Upgrading skills in Atomic Heart is key to surviving against the many threats you will face. Early into the game, you will meet a flirtatious fridge that will allow you to spend Neuropolymer to upgrade your skills. Early into the game, you will want to gather Neuropolymer by looting everything you can to upgrade your skills.
You will want to focus on upgrading your character, energy management, and Shok skills, but there are a few other skills that can be helpful in different situations. Luckily, you can always return skills and refund the Neuropolymer spent, so you can respec your character as much as you want.
Related: How to open the terminal doors to order the hawk to land in Atomic Heart
Best skills in Atomic Heart for the early game
Early on, there are a few skills that will be very helpful in combat. Here are the best skills to get early in Atomic Heart.
| Skill | Skill Tree | Description | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neuro-Compression Tactical Backpack | Character | Increases inventory space | 75 Neuropolymer |
| Second Wind | Character | Grants an additional dodge charge | 38 Neuropolymer |
| Sleazeball | Character | Shields you from damage while dodging | 62 Neuropolymer |
| Morning Exercise | Character | Increases running speed | 80 Neuropolymer |
| Musclehead | Character | Increases maximum health | 110 Neuropolymer |
| Chain Lightning | Shok | Part of the Shok discharge deals damage to an additional target | 69 Neuropolymer |
| Extended Topology | Shok | Chain Lightning can hit one additional target | 75 Neuropolymer |
| Forced Fall Acceleration | Telekinesis | Enemies take damage falling from Mass Telekinesis | 70 Neuropolymer |
| Energy Density | Energy Management | Adds another Power Cell to the circulation chamber | 34 Neuropolymer |
Early on in Atomic Heart, you will want to make sure that you are properly equipped to handle multiple enemies. Movement abilities can help keep you out of danger and can be very helpful when overwhelmed by enemies.
Increasing inventory space, obtaining Energy Density, and getting Musclehead may not be the most exciting prospect, but they will help immensely early on. Once you have the basic skills, you can branch out and experiment with the ability skills like Mass Telekinesis, the Polymer Shield, and the Polymer Jet.
Remember, you can respec your character by returning any skills you have purchased and get the Neuropolymer back. While your options may be limited at the beginning, it is a great time to make sure you have all the essential skills for the style of gameplay you want.
For more on Atomic Heart, check out What weapon is better – Swede or Fox in Atomic Heart? here on Pro Game Guides.
Bishop Lister is a writer and sports data analyst covering video games since 2019 after graduating from Arizona State University with a bachelor's in Sports Business, minoring in Digital Media Literacy. Bishop enjoys covering RPGs, sports, fighting, strategy titles, and FPS titles, with a focus on Apex Legends.