If you are here, perhaps you’ve recently picked up Stranded: Alien Dawn – Robots and Guardians on Xbox Series X|S or Xbox One! Take up the rebel cause and expand your Stranded: Alien Dawn experience with this brand-new scenario. You have liberated Hope, the first sentient android, and have been forced to take refuge on an uncharted alien planet in the Outer Worlds. Defend against the threat of the ruthless manufacturing consortium aiming to destroy her. Establish and upgrade your base and defenses with powerful new technologies to help you and your fellow rebels protect Hope for long enough to achieve full sentience.

Here are some tips and strategies to get you started on your quest to protect Hope from waves of armed automatons bent on recapturing the consortium’s priceless asset.

• Start by scavenging everything you can find in a reasonable radius, especially if you decide to play the game on a higher difficulty. You will find your group of Hope defenders not only without a roof, but also without any weapons. The first wave of attackers will come armed with pikes and crossbows that are more advanced than the ones you’ll be able to craft in the first few days. Scavenging provides a small chance to find something useful to fend off the first group of bloodthirsty robots, and if you manage to craft a weapon or two in the meantime, you are more likely to survive. This is good news because after the battle, you’ll manage to get the cool new carbon crossbows and salvage some metal from your enemies’ leftovers.

• Start building defenses early – A far cry from the insects and creatures which attack in the game’s other scenarios, your Robots and Guardians adversaries are far better equipped (with laser pistols and pikes!). The waves of robots trying to reach your base get, not only bigger, but increasingly well-armed. This means that you will need to start improving defenses and placing fortifications and traps early on. I usually decide to research turrets before construction basics, and never regret this. Even one turret and a few traps are of great help in any robot attack.

• Offense is the best defense – Choose your starting survivors carefully. You will need good fighters among them and in some cases, you can use them to surprise the attackers or lure them into traps. You can also stay one step ahead by stunning them with EMP grenades while they are busy planning your demise before the attack.
• Stock up on meds, especially healing balms – I recommend adding the recipe for “Bandages” to the crafting desk queue first, setting the quantity to until you reach 20. I do the same for the other meds, so I can make sure the characters can heal all types of damage after battle. The advanced laser weapons that the robots carry will cause burns, so healing balms are essential. To maximize production, choosing the “Until” option is the best way to make sure you have the desired amount in storage – plus, you won’t need to keep track of how many you have produced and how many you’ve used.

• One delivery drone is enough, but one turret is not – The best parts of the robots are their electronic parts. You will find many components that will allow you to build cool new devices, but we suggest prioritizing defenses and turrets over delivery drones when you’re just getting started in the scenario. We know the delivery drones are awesome, but they are also costly, and for a normal size base you need only one. You can never have enough Turrets!

The Stranded: Alien Dawn – Robots & Guardians add-on is now available for Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S and can be purchased separately or as part of the Stranded: Alien Dawn Premium Edition. Read more about Robots and Guardians at the official website and follow @strandedgame for all the latest news and updates.