It is said that the Greek god Zeus fought for 10 long years against the titans, only to have the battle end in a draw. We at Atlas like to believe Zeus could have won the fight in half the time if only he had one of the guns from our legendary line of firearms. All Atlas guns offer exceptional rate of fire, damage, and an epic level of high technology. Regardless of your god, you need not look to the heavens for salvation from adversity. Atlas weaponry can answer your prayers and grant you a power few mortals have ever experienced. Prove yourself as a true believer. Join the select ranks of Atlas owners and become a god among men!
— Atlas sales pitch, Official Borderlands Guide
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The Atlas Corporation is a weaponsmanufacturing corporation supplying arms to the Pandoran market. Weapons manufactured by the Atlas Corporation may be randomly generated in Borderlands, their signature feature being their pearl handles.[1]
These guns tend to have high damage and fire rate, without sacrificing magazine capacity and reload.[2]Indeed, Marcus Kincaid sometimes says, "Buy an Atlas, and you too will know what it is like to hold the power of the gods in your hands!" Atlas guns tend to be among the rarest guns in the game. Despite their overwhelmingly powerful portrayal in the game however, this does not mean Atlas guns are always the best choice.
The Atlas Corporation is a massive interplanetary megacorporation involved in the development and manufacture of everything from spaceships and stardrives to small arms. It was the first company to discover ancient alien technology, on the planet Promethea, and reverse engineered it in order to manufacture machines and weaponry with the benefits of this new technology, allowing them to produce high performance equipment that excels in every area without trade-offs. The project also brought Atlas to the forefront of weapons manufacturing, and was extremely profitable. The immense success of the Atlas Corporation's venture inspired other megacorporations, such as the Dahl Corporation, to explore other frontier planets, like Pandora, in search of more alien technology and similar resources. Not all such ventures were immediately successful, as the case of Pandora shows, even though items of value still exist buried within the planet.[3]
The Crimson Lance is a highly trained and well-armed private military force created and financed by the Atlas Corporation. It can be assumed by Crimson Lance involvement that the Atlas Corporation is attempting to secure the Vault in order to maintain its technological edge over its competitors, but the original game leaves this matter unclarified. In DLC3, General Knoxx's report to high command (a recording of which was recovered and listened to by the Vault hunters) confirms that Steele was sent to secure the Eridian technology that the Pandoran Vault was rumored to contain. By the time the Vault Hunters arrive, though, there are indications that the Lance operation appear to have been abandoned by Atlas, as both they and the Dahl corporation began to doubt its existence after a fruitless search, and the continued stay on Pandora could be simply a power grab by its Pandoran leader, Commandant Steele. Helena Pierce's statement that the Lance soldiers have been invading towns and turning them into "Lance fiefdoms" supports this possibility. These efforts bring them into direct conflict with four highly dangerous and resourceful adventurers that came to Pandora.
Despite the eventual discovery of the Vault's true contents, Atlas has nevertheless decided to maintain their grip on the planet Pandora to continue excavation for other xenoarcheological artifacts, and in this interest, have deployed heavy reinforcements to the planet under the command of Crimson Lance General Alphonse Knoxx.
"Buy an Atlas, and you too can see what it feels like to hold the power of the gods in your hands!" - Marcus Kincaid
"Atlas spares no expense in making guns that excel in every area!" - Marcus Kincaid
"Pandora. A planet that once knew only peace and prosperity under the fair and noble direction of the Atlas Corporation. But there were those that sought to disrupt our perfect existence. Thieves and murderers. Perverts and scoundrels. The lawless garbage unleashed an unspeakable evil upon Pandora not known since the age of the Gods. But together, we shall not despair. Atlas has not forgotten you. We are returning and we will restore order and security to your planet. When we arrive, we will..." - From the intro cinematic of The Secret Armory of General Knoxx, an Atlas Educational Film entitled "Respecting Your Superiors"; continued as a quote by Athena
"Atlas believes in customer service above all else. Though all sales are final." - Atlas propaganda announcement
"Do not worry. Pandora is the 13th most important planet within our interglobal dominion. We might not spend much of our budget on you, but at least you're not on Promethia!" - Atlas propaganda announcement
"Give us your hungry, and we'll give them our leftovers! Give us your poor, and we'll give them a job that might pay! Give us your weary, and we'll make them sing us a song! We are Atlas!" - Atlas propaganda announcement
"Atlas shall return to break the bothersome shackles of freedom and choice that have plagued your weary minds!" - Atlas propaganda announcement, after the completion of The Secret Armory of General Knoxx.
Like a number of other major weapons manufacturers in the game, there is an ancient Greek mythological tie in with the Atlas corporation. Atlas was a Titan who was punished by the Olympian conquerors after the war, with the task of dividing Gaia and Ouranos by holding the sky aloft (this fits in with the rest of the major weapons manufacturers).
Many rare Atlas guns are named after mythical beasts from Greek mythology.
Atlas has a stake in the canned food industry. In the Earl Needs Food...Badly mission, the cans of Skag Meat have "Atlas" on them. (See inset right.)
According to the Lance Probes fought in The Secret Armory of General Knoxx, Atlas also makes coffins, and sells life insurance.
The Crimson Lance are not restricted to using Atlas brand guns, though some do, like Lance Bosses Ajax and Kyros who use and drop unique Atlas weapons.
Athena hides her ECHO messages to the Vault hunters among ads for Atlas' Engorge male enhancement product in The Secret Armory of General Knoxx.
After their defeat at the hands of the Vault hunters, weapons manufactured by Atlas will not appear in Borderlands 2.
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