The Atomique

"Atomic materials have brought us the world's most deadly, yet least stable submersible! The difference between invincibility and a nuclear meltdown rests to purge the ever-building pressure in a timely manner."

- Ingame Description

Overview
The Atomique is the first and currently only DLC exclusive Submarine available in We Need to go Deeper. It is available for a purchase of $4.99 USD on its store page. Only the host needs to own the DLC in order for other players to join, much like how only the host needs to own the Espadon or the Poubelle in order for other players to join lobbies with those respective Submarines. The Atomique features various aspects from other Submarines, such the double Turrets and larger size of the Requin in addition to the shielding capabilities of the Crevette. However, this vessel lacks the traditional EMP found in every other Submarine, instead being replaced with an invincibility purge. Additionally, unlike other Submarines, the Atomique lacks a Light Console, and instead features a constant light source that is permanently toggled on and requires no power to activate. Due these various aspects of this Submarine, it is best designated for larger crews. (Recommended Players: 3-4).

Store Page Notes
Introducing the submersible of tomorrow! This DLC will grant you access to this enormous nuclear-powered vessel and all its technological wonders!

Details:
 * Invincibility Purge - A unique ability to channel this vessel's nuclear energy into a temporary aura of invulnerability!
 * Meltdowns - Engineers must manage power carefully, as heat will build up over time and cause fiery, chaotic outbursts throughout the vessel if not purged with regularity!
 * Irradiated Glow - No need to power lights, as this vessel emits a constant glow!
 * Double Weapon Capability
 * Shielding Capability
 * Spacious atom-age interiors
 * Designed with 3-4 player crews in mind

Consoles

 * 1 Navigation Console
 * 2 Bed Console
 * 2 Weapon Console
 * 2 Torpedo Dispenser
 * 6 Torpedo Tubes
 * 4 Power Consoles - Engine, Shields, and two Cannons.

Invincibility Purge
Unlike all other Submarines that activate a EMP effect when the Power Switch is flipped upwards, the Atomique will instead release an invincibility charge. While this is active, the Submarine is completely impervious to damage, and will be unable to be boarded by any exterior Enemies looking to break their way in. In addition, the charge deals contact damage to any Enemies it touches, which serves as a means for this Submarine to deal damage without the use of its Turrets. The duration of the invincibility is determined by the following equation:

Invincibility Duration = (((Remaining time until meltdown)^2) * 10) / 180) * 180

Where "Remaining time until meltdown" is a number between 0 and 1, with 1 being 100% full pressure and 0 is 0% pressure. Because of this, the longer players wait before purging the longer the purge duration will be. The maximum possible duration is ten seconds.

Meltdown
Another unique attribute of this Submarine is the meltdown system. Whenever the reactor has not been purged for too long, a message with the words, "IMPENDING MELTDOWN" in green text at the top of the screen will appear as a warning. In addition, the following bell alarm sound will begin playing:



When both of these warnings are activated, players will have two seconds to purge the reactor. If they fail to do so before time runs out, the Submarine will meltdown, causing all power to be disabled and the Power Switch will be unable to be interacted with until it is finished recharging. In addition, atomic flames will burst from the walls, dealing contact damage to any crew members they hit. Due to both of these consequences, not consistently regulating the reactor can prove disaterious, and may ultimately result in the crew's demise. To limit this possibility, it is important to understand how the meltdown functions. The baseline time until a meltdown is 180 seconds, however the amount of power being used shortens this duration. 1 power usage is 0.75x the rate, 2 power usage is 1.5x the rate, 3 power usage is 2.25x the rate, and 4 power usage is 3x the rate. The use of Batteries, the Tesla Crank, and the EMP Recharge Cell do not contribute to the buildup rate.

Note that the above numbers contain a slight buffer for the alarm to go off and the warning for an incoming meltdown.

Irradiated Glow
The Atomique's exterior coil serves as a permanent light source, a completely distinct feature from all other Submarines. Because of this passive ability, crew members will never need to sacrifice any power on lights. This somewhat extra unit of power allows for players to utilize it elsewhere, such as both of the Submarine's Turrets. In addition, Batteries will no longer need to be sacrificed in order to maintain the same level of power when requiring lights. However, it is important to note that the light radius is more dim than that found on other Submarines. In addition, it does not appear to benefit from the Light Upgrade, making this dimmer light a permanent feature the crew will need to bear with.

Tactics
There are several different tactics that can be applied to the Atomique in order for it to be used successfully.

Assigning An Engineer
Due to how the Atomique's power needs to be under constant supervision, one strategy is to designate one member of the crew specifically for this task. Doing this ensures that the power will not need to be continuously checked upon by crew members maintaining other jobs, such as those using the Navigation Console and the Weapon Consoles. This role pairs best with a Tesla Crank, due to how that given crew member will likely spend most of their time near the power regardless. Furthermore, this works well in conjunction of the Tesla Crank's ability to temporarily add extra power.

Utilizing Shields and Weapons
Because of how the Atomique lacks the usual EMP ability found on all other Submarines, it relies heavily on it's shielding weapon capabilities to pull it through situations when the invincibility purge is unavailable. This means that crews will likely want to have at least one power allocated to shields at all times to help minimize all damage taken. In addition, both of the vessel's Turrets can be used in order to quickly dispatch of Enemies, especially with various Torpedo Upgrades and Turret Modifiers. If repairmen are designated to man the weapons while the sub is not damaged, it is important that at least one member should remain on the guns at all time even when the ship is damaged. This is because should the weapons lay abandoned Enemies will be free to tear away at the hull, and since the Atomique lacks the normal EMP there will be no means of quickly destroying them. While damage taken can technically be counteracted with repairing, it is not uncommon for the buildup of Enemies to be far to great for those with repair tools to keep up. As such, it is advised to assign one crew member to remain on a Weapon Console at all times.

Timing the Purge
When timed properly, the Atomique's invincibility can be utilized to get the Submarine through hazardous situations, such as passing through areas with large amounts of dangerous Enemies, including Mechanical Turrets or Time Devourers. In order to do this, the purge must be activated at the exact moment when danger in present in order to be the most beneficial. Assigning the aforementioned engineer role can be greatly beneficial in that regard. However, if the engineer takes a Tesla Crank in their starting loadout they will likely not be spending the majority of their time looking outside, and therefore may be unaware of the extent of the current situation. As such, effective communication is essential to inform the engineer of the current situation in order for the purge to be timed properly. It is also important to note that while Crew Bots are capable of flipping the Power Switch, they generally take a longer duration of time to do so, and because of that may end up only flipping the switch after the danger has been passed by or resolved. It is important that regardless of the means by which it is done, purging the reactor must be done with moderation, due to the long recharge time between longer durations of purges. In addition, while it is possible to continuously spam the purge over and over again, doing so will only allow each purge to last a fraction of a second, minimizing it's utility greatly.

Trivia

 * The Atomique is the only Submarine that does not feature an Achievement for reaching the bottom with it.
 * This is an intentional decision, as it was decided to not lock any Achievements behind pay-walls.
 * The Atomique features the most custom assets of any Submarine, with new ones for various Consoles and with unique sprites on the walls, including new paintings which can be seen below.
 * The Atomique is the first and currently only Submarine that has received a custom trailer. This can be seen on the DLC's store page here.
 * The Atomique had numerous different pieces of concept art created before it reached its final version, five of which can be seen below.
 * Atomique is French for the word atomic.