Atomfall: Best Combat Tips

Combat in Atomfall is unforgiving, especially for players who are new to this kind of survival RPG. One moment, you’re walking peacefully through Casterfell Woods, minding your own business, and in the blink of an eye, an Outlaw group will turn the corner and aim their shotguns at you.

It doesn’t take much to die in this game, especially on the default difficulty. But thankfully, it doesn’t take much for enemies to die either. Keep your cool, plan ahead, and use these Atomfall combat tips to deal with hostiles efficiently and gain an advantage in the game’s brutal combat system.

Always Aim For The Head

One-Shots Most Enemies – Especially With Arrows

One of the best combat tips Atomfall players can employ is to aim for the enemy’s head. In most games, shooting an enemy in the head will deal extra damage, but in Atomfall, head-shots will instantly kill most enemies – even with a low-tier Rusty pistol.

Armored enemies may require two shots with a low-tier weapon, but stronger weapons still kill in one shot. Ferals and Thralls take more than one shot, no matter what tier of weapon you are using.

Arrows are especially effective. Firing a fully-drawn arrow at an enemy’s head will kill every humanoid except for Thralls (the hostile scientists wearing hazmat suits). This even works against Ferals in stasis, before you wake them up by walking too close. Aim for the head, and the dormant Feral will fall to the ground. Additionally, killing an enemy with a bow is silent and won’t attract enemies to your position.

Your Heart Rate Is Your Stamina Gauge

Manage Your Heart Rate To Stay Effective In Combat

The stamina system in Atomfall is not represented by a traditional stamina bar like in most other survival games. Instead, in the bottom right of the screen, you will see a heart rate monitor. As you perform intensive actions, like firing a weapon, being hit by an enemy, jumping up a ledge, or sprinting, your heart rate will rise. As it starts to max out, your character’s vision will dim, and your reactions will slow.

While your heart rate is high, you will have a harder time aiming with weapons, too. Both guns and bows are affected by sway that increases the longer you aim down sights or the higher your heart rate is. Though there are perks to reduce this effect, keep an eye on your heart rate to stay effective in combat.

Ammo Is Scarce – Rely On Melee When Possible

You’ll Run Out Of Bullets Before You Run Out Of Cricket Bat

In Atomfall, players can use ranged weapons, thrown weapons, grenades, and melee weapons to deal with hostile NPCs. Though it might seem tempting to shoot your way through every combat encounter, ammo is relatively rare in Atomfall.

Instead of relying exclusively on your gun or bow to kill enemies, keep a two-handed melee weapon equipped to save some ammo and deal with some enemies up close.

Guns and bows are very strong in Atomfall, but the lack of ammo makes players consider how often to use these ranged weapons. Instead, keep a powerful two-handed weapon equipped to deal with sole enemies and stragglers. You don’t need to avoid using your gun or bow entirely, but as Captain Sims likes to remind villagers, “a warning shot is a wasted bullet!”

Stealth Kills (Takedowns & Bow) Are Quieter

Guns & Grenades Will Typically Attract Unwanted Attention

One of the biggest mistakes new players make in Atomfall is attracting too much attention in combat. Though the enemy AI isn’t the smartest in the world, taking on more than two at once can be very dangerous. If you fire a gun, use an explosive, or perform actions that make a lot of noise, don’t be surprised if a horde of hostiles descends upon you.

To avoid attracting too much attention, don’t use your gun in areas with a lot of hostiles. Instead, use a bow to kill enemies silently from a distance or sneak up behind stragglers and lone hostiles to kill them semi-silently. Performing a takedown when hostiles are nearby will attract attention without the Quiet Takedown skill – but it will instantly kill every humanoid enemy type, even Thralls.

Don’t Forget To Use Throwables & Grenades

Molotovs, Makeshift Grenades, and Poison Bombs – Oh My!

There is no shortage of throwable grenades in Atomfall. Though you can find plenty of explosives and grenades out in the world, you can also craft every grenade type in the game if you can find each respective crafting recipe.

If you are looting everything, you will almost always have materials to craft grenades. Typically, players have access to Molotov Cocktails at first, then you will unlock the ability to make Makeshift Grenades, Poison Bombs, Blade Bombs, and even Military Grenades.

Grenades are extremely powerful. The Poison, Molotov, and Blade grenades will kill enemies over a few seconds, while the Makeshift and Military grenades will explode and instantly kill most enemies upon detonation. Use these against groups of enemies to thin out the herd quickly – just be sure to carefully aim your throw so it lands in the middle of your targeted pack.

Take On Enemies One At A Time

Unless You Have Explosives, That Is

In Atomfall, taking on more than two or three enemies at once is a veritable death sentence. Depending on the enemy type (like Ferals), taking on more than just one can be a tall order. Generally, you will be safest if you take on enemies one at a time as much as possible. You won’t have to avoid attacks from multiple directions and can focus on a sole target.

In certain locations, this is all but impossible as enemies tend to wander in packs or are grouped up tightly together. But even in these areas, using a grenade to clear out the bulk of the grouped-up enemies is better than taking on everyone at once.

You Don’t Have To Attack Everyone

Sometimes, It’s Smarter To Run Away

There are a lot of enemies in Atomfall, and hostiles will respawn after a certain amount of time, and with the amount of backtracking in the game you’ll more than likely have to run through the same areas twice or even three times. You don’t get experience from killing NPCs, you just get whatever they had in their inventory. Plus, every combat encounter is a survival challenge as you manage your health and heart rate while trying to deal with enemies.

Though you will have to engage in combat in Atomfall, you don’t have to kill every enemy you come across. In fact, many enemies will warn you when you get close, and if you run away, they won’t become hostile.

If you stealth past enemies or simply run away from them, you will save ammo, finish objectives and leads faster, and avoid engaging in unnecessary conflict, raising your chances of survival significantly.

Kick, Then Heavy Attack To Kill Most Enemies Quickly

The Ol’ One-Two Does The Trick For Almost Every Enemy Type

There is one particular combat maneuver in Atomfall that players can use to kill practically any enemy in the game. Kick an enemy away at melee range with L1 (LB), then use a Heavy Attack with a two-handed Axe with R1 (RB) while aiming at the enemy’s head.

If you connect, every hostile, except armored enemies, Ferals, and Thralls, will instantly die.

Using Heavy Attacks with an Axe against regular humanoid enemies will usually instantly kill them, even without a Kick. But kicking enemies in Atomfall deals a little bit of damage, interrupts attacks, and provides about two seconds of opportunity – just enough time to crush your target’s skull with a heavy attack.

Against Ferals and armored humanoids (like Protocol Soldiers), you will need to connect at least two Heavy Attacks with an Axe targeting the head, while Thralls can only be killed if you connect at least three.

Still, using Kick against these enemies creates a bit of room, deals a little bit of damage, and makes these tougher hostiles a bit easier to deal with at melee range.