The very first location of Atomic Heart is the Vavilov Complex — a massive underground research facility, and you won’t even reach the main area until much, much later. For now, we’re stuck outside a Maglev Station, unable to enter while killer robots roam the halls of the futuristic Soviet base. To make it through this starting section, you’ll need to solve multiple puzzles. There are weird locked doors, laser grid puzzles and more. If you’re stuck, lost, and completely confused by the overwhelming nature of Atomic Heart, we’ve got step-by-step instructions to help you get out of the first combat area.
Here’s how to navigate the first area — how to unlock the station door, and how to restart the maglev station by unlocking the tricky schematic lock.
More Atomic Heart guides:
How To Disable All Robots In A Region | All Vavilov Complex Blueprint Locations | Testing Ground 1 Puzzle Solutions | How To Use Cartridge Modules | How To Increase Inventory | Testing Ground 1 Guide | Testing Ground 2 Guide | Testing Ground 6 Guide | Testing Ground 8 Guide | Testing Ground 9 Guide | Testing Ground 10 Guide | Testing Ground 11 Guide | Testing Ground 12 Guide
Getting Through The Station Door | Vavilov Complex Puzzle Guide
Supply Room Key: After encountering the laser-robot miniboss in the Vavilov Complex, you’ll return to the elevator lobby. The elevators are broken and require a key — use the lock to get the location of the key. It is found upstairs (through the [3] door) and past the Dandelion Camera.
- Past the first camera on Level 3, enter the office room on the left, past the two robots. Inside, you’ll find the key on the desk against the right wall.
- Take the key, and then drop through the hole in the ground further down the Level 3 corridor. This takes you back to the corridor outside the save room / NORA unit.
Return to the Supply Room Door and unlock it with the key. Inside, you’ll find a Passive Security Relay. This is a logic puzzle. You’ll need to put the magnetic poles (+ / -) in the correct order. Check the screenshot or follow these steps.
- Power Relay Room Puzzle Solution:
- Turn the top-right dial. The blue light will now be in the center.
- Turn the bottom-right dial. The blue light will now be on the bottom row.
- All three lights are now matching. That’s it! The puzzle will complete.
With the puzzle complete, we can return to the elevator and ride it up. If you’re lost, use the scanner function and follow the electrical wires back to the elevator.
- Use the LEFT elevator instead of the right. The right elevator takes you to a dead-end drop on Level 1. You need to right the LEFT elevator to avoid falling down. For this task, your robot companion won’t help you. Ignore it!
Fire [Shok] at the batteries above the shutter doors to exit this section of the facility. There’s a Safe Room in the room ahead. Progress through the tunnels until you encounter a locked door.
- Maglev Station Booth Door Lock:
- To restore power to the Station, you need to enter a booth with a new lock type. This lock type can only be opened by interacting with the buttons in a specific order. They’re impossible to guess.
- To find the solution, use [Shok] on the large shutter door, then enter the tunnel through the left walkway. There’s a dead body at the end of the path.
- The paper is on the ground next to the dead boy that keeps saying they’re the “Station Master” — he’s the one in the suit.
- Input the code on the schematic. The triangle is the start of the sequence.
This allows you to ride the Cable Car — which inevitably crashes. To cross the gap ahead, jump on the yellow ledges. You can move and re-position while hanging from pipes. To jump further, look away from whatever you’re hanging from and wait for your hand to outstretch. This is how to jump across ledges easily.
