How to Break Yellow Barriers in Returnal

Returnal features various different obstacles that block players’ paths. The obstacles may block players from progressing in the main storyline of Returnal, while some barriers just block off certain rooms with loot inside. These obstacles can be bypassed easily, once players find the correct loot items. One of the first obstacles Returnal players will face are red glowing barriers.

These red barriers look like forcefields filling up doorways throughout Atropos. Bypassing the red barriers is required to continue the horrifying, time-twisting story of Returnal, and as such, players receive the loot needed to break the red barriers early on. This loot item is the Atropian Blade found in the Overgrown Ruins. Once players have the Atropian Blade, a simple melee strike is enough to break red barriers. Yellow barriers, however, are not breakable with a strike of the base Atropian Blade. This guide will lead players through the process of breaking through yellow barriers in Returnal.

Returnal: Breaking Yellow Barriers

Players need to locate the blade balancer and install it onto the Atropian Blade in order to break through yellow barriers. The blade balancer upgrade is sometimes dropped as random loot, but that method of retrieval is not the most efficient in the unforgiving world of Atropos. Fabricators, machines scattered throughout Atropos, enable players to craft the blade balancer upgrade. Not all fabricators have the blade balancer available; players must locate a large fabricator in hopes of finding the blade balancer.

Fabricators spawn throughout Atropos in random locations, but players can generally find large fabricators along the paths of the main objective. The Overgrown Ruins and Echoing Ruins seem to have a more significant number of large fabricators, so it is a good idea to search around these biomes for a blade balancer. Once Returnal players locate a fabricator with a blade balancer available, they must pay 250 Obolites to craft the upgrade. A small price to pay for an essential item!

After the installation of the blade balancer, the Atropian Blade is capable of breaking through yellow barriers with a basic melee strike. New areas filled with loot and details about the mysterious story of Selene are now available to players with the blade balancer upgrade. However, Returnal players need to stay vigilant after installing the blade balancer! Whenever Selene dies with the blade balancer attached, it will be scrapped from players’ inventories, causing the Atropian Blade to regress back to its original state. Like every journey in Returnal, it is always a good idea to stay vigilant.

Returnal is available exclusively for PlayStation 5

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Joe Johnson
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Joe Johnson is a Game Guides writer from Charlotte, North Carolina. Working in journalism since his graduation from Appalachian State University, Joe is a fan of all things video games!

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