Main Story Walkthrough
If your run currently feels like three versions of Jan arguing in a steel wheel while the sun gets louder and the one resource you need is the one you forgot to mine, welcome to the most The Alters moment possible. The fix is not to sprint harder. It is to play the story in clean loops: scout the next blocker, stabilize the base, then make the push. That keeps the campaign moving without letting one bad queue turn into a full survival tax.
In The Alters, Alters are alternate-life versions of Jan, each with their own skills and personality, and the story works best when you treat them like a real crew instead of extra hands you can bully into every job at once. The fun is in seeing different Jans come alive and cover each other’s weak spots. The practical part is simpler: before every big story step, make sure food, power, repairs, and the next key material are steady. If one of those is red, the objective can wait a few in-game hours.
1. Opening push: get the base stable before you chase the marker
- Follow the first main objective until the game opens the basic survival loop: exploring the map, scanning deposits with probes, mining from outposts, and keeping the base running.
- Scan the area around the base before you roam too far. Mark nearby deposits first so your next jobs are short and safe.
- Once your first Alter wakes up, make sure he has food, a dormitory soon, and a clear job. A new body without a real role is just another timer wearing a face.
- Keep Jan on story tasks and field exploration when possible. Put Alters on repeat work like mining, cooking, repairs, or research so the base keeps breathing while you are outside.
- Do not overbuild early. Extra rooms add base mass, and that matters when it is time to set off on the next journey.
Tip: If the next story step is outside the base, leave only after your status check looks boring. That means food is covered, power is positive, no critical room is sitting damaged, and at least one crew member is free to catch emergency work.
2. Mid-story: clear each gate in the right order
Once the map opens up and the story starts asking for longer trips, The Alters stops being a simple scavenging run and starts acting like a moving town. This is where players usually lose tempo. They see the main marker, rush it, then crawl home to find the base behind on supplies, morale, or repair work. Do the next gate in this order instead.
- Read the objective and identify the real blocker. If the blocker is a material, build the route to that material first. If the blocker is a machine or upgrade, feed research and fabrication first.
- Set up mining outposts, meaning remote resource stations linked to the base by pylons, only for the resource tied to the next story gate. Side materials are nice. The gate material is the run winner.
- Before a long expedition, queue one full work cycle at home: food, repairs, then the key story material. That order matters more than squeezing out extra research.
- Take character scenes that steady morale before a major push. If a conversation is emotional but not urgent, finish the supply loop first and come back with the base stable.
- When two needs collide, protect the crew role you cannot easily replace. A missed comfort task hurts. Losing your only reliable worker on a critical chain hurts more.
Tip: If you get stuck on a mid-story shortage, cancel optional fabrication for one day, pause secondary research, and reassign one Alter to the missing resource chain from start to finish. The recovery is often one clean production day, not a whole doomed restart.
3. Before every journey or late-story push
The safest checkpoint for the back half of The Alters is simple: do not set off on the next journey, the chapter-to-chapter base move, while barely solvent. Go in with a cushion. Stock extra food, keep power comfortably above zero, finish pending repairs, and make sure the next quest item is either built already or one short step away. If the game gives you a quiet window, use it. Those calm hours are worth more than heroic improvisation later.
- Finish nearby pickups before you relocate. Easy materials beside the base are free value before you leave the current area behind.
- Empty short queues before sleep so the next day begins with output, not cleanup.
- Check each Alter’s condition before a big step. A hurt, low-morale, or worn-down specialist can turn one clean plan into a sloppy chain of delays.
- Save your hardest push for the day when the base can survive Jan being away from routine jobs.
If you only remember one thing for the main story in The Alters, remember this: progress comes from rhythm, not bravado. Scout the next problem, prep the base for that exact problem, then push. That keeps the story moving, protects the crew from stupid collapses, and leaves room for the best part of the game: watching this strange little society of alternate Jans somehow hold together long enough to reach the next morning.