Summary
- Metals/Non-Metals Efficiency upgrades boost resource extraction speed for survival and action economy.
- The Recycler passively generates Organic resources, reducing mining time and aiding in long-term sustainability.
- The Luminator is pivotal in the mid-game, allowing players to clear Anomalies and acquire essential Planetary Samples.
In the unforgiving world of The Alters, every second counts, and every upgrade is a lifeline. 11 bit studios have crafted a universe where even the rising sun isn’t a source of hope but a relentless, radioactive apocalypse and the game isn’t a typical survival sandbox where players can leisurely build a fortress; it’s a desperate attempt to escape a hostile alien world. Every decision is magnified by a clock that turns one real-world second into a full in-game minute, making the upgrade path the single most important strategic choice players will make.
The Best Alters In The Alters, Ranked
It's important that players know what every Alter does in The Alters and which of them will be worth bringing along for the journey.
Choosing the right technology at the right time is the razor-thin margin between a successful evacuation and a run-ending catastrophe. From the game-changing power of the Luminator to the quiet, long-term value of a simple Recycler, prioritizing research is the secret to taming this beautiful, brutal world. This topic lays out the optimal upgrade path, ensuring the journey and survival of Jan Dolski is a success and not a lost cause.
1 Metals/Non-Metals Efficiency 1
Best Way To Turbocharge The Mining Crew
- Total Cost: 20 Minerals (each)
- Research Time: 6 hours
Once the base is established and the Alters are assigned to Mining Outposts, the entire operation hinges on one thing: the speed of resource extraction. These paired efficiency upgrades, one for Metals and one for Non-Metals, are the engine of the industrial base, acting as a direct multiplier on the productivity of the workforce.
This isn't just about building a bigger stockpile. Faster resource acquisition directly impacts survival by ensuring a steady supply of materials for Radiation Filters and Repair Kits. More importantly, it dramatically enhances the base's "action economy." If an eight-hour mining task is reduced to six, players haven't just gotten resources faster; two hours of that Alter's time has been reclaimed, which can be immediately reinvested into research, crafting, or healing.
2 Recycler
A Slow-Burn Investment That Will Eventually Pay Off
- Total Cost: 30 Minerals
- Research Time: N/A (constructed directly in base)
The Recycler isn't a flashy upgrade that will save players in a firefight or unlock a new continent, but fans of the survival genre know the immense power of passive resource generation. This humble 2x1 module is a true "fire and forget" system that gets slotted into the base and quietly converts the crew's waste into a steady trickle of Organic resources.
While 5 Organics per crew member per day sounds minuscule, its true value lies in automation and long-term accumulation. Those "free" Organics mean the crew spends less time mining, freeing them up for critical tasks like research, crafting, or repairs. Throughout a 30-day act, a four-person crew generates 600 Organics, an amount that significantly offsets the constant demand for both food and the fuel needed to move the base.
3 Anomaly Shield 1
Emergency Insurance For The Bold Explorer
- Total Cost: 10 Minerals + 5 Metals
- Research Time: 6 hours
Few things sting more in The Alters than losing a day to a catastrophic anomaly hit. A single, unprotected touch can flood an explorer with a massive burst of radiation, potentially ending an entire day's expedition in an instant. The Anomaly Shield, a personal suit upgrade that absorbs one anomaly blast before burning out, automatically recharges whenever Jan or his Alters return to base.
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It’s not required for story progression, but anyone who’s explored the game’s hazardous territory knows that a single mistake can turn an entire expedition into a rescue operation. While it’s possible to craft expensive shield recharges in the field, relying on the free recharge at the base is a far more efficient strategy.
4 Hook Upgrade
The Hook Is A Must For Unlocking Verticality
- Total Cost: 15 Minerals, 10 Metals
- Research Time: 6 hours
The Hook Upgrade is The Alters’ answer to every blocked path and unreachable cliff. Once researched and crafted, it allows Jan to scale medium-height cliffs, opening up shortcuts, hidden caches, and entire regions that are otherwise off-limits. Its impact on navigation is transformative, letting players rethink the map in three dimensions.
This upgrade isn’t just a mobility boost; it’s a critical enabler for story progression. Key locations, including Bridge Anchor points and Damaged Chips for Qubit upgrades, are often locked behind vertical obstacles. Also, without the Hook, Act 2 is functionally off-limits.
5 Luminator
The Key That Unlocks The Entire Mid-Game
- Total Cost: 20 Metals + 20 Rapidium
- Research Time: 6 hours
The acquisition of the Luminator is arguably the single most important turning point in The Alters. Before unlocking it, players are scavengers, reacting to the environment and surviving on basic materials. After crafting this sophisticated tool, players become hunters, actively shaping the world to gain an advantage.
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There are a total of fifty-six achievements or trophies in The Alters, and some of them are not easy to complete without a bit of help.
The Luminator is the only tool that can permanently destroy anomalies, clear paths, and make exploration routes safe. More importantly, the Luminator is the only way to interact with special "Interal" Anomalies and acquire Planetary Samples—the rare currency required for almost every single high-tier technology, including the vital Suit Upgrade 1.
6 Suit Upgrade 1
Enhancing The Most Important Operational Unit
- Total Cost: 1 Planetary Sample + 30 Metals + 10 Rapidium
- Research Time: 10 hours
Suit Upgrade 1 is the classic level-up moment for explorers. By boosting battery capacity (from 6 to 8 charges) and adding a 20% radiation resistance, it expands Jan’s operational window in a big way. More battery means more actions, scanning, climbing, and anomaly clearing before a recharge is needed.
The extra radiation buffer is a literal lifesaver, especially when venturing into hazardous areas packed with Enriched Metals. Crucially, this upgrade is tied to the Planetary Sample, a rare resource gated behind Interal trails and the Luminator. Once unlocked, Suit Upgrade 1 enables longer, safer, and more productive excursions, unlocking higher-value objectives and accelerating overall progress.
7 Base Expansion II
Non-Negotiable Objective Of The Early Game
- Total Cost: 60 Metals + 40 Minerals
- Research Time: 14 hours
The central conflict of The Alters presents a cruel paradox: players must build new modules to survive and progress, but every module added increases the base's total mass. The problem? The base's starting Organics fuel tank has a capacity of 300, and the base's mass will quickly exceed that, making it physically impossible to move and escape the sun at the end of the Act.
Base Expansion II is the only solution. It increases the fuel tank's capacity to 450, providing the necessary overhead to support a growing, thriving operation. It is the central objective toward which the entire early-game path is aimed. Achieving this upgrade marks the successful transition from survival to proactive expansion.
8 Probes Upgrade 1
Scanning The Planet Like A Pro
- Total Cost: 15 Metals
- Research Time: 6 hours
If time is the most precious currency in The Alters, then Probes Upgrade 1 is a goldmine. The initial process of placing a small set of probes, realizing the target is out of range, and then repositioning them is a laborious cycle that eats into the limited daylight hours. Probes Upgrade 1 is a massive quality-of-life improvement that solves this problem permanently.
By increasing both the number of deployable probes and their effective scanning range, this upgrade allows players to blanket a huge area in a single deployment. This drastically reduces the time and suit energy required to pinpoint a mining location, transforming a tedious chore into a quick and efficient task.
9 ALX Conversion (Organics)
Turning Environmental Hazards Into Resources
- Total Cost: 10 ALX
- Research Time: 8 hours
Before this upgrade, Anomalies were nothing more than dangerous obstacles to be avoided. After researching ALX Conversion (Organics), the entire strategic landscape of the game changes. This technology gives the Refinery the ability to process ALX—a material exclusively obtained by destroying Anomalies—and turn it into a wealth of Organic resources at an incredibly favorable 10-to-18 conversion rate.
Strategically, it’s a double win. Players get a new reason to hunt Anomalies, and every ALX haul translates to more food, fuel, and operational flexibility. Its position in the tech tree also acts as a gate to further ALX conversions, making it foundational for late-game resource diversification.
The Alters
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 86 /100 Critics Rec: 94%
- Released
- June 13, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Use of Drugs and Alcohol, Violence
- Developer(s)
- 11 Bit Studios
- Publisher(s)
- 11 Bit Studios
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Number of Players
- Single-player
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Playable
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Survival, Strategy, Management
