Weapons and Combat in Athanasia

The inventory HUD in the official promotional screenshots already lists concrete entries: a 9MM PISTOL with its own ammo readout, a shotgun, a wrench, scissors, bottles and ammo boxes labelled RAJA. Tools sit alongside the firearms because the same Steam copy that promises "an arsenal" also lists crafting, distractions, traps and improvised incendiaries as ways to handle encounters. The full weapon list will expand with the full release planned for mid-2027; for Early Access, expect the confirmed firearms plus the improvised toolset to define your loadout.

The marketing copy warns that "not all fights can be won" and tells players to "pick your fights," which is the strongest signal that raw firepower is not the default answer. Reliable early-game survival comes from combining one firearm with a stack of improvised tools:

• 9MM PISTOL for short, controlled engagements where stealth has already broken down. The official screenshot shows it holding 8 rounds in the magazine out of a 12-round pool, so it works as a precision tool rather than a spray weapon.
• SHOTGUN for tighter corridors and single-target deletes where you cannot afford to miss.
• WRENCH and SCISSORS as silent, no-ammo tools for situations where pulling a trigger gives away your position.
• BANDAGE + FLASK FIREBOMB for the encounters you should not fight at all — the incendiary burns through blockages and doubles as a distraction.

Treat the wrench and the firebomb as your early-game backbone, not the pistol. They let you bypass the "not all fights can be won" warning instead of trying to win it.

The 9mm pistol is the clearest example of Athanasia's resource-driven combat. The inventory HUD shows it as an 8/12 readout, meaning 8 rounds currently in the magazine and 12 in reserve. Detailed rules for ammo regeneration, weapon-specific damage and reload timing have not been publicly enumerated; resource management is the only confirmed ammo-related design pillar.

Manage the pistol with three habits:

• Treat every shot as a magazine investment. The Steam community has reported bugs around ammo pickups in the EA build, so do not assume scavenged boxes will refill you automatically.
• Pair the pistol with the wrench and the firebomb. The pistol is for when stealth has already failed; the wrench and the firebomb are what keeps stealth from failing in the first place.
• Save ammo for bosses, blocked paths and rescue moments. The same caches that give you ammo also give you healing components, so spend both at the same pace.

PCGamesN preview coverage lays out four approaches the game already supports in pre-release demos:

• Stack crates to reach new heights and bypass ground-level dinosaurs entirely.
• Hack turrets to turn facility security against the predators — the cleanest answer when several raptors share a room.
• Go in loud with firearms, but only when you have counted the ammo cost and confirmed you can loot the room afterwards.
• Use the environment and crafted items: firebombs to burn through blockages, distractions to pull single dinosaurs off your route, traps to deny a corridor.

The approach you pick should match the encounter. Two raptors in a corridor is a distraction or a hack, not a firefight. A single larger predator blocking a path is a firebomb plus a flank. Use the pistol last and use it cleanly.

Tranquilizer darts and crossbows with multiple ammo types are not mentioned in any official Athanasia material — no Steam copy, Neon Doctrine product page, PCGamesN preview, Steam community summary, or official inventory screenshot. If those weapons exist, they will be revealed when the full release ships in mid-2027; in Early Access, plan around the confirmed pistol, shotgun, improvised tools and firebombs.