. 2 doses is more than enough to clear the death tunnel bunker. Also the kickstarter gas mask is 100% resistance for toxic.

 

[Commissar Draco]

Yes there is no reason to not pick the stalker background for you PC now, considering the very first location you might stumble up on after leaving Otradnoye is contaminated and other backgrounds give you what? Ranger the +10 Survivability hat and Dress Uniform +1 STR beret and other ones nothing. I did noticed that Survivability is more important now in version 1.11 with more difficult encounters and reduced chance to talk your way out too.

 

[JarlFrank]

Also, Dead City has one of the most morally depraved encounters I've ever seen in an RPG

It's rare to see such topics tackled in an RPG, especially one as humorous in its writing as ATOM.
I'm talking about the father who wanted to breed a new generation of savage wasteland survivors, raping his daughters and castrating his son in the process, while portraying it as an education that will allow them to survive in the harshness of the post-apoc world.

I convinced him that he's wrong and he killed himself.

Good shit.

 

[RK47]

Well, that's one way to make a city more alive...

 

[Anthedon]

Are there any checks for lockpicking/technology/etc. that require the skill to be over 100?

 

[RK47]

I think it exists, but it's not mandatory, so most people wouldn't go for it.
With +30 Lockpicking item existing, you can safely get lockpicking to 40/50 and unlock 75% of the locks in the world.
Then again, you can get 'the good skills' at high values once you hit level 8ish, so you have leftover points to spend.

One good thing the update did was the non-removal of consumable from your main hand should you have additional stacks in the inventory.
It used to be emptied when you consume a stim pack from the main hand. But now you can have like 20x use equipped.
That made cigarette killing less tedious.

Right now, my run is pretty smooth. Clearing Krasno stuff nets me Level 10 and unlocks Quick Reactions. I got the Dog but it died after Hexogen shot it with Witcher perk. RIP It's really not much use having the dog. Hexogen is still best with Rifle-perks for Monster Lore while Fidel goes for the lowered AP Pistol perk. Time to head to Dead City and check out new content, I guess.

 

[Cromwell]

Then again, you can get 'the good skills' at high values once you hit level 8ish

What do you consider good and high value? I have speech at 160 or something because I had it high and then discovered books and I think 120 in pickpocket because I like stealing and talking people into loving me. I still didnt do anything in Krazno and just roamed around.

Also, does anyone know if its possible to stick it into katya and if so how. She only flirted with me but now seems busy with her new position and said I should wait until she has time.

 

[RK47]

Then again, you can get 'the good skills' at high values once you hit level 8ish

What do you consider good and high value?

First, we must define what is a good skill?
160 Speech is more than enough to get 90-99% encounter evasion rate.
I didn't like Pickpocket cause the benefit is not constant and failure leads to an entire town wanting to kill you. There's some good stuff to steal from traveling caravans but it's too unreliable.

So most game runs for me would be like this:
Starting:
I don't really care about getting Pistol / Automatic / Rifle skills because they're useless without a good weapon.
Speechcraft is excellent to get more rewards, evade encounter when weak and that means more money + faster leveling. Constant use. Get it to 120-130 quickly. It's safe to stop at 140, I think. There are +10 hats out there.
Melee 40 - is more than enough to land 80% hit chance. The best weapon you can get is a regular knife. And that is free of charge if you're willing to travel a bit north to a guard post.
Lockpicking 40 - This is essential to get access to major loot in the first bunker. This could mean walking away from places with at least a thousand rubles worth of loot. And don't forget the EXP from unlocking stuff.
And that's the only thing I wanted in the early game. Until I gain access to a good weapon, I won't commit my points to any.

Alternatively - you can also head the Tinkering route and buy recipes for crafted weapons. But I find it's not worth it unless you go invest a lot of perks into the crafted weapon damage perk. You can save scum if you want with low tinkering and meta-knowledge, you can probably craft a mid-tier weapon with just cigarette and magnifying glass bonus. But I find it really cheesy and boring.

My favorite solution is to head to Peregon, sell all the loot from the bunker. Resolve the city's conflict: it is solvable with Speechcraft, but if you want the maximum reward in terms of materials - you have to do it violently. All you need is a good Endurance (achievable with onions and consumables), a simple knife and good Dexterity. End net result is minimum 5000 rubles worth of stuff.

With all that cash you got, you should have a really thick wallet before heading to Krasno, hopefully on a caravan from Peregon to save time. That's where you blow cash on a real weapon and invest the points.

 

[Cromwell]

I didn't like Pickpocket cause the benefit is not constant and failure leads to an entire town wanting to kill you. There's some good stuff to steal from traveling caravans but it's too unreliabl

Pickpocketing is only for savescummers like me. But I still put a lot into it because even if willing to savescum it should be somewhat reliable. For lockpicking I have the keyitem from the factory, the only place I "finished" (I think).

On that note I thought my lockpicking sucked for a while because the game said "you managed to break the lock" I always wondered why I got EXP for breaking it but thought these are pity exp and I of course never tried to open whatever it was I tried to pick afterwards. Same goes for pickpocket where I always thought stealth played a role in the sucess.

 

[RK47]

Ugh. Companions really need to just use the best healing item they have instead of using Kasparamids while in combat.
Current solution is to just take away their lesser healing items and have only super stims available for use.