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Players have pretty much free rein in terms of which Alters they choose to create first inThe Alters. However, that doesn’t mean that they’re all necessarily created equal. Some of Jan’s clones are far more useful than others, especially during the early stages of the game. To make sure players' escape from the sun and keep progressing through the game, this guide will detail everything players need to know regarding the best Alters to get first inThe Alters.
Each Alter in the game has an ability or ‘benefit’ to creating them, some will be able to help with a particular task, while others are simply more efficient at something. They all come in useful eventually, but getting the right Alters at the beginning of the game can make things considerably easier.
Which Alters Should You Get First in The Alters?
The suggestions below don’t include Jan Technician, as this Alter is pretty much mandatory for players to create first. However, players have the freedom to create whichever Alters they want after this stage.
1. The Scientist
As soon as players are able to, they should make the Scientist Alter in The Alters. His ability to use the Research Lab will mean that players can unlock new modules for their base,upgrade their base, and become far more efficient at extracting materials.
Jan Scientist is also needed toprogress the story in Act 1. While no other Alter will be able to help progress past this point, the game doesn’t stop players from creating a different Alter as their second crewmate on their base. Almost all the upgrades the scientist can research are useful, so it’s best to get a head start on researching them as soon as players can, and have the added ability of getting through the main objectives quickly.
Players need to stay ahead of the sun otherwise their run will be over. Getting the Scientist as soon as possible helps save precious time during Act 1 that players will need later on when they need to focus on resource gathering.
2. The Botanist
As the base grows and more Alters are created, the need for a constant supply of food grows with it. Raw Food is far superior to the mush that players can create with Organics, as it helps keep Alters happy, but it takes a long time to produce in the Greenhouse module. Fortunately, the Botanist’s +100% efficiency when growing crops helps mitigate the food production time sink inThe Alters.
They can be even more effective if players research the ‘Efficient Food’ technology from the Base tree (unlocked atQubit Level3). This enables them to create a pack of 10 Raw Food in about six hours, which means players can get more food than a full crew of Alters can get through in a day in less than a day’s work.
By getting the Botanist early and researching Efficient Food as soon as possible, players can remove one of the resource pressures for the rest of their playthrough.
3. The Refiner
The Refiner isn’t one of the overall best Alters to have early on inThe Alters, but players need to create them to gain access to The Worker, which branches off from their path in the Quantum Computer timeline. The Refiner will come into their own later on when resources such as ALX and Enriched Metals deposits are more common on the surface of the planet.
However, they can still be useful in Act 1 when players are building the bridge anchors to advance the storyline. Thebridge anchors require Polymers, which can only be made from the Refinery. While Refinery tasks are some of the shortest in the game, having someone who can make them even quicker and focus on getting Polymers while players focus on Metals, Minerals, and Organics is still helpful.
The main benefit of getting the Refiner early is the ability to unlock the Worker sooner. The Worker has a +50% efficiency when crafting items in the Workshop. It might not sound all that special, but the amount of Drill Cartridges, Radiation Filters, Pylon Parts, Anomaly Shields, and Repair Kits that players need to make as they progress through the game can quickly become overwhelming.
Just having an Alter that can quickly blast through the production queue and keep these topped up while players focus on exploring the planet and pushing through main objectives is a massive help and can’t be understated.
The Pros and Cons of The Miner in The Alters
A Lot to Handle
Every Alter in the game has their requests and personal struggles that the player, as original Jan, will need to handle. While some are relatively simple to resolve, others can be a lot trickier, and the Miner falls on the extremely tricky side to handle.
A couple of in-game days after being created, the Miner can become unusable and will become a drain on resources. Players will then need to act relatively quickly and focus on building an Infirmary and handling the various requests here to get the Miner back on their feet.
This can come at a time when players really need to be mining for various resources as much as possible, and so the Miner can become a distraction at the worst possible time.
That being said, if players are in a position to handle the Miner’s personal struggles and can get him healed and working again, his +50% efficiency when mining metals can be a massive boost. Metals are one of the most important resources in the game, so having an Alter that can be tasked with extracting these (and doing them quicker than anyone else can) is incredibly valuable.
