Alien: Isolation Achievement Guide & Road Map

Alien: Isolation
Alien: Isolation Achievement Guide

Overview:
- Estimated achievement difficulty: 5/10
- Offline: 50 [1000]
- Online: 0
- Approximate amount of time to 1000: ~18 hours for one playthrough, ~35 hours for two, ~50 hours for three
- Minimum number of playthroughs needed: One full playthrough + replaying some segments through mission select possible. Two or three full playthroughs strongly recommended.
- Missable achievements: Two ["Mercy or Prudence?" and "One Shot"]
- Does difficulty affect achievements: Yes [Must play Hard mode for "Survivor" achievement]
- Unobtainable/glitched achievements: None
- Extra equipment needed: None

Special Thanks/Links:
Maka for his collectibles guide (click)
PowerPyx for his collectibles guide (click) and for his video guides (provided below under respective achievements)
360GameTV for his collectibles guide (click)

Introduction:
Alien: Isolation is a first-person survival horror game set in the Alien universe. This particular entry in the franchise has a strong emphasis on stealth. The game takes place fifteen years after Alien and forty-two years before Aliens. Here you play as Amanda Ripley, the daughter of Ellen Ripley.

In the year 2137, Amanda, now employed by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, hears that the flight recorder of the USCSS Nostromo (the ship her mother was previously on) has been recovered at Sevastopol space station. The desire to seek closure to the fifteen year separation from her mother overcomes Amanda, so she then travels to Sevastopol with a crew.

Upon arriving at the station, Amanda and company discover something is amiss…

Abbreviated Walkthrough:
If you enjoy first-person stealth games and completed titles such as Thief 4, Dishonored, or Deus Ex: Human Revolution, you will feel at right home with Alien: Isolation.

Therefore if you are comfortable with the genre, it is strongly recommended that you skip step one below and just jump into Alien: Isolation on hard difficulty while hunting for collectibles to save yourself an extra playthrough. If you end up skipping step one you should still unlock the achievements detailed in step one during your hard playthrough.

When playing the Xbox 360 version of Alien: Isolation, one of the more important things to keep in mind is that any collectible you pick up is not instantly saved to the player's profile, unlike the Xbox One version. When playing the Xbox 360 version of Alien: Isolation, you MUST create a manual save afterwards to ensure that the collectibles are saved to your profile. If you pick up a collectible, then you are killed without creating a new save after picking up the collectible or if you reload an older save, then you must recollect that collectible. It might be in your best interest to obtain all collectibles achievements in the Xbox 360 version of Alien: Isolation while beating the game without dying or killing any humans in a single playthrough to save yourself some time and trouble. Thanks to XBA users Fragarach Luin and Jack Frost for bringing this to my attention.

Step 1: Easy/Normal Playthrough + Hunt for Archive Logs
This first step simply serves as an introduction to the game and is recommended for those who are uncomfortable with the stealth genre. If you are familiar with stealth games, then it it suggested that you start the game on hard for the first time.

Here, your goal is to play on a lower difficulty, familiarize yourself with certain situations/objectives, and enjoy the story. Part of the fun one can get from Alien: Isolation is through absorbing the world. Look at the environment of Sevastopol, check out the posters/graffiti on the walls, and keep an eye out for archive logs.

Archive logs aren't so bad to find. There are 151 in all but you only have to gather 100 for an achievement. Plenty can be found in the terminals scattered about Sevastopol and also offer some hints in regards to what happened to the station prior to the Xenomorph's arrival.

Once you are finished with this step, you will have all twenty of the story related achievements.

You should also have the five achievements for using the unmissable weapons (revolver, stun baton, flamethrower, shotgun, and bolt gun).

You will most likely have obtained all of the following achievements through natural play ("Fault Detected", "Seegson Security Bypass", "Power Games", "Build to Survive", "She's in the Vents...", "I Admire its Purity", and "Back Off").

If you spend time to gather up collectibles you will at least end up with three of the five collectible achievements: "The Missing" (collect 1 of the 50 ID tags), "A Record of Disaster" (collect 1 of the 151 archive logs), and "Voices of Sevastopol" (collect 100 of the 151 archive logs).

Step 2: Hard Playthrough + Collectibles Mop-Up
In this playthrough you should focus on using a collectibles guide to help out with the ID tag and Nostromo log locations. If you skipped to step two, and this is going to be your first playthrough of the game, you should also be able to earn the achievements mentioned in step one.

Hard is not too much of a ramp up from the other difficulties. You've got the usual...enemies are more alert, they deal slightly more damage to you, and they take less damage from you.

In easy/normal you can walk around just fine and not attract any attention, but on hard you will find that even walking can make things trickier for you as enemies will be more alert. So when playing on hard, you will spend quite a bit of time crouch-walking.

One of the more important things to have in mind is that you should keep moving. Don't get caught up in one place and don't let the Xenomorph corner you for half an hour. Remember to use equipment like flares or noisemakers to provide a brief distraction when you need to.

Since this is the hardest mode Alien: Isolation offers, it is not recommended that anyone should try to obtain the achievement for beating the game on hard while attempting to stack the other achievements for completing the game without dying or without killing any humans. However, this is still possible to do. Death will not pose a problem as long as you reload your "previous" save after dying. By doing that, your deaths will not be registered.

At the end of this step you should have "Survivor" (beat the game on the hardest difficulty), "The Taken" (collect all 50 ID tags), and "Archivist" (collect the 10 Nostromo logs).

Step 3: Easy Playthrough + “Mercy or Prudence?” and “One Shot” Achievements
After wrapping up hard mode you should really have a feel for the ins and outs of Alien: Isolation. Finish things off with a total stealth playthrough on a lower difficulty to make things easier/quicker for yourself.

In this playthrough, your goal is to complete the game without killing any humans, and complete the game without dying.

If you ever feel like you are about to die, quickly hit the button and load a previous save before a death animation is complete. If you are quick enough you can pause the game and load the current save before the save icon appears in the upper right corner of your screen. When the save icon appears during or just after a death animation that lets you know that a death has been recorded on that file.

There is always a chance that you won't be quick enough to reload the "current" save, but when that happens and you end up dying you can always reload the "previous" save and unlock the "One Shot" achievement at the end of the game.

Generally when the Xenomorph shrieks and stomps towards you, you know it's about to kill you anyway, so reload a save then before it can kill you and start the death animation.

This reload trick will work for preventing your deaths. If you kill a human on accident, reloading your previous save should also get you the "Mercy or Prudence?" achievement at the end of the game.

Considering this will be the third playthrough of the game for some, you should have a good idea of the paths that enemies take when they walk around the rooms. So it's likely that you will earn the achievement for clearing the fourth mission without being touched by an android ("Just out of Reach") during this step.

Also, if you have not already earned the achievements for completing the sections of missions five and fourteen without dying ("Hide. Run. Survive." and "Mind Your Step") you will earn them during this playthrough as you are trying to beat the entire game without dying.

Mop-Up and Conclusion:
If you are missing any achievements after dealing with the previous three steps, refer to the guide below for any aide with what you need to complete. You can use mission select to touch up with any missing collectibles or miscellaneous achievements.

Alien: Isolation has its flaws and may not be the game for everyone, but there is no denying the amount of love that Creative Assembly has poured into the game. Those who worship the original Alien film will find plenty of Easter eggs and other things to marvel at in Alien: Isolation.

If you managed the 1000, congratulations on your latest completion! Not bad for a human.

[XBA would like to thank LickableLemons7 for this roadmap]

Awake

10
Completed "Closing the Book"
This is a story related achievement that cannot be missed.
Welcome to Sevastopol

10
Completed "Welcome to Sevastopol"
This is a story related achievement that cannot be missed.
A Hunt Begins

10
Completed "Encounters"
This is a story related achievement that cannot be missed.
You Shouldn't Be There.

10
Completed "Seegson Communications"
This is a story related achievement that cannot be missed.
How Do You Feel?

10
Completed "The Quarantine"
This is a story related achievement that cannot be missed.
Caught in the Trap

10
Completed "The Outbreak"
This is a story related achievement that cannot be missed.
An Outpost of Progress

10
Completed "Seegson Synthetics"
This is a story related achievement that cannot be missed.
Shock to the System

10
Used the stun baton
You will earn the stun baton automatically as part of the story. At the start of the sixth mission, you’ll have to remove one that’s jamming a door in order to proceed with the mission objective.

Hold down to ready the baton, then tap to thrust.

Alternatively, you can earn this achievement straight away in Survivor mode if you have the Crew Expendable or Last Survivor DLCs. With Crew Expendable you are able to use Dallas, Ellen Ripley, and Parker in Survivor mode (Last Survivor only includes Ellen).

Ellen has the stun baton in her inventory. Hitting a wall will use up one charge.
Bait

10
Completed "The Trap"
This is a story related achievement that cannot be missed.
Hazard Containment

10
Completed "Hazard Containment"
This is a story related achievement that cannot be missed.
A Synthetic Solution

10
Completed "A Synthetic Solution"
This is a story related achievement that cannot be missed.
Consultation

10
Completed "Consultation"
This is a story related achievement that cannot be missed.
Survivor

100
Completed the game on the hardest difficulty setting
(4)
The highest difficulty setting is "hard." It can be played right away for your first playthrough if you choose to do so.

In hard, enemies are more alert, they take more damage before dying, and they deal more damage to you.

It's not as bad as it seems. As long as you spend most of your time sneaking through and crouch-walking you should be fine. Another important thing to remember is that you must keep moving. Never let the Xenomorph or other enemies trap you in a room for half an hour.

Make use of flares or craftable items like the noisemakers, EMP mines, and smoke bombs to create an opening for yourself if you're ever caught in a jam.

Always avoid running and do not hide inside of lockers or cabinets unless you find it absolutely necessary. Stick to hiding by walls, behind boxes, underneath tables, and so on. It's quicker to maneuver this way.
Ripley, Signing Off

50
Completed the game on any difficulty setting
This is a story related achievement that cannot be missed.

You will earn it upon completing mission nineteen, "Isolation."
The Missing

10
Collected an ID tag
(2)
See "The Taken" achievement for greater detail.
The Taken

40
Collected all ID tags
(4)
There are a total of 50 ID tags that must be collected for this achievement.

The Xbox 360 version of Alien: Isolation will not automatically save collectibles to your profile. Remember to create manual saves after picking up collectibles to ensure that those collectibles have been saved to your profile. If you grab a collectible and you die before you have a chance to make a new manual save, or if you reload an older save at a point before you picked up the collectible, then you must recollect that collectible.

If you wish to view the ID tags you have previously collected, press , then .

Maka has created a collectibles guide (click here for a link to the guide).
PowerPyx also made a collectibles guide (click here for a link).
360GameTV made a collectibles guide as well (click here for a link).

You can use all of the above if you need any help finding the collectibles.
Archivist

40
Collected all Nostromo logs
(2)
The Xbox 360 version of Alien: Isolation will not automatically save collectibles to your profile. Remember to create manual saves after picking up collectibles to ensure that those collectibles have been saved to your profile. If you grab a collectible and you die before you have a chance to make a new manual save, or if you reload an older save at a point before you picked up the collectible, then you must recollect that collectible.

If you wish to view the Nostromo logs you have previously collected, press , , then .

Maka has created a collectibles guide (click here for a link to the guide).
PowerPyx also made a collectibles guide (click here for a link).
360GameTV made a collectibles guide as well (click here for a link).

You can use all of the above if you need any help finding the collectibles.
Light 'em Up

10
Used the flamethrower
(3)
At the start of the tenth mission, you will receive the flamethrower as part of the story.

You can also earn this achievement in Survivor mode. To ready the flamethrower, hold , then squeeze to spray.

Use the flamethrower directly on the Xenomorph before it gets too close. 40-50 flamethrower fuel should be enough to cause it to retreat. When it runs away, you'll also get the secret achievement “Back Off”.
Just out of Reach

40
Contacted your team and escaped Comms without being attacked by an android
(7)
This achievement is obtained during mission four, “Seegson Communications.”

You can be spotted by the androids and they can follow you around in a hostile state, but you cannot be touched by one.

To remain undetected, you must crouch-walk for the most part. Take mental notes of where the androids are pacing and sneak by them when they've got their backs turned to you. Avoid running at all times, this way you will be harder to detect. Only run if you've been detected, and run just enough to get out of an android's line of sight so you can hide.

The EMP mine is very useful against androids. You can find the blueprint for the EMP mine inside of Internal Communications. After fiddling with the terminals and getting the cutscene with Samuels you can go to your right in the small area with the save station. The blueprint is on a table just next to the save station.

If you get caught in a tricky situation where two or more androids have blocked your way forward and backwards, pause the game and revert to an older save before they can touch you. This way the achievement will not be voided.
Use With Caution…

10
Used the shotgun
You will come across the shotgun in mission eleven. After running into a locked door that needs to be accessed with a keycard, turn around, move forward a bit, and look to your left on the ground for a body. This body will have the keycard on it, along with the shotgun.

To use the shotgun, simply hold , then press to fire.

It is possible to obtain this achievement in Survivor mode prior to reaching mission eleven in the story. If you have the Crew Expendable DLC you are able to use Dallas, Ellen Ripley, and Parker in Survivor mode.

Dallas automatically has a shotgun in his inventory.
Every Bullet Counts

10
Used the revolver
In mission three, “Encounters,” you will have to find a keycard in order to progress through a locked door. The keycard is on a desk in a brightly lit room that's connected to the locked door by a small corridor. The revolver is on top of the keycard so you will have to pick up the revolver before grabbing the keycard.

Hold to steady the revolver, then press to fire.
Self Defense

10
Killed 10 humans
(2)
A decent place to grind this out is near the very beginning of mission seven, “Seegson Synthetics.”

Enter the vents. When you drop down you'll be at another elevator. Save at the save station just outside of this elevator, then turn around and move to the area with the three hostile humans. Pop a flare and toss it in one of the corners of the room to distract them. Wait for the humans to group around the flare, and then throw a flashbang or smoke bomb at them. Walk up from behind and strike them down with the maintenance jack.

This is a more stealthy approach to killing the humans here, so if you are attempting the achievement to complete the game without dying you can do the above maneuver. However if you are coming back to this mission through mission select you can always take out the humans with a Molotov, a pipe bomb, or with the revolver. But remember that the noise can easily attract the Xenomorph.

Reload the save and repeat the procedure above until you’ve got your ten kills.
Not a Scratch

20
Escaped from android combat without taking damage
(1)
See "My Turn Now" for greater detail.
A Perfect Organism

10
Encountered the Alien in Sevastopol for the first time
This is a story related achievement that cannot be missed.

As you make your way through the third mission, “Encounters,” you will eventually get a cutscene where Amanda meets the Xenomorph.
She's in the Vents...

20
Used the vent system 20 times
This achievement should unlock naturally as you continue to play the game.

If you want to quickly get it out of the way, you can do this achievement near the start of the second mission "Welcome to Sevastopol." You will have to enter a vent to proceed in the game.

Enter the vent with , then move the left analog stick down so you are crouch-walking backwards out of the vent. Stop moving when you are prompted to enter the vent with the button again, then reenter the vent.

Repeat until the achievement unlocks.
I Admire its Purity

20
Detected 30 targets with the motion tracker
You will receive the motion tracker in the beginning of the fourth mission, “Seegson Communications.”

You must detect 30 unique enemies for this achievement, you cannot keep tapping the and whip out the motion tracker 30 times on a single enemy.

As you progress through the game you’ll earn this achievement with no problems. Most people should unlock this naturally during missions six or seven.
Build to Survive

5
Constructed an item

See "A True Engineer" below for greater detail.
Mercy or Prudence?

50
Completed the game without killing any humans
(7)
You are able to kill as many androids as you like, but you must not kill any humans. If you kill a friendly or hostile human on accident it is still possible to earn this achievement upon completing the game, as long as you reload a previous save as soon as you kill someone.

The human AI is pretty poor in comparison to the Xenomorph AI.

Enemy humans can spot you from greater distances when playing on hard difficulty, but if you use flares or other craftable items like smoke bombs, flashbangs, and noisemakers, you'll be able to distract humans with ease.

If you use noisemakers or flares, the human AI will notice it and will orient themselves so when they run up to the distraction, they will only focus on the distraction and ignore everything in their peripheral vision. If you get too close to their central vision/near focal vision they will start attacking you, but if that happens you can simply reload a save and try out a different approach.

There is no way to knock out or stun humans for long periods of time other than using flashbangs, but even flashbangs don't buy you a whole lot of time. The maintenance jack (basic melee weapon) and the stun rod will kill humans, so avoid using those. If you need a distraction just resort to the craftable items that aren't pipe bombs or Molotovs.

If you throw a noisemaker or flare to distract humans, the Xenomorph slides down from the vents to investigate, and then the Xenomorph proceeds to kill the humans, those kills will not count against you. Hostile androids can also kill a human if one steps in the path of the android, but those kills will also not count against you.
Seegson Security Bypass

10
Performed 10 successful hacks
In the third mission, “Encounters,” you will pick up an access tuner. This device allows you to bypass some locked terminals and doors.

This achievement will unlock naturally as you play through the game.

Whenever “hacking,” you are basically matching up a sequence of images. There is another hacking event where you have to line up three moving white squares within three white bars, and each bar is smaller than the previous one.
Seegson Systems Expert

10
Completed 10 minigames successfully
This achievement is story related and cannot be missed. Most people should be able to earn this just before clearing the fourteenth mission, but if you go through the fourth mission very fast you will earn this achievement during mission sixteen.

In mission four when you have to head over to the Internal Communications room to get in touch with Samuels, an android can come over and deactivate Samuel's communication. When this happens, you must reactivate the terminals by doing three mini-games. If you can make it to Internal Communications quickly before that android can deactivate Samuel's communication, then you won't have to perform the three mini-games. So if that happens you will earn the achievement in mission sixteen (Thanks to Son of Kyuss for helping with this).

Whenever you use a computer terminal and you have to fiddle with the face buttons on your controller to get some garbled assortment of text to stay on screen, you're doing mini-games. You aren't breaking out the access tuner to hack the terminals for these.

The description says to do these "successfully," but you don't have to worry if you keep messing up. You are required to complete these mini-games in order to continue with the story, so you are "successfully" completing the mini-games as you progress anyway.

(Thanks to mcnichoj and Flibbity Floid for clarifying the achievement description!)
Power Games

10
Accessed 10 different rewire points
A rewire point allows you to redirect power to things like the lighting in a room, air purification, locked doors, vent access, and so on.

There are numerous rewire points scattered around the walls in the game. You should have no problem unlocking this achievement in your first playthrough.

Here is what rewire points look like:
A True Engineer

20
Constructed one of each craftable item
(3)
In order to craft an item, you must first find the blueprint for that item.

Once you have a blueprint, hold to bring up the radial menu. Choose which item you want to craft with . From there you can see which materials are needed to craft a specific item. Once you have finished gathering and applying all necessary materials, press to craft the item.

There are seven craftable items altogether. You can find more versions of the blueprints throughout the game, each item has three different blueprints.

360GameTV's collectibles guide details where you can find the blueprints (click here for a link).

I've listed the places where you can find the first version of each blueprint:
- Medikit - Blueprint can be found in mission two, "Welcome to Sevastopol." You will have to crouch under a wire to avoid taking damage from electric discharge. At this point the blueprint will be on a bench, directly in front of you.
- Smoke bomb - Blueprint can be found in mission three, "Encounters." Once you grab the revolver and continue past the door that required a keycard, make your way into the room with the two large metallic tables. The blueprint will be on the table closest to you when you step into the room.
- Flashbang - Blueprint can be found in mission three, "Encounters." After getting the smoke bomb blueprint above, move right down a hallway towards the room with the dead body on the chair. Once in this room look to your right and the blueprint is on the wall.
- Noisemaker - Blueprint can be found in mission four, "Seegson Communications." After heading up a set of stairs with a save station at the top, move past the next door and directly across the hallway will be a door with a brace on it. Remove the brace, continue through the door, move right, and the blueprint will be in a small lounge area on a table.
- EMP mine - Blueprint can be found in mission four, "Seegson Communications." Once inside Internal Communications, head towards a save station that’s in a small side room in the back. Next to the save station is the blueprint of the EMP mine on a table.
- Pipe bomb - Blueprint can be found in mission five, "The Quarantine." Eventually you will discover the location of Dr. Morley’s room on a whiteboard. When you see that, exit the room, turn right, go down the small set of stairs, and then head into the first door on your right. The blueprint will be on the table closest to you when entering the room.
- Molotov - Blueprint can be found in mission six, "The Outbreak." This one is a little harder to describe compared to the others, but you will come to this area where there are two rooms directly next to each other. The room on the left has a locked door inside that requires a keycard, and the room on the right is labeled as the “security desk.” Head into the security desk room, it’s got a save station there. On the table is the blueprint. Watch out for the three traffic cones in the hallway outside. If you get too close to the cones, something will explode and fire will start spewing everywhere. The noise attracts the Xenomorph so be careful.
Also, if you have the Crew Expendable DLC, you can craft everything but the medikit and the EMP mine in Survivor mode. You won’t need blueprints to craft items in Survivor mode.

Dallas can make the smoke bomb, pipe bomb, and the Molotov.

Ellen can create a flashbang.

Parker can craft the noisemaker, flashbang, and the Molotov.
A Record of Disaster

10
Collected an archive log

See "Voices of Sevastopol" for greater detail.
Voices of Sevastopol

40
Collected 100 archive logs
(2)
There are a total of 151 archive logs that can be found in Alien: Isolation. As the achievement description states, you only need to find 100 of them. Archive logs can come in a few varieties, such as an email/diary entry in a terminal or an audio recording.

The Xbox 360 version of Alien: Isolation will not automatically save collectibles to your profile. Remember to create manual saves after picking up collectibles to ensure that those collectibles have been saved to your profile. If you grab a collectible and you die before you have a chance to make a new manual save, or if you reload an older save at a point before you picked up the collectible, then you must recollect that collectible.

If you wish to view the archive logs you have previously collected, press , then .

Maka's collectibles guide can help you find most of the archive logs from missions one to thirteen (click here for a link to the guide).
360GameTV's guide can help you find all of the archive logs scattered around each mission (click here for a link).

You can use both guides if you need any aide for finding the archive logs.
Fault Detected

20
Killed an Android
(1)
See "My Turn Now" for more detail.
Throwing the Switch

10
Completed "The Descent"
This is a story related achievement that cannot be missed.
The Message

10
Completed "The Message"
This is a story related achievement that cannot be missed.
Hide. Run. Survive.

40
Completed "The Quarantine" without being killed by the Alien
(2)
This achievement is obtained during mission five, “The Quarantine.”

In this mission you will come face to face with the Xenomorph after watching a small scene where it drops from a vent. Hide behind a nearby gurney and the Xeno will move away after a couple of seconds.

For the most part, just rely on the motion tracker to direct you through the rooms and navigate around the Xenomorph. Avoid running at all times. Walk or crouch-walk.
Transmission

10
Completed "Transmission"
This is a story related achievement that cannot be missed.
One Shot

100
Completed the game without dying
(28)
"I can't lie to you about your chances, but...you have my sympathies."

General Preparation:
There are no great strategies for this achievement other than what's already been mentioned. As the Xenomorph AI is very dynamic, sometimes you just don't know what to expect with it.

It is recommended that you attempt the achievement on an easier difficulty, as on hard the Xenomorph seems to have a tendency to walk outside of the vents more often.

Always crouch-walk around enemies and avoid running.

Stock up on medikits to heal yourself if you need to. You are able to carry up to six at a time. You should also look for flares. Construct noisemakers to distract the Xenomorph and the humans. Don't forget to use the EMP mines/pipe bombs/stun baton to take care of the androids. Save flamethrower fuel and Molotovs for the Xenomorph and the Facehuggers. Also save bolt gun ammo for the androids that wear raincoats later in the game.

Stuff That Can Catch You Off-Guard:
There are a few things that can take you by surprise in Alien: Isolation, and it's not a good thing to get caught off-guard while attempting the "One Shot" achievement. You never know if you'll fumble the controller and lose precious time.

Some of the worst enemies can be the androids that appear deactivated on the ground. A few are still active (you can tell by the glowing eyes). Do not get too close or else they can grab you and do a significant amount of damage. If you want, you could take these androids out with revolver shots to the head, but it's better to save ammo and walk around them.

Facehuggers are one hit deaths. It doesn't matter what difficulty you play on. If they jump, it's game over (man!). You'll start to see them appear in mission fourteen once you head down to Sevastopol's reactor core. When a Facehugger notices you, they make a pretty distinctive sound compared to everything else in the game. So have the flamethrower ready once you hear that sound. After the fourteenth mission you will encounter a few more during the rest of the game. These Facehuggers will burst out from behind a stack of cardboard boxes.

The Xenomorph can toy around with you at times. Occasionally you'll hear it hiss from a random vent up above, and you'll notice drool dripping down from the vent to the floor. Avoid walking underneath the vent or else you'll be killed. Keep an eye on the ceilings.

Do not mess with the friendly humans either, like the ones at the Colonial Marshall Bureau or the two you encounter in the Lorenz system lobby at the start of mission ten. It is possible to kill them, and if they die by your hand you'll get a game over screen.

It is possible to get a game over screen in the timed sequences from missions twelve and fifteen. In mission twelve you must manually disconnect the cables to stop APOLLO's communication with Samuels. If you don't remove the cables quickly enough or remove them in the proper order you will die. In mission fifteen you must shut off the Anesidora's fusion systems to prevent them from overloading. If you don't do the prompts quickly enough it is possible to die there too.

In the middle of mission eighteen there are some runaway trams you will encounter due to the way Sevastopol is tilting from the damaged gravity stabilizers. The first tram will appear as soon as you step close to a door. You'll be able to hear it coming so hang back until it passes. As for the second tram, you must remain crouched underneath it as it passes just above you. There's no time to get up the next little set of stairs, so remain crouched by the stairs then go up when the tram has passed.

Pause/Reload Abuse:
If you think you are about to die (you hear the Xenomorph shriek and stomp toward you, humans start shooting at you etc.) quickly pause the game with , then reload a save.

If you load a save during a death animation before you see the cassette tape save icon in the upper right corner of your screen, you will know that you reloaded quickly enough.

There is always the chance that you may not be quick enough to pause the game and you end up seeing the cassette tape save icon recording your death. When this happens, reload your "previous save" rather than "current save." By reloading the "previous save" your death will not have been registered and you can still earn this achievement by the end of the game.
Free the Torrens

10
Completed "Desolation"
This is a story related achievement that cannot be missed.
End of the Hunt

10
Completed "Tomorrow, Together"
This is a story related achievement that cannot be missed.
This Should Work

10
Used the bolt gun
You will earn the bolt gun as you progress through the fourteenth mission, "The Descent."

To use the bolt gun, hold , then hold down . Wait for the gun to charge up, then release after a few seconds.

Alternatively, you can get this achievement in Survivor mode as soon as you start Alien: Isolation if you have the Crew Expendable DLC. With Crew Expendable you can use Dallas, Ellen Ripley, and Parker in Survivor mode.

Both Dallas and Parker automatically have the bolt gun in their inventory.
My Turn Now

40
Killed an android using only the maintenance jack
(8)
The maintenance jack is your melee weapon and you will find it in the second mission. To use it, tap

A simple place to earn this achievement is right at the start of the fourth mission, “Seegson Communications.” You will encounter an android with his back turned to you near the very beginning of the mission.

Crouch-walk up behind the android, hit it twice with the jack, and then run back to the starting area before the android can hurt you. Wait a few seconds, and the android should return to its original position. Keep repeating this process until the android is terminated.

If you manage any one of the encounters where you run, hit twice, and run away without being touched by the android, you will earn the "Not a Scratch" achievement for escaping from android combat without taking damage.

This will also be the one of the earlier scenarios where many people will destroy their first android, resulting in the "Fault Detected" achievement unlocking.

Retreat From Fire

20
Caused the Alien to retreat using a molotov
See "A True Engineer" for info on where to find the Molotov blueprint in mission six.

Once you have constructed a Molotov, throw it directly at or very close to the Xenomorph and it should run away.

You can also do this achievement in Survivor mode with Amanda as soon as you start the game. In Survivor mode you can automatically create a Molotov without the need for a blueprint as long as you have gathered the appropriate crafting materials.
Back Off

10
Caused the Alien to retreat by using the flamethrower
(1)
This can be done in Survivor mode or once you earn the flamethrower in the tenth story mission. Spray the flamethrower directly on the Xeno before it can attacks. 40-50 flamethower fuel will be enough to make it retreat.
Stunned

10
Knocked down a human or stunned an android with a non-lethal attack
(6)
To knock down a human, throw a flashbang at him/her. To stun an android, chuck an EMP mine at it.

A great opportunity to get this achievement is during mission four, “Seegson Communications.”

Once you reach Internal Communications and get the cutscene with Samuels, you'll find a save station towards a small side room on your right. Next to the save station is a blueprint of the EMP mine on a table.

Construct the EMP mine and toss it at one of the androids when you make your way back to the elevator.
Mind Your Step

20
Navigated Reactor Maintenance without dying
(5)
This achievement is obtained in mission fourteen, “The Descent.”

Towards the end of this mission you must overload two cores in a Xenomorph nest then head back to the elevator. As with the previous level specific achievements, it’s best to constantly walk/crouch-walk and remain stealthy. Avoid running at all times and use the flamethrower or Molotovs to fend off enemies.

*SPOILER ALERT*

While in the nest, you will encounter Facehuggers for the first time. If any one of them jumps on you, it's an instant death regardless of the difficulty you are playing on. The Facehuggers make a distinctive sound when they notice you, so when you hear that, stop moving and ready your flamethrower. A quick burst from the flamethrower will take care of the Facehuggers easily.

Also, if you encounter any unopened eggs, burn them with the flamethrower or a Molotov from a distance, as Facehuggers can crawl out of those.
100 Times Too Many

5
Killed by the Alien 100 times
(1)
You might unlock this naturally. If you finish off all other achievements and you still have this one left, just boot up Survivor mode. Run out of the starting area, keep running around until the Xenomorph kills you, then continue to retry the challenge until you unlock the achievement.
Not the First

10
Turned off the beacon
(1)
This is a story related achievement that cannot be missed.

You will earn this achievement towards the end of mission nine, “Beacon.”