The desert-dwelling IP from Deck13, Atlas Fallen, challenges players with the monumental task of releasing the world from the iron grip of an unruly Sun god. To do this, the Unnamed main character must discover the secrets of the powerful gauntlet they find in the sand and the spirit that it contains.
Upgrading armor sets in Atlas Fallen will give players the opportunity to also improve a selection of additional Perks, which improve a variety of aspects in the game for their character. There are twelve perks in total, so players should acquaint themselves with which skills to upgrade first.
10 Adventurer
The world in Atlas Fallen is riddled with countless hidden chests buried beneath the sands of the vast deserts. With the Adventurer perk, players will be able to discover these with greater ease and reap the rewards of their findings.
The perk makes use of the controller's vibration, along with audio cues, to help players identify where the treasures are hidden. However, this feature isn't particularly instructive or clear, so it can be difficult to determine what each vibration is indicating. It is a useful perk, but it is perhaps not one of the most valuable for its lapse in user-friendliness.
9 Herbalist Healing
With the Herbalist Healing perk, players will be able to regain a portion of their Idol's energy each time they collect the many plants found in the desert world. This is a handy perk to have in one's back pocket, as it can help players regenerate their health sooner. However, it may not be as valuable given the game's environment.
As Atlas Fallen is set in the desert, plant life is a little scarce. It does not happen often that players encounter a plant at the time when their Idol energy needs a boost most urgently, so this one doesn't need to be prioritized as highly as the others.
8 Refresh
The Refresh perk is another great way to quickly regenerate a player's health and prepare them for any challenges that lay ahead. For every combat encounter that players conquer, a significant amount of their Idol's energy will be restored to help with the recovery process.
While this is a useful perk, the timing makes it somewhat less desirable. As it is only activated after an encounter, it is likely that this will be used once the dust has settled on a battle and the area has been cleared of threats. With that said, it will prevent quick deaths if players are attacked after an encounter without warning.
7 Sand Slider
The desert is a vast terrain for players to traverse, and can be a time-consuming process. Fortunately, among the Gauntlet Bearer's powers is the ability to surf the sand in a more efficient mode of transport to cover more ground in less time. With the Sand Slider perk, this is done in an even more orderly fashion.
The Sand Slider perk grants players a short speed boost whenever they slide over any of the desert's plants. This is a useful perk; however, it serves a singular purpose that is only truly useful over shorter distances. For those looking to travel a great distance, the Fast Travel option is a more time-efficient alternative.
6 Deck Builder
The Deck Builder is an excellent perk for balancing out a player's armor set by increasing a particular trait. By equipping five Essence Stones of the same category, players will receive a boost that coincides with the stones being used. These include the Damage, Tricks, Momentum, Survivability, and Healing options. For example, a player that equips five Momentum Essence Stones will receive an increase in the rate that Momentum is generated.
This is a great perk for boosting player stats and can help gamers to dull any weaknesses their character has. One point to note is that the Essence Stone selection may clash with the armor set players have equipped. Certain Essence Stones will add further statistical increases specific to the armor set in use, so the key to effectively using this perk is to tailor the Essence Stone loadout to support both the armor set and perk.
5 Active Parry
A unique facet of the gameplay in Atlas Fallen is the huge array of Essence Stones that players can collect and equip to grant them unique skills to use on their journey. There are over 50 of them to be discovered, meaning there are an enormous amount of stone combinations that can be used to create a unique character build.
The Active Parry perk will reward players who time their parries well, by reducing the cooldown time of the active stones during combat. As these stones are powerful sources of offense or give players a unique advantage in battle, this is an important perk to upgrade to ensure Essence Stones are available as often as possible.
4 Extended Charge
One of the few perks that can only be upgraded once, the Extended Charge ability grants players an extra charge on their Idols. This is an invaluable perk as this will give players a final chance to regenerate their health, which could be the difference between victory or defeat in battle.
This particular perk is one that players will want to upgrade as soon as possible, which is likely why Deck13 made this one the hardest one to reach. In order to unlock it, players will need to upgrade one of the corresponding perks that are joined to it, but it is worth the effort.
3 Gold Digger
The Gold Digger perk is perfect for players looking to amass a large supply of Tributes, the in-game currency of Atlas Fallen. With this perk upgraded, players will receive more Tributes when completing tasks that earn them money, and selling items will be of greater value to the many vendors in the game.
Tributes are a key resource in Atlas Fallen, as they enable players to purchase important items such as armor sets, formulas, and treasure maps. There is no understating how useful this perk is. This should be one to unlock as soon as possible, as a financial advantage in Atlas Fallen will result in advantages in every other area of the game.
2 Quick Growth
As the name suggests, the Quick Growth perk will support players looking to level up their character and create an even more powerful Gauntlet Bearer. Aside from Tributes, players will also need to collect Essence Dust to unlock and upgrade the many Essence Stones available to be harnessed in the game.
The Quick Growth perk increases the amount of Essence Dust a player will acquire when they defeat Thelos' wraith minions. With this boost, players will be able to craft even more powerful abilities to make their Unnamed character an unstoppable force, so this should be one of the first perks to focus on.
1 Momentum Burst
Momentum is the most important component of any combat exchange in Atlas Fallen, as it dictates the amount of damage players can deal as well as the number of active Essence Stones. Players with a high Momentum can unleash a flurry of devastating attacks and perform the most powerful Shatter ability, which will fell even the most formidable foes.
The Momentum Burst perk is the most valuable when it comes to combat, as it gives players a head start in the amount of damage they can deliver and the additional abilities they can perform. As far as the early Perks go, this is one that should be at the top of every player's list.
Atlas Fallen is now available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.