Once the auto-assembly process of your VAT is complete, you will want to build a sufficient wall around it. The organic life-forms (known otherwise as Leechs) seem to be attracted to the liquid inside the VAT, and it will draw them towards it. Do NOT lose the VAT, as you will not have another chance to sync your DNA sequence into a VAT's database for a long time. Defend your VAT at all costs.

Over the millennia, the NSI have been sending over supplies, including weapons. These weapons are mostly random contraptions produced in a rush during the last years, but nevertheless, they still work, and do their job well.

The first batch of weapons sent over were divided into three types, Machine Guns, Miniguns, and Chainsaws; with an extra, mass-produced weapon for touch-down kits, the Double-Barreled Rifle. Each of these weapons have different uses in different situations, so chose wisely. Of these four types, two has a variation of models, with the minigun having the most. We will now explore these weapons in-depth.

Double-Barreled Rifle- This weapons was introduced back in 2773, as part of the USSP's (United States Space Program) arsenal. It is sturdy, reliable, and will get the job done among the little bastards. It has a high rate of fire, but it uses a small-caliber round, thus not penetrating the thick skins of the bigger Leechs. A blueprint of this weapon is included with your touchdown kit, making it a good backup if you are desperate.

Machine Guns- Machine gun isn't exactly the correct term for these weapons. Assault rifle more fits the looks and personality of the weapon. Terminology aside, these weapons are very solid and have good stopping power. Though a gun can have any number of barrels, you will mostly find weapons with 1-3 barrels, as anything above 3 would be far too expensive for most companies to produce at the time. They come in two different models, Semi-Auto and Full-Auto. It is possible for both models to be on one gun, but a full-auto weapon is much more preferable over a semi-auto one. Attachments can be found on these weapons, ranging from simple reflex sights, to complex thermal imaging scopes.

Miniguns- Over the years, miniguns have evolved. From their bulky, American Civil War origins, to heavy guns mounted on Humvees of the 21st century, to the handheld beasts of today. These monsters will get the job done. Like machine guns, the amount of barrels on them is limitless, but you will commonly find 1-2 barrels on a minigun. They will kill, and will kill quickly, but the giant Leechs are still tough to these weapons, and will take a lot of hits before falling. Its insane ROF will take down anything smaller then that in seconds. Their are three models for the minigun. Tri-Roded, Six-Roded, and Eleven-Roded miniguns. The tri-rod variation has three firing rods on one mingun, and is the slowest to fire; they are also the most common. Six-rod miniguns are a little less common then tri-rods, and have a higher rate of fire. The last model, eleven-rod, is rare on the battlefield, but has a simply insane rate of fire. Note that like machine guns, different minigun barrel models can be attached to the same weapon. It is also possible to have a minigun attached to a machine gun, though it is very rare.

Chainsaws- Humanity has used chainsaws for what seems like eons. They slice nearly everything in half, if you are brave enough to get close to it. This was the first melee weapon shipped to Atlas, and one of the most effective. They can have unlimited barrels, and the most common are 1-4, as they are relatively cheap to make. Not much is to be said about chainsaws, expect as a lovely man described at one point, "You can never have too many chainsaws.".

Hopefully, you now have a greater grasp of the main weapons you will find on Atlas that you can use to defend your VAT. Now that you know what weapons are at your disposal though, what kind of enemies will you face?

The main form of enemy you will be facing off against is the Leech. Disgusting, bloodthirsty beasts that have never known any opposition. Not much is known about them, as our efforts have been more focused on shipping supplies to the new planet, but we will share what little knowledge we know about them with our soldiers

Leechs come in many variations, and the color of the glyphs on thier snouts reflect this. Grey leechs can have varying stats, with no specialty. Orange leechs seem to have the ability to jump high, making your walls useless. They also have a very powerful bite. Yellow leechs are like grey ones, with no noticable difference in stats. Blue leechs have increased speed and mobility. Green leechs can take more a a beating from firearms. In the first few waves of enemies, guns will be enough to take them down, but as time goes on, you will need to deploy turrets to help you out.

Speaking of turrets, we should discuss what these auto-defense platforms are capable of.

Personal defenses aren't the only things shipped to Atlas. Blueprints of turrets are also included in your touch-down kit. All you need to do it find the necessary materials to craft them, and the auto-assembly process will begin. There are seven types of turrets.

Laser- Much evolved from the primitive 21st century counterpart, lasers are capable of severely damaging human flesh, as well as Leech flesh. They are pretty cheap to produce, only costing 50 metal, and 100 oil. They are a very good option for late-game defenses. They have a decent ROF, and good damage output. They are easily flipped over, but can still operate perfectly fine when flipped.

Rocket- Since the ancient Chinese with fireworks, humans have had a urging tendency to blow ♥♥♥♥ up. Rockets haven't changed much from their main introduction in the first half of the 21 century. Only few can withstand the pure shock and awe of a rocket impact. Rocket turrets have a very slow ROF, but make up for that in heavy stopping power. They are rather expensive though, requiring 100 metal, and 200 oil.

Vertical and Horizontal Slammer Turrets- These are used mostly as generators for power plants, but who is not to say the can be utilized at defenses? They are very cheap at 25 metal, and slams at a very high velocity, causing large amounts of damage.

Searchlight- Costing 50 metal, this turret is great for lighting up the night, and giving you offensive turrets a better view.

Twisty Turret- Why the bloody hell did NIS think this would be a good idea? This is simply a waste of 25 metal, don't make it.

Now that you know what kind of defensive platforms you can build, where have you touched down?

According to the course of the last known ping from the resource transporters, there are two possible locations you have landed when you yourself are sent out. Here is a geographically description of each.

The Desert- If you have landed here, prepare a wall immediately, for our radars detected a possible Leech hive nearby. Judging the distance from the hive to the VAT location, it will take the first wave roughly 5 minutes to arrive. The cacti here is simply huge, and is a good place to position snipers if you have multiple people in your party. If one of the human survivors happens to go AWOL and start firing at you, there is little-to-no cover without human construction. So make sure you always have some spare wood on you if you need instant cover.





The Mountains- No possible Leech hives have been detected in the vicinity of the mountains, feel free to build a fort for others to take refuge at.

Along with weapons and auto defense platforms, many different materials have been sent down to the new planet. For the matter of convenience, NSI have separated the resources needed to craft these materials into pallets. You will find these pallets randomly colliding into the planet ripe for the taking, so make sure to pick them up when you get the chance. According to where you have landed, it is predicted that four types of resources are landing in your vicinity. Wood, stone, metal, and oil. Each of these have their own uses, strengths and weaknesses, and costs.

Wood- The cheapest and most common material to make, wood is the backbone for many fortresses. You will be able to craft three types of wood blocks. The creaky board tileset is for those who wish to have a more...pieced together...looking fortress. The sturdy lumber tileset, which is used in most fortress made of wood. And the wooden mansion tileset. This wood is not exactly recommended for forts, as it is made for your living space. Wood is the least durable among the three tilesets, as even an average Leech can destroy these boards in seconds.

Stone- Stone is the happy medium between wood and metal. It is durable, relatively common, and is used in most developed fortresses. Their are two types of stone blocks. The concrete slab tileset is worn down, but still durable as ever. The stacked stone bricks tileset looks a bit better then concrete slabs, but have the same strength nevertheless. Though our research has proved otherwise, Leechs may judge the appearance of your fort, so I would personally go with stone bricks.

Metal- Strong enough to withstand punishment from even the bigger guys, and looks good too. Metal is rare, but powerful. You will have to judge weather you want to be offensive or defensive though, as metal is also required to build turrets. Their is only one metal tileset.

Oil- Though no tileset can be made out of oil, it is still very important, as it is required to build turrets and vehicles. It is about as rare as metal.

Vehicles can help you get around the battlefield, not to mention turn leechs into stew. So what kind of vehicles are at your disposal?

Many vehicles have been sent over from Earth to the new planet. These vehicles range from oldies but goodies, to the latest in Earth technology.