I have 3 different active main missions:
I was trying to complete the first one, then Apollo warned me that following the next step could prevent me to return to my base for a while, like a sort of "point of no return".
Should I focus on other missions before proceeding with Artemis Path?
Here is a neat overview of the mission order, taken from this (unneat) site:
Click for larger version
Take note of the text at the top:
The game will keep switching you between the 3 main missions: Atlas Path, Space Anomaly & Artemis Path. This is by design. When it switches to Atlas, you have done 5 more milestones, and can therefore access another one of the 11 Atlas Interfaces. Do that. When it switches to Space Anomaly, Nads has some Quicksilver for you in exchange for telling Space Anomaly NPCs about what's been happening in the storyline. It'll switch back when you leave the Anomaly or Atlas Interfaces.
So it recommends to first do Atlas Path, then The Space Anomaly, then Ghosts in the Machine.
But here someone replying to someone with the exact same trilemma says the following:
Mix and match. The Space Anomaly mission updates at certain key points during the Artemis path (Ghosts in the Machine is a part of that) where you have to report your findings to Nada and Polo. As you work through those two mission paths and explore you'll aquire Milestones which are needed to unlock the next step(s) of the Atlas path.
Even though this is from two years ago (and the image from September 2023, v. 4.45), it seems the mission structure is built around this interplay.
It seems the only potential Point of no Return is
towards the end of the Atlas Path, with the mission called The Purge, as you end up in a different galaxy, but using portals you can always get back to Euclid to finish other missions.
You can do Atlas and Artemis in whatever order, but Artemis is more rewarding in the short term, and has fewer requirements.
Broadly speaking, here are the rewards of each:
Artemis:
A one-time shortcut to another galaxy. For most players, this will be their choice of Calypso (Harsh), Eissentam (Lush), Hilbert Dimension (Norm), or Budullangr (Empty), but other destinations are possible if you've already left Euclid. You select the type of galaxy you want, and the game will bring you to the next galaxy of that type. If unsure which to pick: Hilbert Dimension (galaxy #2) is reachable from the center of Euclid (galaxy #1 and the starting galaxy) through regular gameplay, Calypso (galaxy #3) is reachable from the center of Hilbert Dimension, and so on, wrapping around at Iousongola (galaxy #255 and the final galaxy). Budullangr is galaxy #7, and Eissentam is galaxy #10. Any planetary biome can generate in any galaxy, but around yellow stars, the galaxy type influences which planet biomes are most probable. Since Calypso and Hilbert Dimension are relatively easy to reach from Euclid anyway, you might prefer to select one of the other two instead. You can always return to Euclid through the teleporter system.
Atlas:
No intermediate rewards (that are useful for anything other than the next part of the quest). Upon completion of the full line:
Black holes are visible on the galaxy map. Blueprint for an exosuit upgrade which increases core health (not shields). Blueprints for a series of items that can be used, together with a blueprint from the end of Artemis, for another exosuit upgrade with the same effect plus access to a few bits of lore. These upgrades synergize if placed next to each other, giving you a total of +3 health.
Atlas also requires you to complete milestones to progressively unlock it, whereas Artemis is all unlocked from the beginning of the game. Milestones are completed automatically through regular gameplay, so there's no need to grind for them unless you're trying to speedrun the quest line.
The Space Anomaly:
Quicksilver and nanites, each time you talk to Nada. You can talk to Nada after most quests in either of the other two storylines. While you're there, you may as well also get free nanites from Helios and Ares.
