Cronos: The New Dawn Guide - All Weapons, Endings & Secrets

An Introduction to a World Undone 🏚️

Welcome, Traveler. You’ve been awakened to serve the Collective in a mission of paramount importance within Cronos: The New Dawn: the Vocation. 📜 The world as you know it is gone, a ravaged wasteland haunted by grotesque abominations born from a cataclysm known as “The Change”. This grim, post-apocalyptic future, a landscape of decaying Eastern European brutalism and flickering retro-futurist technology, is your new reality.

Your mission, however, isn’t confined to this desolate timeline. As a Traveler in Cronos: The New Dawn, you possess the unique ability to locate and traverse temporal rifts 🌀, diving back into the past—specifically, to 1980s Poland 🇵🇱, in the final moments before the world was forever altered. There, you’ll witness a society on the precipice of collapse, and your task is to locate and extract the “Essences” of key individuals who perished in the ensuing apocalypse. These Essences hold the knowledge, the memories, and perhaps the very key to understanding the origin of The Change. ✨

This guide is your Vocation protocol. It’s a complete master strategy document for Cronos: The New Dawn, designed to arm you with the knowledge necessary not merely to survive, but to master the unforgiving mechanics of this dual-timeline reality. It will provide a spoiler-free path to understanding the game’s deepest systems, from combat and progression to resource management and exploration. Your survival isn’t guaranteed, but with this knowledge, you’ll be prepared. Such is our calling.

The Meticulous Survivor’s 12 Golden Rules for Cronos: The New Dawn ✨

Internalize these principles, Traveler. They are the foundation upon which all advanced strategies in Cronos: The New Dawn are built. They’ll keep you alive when ammunition is scarce and hope is a distant memory.

A Regular Shot is a Wasted Shot ❌: Uncharged shots are a desperate measure, not a strategy. Every effective attack is a charged one. Master the timing or perish.
Every Corpse is a Ticking Time Bomb 💀: The Merge is your greatest threat. An unburnt corpse is an invitation for your enemies to evolve into something far worse.
Fire is Your Friend and a Free Resource 🔥: The Torch Fuel dispenser in every safe room is infinite. There’s no excuse for leaving a corpse unburnt.
Your Inventory is Your True Enemy 🎒: With only six starting slots, your inventory is a more immediate threat than any monster in Cronos: The New Dawn. Every slot is precious; upgrade it above all else.
A Cat’s Meow is the Sound of Progress 🐈: The felines of this world are your benefactors. Follow their calls without question; they will always lead you to valuable Cores and supplies.
The Environment is Your Greatest Weapon 💥: Those red canisters are not decorations. Lure, detonate, and conserve your precious ammunition.
Know When to Run 🏃: Not every fight is necessary. Locked “arena” battles are mandatory; encounters in open areas are often a resource drain you can and should avoid.
A Leg Shot Buys You Time 🦵: A charged shot to an Orphan’s legs can knock it to the ground, creating a critical window to reload, reposition, or deliver a tactical stomp.
The Bolt Cutters are a Master Key ✂️: This tool is required from the early game until the final credits. Keep it with you always to unlock the path to vital resources.
Listen Before You Look 👂: Audio cues are paramount. The growl of a hidden enemy or the flicker of a wall-grabber can warn you of an ambush long before you see it.
Energy Can Be Reclaimed 🔋: Don’t hoard Energy. Weapon upgrades can be refunded for a minimal fee, encouraging experimentation with new armaments.
The Path Not Taken Holds the Prize 🗺️: The main objective marker shows the way forward. Always explore the opposite path first; it almost invariably hides collectibles and supplies.

Core Gameplay Mechanics in Cronos: The New Dawn ⚙️

Mastery begins with understanding your tools and the rules of this broken world.

The Traveler’s Interface

Your heads-up display is minimal but dense with information. Your health is a bar that flashes red at critical levels ❤️. Your ammunition count is always visible, a constant reminder of your scarcity. Pay close attention to your flashlight 🔦. It’s more than a source of illumination; it’s a threat indicator. When the beam is off, you’re in a secure zone, such as a safe room, where enemies can’t reach you. The moment it switches on, you’ve entered hostile territory where attacks are possible. The flashlight will also occasionally malfunction or flicker just before a major encounter, serving as a final, tense warning.

Safe Rooms: Your Only Sanctuary 🏠

Throughout the desolate landscape of Cronos: The New Dawn, you’ll find Terminals that function as safe rooms. These are your only havens. Inside, you can find several key utilities:

Stash Box 📦: An item box that allows you to store items you don’t immediately need, freeing up critical inventory space. The contents are accessible from any stash box in the game.
Upgrade Stations 🛠️: Consoles that allow you to spend Energy to upgrade your weapons and Cores to upgrade your Temporal Shell (suit) and support tools.
Torch Fuel Dispenser 🔥: A wall-mounted unit that provides a single canister of Torch Fuel. This dispenser has an infinite supply; if you have no fuel in your inventory, it will always provide one more. This is a critical, easily missed mechanic that enables the constant burning of corpses.

Temporal Anomalies and Traversal 🌀

The world of Cronos: The New Dawn is fractured, and you have the unique ability to manipulate its instabilities. Throughout the environment, you’ll encounter shimmering golden orbs known as Temporal Anomalies. By interacting with these, you can physically alter the terrain, raising platforms, moving obstacles, or clearing paths to proceed. In certain zones, such as the gravity-distorted Sector A-0, your suit’s gravity-defying gear will allow you to traverse vertical surfaces and leap between floating platforms, adding a layer of environmental puzzle-solving to your exploration. 🚀

The Tension Triangle: Time, Resources, and Threat 🔺

The fundamental challenge of Cronos: The New Dawn isn’t simply managing a low ammo count or fighting grotesque monsters. It’s a constant, high-stakes negotiation between three competing pressures that define every moment of combat.

First, there’s the pressure of Time ⏳. The game’s design makes it clear that charged shots are the only truly effective way to dispatch enemies while conserving resources. This imposes a mandatory time cost on every effective action. You must stand your ground, aim, and wait for the shot to power up, making yourself a vulnerable, stationary target.

Second, there’s the pressure of Resources 💰. Ammunition is described by veterans of the Vocation as “very, very scarce”. Every bullet is a precious commodity. A missed charged shot is a significant economic loss. This scarcity forces a mindset of extreme efficiency, where every single shot must count.

Finally, there’s the pressure of Threat Escalation, embodied by the Merge mechanic 📈. Every second wasted in combat, every corpse left unburnt, is an opportunity for your enemies to become exponentially more dangerous. A simple encounter can spiral into a fight for your life if not managed with ruthless speed and precision.

These three elements form a “Tension Triangle” at the heart of every battle in Cronos: The New Dawn. Do I take the Time to line up a perfect, resource-efficient charged shot, but risk taking damage or allowing a Merge to begin? Or do I fire quickly to interrupt a Merge, accepting the heavy cost to my limited Resources to prevent immediate Threat Escalation? Every combat encounter is a puzzle built from this triangle, and this guide will teach you how to solve it.

The Art of Survival: Combat in Cronos: The New Dawn ⚔️

Fundamentals of Combat: The Deliberate Dance of Death

Combat in Cronos: The New Dawn isn’t about reflexes; it’s about foresight. The Traveler’s movement is weighty and deliberate, forcing tactical thinking over twitch reactions. Since there are no dedicated dodge or block buttons, survival is a matter of manual evasion and superior positioning.

The Charged Shot Imperative 🎯

An uncharged shot is a wasted bullet. This can’t be overstated. The damage difference is so significant that using the former is reserved for detonating environmental hazards. Holding the fire button will charge your weapon, unleashing a far more powerful projectile that can often penetrate through multiple enemies. Hitting an enemy’s legs with a charged shot can also knock them to the ground, creating a vital window to reload, heal, or reposition.

Positioning and Kiting 🏃

Your greatest defensive tool is movement. Always maintain distance. Use the environment—pillars, desks, debris—to create barriers and control the flow of combat. Lure enemies into single file down hallways to maximize the penetration effect of your charged shots. Backpedaling while charging a shot is a core combat loop that must be perfected.

The Tactical Stomp and Punch 🦶

Melee attacks are not your primary source of damage; they are specialized tools. The standard punch 👊 can instantly interrupt an enemy in the process of Merging with a corpse. The stomp, performed on a downed enemy, is a resource-free way to inflict significant follow-up damage. The most efficient way to dispatch a basic Orphan is often a charged shot to the leg, followed by one or two stomps to its head.

Advanced Combat Doctrine

Weaponizing the Environment 💥

The landscapes are littered with instruments of destruction. Bright red cylinders and small orange gasoline jugs are explosive canisters that can be detonated with a single, uncharged shot. Luring a group of enemies near one is a cornerstone of ammo conservation in Cronos: The New Dawn. In some areas, Temporal Anomalies can be used to respawn these barrels for advanced tactics.

The “Fight or Flight” Calculus 🏃 vs. ⚔️

Your Vocation isn’t to cleanse the world of every Orphan. Not every encounter is mandatory. The game will frequently lock you into combat arenas, identifiable by red-lit metal doors that only unlock once all enemies are defeated. In open areas, however, you can often run past enemies. If you’re low on supplies and the path is clear, don’t hesitate to sprint past non-essential threats.

The Art of the Stagger 💫

A well-placed charged shot, particularly to a weak point, will often cause an enemy to stagger. This brief animation interrupts its current action, including attack wind-ups. This is a crucial defensive mechanic, allowing you to control the pace of a fight and create safe windows to reload or charge your next shot.

“DON’T LET THEM MERGE”: The Definitive Guide to Cronos: The New Dawn’s Signature Mechanic 🧟+🧟=👹

This is the game’s signature mechanic and the primary driver of its combat tension. When an Orphan is killed, its corpse becomes a resource. A nearby Orphan can initiate a grotesque absorption process. If successful, the living Orphan will transform, becoming significantly faster, tougher, and deadlier. It’s a dynamic difficulty system that punishes slow combat.

Prevention is the Only Cure 🔥

The most effective way to deal with the Merge is to deny the enemy resources. This is achieved by burning corpses with your Torch Fuel. Throwing the Torch creates a pool of fire that will quickly incinerate any bodies it touches. Given that every safe room has infinite fuel, a core strategy for Cronos: The New Dawn is to proactively cleanse an area before a fight begins.

Triage and Target Prioritization 🏥

In the chaos of battle, you may not be able to burn every corpse. This is where tactical triage is essential. Some enemies have special abilities. If an enemy Merges with the corpse of one of these “special” types, it will inherit that ability, creating a horrifying new hybrid. Therefore, if you can’t burn all corpses, prioritize burning the bodies of the most dangerous special enemies first.

Bestiary: Know Your Orphan in Cronos: The New Dawn (Spoiler-Free) 👽

What follows is a tactical dossier on the common Orphan archetypes you’ll encounter during your Vocation.

The Runner 🏃

Threat Level: Low 😊
Behavior: The most common variant. A humanoid creature that relentlessly shambles or runs toward you for melee swipes.
Weaknesses: Highly susceptible to charged headshots. A charged leg shot will reliably knock them down, opening them up for a stomp.
Archivist’s Note: Their predictability is their weakness. Use them to practice your kiting and charged shot timing.

The Spitter 💦

Threat Level: Medium 🤔
Behavior: A ranged variant that hangs back and launches projectiles of acid. Some leave damaging acid pools on the ground when killed.
Weaknesses: Generally less mobile, making them easier targets for charged headshots.
Archivist’s Note: Prioritize these in any mixed group. Their ranged attacks can disrupt your positioning.

The Brute 💪

Threat Level: High 😡
Behavior: A large, towering Orphan that moves slowly but hits with devastating force.
Weaknesses: Often has armored sections. You must target the exposed, fleshy parts. Fire from Torch Fuel or explosive canisters is extremely effective at stunning them and temporarily burning away their armor.
Archivist’s Note: Never engage a Brute in close quarters. Use their slow speed to your advantage by kiting them around large objects.

The Crawler 🕷️

Threat Level: Medium 🤔
Behavior: A smaller, multi-legged creature that can crawl on walls and ceilings, allowing it to ambush you from unexpected angles.
Weaknesses: Their erratic movement makes them difficult to hit. The Javelin’s homing rounds or the wide spread of the shotgun are effective. Listen for their distinct chittering sounds.
Archivist’s Note: These enemies break your spatial awareness. When you enter a room with high ceilings, immediately scan the walls and ceiling.

The Wall-Grabber 🐙

Threat Level: Low (but high annoyance) 😒
Behavior: A stationary hazard embedded in walls. It will lash out with a long tendril if you get too close.
Weaknesses: Completely immobile. A single charged shot to its visible “head” will kill it. Their presence is almost always telegraphed by a loud audio cue.
Archivist’s Note: This is a test of your awareness. Once you learn their specific sound, you can easily pick them off from a safe distance.

The Polyp 🤢

Threat Level: Low 😊
Behavior: A stationary, pulsating sac of green acid that will explode when you get too close.
Weaknesses: Can be destroyed with a single uncharged bullet.
Archivist’s Note: Don’t waste ammunition. You can learn the timing to approach them, trigger their explosion, and back away safely, conserving a bullet every time.

Forging the Perfect Traveler: Progression and Customization in Cronos: The New Dawn 📈

The Temporal Shell: Mastering Suit Upgrades 🧑‍🚀

Your suit, the Temporal Shell, is your lifeline. It’s upgraded at Terminals using Cores 💎, a rare resource found in hidden areas, dispensed in some safe rooms, and rewarded for petting cats. These upgrades are permanent, making your choices critical.

The progression path in Cronos: The New Dawn is dictated by its most oppressive mechanic: the inventory. The starting capacity of six slots is brutally restrictive. An extra health bar is useful, but an extra inventory slot is transformative. For this reason, the optimal upgrade path is non-negotiable.

The Golden Path of Progression:

Inventory Slots 🥇: Your first Core must be spent to increase your inventory. Your next priority should be saving the Cores required for the next upgrade. Don’t spend Cores on anything else until you have at least eight inventory slots.
Suit Integrity 🥈: Once you have a comfortable number of inventory slots (8-9), begin investing in Suit Integrity to increase your maximum health.
Resource Limit 🥉: This upgrade increases the maximum number of crafting materials you can carry. Invest in this after your core Inventory and Health needs are met.

Upgrade Name	Level	Effect	Core Cost
Inventory Slots 🎒	1	+1 Slot (Total 7)	1
	2	+1 Slot (Total 8)	2
	3	+1 Slot (Total 9)	3
	4	+1 Slot (Total 10)	4
Suit Integrity ❤️	1	+25 HP (Total 125)	1
	2	+25 HP (Total 150)	1
	3	+25 HP (Total 175)	2
	4	+25 HP (Total 200)	2
Resource Limit 📦	1	+5 Max Resources	1
	2	+5 Max Resources	2
Torch Fuel Capacity 🔥	1	+1 Canister (Total 2)	2
Pyre Capacity 💣	1	+1 Mine (Total 2)	2

(Note: The above table is a representative model. Exact costs and effects should be verified in-game.)

The Traveler’s Arsenal: A Complete Weapon Guide for Cronos: The New Dawn 🔫

Your primary tool is a morphing multi-tool that can take several weapon forms. Upgrading these weapons costs Energy, and importantly, these upgrades can be refunded at any upgrade station for a small fee.

Weapon	Type	Ammo	Special Properties
Sword MK-1615 🔫	Handgun	Handgun	Charged shot penetrates enemies.
Dagger PS-3713 🔪	Auto Handgun	Handgun	Full-auto fire mode instead of charge.
Hammer PROV-2030 💥	Shotgun	Shotgun	Charged shot widens pellet spread.
Mace JER-5120 💥💥	Dbl-Barrel	Shotgun	Fires both barrels at once; no charge.
Javelin LK-102 🎯	Carbine	Carbine	3-round burst; charged fire is full-auto with homing rounds.
Lance REV-1411 🔭	Marksman	Carbine	3-round burst; has a powerful charge mode.
Arbalest MT-1020 🚀	Launcher	Arbalest	Fires explosive projectiles with an area of effect.
Pyre 💣	Explosive	N/A	Deployable proximity mine; can be shot to detonate.

Weapon Locations and Analysis

Sword MK-1615 (Handgun) 🔫: Your starting weapon, obtained automatically. A reliable and ammo-efficient workhorse for the entire game.
Hammer PROV-2030 (Shotgun) 💥: Found in a safe room on the way to the Sector D-3 Housing Project. It’s unmissable. Your primary tool for high-damage output.
Pyre (Explosive) 💣: Found on a table in a safe room in the Steelworks. A tactical mine.
Dagger PS-3713 (Auto Handgun) 🔪: Located in a safe room in the Steelworks, just before the Gravity Boots. This unmissable weapon sacrifices efficiency for a higher rate of fire.
Javelin LK-102 (Carbine) 🎯: Found in a safe room immediately after restoring power in the Terminal. This unmissable carbine’s homing rounds are excellent for hitting weak points on agile bosses.
Mace JER-5120 (Double-Barrel Shotgun) ⚠️ MISSABLE: Hidden behind a puzzle in the Unity Hospital chapel. You must find the Chalice and the Vasculum and place them on the chapel altar to get a key.
Arbalest MT-1020 (Launcher) ⚠️ MISSABLE: Found in the locked toy store in Station B. To get the key, you must find and pet the cat (India) hidden in a nearby electronics store. The Arbalest is a boss-killer, but its ammo is extremely rare.
Lance REV-1411 (Marksman Carbine) ⚠️ MISSABLE: Found in the locked Bell Tower at the Abbey. This requires a multi-step quest involving the Bolt Cutters, a mausoleum, a cat (Freya), and the Bell Tower Key.

The Harvester of Souls: A Guide to Essences 👻

Using your Harvester, you can extract the Essences of key individuals. Equipping an Essence grants a powerful passive buff. However, the more Essences you carry, the more your suit becomes haunted, leading to auditory and visual hallucinations in Cronos: The New Dawn. 😵

Essence Locations and Effects

Wisniewski, Edward Essence 🔥: Story-related. Effect: Deal more damage against burning enemies.
Marzec, Lidia Essence 💰: Found on a Fallen Traveler on the tram in Station A. Effect: Energy found increased slightly.
Baryka, Artur Essence 🔫: Story-related (choice). Effect: Handguns deal additional damage on headshots.
Baryka, Gabriel Essence 💥: Story-related (choice). Effect: Shotgun shots deal additional damage when hitting multiple enemies.
Zybert, Dawid Essence 🛠️: Story-related. Effect: Fabrication recipes require less Metal Scrap resources.
Antoni, Surma Essence 👊: Found on a Fallen Traveler in the basement of the sculptor’s house. Effect: Melee attack and Stomp have vastly increased damage.
Marzec, Marcel Essence 🏃: Found on a Fallen Traveler in the locked toy store in Station B. Effect: Movement speed while aiming increased slightly.
Marzec, Krzysztof Essence 🎯: Found on a Fallen Traveler in the Abbey. Effect: Carbines deal additional damage while not moving.
Lazarski, Daniel Essence (Secret) 🤫: Found on a Fallen Traveler in the Citizen’s Police Station during the Finale. This is an easter egg for Observer. Effect (unlisted): Doubles the damage of charged shots.

Synergistic Builds

The Pyromaniac 🔥: Combine the Edward Wisniewski Essence with the Torch and explosive canisters. Inflict burn status, then switch to a high-damage weapon to capitalize on the massive damage bonus.
The Sharpshooter 🎯: Combine the Artur Baryka Essence with the fully upgraded Sword MK-1615. This turns the handgun into a devastating headshot machine.
The Demolitionist 💣: Combine the Gabriel Baryka Essence with the Hammer shotgun. This build rewards you for lining up multiple enemies, perfect for crowd control.

The Wasteland Economy: Crafting and Resource Management in Cronos: The New Dawn 🛠️

Scavenger’s Bible: A Guide to Every Resource

Survival in Cronos: The New Dawn is synonymous with scavenging. The world is stingy with its resources, and you must learn to recognize and efficiently gather everything you can.

Energy 🔋: The primary currency, used for upgrading weapons.
Cores 💎: The rarest currency, used for upgrading your Temporal Shell and support tools.
Chemicals 🧪 & Metal Scraps 🔩: The two primary crafting materials. They don’t take up inventory slots but have their own capacity limit.
Valuables 📸: Items like Cameras that serve no purpose other than to be sold at a Terminal for a large amount of Energy. They take up a valuable inventory slot.

Field Crafting: Recipes and Strategies

Crafting is essential for replenishing your supplies. You can access the crafting menu at any time, but more importantly, you can perform a “Quick Craft” in combat by holding down the d-pad shortcut for the item you wish to craft.

Crafted Item	Required Resources
Handgun Ammo 🔫	1 Chemical, 1 Metal Scrap
Shotgun Shells 💥	1 Chemical, 2 Metal Scraps
Carbine Rounds 🎯	2 Chemicals, 1 Metal Scrap
Arbalest Bolt 🚀	2 Chemicals, 2 Metal Scraps, 1 Core
Shell Patch (Small) 🩹	2 Chemicals, 1 Metal Scrap
Torch Fuel 🔥	1 Chemical
Pyre Mine 💣	2 Chemicals, 2 Metal Scraps

(Note: The above table is a representative model. Exact resource costs should be verified in-game.)

A critical rule is to only craft when necessary. However, if you find more materials but are at your capacity, it’s better to craft an item on the spot than to leave resources behind.

Cronos: The New Dawn – Complete Walkthrough

🚨 SPOILER WARNING: The following section contains a complete, step-by-step walkthrough of the entire main story of Cronos: The New Dawn. Proceed only if you wish to be guided or are stuck. 🚨

Chapter 1: Find the Predecessor

Your Vocation begins. After a psychological test (choices don’t matter), you awaken as the Traveler.

The First Steps: Learn to use a charged shot to open a jammed door. Proceed through the apartment complex, breaking boards with your melee attack. Collect the Old Key to proceed.
Underground Shopping Center: Descend into a shopping area.
- Cat 1/10 (Borowka) 🐈: Unmissable. Petting this cat rewards you with Core #1.
The Bookstore: Find a safe room in this area.
- Comic Book 1/10 📚: Found in the shop where the Across Time Itself Travelog is.
- Core #3: Found in the pharmacy safe room.
The Predecessor: Follow the path until you find your predecessor’s body to complete the objective.

Chapter 2: Sector D-3 Housing Project and Extracting Edward

Head to the Sector D-3 Housing Project to find a Dive Point.

The Streets: Retrieve the Bolt Cutters ✂️ from a hardware store.
- Comic Book 2/10 📚: In a hidden area. Drag a locker on the southern end of the street to reveal the path.
- Cat 2/10 (Mela) 🐈: After getting the Bolt Cutters, backtrack and use them on a chained door to find Mela.
The Housing Project:
- Weapon: Hammer PROV-2030 (Shotgun) 💥: Found in an unmissable safe room.
- Core #4: Found in the safe room on the first floor.
The First Dive: At the top of the complex, you’ll find the Dive Point to 1980s Poland.
Extracting Edward:
- Cat 3/10 (Karol) 🐈: After getting the key to Edward’s shelter, find this cat in the snowy playground. Petting it drops Core #6.
- Boss: The Unmerged One 👹: This boss is covered in invulnerable black biomass. Use explosive canisters to set her on fire. While burning, three glowing orange weak spots (head, chest, legs) will be exposed. Shoot these with your shotgun. She will frequently submerge and reappear, so stay mobile. Destroy all three blisters to win.
Extraction: After the boss, extract Edward Wisniewski’s Essence.

Chapter 3: Station A and The Steelworks

Your next objective is The Steelworks, which requires restoring power to a tram in Station A.

Station A:
- Essence: Lidia Marzec 👻: Found on a Fallen Traveler on the tram.
- Comic Book 3/10 📚: Behind a chained door after activating the first generator. Requires Bolt Cutters.
- Cat 4/10 (Cynamon) 🐈: In a locked room that opens after power is restored. Follow the meows. Petting it drops Core #8.
The Steelworks:
- Weapon: Pyre 💣: Found in a safe room on a workbench.
- Weapon: Dagger PS-3713 (Auto Handgun) 🔪: In an unmissable safe room before the Gravity Boots.
Extracting Artur: Your second Dive takes you to the Steelworks in the past.
- Boss: Steelworks Terror 👹: An aggressive brute with no glowing weak spots. Kite it through the arena, using the numerous explosive canisters to burn it. While it’s burning, unload with your shotgun. It has a ground-pound shockwave attack that can be sidestepped.
- Essence Choice: You can only extract one of the two Baryka brothers.
  - Artur Baryka Essence 🔫: Bonus headshot damage with handguns.
  - Gabriel Baryka Essence 💥: Bonus shotgun damage when hitting multiple enemies.

Chapter 4: The Hospital

Restore power at the Terminal, then head to Unity Hospital to find Dr. Dawid Zybert.

Reaching the Hospital:
- Weapon: Javelin LK-102 (Carbine) 🎯: In an unmissable safe room at the start of your journey to Sector A-0.
- Essence: Antoni Surma 👊: On a Fallen Traveler in the basement of the sculptor’s house.
Unity Hospital: A classic survival horror labyrinth.
- Weapon: Mace JER-5120 (Shotgun) ⚠️ MISSABLE: Requires solving the Chapel puzzle.
Boss: The Unmerged Terror 👹: A four-legged brute covered in damage-resistant biomass with three glowing weak spots (head, two arms). The fight is in narrow corridors. Kite it, use explosive barrels to burn away its biomass, and then shoot the exposed weak spots.
Extraction: After the boss, extract Dr. Dawid Zybert’s Essence.

Chapter 5: The Abbey

Your journey now leads you to a mysterious Abbey.

Station B:
- Weapon: Arbalest MT-1020 🚀 ⚠️ MISSABLE: Requires the multi-step cat sidequest involving the Bolt Cutters and the toy store key.
- Boss: Station B Terror 👹: A recycled version of the Steelworks Terror, but in a much smaller arena. It also gains a new acid-spitting attack. The strategy remains the same.
The Abbey: A large, gothic area with complex puzzles.
- Weapon: Lance REV-1411 (Carbine) 🔭 ⚠️ MISSABLE: Requires the multi-step cat sidequest involving the Bolt Cutters, the cemetery, and the Bell Tower key.
Boss: Mother Eliza 👹: A multi-phase stationary boss.
- Phase 1: Shoot glowing weak spots on her sides while using cover to avoid her attacks. She will summon waves of weak Orphans.
- Phase 2: The room fills with acid. Activate oddities to create ramps for high ground. Continue to shoot her final weak spots while fending off endless waves of Orphans.

Chapter 6: Finale

The final chapter brings you back to the Terminal for a climactic confrontation in Cronos: The New Dawn.

The Terminal Under Siege: A gauntlet through familiar but now more dangerous locations.
- Essence: Daniel Lazarski 🤫: The secret corrupted Essence is found in a cell in the Citizen’s Police Station.
Final Boss: The Pathfinder 👹: The most difficult fight, with multiple phases that teleport you to different arenas.
- Phase 1: Dodge his slow but devastating sickle combo. Dodge into his overhead swing.
- Phase 2 (Car Arena): He adds a ranged attack, firing blue electric orbs.
- Phase 3 (Gravity Pad Arena): He gains a massive arena-wide explosion. You must use your Gravity Boots to jump to a raised corner platform to survive.
- Phase 4 (Clock Tower): He retains all attacks. To survive the explosion, you must activate oddities to create platforms on balconies. Use everything in your arsenal to finally bring him down.
The Final Choice: After defeating the Pathfinder, you are presented with the final, ending-defining choice.

The Archivist: Collectibles, Endings, and Secrets for Cronos: The New Dawn 🤫

Collectible Checklists

Cats 🐈:
1. Borowka: Underground Shopping Center
2. Mela: Behind chained door near start
3. Karol: Playground (Past)
4. Cynamon: Station A (after power on)
5. Merlin: Steelworks (gravity jump section)
6. Balbina: Terminal (after Steelworks)
7. Gus: On the way to the Hospital
8. Bebola: Unity Hospital (Operation Block)
9. India: Station B (Electronics store)
10. Freya: Abbey (Cemetery mausoleum)
Comic Books 📚:
1. Bookstore Shop
2. Street before Housing Project
3. Station A (chained door)
4. Steelworks (secret area)
5. Terminal (chained door)
6. Apartment 28 (en route to Hospital)
7. Unity Hospital (locked lab)
8. Station B (behind locked gate)
9. On the way to the Abbey
10. Citizen’s Police Station (Finale)

Unlocking the Fates: A Guide to All Endings 🎬

🚨 HEAVY SPOILERS AHEAD 🚨

A common anxiety for players is the impact of their choices. In Cronos: The New Dawn, this is largely unfounded. Your ultimate fate is determined by only a handful of key decisions.

Key Decision Points:
- The Baryka Brothers (The Steelworks): Your choice to extract either Artur’s or Gabriel’s Essence.
- The Final Choice (After the Final Boss): The dialogue choice you make determines Endings A and B.
- New Game+: A third, secret ending is accessible only by completing the game once and starting a New Game+ playthrough.
Ending A & B 🎬: Achieved on your first playthrough, tied to your final dialogue choice with the Pathfinder.
Ending C (The “Orthodox” Ending) 📜: This secret, true ending for Cronos: The New Dawn is only available in New Game+. Reach the end of a NG+ run to unlock a new dialogue option during the final confrontation, leading to this unique conclusion.

Secrets and Easter Eggs

Observer’s Legacy 🤖: The corrupted Essence of Daniel Lazarski is a direct reference to Bloober Team’s earlier game, Observer. Its unlisted effect of doubling charged shot damage makes it arguably the most powerful Essence in the game.
A Familiar Red Square 🟥: The save kiosks in Cronos: The New Dawn glow with a distinct red square, a subtle visual nod to the iconic save points from Silent Hill 2, which Bloober Team famously remade.

Post-Mission Debrief: DLC, New Game+, and Technical Guide 💻

Special Editions and DLC Content for Cronos: The New Dawn 🎮

Digital Deluxe Edition: Included the base game, 48-hour early access, a digital artbook and soundtrack, two exclusive Traveler armor skins, and a starter pack of resources.
Pre-Order Bonus: Included a unique Traveler skin and a smaller starter pack of resources.
Future Content: No story DLC or sequels are actively in production, but Bloober Team views Cronos: The New Dawn as a long-term brand they may expand in the future.

The Vocation Anew: A Guide to New Game+ 🔄

Upon completing Cronos: The New Dawn, you’ll unlock New Game+. This allows you to restart the story while retaining all of your previously acquired weapons, suit upgrades, and weapon upgrades. The primary incentive for playing NG+ is to unlock the secret “Ending C”.

PC Performance Optimization ⚙️

For a smooth experience in the Unreal Engine 5-powered world of Cronos: The New Dawn, consider these settings, especially for systems with 8GB of VRAM or less.

Setting	Optimized Value	Rationale
Ray Tracing ❌	Off	The largest single performance gain.
Shadow Quality	Medium	Reduces volumetric lighting quality for a significant uplift.
Texture Quality	Low (for 8GB GPUs)	Prevents VRAM-related stuttering.
Shaders Quality	Medium	Increases reflection roughness cutoff for a performance boost.
Effects Quality	Medium	Balances visual effects with performance impact.
SSAO ✅	Enabled	Provides important depth information with a moderate cost.
SSR ✅	Enabled	Essential for the game’s wet, reflective surfaces.
SSS Quality	High	Minimal performance impact; improves character lighting.

Useful Console Commands >_

r.Streaming.PoolSize 1024: Lowers VRAM allocation for texture streaming, highly recommended for 8GB GPUs to reduce stutter.
r.FilmGrain 0: Disables the film grain visual effect for a cleaner image.
t.Streamline.Reflex.Enable 1: Manually enables Nvidia Reflex for reduced system latency.

Disclaimer: This is an unofficial fan work, all trademarks and copyrights for Cronos: The New Dawn belong to the developer Bloober Team.

Find the game here! Cronos: The New Dawn

Cronos: The New Dawn Guide – All Weapons, Endings & Secrets