Discover all the best early game skills to unlock in Atomfall, including their effects and how to get them.

Atomfall is an open-world survival game inspired by the true events of the Windscale nuclear disaster. It takes place in a fictional quarantine zone five years after a nuclear disaster. Similar to other open-world survival games, survival is crucial in Atomfall. It requires players to gather anything crucial and use it along their journey of escaping the quarantine zone. Moreover, players can enhance the capabilities of the protagonist by learning new skills. However, it might be confusing for players which skills to unlock first to have an overall better gameplay experience. In this guide, we will be telling you the best early game skills to unlock first in Atomfall.
Skills Overview in Atomfall

Skills are the enhancements that improve the protagonist’s capabilities in various ways. Players can acquire the skills to improve survival, stealth, resistance, ranged-combat, and more. As there is no leveling system in Atomfall, the only way to improve a character’s capabilities is by unlocking Skills. Players can access the Skills from the Skills tab of the menu. The Skills tab will show all the available skills, along with the hidden ones. The hidden skills only appear after finding the respective Skill Manuals. Players can get the manuals by completing quests, bartering with traders, and finding them in wild/hidden places.
There are four main categories of Skills in Atomfall, including Ranged Combat, Melee Combat, Survival, and Conditioning. The Skill Manuals that you get also lie under these main four categories. Each main category offers 9 skills, making a total of 36 Skills in the game. To acquire each skill in Atomfall, players will have to acquire a certain number of Training Simulants. The Training Simulant is an essential item that acts as a Skill Point in Atomfall. You can find the Training Simulants while exploring the world and looting the B.A.R.D. Crates. Each B.A.R.D. Crate guarantees 1 Training Simulants. You can find these crates easily in the underground bunkers across the three areas of the quarantine zone.
Related Article: 10 Things I Wish I Knew in Atomfall
Best Beginner Skills in Atomfall
Here are the best early game skills to unlock in Atomfall.
- Quiet Takedown: Performing takedown on enemies makes less noise.
- Firearms Focus: Increases firearm damage when the heart rate is low.
- Gunsmith: It unlocks the recipes to craft upgraded weapons of Stock and Pristine qualities.
- Disarm Traps: Allows you to disarm traps and harvest their crafting supplies.
- Fortitude: It increases the maximum amount of health.
- Quiet Movement: It reduces the sound of your footsteps, making it harder for the enemies to find you.
- Charisma: Increases the worth of your items while bartering.
- Deep Pockets: It increases the carrying capacity for resources and ammunition.
8 Deep Pockets

Carry more crafting supplies and ammo.
The Deep Pockets is an essential skill to acquire, especially during the mid-game. As you explore more of the quarantine zone and pick up all resources, you will eventually reach the maximum limit. It will force you to craft recipes to make space to gather more resources. The same goes for the ammunition. As ammunition is crucial for fights against a large number of enemies, it is best to hold as much ammo for each weapon as you can. By acquiring the Deep Pockets skill, you will be able to carry more resources and ammunition, reducing the overall stress for maxing out the limit.
However, Deep Pockets is one of the skills you unlock by acquiring the Crafting Manual. There are a couple of ways to find this manual. You can find it in the Delta’s Storage room in the Interchange or Bargain with Morris Wick while confronting him about the murder in the church. Once you have the manual, use 5 Training Simulants to acquire the Deep Pockets skill.
7 Charisma
Your items are worth more when bartering.
Charisma is a decent skill to get in Atomfall to help make bartering easier for you. As bartering is essential for trading, this skill will help you get items at a lower cost. There are various traders throughout the three areas of the quarantine zone. Each trader offers unique items, which can help you both in survival and progressing the story. For instance, Molly Jowett sells an Atomic Battery, which is required to power up one of the Data Stores of the Interchange. With the help of Charisma skill, you can barter her Rusty weapons of Outlaws to easily get the Atomic Battery.
Charisma is one of the default skills under the Survival category. It means you don’t have to find any manual to unlock it. All you have to do is to get 4 Training Simulants and acquire the Charisma skill.
6 Quiet Movement

Reduces the sound of your footsteps, making it more difficult for enemies to hear you.
Quiet Movement is an essential skill to get early in the game. It will help you sneak around enemies easily and help you complete quests without attracting any heat. Your crouch movement will be less noticeable to the enemies. Moreover, this skill works well with the Quiet Takedown skill. With both of these skills combined, you will be able to clear out enemy camps without alerting anyone.
However, Quiet Movement is one of the Stealth Manual skills that you can unlock by getting the manual. There are a couple of ways to get the Stealth Manual in Atomfall. The earliest and easiest way is to barter it from Molly Jowett. One of the easiest ways to get it is to barter her the Rusty weapons of Outlaws. The Charisma skill helps greatly in this process.
Once you have the Stealth Manual, you can acquire the Quiet Movement skill for 5 Training Simulants.
5 Fortitude
Increases maximum amount of health.
As Atomfall is a survival game, it is always best to have more health for survivability. Fortitude is the only skill in the game that increases the maximum amount of health. Exploring the treacherous quarantine zone will always attract attention towards you, engaging you in combat with all sorts of enemies. Having lower HP can easily end dreadfully, so it is best to get the Fortitude skill as soon as possible.
Fortunately, Fortitude is one of the default skills under the Conditioning category. You don’t have to find any Skill Manual to unlock this skill. All you have to do is to get 5 Training Simulants to acquire this skill.
4 Disarm Traps
Disarm traps and harvest their crafting supplies.
The Disarm Traps is one of the essential skills to get as soon as possible in Atomfall. As you explore the quarantine zone and go near an enemy camp, you will run into numerous booby traps. These traps can easily take you out as most of them are explosions and fire. You will always have to be careful while sneaking into the camps to pass through traps without activating them. Not only do they damage you badly, but they also alert nearby enemies to your location.
With the help of Disarm Traps skill, you will be able to disarm any booby trap and take their crafting supplies. You will be able to gather strings, glass, alcohol, grenades, and much more from disarming traps. Fortunately, this skill is one of the default skills in the game. It comes under the Survival category and requires 3 Training Simulants to unlock.
3 Gunsmith

Unlocks recipes to craft upgraded weapons.
Gunsmith is the most unique and essential skill to acquire in Atomfall. This skill allows you to craft weapons of higher quality. There are only three qualities for weapons in Atomfall. It includes Rusty, Stock, and Pristine. The Rusty and Stock can be obtained easily by taking out Outlaws and Soldiers in the quarantine zone. Getting the Pristine quality weapons is difficult as they are at certain locations. The prison in Skethermoor is the best location to get the Pristine weapons. However, this location is heavily guarded, and there are numerous B.A.R.D. robots in the area.
With the help of Gunsmith skill, you can upgrade your Rusty weapon to Stock quality or Stock weapon to Pristine quality. The main crafting materials for upgrading any weapon is two of old quality weapons, Gun Oil, and Scraps. As you acquire newer weapons, the recipes for those weapons will unlock automatically.
The Gunsmith skill unlocks with the Crafting Manual. You can find it in the Delta’s Storage room in the Interchange or Bargain with Morris Wick while confronting him about the murder in the church. Once you have the manual, use 7 Training Simulants to acquire the Gunsmith skill.
2 Firearms Focus

Increases firearm damage when your heart rate is low.
The Firearms Focus is one of the best skills to unlock as soon as possible. It will increase the overall damage of every weapon whenever your heart rate is low. If your heart rate is high, you can crouch and rest for a while to lower the heart rate. After that, whenever you shoot any firearm, the bullet impact will deal extensive damage. As you will be engaging in combat with weapons, this skill will help you greatly in eliminating enemies in a couple of shots. Moreover, it will also help you take out the B.A.R.D. weapons easily.
However, the Firearms Focus skill comes under the Firearms Mastery Manual. There are a couple of ways to get this manual. The easiest method is to barter it from Corporal Bootsy trader in the Skethermoor area. With the help of Charisma skill, you can easily barter this manual and unlock the Firearms Focus skill. Acquiring the Firearms Focus skill will cost you 6 Training Simulants.
1 Quiet Takedown
Takedowns create less noise.
The best skill to unlock in Atomfall is the Quiet Takedown. This greatly helps with stealth playstyle, as you will be able to perform takedowns without alerting nearby enemies. Without this skill, the nearby enemies will always aggro on you. This makes the takedown action less effective in the game. The only way to improve this action is to acquire the Quiet Takedown skill. Moreover, you can also pair this skill with the Quiet Movement skill. This way, you will make less noise while walking and sneaking and perform takedowns without attracting any attention.
However, Quiet Takedown is one of the Stealth Manual skills that you can unlock by getting the manual. There are a couple of ways to get the Stealth Manual in Atomfall. The earliest and easiest way is to barter it from Molly Jowett. One of the easiest ways to get it is to barter her the Rusty weapons of Outlaws. The Charisma skill helps greatly in this process.
Once you have the Stealth Manual, you can acquire the Quiet Takedown skill for 2 Training Simulants.
Best tips and tricks for Early Skills in Atomfall
Here are the best tips and tricks for early skills in Atomfall.
- Search the enemy camps to have a chance of finding B.A.R.D. crates.
- The Skethermoor area has the most underground bunkers. Each bunker will have at least one B.A.R.D. crate for you to loot.
- Explore the world to find various traders. Barter with the traders to get Skill Manuals.
- Search the lab underneath the Church in Wyndham Village to find numerous Training Simulants.
- Save up the Training Simulants for the expensive skills.
- Get the Quiet Takedown and Fortitude skills as soon as possible during your adventure.
FAQs about Skills in Atomfall
How many skills are there in Atomfall?
There is a total of 36 skills in Atomfall. All these skills fall under four main categories. It includes Ranged Combat, Melee Combat, Survival, and Conditioning. Each category offers 9 skills in total, but for some skills, you must first find their respective manuals.
How to unlock skills in Atomfall?
Players can acquire the skills in Atomfall with Training Simulants. The Training Simulant acts as a Skill point. Each skill requires a certain number of Training Simulants. Looting the B.A.R.D. crates in the quarantine zone will guarantee these training Simulants. Furthermore, there are several Skill Manuals, which unlock new skills and offer a few Training Simulants.
Which are the best skills to unlock early in Atomfall?
Quiet Takedown, Firearms Focus, and Gunsmith are the three best skills to unlock first in Atomfall. All of these skills will help you greatly in eliminating enemies and getting better weapons.
Looking For More?
Thank you for reading the Atomfall: Best early game skills guide. We provide the latest news and create guides for Baldur’s Gate 3, Starfield, ARK Survival Ascended, and more. Also, watch Deltia play games on Twitch or visit his YouTube channel!