The Alters Common Ground: Best Dialogue for Jan Technician

Managing the mental state of your crew is the key to survival in The Alters, but each version of Jan has a different outlook on the situation. Jan Technician is the first Alter you'll create in The Alters, and the Common Ground task is the game's way of introducing you to its crew management mechanics.

There are some tough conversations ahead in The Alters, but being completely honest with your newly-created Alters isn't always the best path forward. Jan Technician awakens from the Womb disoriented and confused, and it's up to you to calm him down. You can easily mess up the situation by saying the wrong things, though, so here are the best dialogue choices for Jan Technician during the Common Ground quest.

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By Nick Rodriguez

Best Jan Technician Dialogue Options in The Alters

The Common Ground task is your introduction to managing your Alters in The Alters, and the things you say to Jan Technician will affect his mental state and his output around the base. Here are the best dialogue options to choose for the best outcome in the first Act 1 scenes with Jan Technician.

Dialogue	Best Answer	Results
Uh... I... What is this? Where am I?	Relax. You're in a lab.	Less Frustration/Less Anxiety
Sure. Can you?	I'm Jan Dolski.	Joy/Less Gloom
Is this some kind of sick experiment? Cause if it is... Nobody warned me.	No, it's not.	Anxiety/Less Joy
And if I understand you correctly, you're telling me you're an alternate version of me... With a different mind?	You'd do the same.	Frustration/Rebellion
What if there was a malfunction? Where would I be?	I wouldn't wake you up.	Less Rebellion/Less Frustration
I said - don't come near me...	I understand you're angry, but I need your help.	Frustration/Gloom
Now get out of my face. Creep.	You'd do the same.	Frustration/Rebellion.
Like oil and water if you ask me. And they don't mix well.	Maybe. But we're in this together.	Frustration/Less Joy
I've been thinking about what you said.	You're right, we are different.	Frustration/Less Joy
We were dumb kids then. What matters is what happened to her.	You stood up to dad.	Frustration/Motivation
But then I reached a breaking point. Looks like you didn't hang around long enough to reach yours.	I was a coward.	Less Frustration/Less Anxiety
No way we'd find the ingredients here.	Beer and synthetic starch.	Joy/Less Gloom
So?	How do you feel?	Joy/Less Gloom
I feel so optimistic about life now!	They weren't that bad.	Less Rebellion/Motivation
I actually enjoyed it.	Are you showing feelings?	Less Gloom/Less Insecurity
Well... Now that we got that out of the way - what's the plan?	We need to handle this our way.	Motivation/Less Gloom
Do they know about me?	Leave the politics to me.	Less Rebellion/Less Frustration
Tell me you know what to do.	Of course.	Less Frustration/Less Anxiety
Make more versions of me.	Versions of us, you mean.	Joy/Less Gloom
You'd need to work on your cooking skills, though.	I was hoping I could avoid it.	Less Rebellion/Less Frustration

These dialogue choices will get you the best possible mental state for Jan Technician at the start of Act 1. He'll still be a bit cranky until you build him a Dormitory and add other creature comforts to the base, so make sure to harvest as many materials as you can during Act 1 and build the necessary rooms.

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OpenCritic Reviews: Top Critic Avg: 86 /100 Critics Rec: 94%

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Released: June 13, 2025
ESRB: Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Use of Drugs and Alcohol, Violence
Developer(s): 11 Bit Studios
Publisher(s): 11 Bit Studios