HotM:How To Find Major Secrets

This entire page contains major spoilers!

Unit Types

There are a variety of units in the game, and not all of them are easy to find.

Keanu

The Keanu unit is very powerful, especially in its Bulk form.

• Primary: Do the pollinator contemplation that opens up late in chapter one. It is available from the start in chapters two and onward.
  • Warning: in chapter two, if you pass the forth doom (Religious Schism) of Vorsiber's Wrath, the pollinator event becomes inaccessible.
  • After you have done this event, you will have either Weaponized Bees or Weaponized Spiders, but still no Keanu.
    • If you have Bees, then you must build an Apiary, and then a contemplation called Fast Fist will appear on it. Complete that contemplation to unlock the Keanu.
    • If you have Spiders, then a different contemplation called Fast Fist will appear on one of your android-producing buildings, pretty much immediately. Complete that contemplation to unlock the Keanu.

• Cross-Timeline: If you have unlocked the Keanu in any timeline that is on the same rock as a new timeline you start OR even is older than the timeline where you unlocked him, he automatically crosses over and is available immediately.

Carver

• Primary: Progress beyond the Final Doom, into the post-apocalyptic city. Keep playing until you do the Searching For Friends project.
  • You can choose two out of three from: Exator, Harbinger, and Carver. If you wish to have the Carver, then make it one of your two choices.
  • Unlocking this so super-late doesn't seem all that useful, since that would mean that this unit is barely in the game at all. Well -- the idea only occurs to your character after the apocalypse. To make best use of it, you'll want to bring it into other timelines from this setting.

• Cross-Timeline: If you have unlocked the Carver in any timeline that is on the same rock as a new timeline you start OR even is older than the timeline where you unlocked him, he automatically crosses over and is available immediately.

Exator

• Primary: Progress beyond the Final Doom, into the post-apocalyptic city. Keep playing until you do the Searching For Friends project.
  • You can choose two out of three from: Exator, Harbinger, and Carver. If you wish to have the Exator, then make it one of your two choices.
  • Unlocking this so super-late doesn't seem all that useful, since that would mean that this unit is barely in the game at all. Well -- the idea only occurs to your character after the apocalypse. To make best use of it, you'll want to bring it into other timelines from this setting.

• Cross-Timeline: If you have unlocked the Exator in any timeline that is on the same rock as a new timeline you start OR even is older than the timeline where you unlocked him, he automatically crosses over and is available immediately.

Harbinger

• Primary: Progress beyond the Final Doom, into the post-apocalyptic city. Keep playing until you do the Searching For Friends project.
  • You can choose two out of three from: Exator, Harbinger, and Carver. If you wish to have the Harbinger, then make it one of your two choices.
  • Unlocking this so super-late doesn't seem all that useful, since that would mean that this unit is barely in the game at all. Well -- the idea only occurs to your character after the apocalypse. To make best use of it, you'll want to bring it into other timelines from this setting.

• Cross-Timeline: If you have unlocked the Harbinger in any timeline that is on the same rock as a new timeline you start OR even is older than the timeline where you unlocked him, he automatically crosses over and is available immediately.

Consumable Items

Consumable items are used by your units, and cost resources when you do so. Some of these are also quite hidden.

Weaponized Spiders

Weaponized Spiders are more powerful than bees, at least at the start. They have plasma cutters that can go through armor, whereas bees require exposed skin.

• Primary: Do the pollinator contemplation that opens up late in chapter one. It is available from the start in chapters two and onward.
  • Key step: Do NOT talk to the geneticist, instead ignoring her.
  • Warning: in chapter two, if you pass the forth doom (Religious Schism) of Vorsiber's Wrath, the pollinator event becomes inaccessible.

• Cross-Timeline: If you have unlocked the Weaponized Spiders in any timeline that is on the same rock as a new timeline you start OR even is older than the timeline where you unlocked them, they automatically cross over and are available immediately.

Weaponized Bees

Weaponized Bees have very low usability at first, since most of your opponents are armored, and they cannot get through armor without further upgrades.

• Primary: Do the pollinator contemplation that opens up late in chapter one. It is available from the start in chapters two and onward.
  • Key step: DO talk to the geneticist.
  • Warning: in chapter two, if you pass the forth doom (Religious Schism) of Vorsiber's Wrath, the pollinator event becomes inaccessible.

• Cross-Timeline: If you have unlocked the Weaponized Bees in any timeline that is on the same rock as a new timeline you start OR even is older than the timeline where you unlocked them, they automatically cross over and are available immediately.

Extra Upgrades

There are upgrades of various sorts all over the place, but these are particularly tricky to find if you don't already know them.

Powerful Red CombatUnit

There is a contemplation called Remembrance Of Identity, which gives 9 major upgrades of your choosing to the Red CombatUnit, making it unique compared to the regular and bulk CombatUnits, and also making it dramatically more powerful in one or more dimensions. There are several different upgrades you can choose from, multiple times, but you can't choose them all with just 9 total choices across the spectrum. Most of these upgrades are large stat buffs to a pair of stats.

• Cross-Timeline: If you have visited the post-apocalypse and completed the Bridge with LAKE in any timeline that is on the same rock as a new timeline you start OR even is older than the timeline where you unlocked them, then the Remembrance Of Identity contemplation is available at any time in all these other timelines.