The Alters: 7 Tips to Make Your Life Easier as Jan Dolski

The Alters is finally here, and it is an incredible mashup of base-building, sci-fi adventure, moral grey areas, and simulation fare that’ll catch you unawares if you’re not fully prepared. Thankfully, we have some important tips that’ll make surviving your planetary trip much simpler, all without ruining the experience.

While The Alters may include some tried and tested mechanics, it also includes some new ones, and mashes them up to make a properly unique adventure that can excite one moment, terrify the next, and leave you scratching your head in confusion after that, but if you’re stuck, or just looking for some help in general, we have you well and truly covered. I just wish someone had offered the same help when booting it up.

Build Your Base From the Center Out

Early on, this won’t be so much of a problem, as you’ll be limited on space, modules, and materials anyway, but pretty quickly, you’ll find your base growing in size and complexity. Sometimes, getting around quickly is paramount, so some planning would be beneficial.

Hands down, your most-used modules will be the Airlock (used for exiting the base and going onto the planet), the Captain’s Cabin (where you end the day’s proceedings), the Comms Room (regular calls to a multitude of people), and the Workshop (where you’ll produce every item you use). With this knowledge, you’ll want to build everything around them. By the end of the game, I had everything grouped into types of modules, meaning movement for me and my Alters was as minimised as possible.

It’s also a smart move to build with a row of elevators in the middle, meaning everything is even closer, as you’ll always be in the middle, rather than all the way over the other side. My suggestion? A middle row of Captain’s Cabin, Comms Room, Elevator, Airlock, and Workshop. You’re welcome.

Listen to Your Alters, Understand Them

If you want to make your time during The Alters easier, you need to pay close attention to your Alters. Each one has a specific expertise that you’re going to want to make the most of. For example, Jan Scientist is best used in the Research Lab, as he’s the only one who can research new technology for you. That’s not to say that in a pinch he can’t be used to mine, cook, or refine materials, but don’t ignore research with him.

In the same vein, the Alters will quickly tell you as and when they’re dissatisfied with you. If this continues, they’ll rebel, and it’ll be Game Over, so it is imperative that you keep them happy. You can do this by making sure you’re not overworking them (crunch hours), giving them ample modules to relax in (Gym, Social Room, etc), and giving them items you find on your exploratory trips outside the base.

The Uphold Feature is Your Best Friend

Keeping on top of everything is a full-time job in The Alters. Sometimes you’ll be overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the task ahead to ensure that you’re working towards escape, whilst also keeping your Alters happy and alive. To take some of the strain, you’ll want to make use of the Uphold feature, which will allow you to queue items up to a certain number, meaning you’ll never run out as long as someone is on the Workshop. This means you won’t have a mad scramble when you run out of Radiation Filters, protecting the base, or Suit Batteries, when you’re out and about. It’s one of the ways the game will allow you a breather and you’d be mad to ignore it.

Find Time to Explore the Environment

It may seem stupid to say, considering it’s a massive part of the game, but make sure you’re taking the time to fully explore the environment you’re in, beyond just finding the mining outposts. If you don’t, you’re going to miss out on specific items that’ll help you with your Alters (mentioned above), Interals, which will help with the best skills (mentioned below), as well as anomalies that’ll grant other materials once defeated. Don’t stop exploring until you’re certain you’ve found every boundary on the map, and only then should you be certain you’ve missed nothing.

Plan Ahead with the Pylons

Pylons are used to connect the mining outposts you find in your travels around the planet, and it’s sensible to really think out the routes you use with them. Not only is it better aesthetically, it’ll save you all important materials if you figure out the shortest routes, as you’ll need fewer pylons. Always combine pylon paths when possible, and connect them into one main path. Don’t waste resources when you can avoid it.

Prioritize Research Around Material Conversion Early

Using Jan Scientist to research new items, skills, and mission-based solutions is a huge part of The Alters, and getting to grips early on is important, as is picking the right things to upgrade and research. Some items are better than others, and some require Planetary Samples from destroying the Interals. With the heavy emphasis on mining resources from the environment, it’s important to get Jan Scientist quickly into researching the Advanced Mining Outposts for each material, as well as the ALX conversions. It’ll make your life easier, and you’ll quickly end up with a surplus of materials that’ll benefit you in times of danger, like Magnetic Storms.

Don’t Ignore, Destroy

The anomalies are the main enemy during your time with The Alters, and with various types, they can be quite formidable and intimidating if you’re not fully prepared. It’s worthwhile understanding the different types of anomalies and being ready to fight them:

• Stationary – These are the first anomalies you’ll meet. They don’t move, but if you’re not paying attention and running blindly, they’ll hurt you all the same.
• Moving – These can chase you if you enter their boundary. These should always be a priority for you, as they’ll easily sneak up on you and do some serious damage.
• Growing – These will grow and pulsate as they chase you. If you get caught in their field, be prepared for huge amounts of damage. They also have two cores, so they’re stronger than the others.
• Time Dilation – Time is the biggest currency in the game, and these anomalies will speed it up whilst you’re inside them. Find the multiple different cores and destroy them, otherwise you’ll see time slip through your hands.
• Prism – The last anomaly introduced, and the most likely to give you a headache. Twisting the vision of Jan into multiple realities, it’ll cause confusion and great difficulty in traversing the environment. Spending too long in one and it’ll cause you to pass out and be returned to the ship.

Ignoring these can be disastrous as they’ll quickly derail any potential excursions. Once you’ve destroyed an anomaly, absolutely make sure to pick up the remains of the core, as this is a material in itself, and can be converted into others if you’ve unlocked the prerequisite skills thanks to Jan Scientist.

For more Thumb Wars Gaming coverage, check our review of The Alters, or see what Hideo Kojima has to say about Death Stranding 2: On The Beach. Otherwise, follow Thumb Wars on X, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram to keep up with the latest news, reviews, and interviews.

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