Atomic Heart Skills Guide

In this Atomic Heart Skills Guide, we'll tell you how Skills work, the upgrade cost for Skills, and how to pick the right Skills for your playstyle.

Quicklinks: How Atomic Heart Skills Work | Skills List

How Atomic Heart Skills Work

Atomic Heart Skills can either unlock new abilities for P-3 or enhance existing abilities. You can only purchase Skills at the Nora station where you can also Craft Weapons, Ammo, and more. Skills require Neuropolymer, a resource that drops off of most enemies in the game.

You can only have two active Skills equipped at any one time, so it's best to focus on two activated Skills. Shok gets a dedicated button, so you will always have that ability available. It's a good idea to work your way towards the Shok Cooldown bonus as soon as you can -- you'll need Shok for many puzzles and it will save you a lot of time that would otherwise be spent sitting around waiting for Shok to recharge.

Much like Crafting, you're also able to refund your Skills and get back 100% of the resources you invested into them. Atomic Heart encourages experimentation and you should take advantage of that fact. Big boss fight coming up? Respec your skills to get some extra health. Got to fight a bunch of enemies soon? Power up one of your offensive Skills to hit them hard. Play around with the Skills until you find two that you like!

How to Get Neuropolymer in Atomic Heart

There are two ways to get Neuropolymer in Atomic Heart:

Kill certain enemies.
Loot it from chests.

Aside from Neuropolymer, all enemies drop Crafting materials. Don't recklessly charge into every fight, but you shouldn't let enemies get away, either -- every defeated enemy makes you just a little bit stronger thanks to the Crafting materials and Neuropolymer they drop!

What is the Best Skill in Atomic Heart?

The best Skill in Atomic Heart depends on your situation. If you prefer to use guns instead of special abilities, you should invest in Character and Energy Management to make the most of the passive upgrades. If you prefer to go on the offensive instead, you should try out each of the offensive Skills a bit and see what works best for you. Remember, you can always refund Skills and get back all of your Neuropolymer if you don't like them!

Atomic Heart Skills Guide - Skills List

Atomic Heart Skills List

Here is a list of all of the Atomic Heart Skills, their Neuropolymer cost, any necessary prerequisite Skills, and what effect each Skill provides.

Shok

Skill	Neuropolymer	Prerequisite	Effect
Shok	0	Story Unlock	Your glove can produce an electromagnetic discharge that targets enemies and deals electric damage. Robotic targets are especially vulnerable to electricity.
Electrization	32	Shok	Shok electrifies enemies.
Power Amplifier	40	Electrization	Shok deals more damage and pushes back enemies.
Resister Malfunction	61	Power Amplifier	Electrified targets receive increased damage.
Neuro-Polymer Accelerator	75	Resister Malfunction	Reduces Shok cooldown.
Powerful Electrization	87	Neuro-Polymer Accelerator	Repeated attacks apply an additional Electrified effect and break low-HP Polymerized enemies into pieces.
Amplified Modulator	26	Shok	An upgrade to the electromagnetic unit that increases its effective range.
Chain Lightning	69	Amplified Modulator	Part of the discharge bounces and deals damage to an additional target.
Extended Topology	75	Chain Lightning	Chain Lightning can hit one additional target.
Full Contact	95	Extended Topology	Secondary targets hit by Chain Lightning receive full damage.

Character

Skill	Neuropolymer	Prerequisite	Effect
Nora's Kiss	0	Story Unlock	For a limited time, you can survive lethal damage with 1 HP. This skill has a cooldown.
Extra Capacity Cluster Munitions	27	Nora's Kiss	Cluster munitions get increased capacity.
Neuro-Compression Tactical Backpack	75	Extra Capacity Cluster Munitions	Increases your backpack's capacity through compression rate upgrades.
Neuro-Compression Tactical Backpack	75	Extra Capacity Cluster Munitions	Increases your backpack's capacity through compression rate upgrades.
Wild Boar	37	Nora's Kiss	Increases your maximum health.
Morning Exercise	80	Wild Boar	Every major worth their salt must be able to run a marathon. Increases your running speed.
Photon Silk	27	Wild Boar	Increases your suit's laser resistance.
Avatar	45	Photon Silk	Resistance to elemental damage
Bulwark	78	Avatar	Increases resistance to physical damage
Med Unit Upgrade	57	Photon Silk	Your suit's built-in Med Unit restores more Health.
Musclehead	110	Med Unit Upgrade	Increases your maximum Health.
Juggler	87	Musclehead	You can use a Neuromed capsule with one hand.
Athlete	165	Juggler	Increases your maximum Health.
Second Wind	38	Wild Boar	Your excellent physical ability grants you an extra dodge charge.
Sleazeball	62	Second Wind	Shields you from all damage while dodging/
Cell Division	242	Sleazeball	Using medical supplies allows you to fully regenerate Health in a matter of seconds.
Parkour	43	Second Wind	You are trained to tuck and roll when falling to avoid damage. To do so, try jumping right before you land
Full House	67	Parkour	Allows you to swap weapons 100% more quickly.
Born Marksman	119	Full House	Your excellent marksmanship skills increase accuracy of your unaimed shooting.

Frostbite

Skill	Neuropolymer	Prerequisite	Effect
Cryo Jet	12	Story Unlock	Your glove can hit targets and surfaces with a jet of cryopolymer. Affected enemies are frozen and cannot move. Organic enemies are especially vulnerable to low temperatures.
High Pressure	11	Cryo Jet	Upgrades the Cryo Jet's pressure chamber, increasing its maximum range.
Drastic Measure	35	High Pressure	When the glove's reserves are depleted, it produces cryopolymer from your bloodstream instead, enabling you to use the Cryo Jet at the cost of your Health.
Forced Defrost	34	High Pressure	Frozen targets receive additional damage when the freeze effect ends.
Careful Disassembly	66	Forced Defrost	Receive increased loot when you defeat a frozen enemy.
Neuro-Polymer Accelerator	70	Careful Disassembly	Reduces the cooldown of the polymer jet.
Increased Polymer Generation	101	Neuro-Polymer Accelerator	Increased glove output allows the Cryo Jet to fire for longer.
Fire Extinguisher	22	High Pressure	The Cryo Jet's spray neutralizes incoming fire damage.
Intensive Spraying	48	Fire Extinguisher	Speeds up the cryopolymer discharge to freeze enemies more quickly.
Diffuse Spray Head	48	Intensive Spraying	Allows you to spray cryopolymer in a cone-shaped area.
Cryo Sleep	88	Diffuse Spray Head	Improves the durability of the cryopolymer, increasing the freeze duration.
Absolute Zero	104	Cryo Sleep	Cryogenic freezing at extreme temperatures deals damage to frozen targets every second.

Mass Telekinesis

Skill	Neuropolymer	Prerequisite	Effect
Mass Telekinesis	66	Story Unlock	Allows you to grip all enemies in the area of effect, lifting them up into the air for a short period. If the effect is interrupted or ends, the targets will fall to the ground.
Forced Fall Acceleration	70	Mass Telekinesis	The neurokinetic unit can now accelerate dropped enemies, causing them to take damage when they fall.
Amplified Modulator	79	Mass Telekinesis	An upgrade to the telekinesis unit that increases Mass Telekinesis' area of effect.
Barotrauma	93	Amplified Modulator	Increases the per-second damage of Mass Telekinesis.
Drastic Measure	144	Barotrauma	When the glove's reserves are depleted, the Telekinesis Unit consumes ATP from your bloodstream, enabling you to use the ability at the cost of your Health.
Increased Impact	210	Drastic Measure	Increases the duration for which enemies are held in the air.
Increased Power	144	Amplified Modulator	Significantly increases the power of the Mass Telekinesis neurokinetic unit, allowing you to lift heavyweight enemies.
Neuro-Polymer Accelerator	175	Increased Power	Reduces the cooldown of Mass Telekinesis.
Energy Vampire	226	Neuro-Polymer Accelerator	Drains energy from enemies gripped by Mass Telekinesis to restore the recirculation chamber's power. Requires one Power Cell to activate.

Polymeric Jet

Skill	Neuropolymer	Prerequisite	Effect
Polymeric Jet	20	Story Unlock	Your glove can spray targets and surfaces with a jet of combat polymer. Once applied, combat polymer can be set on fire, electrified, or frozen, dealing damage of the corresponding type to affected enemies.
High Pressure	23	Polymeric Jet	Upgrades the Polymeric Jet's pressure chamber, increasing its maximum range.
Environmental Resistance	52	High Pressure	Successive Neuro-Polymer Unit upgrades improve applied Combat Polymer's durability, increasing the effect's duration.
Neuro-Polymer Air Defense	85	Environmental Resistance	Increases the viscosity of the combat polymer so it can slow down rotors to down airborne enemies.
Increased Polymer Generation	89	Neuro-Polymer Air Defense	Increased glove output allows Polymeric Jet to fire for longer.
Increased Chemical Reactivity Distance	39	High Pressure	Applied to a target, Combat Polymer affects nearby enemies.
Mixture Efficacy	46	Increased Chemical Reactivity Distance	Improves the combat polymer to make its chemical reactions, such as electrification and fire, more deadly.
High Viscosity	63	Mixture Efficacy	Increases the combat polymer's viscosity, allowing it to slow down targets.
Neuro-Polymer Accelerator	89	High Viscosity	Reduces the cooldown of the polymer jet.

Polymeric Shield

Skill	Neuropolymer	Prerequisite	Effect
Polymeric Shield	28	Story Unlock	Your glove can surround you with a neuropolymer shield that protects you from melee and ranged damage and redirects part of the neutralized projectiles' energy into the recirculation chamber's power reserves. Does not protect against critical attacks.
Overload and Destabilize	43	Polymeric Shield	Deploying Polymeric Shield at full capacity then retracting it causes an explosion that sprays enemies with combat polymer. This skill has a cooldown.
Absorption Coefficient	46	Overload and Destabilize	Increases the recirculation chamber's refill rate.
Sponge Effect	82	Overload and Destabilize	Melee attacks recharge your energy meter.
Kinetic Reflector	98	Sponge Effect	While active, Polymeric Shield doubles incoming melee damage and reflects it back to the enemy.
Neuro-Polymer Accelerator	96	Kinetic Reflector	Reduces the cooldown of Polymeric Shield.
Kinetic Reflector Upgrade	145	Neuro-Polymer Accelerator	Increases reflected damage and blocks even critical attacks.
Reflective Surface	82	Overload and Destabilize	Additional ionization allows Polymeric Shield to reflect laser attacks back to the enemy.
Neuro-Polymer Reflector	98	Reflective Surface	Polymeric Shield reflects all ranged attacks back to the enemy.
Increased Polymer Generation	106	Neuro-Polymer Reflector	Increased glove output makes Polymeric Shield last longer.
Med Unit Feedback	124	Increased Polymer Generation	Polymeric Shield redirects part of incoming damage to the med unit, restoring your Health.

Energy Management

Skill	Neuropolymer	Prerequisite	Effect
Energy Density	0	Story Unlock	Adds another Power Cell to the recirculation chamber.
ATP Recycling	82	Energy Density	Lost Health is recycled into Energy.
Energy Density	34	ATP Recycling	Adds another Power Cell to the recirculation chamber.
Greedy Guts	146	Energy Density	Melee attacks restore more energy to the recirculation chamber.
Energy Density	104	Energy Density	Adds another Power Cell to the recirculation chamber.
Thrift	184	Energy Density	Your ranged attacks consume less of the recirculation chamber's power.
Energy Containment	239	Thrift	Increases energy's regeneration rate.

Thanks for reading our Atomic Hearts Skills Guide. Make sure to check out our other guides below!

More Atomic Heart Guides

General Guides

Quest & Puzzle Guides

Scientific Testing Ground Guides

Have a tip, or want to point out something we missed? Leave a Comment or e-mail us at tips@techraptor.net

Robert N Adams | Senior Writer

One of my earliest memories is playing Super Mario Bros. on the Nintendo Entertainment System. I've had a controller in my hand since I was 4 and I… More about Robert N