In the “Instinct of Extermination” expansion, the developers of Atomic Heart have completely reshuffled the gameplay deck. They take away your familiar abilities like Frost and Telekinesis, forcing you to adapt to new conditions. In this article, we’ll break down the glove’s new ability and the craziest secret weapon in the game.

How does “Techno-Stasis” work?

About an hour into the story, Professor Lebedev will repair your glove (HRAZ). Of your active skills, only Polymer Shield and a brand-new ability—Techno-Stasis—will be available to you.

Stasis creates a huge dome around Major P-3, inside which time slows down. However, the mechanism has serious limitations:

  1. This is a tactical skill, not a combat skill. 2. You don’t get faster: Nechaev moves just as slowly inside the bubble as the enemies do. You’re stuck in slow motion along with them.
  2. Damage is not reduced: The ability does not interrupt the enemy’s attack animation. If a rocket was flying toward you, it will continue to fly, just in slow-motion.

How to use: Use Stasis proactively. Activate it before you get cornered, and use the slowed-down time to take your time targeting the robots’ weak spots.

Stasis Talent Trees

  • Right Branch: Focuses on increasing the radius, boosting damage to enemy weak points, accumulating energy, and slightly accelerating Nechaev himself inside the dome.
  • Left branch: Reduces incoming damage inside the bubble and, most importantly, speeds up the cooldown of the glove’s other abilities.

Best Build: Level up the left tree and pair Stasis with Polymer Shield and Shock. Stasis will help you quickly recharge your Shield, allowing you to survive even the most intense firefights on any difficulty. Plus, in Photo Mode, with your Shield and Stasis active, you can capture some incredibly epic cinematic shots.

“Alenka” Chocolate — The Most Powerful Secret Weapon

Forget about vodka, condensed milk, and adrenaline. The “Instinct of Destruction” expansion introduces a new consumable that looks like a bar of classic Soviet chocolate. In reality, it’s a Neuro-Impulse Trigger Unit.

What it is and how it works:

  • When Nechayev throws the chocolate bar at his enemies’ feet, it unfolds into a multi-pointed star (an octagram).
  • A giant, snow-white tornado bursts from the ground, streaked with red lightning.
  • The tornado is accompanied by the eerie cackling of goblins/leprechauns and instantly annihilates all targets within a vast radius (including small BUOs, dolls, and robots). However, Major P-3 himself takes no damage.

Where to use: This is a doomsday weapon. Throughout the entire DLC, you’ll find only about 5–6 of these chocolate bars. Be sure to save a couple for:

  • The final waves of robots in the complex’s massive hangar (where the number of enemies is beyond all reasonable limits).
  • Critical situations during the battle with the Turbo-Ball boss (especially if you’re playing on the “Armageddon” difficulty level).