One of the many mysteries of the Cumberland landscape in Atomfall are the trio of Radio Towers. There is one in Slatten Dale, one in Skethermoor, and one in Casterfell Woods.
Like most of the landmarks you’ll come across there is a story to be told around the Radio Towers, but when you first encounter them there’s a high chance they’re locked.
Of all the various parts of Atomfall, the Radio Towers are the thing that confused me the most. They’re initially powered down, and even with the Signal Redirector in possession, there seems to be no way to power up the door locks.
This is because the Radio Towers are a path to one of the various endings, and to get into them, you need to locate Joyce Tanner. It’s hard to keep track of all the various characters, and she could appear out of the blue, as she did for me.
I stumbled upon this knowledge by accident, so let me tell you the tale so you can be on your own merry way to accessing the Radio Towers.
Who is Joyce Tanner and where you meet her
I don’t want to spoil too much since, like the other major NPCs in Atomfall, Joyce Tanner has a lead to follow towards one of the endings.
The short version is she’s another scientist that was part of the ill-fated convoy into the zone. Tanner’s specialty is communications, hence the Radio Towers. She survived and needs to send a message out the zone.
There are a couple of places you might encounter Joyce Tanner. She’s initially holed up in a remote bunker in Casterfell Woods, but I didn’t find her there.
It looks like if you access the Interchange and power up Data Store C, Tanner will flee her hidey hole in the ground and head there regardless. This is where she caught me by surprise.
Once you meet Joyce Tanner, the rest is easier
Meeting Joyce Tanner completely solves the mystery of how to open the Radio Towers. You don’t need to redirect power or any of that business, she’ll just push a magic button and allow you to access them!
Huzzah!
Well, kind of.
Nobody in Atomfall does anything for nothing, and true to form, Tanner has her own motives. She needs the towers to send her message out of the zone, but the job is only half complete.
So, you become somebody else’s dogsbody.
Each Radio Tower has a keycard that you need to find to properly activate it. The good news is you don’t need to wander around aimlessly, the game will tell you where to look.
I’m very specifically avoiding just posting a map with each location pinpointed, because honestly, the fun of Atomfall is in the exploration.
But, you get a pretty big clue in each of the Radio Towers. There is a note posted in each detailing where on the map you should head to locate them. Two are fairly straightforward, but the Casterfell Woods location you will need to be prepared for.
You’re going to need to have met Mother Jago and learned the recipe for her special tonic if you stand any chance of surviving. You’ll also need to be geared up enough to take down some Ferals.
But once you grab the keycards you can turn on each of the Radio Towers, and Joyce Tanner’s lead will progress from here. No spoilers, except that you’ll be encountering another character along the way, the scientist Dr. Garrow.
