Aliens Dark Descent: How to get rid of trauma?

In Aliens Dark Descent, your marines can suffer from the negative effects of trauma and the statuses related to it. This guide page explains what can cause trauma, how trauma can affect gameplay, and how to get rid of the trauma state and restore marines' mental health.

• What causes trauma?
• Visiting Medical Quarters
• Other ways to get rid of trauma

What causes trauma?

Trauma is the name for one of several negative states of a marine, and it can decrease their efficiency on the battlefield. Trauma is associated with stress accumulating during battles and when enemies hunt for the squad.

The game tracks stress levels and memorizes the highest stress level that a marine has reached in a given deployment (i.e. from arriving to the mission area to the return to the dropship). Points of trauma are assigned for each Stress Level:

1. Yellow Stress Level (Anxious) - 1 point;
2. Orange Stress Level (Panicked) - 2 points;
3. Red Stress Level (Terrified) - 3 points.

Trauma Points from subsequent deployments add up. For a given marine, a random trauma will be unlocked after gaining 3 points. Accumulation of Trauma Points does not end at here. The next 3 points result in stronger trauma for the same soldier.

The current number of Trauma Points can be checked on the marine's card - the red lines indicate the accumulated Trauma Points (picture above).

You can learn about imposing trauma on the squad member on the mission summary screen. Highlighting the name will display information about its assumptions.

Traumas, in most cases, cause the stress bar to load faster in various circumstances, e.g. in contact with fire or a specific type of enemy. They can also, for example, affect reloading the weapon.

Visiting Medical Quarters

Imposed trauma will not disappear until you try to get rid of it. We do not advise ignoring it, as the usefulness of the marine on the battlefield will decrease.

The primary way to get rid of trauma is to visit the Psychiatric Care Unit in the Medical Quarters on the USS Otago. The game will unlock it after completing mission 2. You can send a marine for psychiatric treatment, and you have to wait a few days for the effects. Interrupting trauma treatment will reset progress, and do it only if you lack marines to take on a mission.

Other ways to get rid of trauma

Another way to get rid of trauma is by unlocking attribute slots as the character progresses. You can place various perks there and some of them are related to trauma.

The Mind of Steel perk allows for the automatic healing of trauma after 3 days of receiving it.

The Redemption perk allows you to remove a specific trauma imposed on a given marine.

Aliens: Dark Descent

June 20, 2023

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