New Game+ & Post-Game Content

Engage in New Game+ and post-game content in Atomic Heart: Annihilation Instinct. Face new threats and earn unique rewards after Facility 3826.

Congratulations, Major P-3! You've navigated the treacherous facilities of Facility 3826 and confronted the horrors within. But the fight for humanity's future is far from over. Annihilation Instinct offers robust New Game+ and post-game content to challenge even the most seasoned operatives, providing new threats, unique rewards, and opportunities to perfect your combat prowess.

Initiating New Game+

Upon completing the main story campaign on any difficulty, you'll gain access to New Game+. This mode allows you to restart the narrative from the beginning while retaining a significant portion of your progress. To begin:

1. From the Main Menu, select "New Game+".
2. Choose your desired difficulty. Be warned: New Game+ introduces enhanced enemy variants, even on lower difficulties.
3. Confirm your selection. You will be transported back to the initial moments of the game, but with your arsenal largely intact.

What Carries Over:

• Weapons: All crafted weapons and their installed upgrades.
• Character Upgrades: All abilities purchased from the "Neuron" skill tree.
• Crafting Schematics: All schematics unlocked for weapons, consumables, and cartridges.
• Resources: A percentage of your accumulated resources (e.g., Metal Parts, Polymer, Energy Modules) will carry over. This percentage scales with difficulty, with higher difficulties retaining less.
• Gloves Abilities: All unlocked and upgraded abilities for your Polymer Glove.

What Does NOT Carry Over:

• Story Progress: All mission objectives and narrative progression are reset.
• Key Items: Story-specific key items are removed from your inventory.
• Consumables: All crafted consumables (e.g., Neuromed, Cartridges) are reset to zero, though their schematics remain.
• Collectibles: All collectible items (e.g., Chirpers, Lore Pages) are reset, allowing you to re-discover them for additional lore and experience.

New Game+ Challenges & Rewards

New Game+ isn't just a simple replay; it's designed to push your skills to their limits with several key changes:

Enhanced Enemy Variants

• "Apex" Enemies: Encounter rare, highly aggressive versions of standard enemies. These "Apex" units possess increased health, deal more damage, and often have unique attack patterns or resistances. For example, an "Apex Pchela" might deploy a wider area-of-effect shockwave, or an "Apex Hedgie" could have a significantly faster roll speed.
• Increased Density: Expect larger groups of enemies in previously cleared areas. Patrol routes are also often expanded, making stealth more challenging.
• New Enemy Placements: Certain areas will feature entirely new enemy compositions, forcing you to adapt your strategies. A previously empty corridor might now house a surprise encounter with a "M.I.R.A.G.E." unit.

Exclusive New Game+ Schematics

Throughout your New Game+ playthrough, keep an eye out for hidden "Experimental Schematics." These rare blueprints unlock powerful, unique weapon modifications or entirely new weapons that are only available in this mode.

• "Volkov's Fury" Barrel Extension (Fat Boy): Found in the "Boiler Room" of the Pavlov Complex during the "What a Twist" mission. This upgrade significantly increases the Fat Boy's projectile velocity and explosion radius, but consumes 25% more energy per shot.
• "Plasma Cascade" Cartridge (Dominator): Located in a secret lab accessible via a ventilation shaft in the "Testing Ground 12" area. This cartridge causes Dominator shots to chain lightning to up to three additional enemies within a 5-meter radius.
• "Quantum Blade" (Melee Weapon): Discovered after defeating the "Apex Belyash" in the "Theater of the Future" during the "The Show Must Go On" mission. This unique melee weapon deals significantly increased energy damage and has a chance to temporarily stun robotic enemies with each critical hit.

"Hardcore" Difficulty Mode

For the ultimate challenge, New Game+ unlocks the "Hardcore" difficulty. This mode features:

• Severely Limited Resources: Crafting materials are scarce, forcing careful management.
• No Regenerating Health: Health only recovers via Neuromed or specific skill tree perks.
• One-Hit Kills: Many enemy attacks, especially from "Apex" units, can instantly kill you.
• No HUD Markers: Objective markers and enemy indicators are disabled, requiring greater environmental awareness.

Completing New Game+ on "Hardcore" difficulty unlocks the "True Annihilator" achievement and a unique cosmetic weapon skin for the "Swede" melee weapon: the "Crimson Edge."

Post-Game Content: Facility 3826 Re-Exploration

Even after completing New Game+, the world of Facility 3826 remains open for exploration. Many areas that were previously locked or inaccessible during the main story can now be fully explored, offering additional challenges and hidden lore.

Unlocking "The Archive"

After completing the main story, a new objective will appear on your map: "Investigate the Archive." This location, previously hinted at but never fully accessible, is found beneath the "Vavilov Complex" in a newly opened underground passage. Access is granted via a terminal in the main lobby of Vavilov, requiring the "Master Keycard" obtained during the final mission.

• Archive Layout: The Archive is a sprawling, multi-level dungeon filled with advanced robotic defenses and environmental puzzles. Expect encounters with multiple "M.I.R.A.G.E." units and upgraded "Volans" drones.
• Lore & Data Logs: Discover dozens of new "Data Logs" and "Chirpers" detailing the deeper conspiracies and experimental failures of Facility 3826. These provide crucial context to the game's narrative and hint at future developments.
• "Project Chimera" Weapon: Deep within the Archive, after solving a complex laser grid puzzle, you will find the schematic for the "Project Chimera" weapon. This experimental energy rifle fires a concentrated beam that bypasses robotic armor, making it exceptionally effective against heavily armored targets like "Belyash" and "Hoggie."

"Rogue Robot" Encounters

Post-game, certain open-world areas will feature "Rogue Robot" encounters. These are unique, powerful robotic units that patrol specific zones, often accompanied by a small squad of enhanced enemies. Defeating them yields significant resource bonuses and a chance to drop rare weapon upgrade modules.

• "The Butcher" (Vavilov Complex Exterior): A heavily armored "Belyash" variant equipped with twin plasma saws. Vulnerable to electrical damage. Drops "Reinforced Plating Module" (increases weapon durability).
• "Sentinel Prime" (VDNKh Park): A towering "Volan" drone with enhanced shields and a rapid-fire laser cannon. Requires precise targeting of its exposed power core. Drops "Precision Targeting Module" (increases critical hit chance).
• "The Collector" (Lesnaya Station): A modified "Hedgie" that can absorb energy attacks to empower itself. Focus on kinetic damage. Drops "Energy Siphon Module" (chance to regain energy on hit).

Revisiting Testing Grounds

All "Testing Grounds" can be re-entered in the post-game. While the initial rewards will have been claimed, these areas now feature randomized enemy spawns and increased difficulty, making them excellent locations for farming resources and testing new weapon builds. Some Testing Grounds may also contain new, very rare "Experimental Schematics" that only appear after completing the main story.

• Testing Ground 8 (Plexiglas Factory): Now features increased numbers of "Pchela" and "M.I.R.A.G.E." units. Look for the "Magnetic Recoil Stabilizer" schematic in a newly opened secret room behind a destructible wall.
• Testing Ground 11 (Seed Bank): Expect more "Mutants" and "Vodka" enemies. A hidden "Bio-Resonance Amplifier" schematic can be found in a previously inaccessible cryogenic chamber.

Embrace the challenge, Major. Facility 3826 still holds many secrets, and your expertise is needed more than ever!