Atlas Fallen is a new action-adventure from The Surge and Lords of the Fallen creators Deck13, and like a lot of games in the genre, it’s packed with various things you’ll need to collect to upgrade your character. Essence Stones, crafting materials, regular currency to spend at vendors, ect. Most of this stuff actually isn’t too difficult to come by, but there is one resource you’ll always be short of – Essence Dust. This is used to upgrade your armor, Essence Stone capacity, and more, essentially acting as a form of XP, and the game doesn’t make it terribly clear how you should go about getting it. Well, that’s where we come in! If you’re in need of some quick Essence Dust to upgrade your character before a tough challenge, these are the best ways to stock up…
Seek out Heavenly Shrines
The easiest way to get a lot of Essence Dust fast is to seek out Heavenly Shrines (also sometimes referred to as “Talos’ Altars” by the game). Destroy one of these big golden statues by smashing its weak points and you’ll be rewarded with hundreds or even thousands of Essence Dust points. Best of all, these Shrines usually aren’t guarded by anything – they’re just sitting there if you can find them. The best way to do that is to go to a high point and see if you can find a Vantage Point you can interact with. This will mark all the nearby Heavenly Shrines on your map. But again, these are big statues that are pretty hard to miss – just keep an eye out and you’ll find plenty (there are around 20 in the game).
Clean up Sidequests and Errands
If you’ve smashed up all the Heavenly Shrines in an area, don’t worry, Atlas Fallen also offers a ton of sidequests and slightly smaller-scale missions called Errands and completing them will earn you a generous amount of Essence Dust. Most of Atlas Fallen’s sidequests aren’t that difficult – many just require you to find something or complete a task without any required combat. Typically, you can complete two or three in an hour, so they’re definitely worth cleaning up if you’re feeling underpowered.
Do some good old-fashioned grinding
If you still need some Essence Dust and there aren’t any Heavenly Shrines or sidequests available, you can just do some good ol’ fashioned grinding. Some Wraiths (that’s Atlas Fallen’s name for its baddies) you’ll encounter while exploring seemingly disappear permanently once you defeat them, but many will respawn, often after only a short period of time. Even rank-and-file enemies drop a decent amount of Essence Dust, and the larger Wraiths marauding the map can be quite lucrative.
Take down the Watchtowers
But perhaps you don’t just want to wander aimlessly? Well, if you’re looking for a fight and to earn some serious Essence Dust seek out the Watchtowers, which are usually located near the edge of the various maps you’ll explore. These will always have a tough Wraith nearby, and if you beat them, you clear up the sandstorm surrounding the Watchtower and earn a nice amount of Essence Dust and usually some powerful Essence Stones. Watchtowers are a challenge, but they’re usually worth it.
So, there you go – some ways to earn Essence Dust, sorted from the easiest method to the hardest. Get out there and fill your pockets with dust!
Atlas Fallen is available now on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PS5. You can check out Wccftech’s other Atlas Fallen guides here.
