The Best Upgrades For The AKM-74S In Stalker 2: Heart Of Chornobyl

As a seasoned survivor of the wastelands, I can confidently say that the AKM-74S is one of the most reliable and versatile weapons you can find out here. With its robust construction and adaptable upgrades, it’s a real game-changer in this harsh world.

In the initial stages of “Stalker 2”, you’ll often encounter several weapons within the Lesser Zone. One of the early assault rifles you might come across is the AKM-74S. This weapon will become quite familiar as you search fallen enemies during the early gameplay.

The AKM-74S isn’t always the top choice for an assault rifle, but with some effort and resources put into enhancing its performance at the Tech Station, it can become highly efficient. However, this upgrade process might be costly, but it significantly boosts your chances of survival.

How To Upgrade Weapons

To upgrade weapons, you need to take them to a Tech. Most populated safe areas have one, and they’ll be able to repair and upgrade your weapons for coupons.

Beyond enhancing my weaponry, I find that my Tech ally offers gear enhancements too – from my mask to my battle-worn suit. They occasionally assign me tasks, and upon completion, I can redeem the earned mission coupons to upgrade these essential pieces of equipment at their facility.

Upgrade Trees

In specific cases for certain weapon types and inventory slots, not all possible enhancements can be acquired because some improvements are grouped together in branches, and selecting one precludes the option to select the other.

Other times, upgrades require that you’ve gotten a previous upgrade in order to apply another.

It’s also important to note that
upgrades are separate from attachments
, though some attachments require an upgrade before you can equip them.

Barrel Upgrades For The AKM-74S

In this particular section, there are four distinct types of barrel enhancements that can be applied to an AKM-74S. However, you can only apply a maximum of three unique improvements in this specific part of the system.

Upgrade	Cost	Effect
Rubber Coating	350	Decrease recoil by 10%.
Extra Barrel Rifling	800	Increase armor-piercing power By 30%.
Return Mechanism Sleeve Tightener	700	Increase bullet range by 10%.
Flash Suppressor	1,300	Reduce muzzle flash \| Decrease spread by 25%.

Rubber Coating

The Rubber Coating is the first available upgrade for the top tree of the barrel upgrades, and is a prerequisite for installing either the Extra Barrel Rifling or the Return Mechanism Sleeve Tightener.

Improving Recoil Control is a quite simple enhancement; it’ll make it simpler to maintain aim on your gun. It’s also an inexpensive upgrade, costing only 300 coupons. This is one of the top choices for enhancing the AKM-74S, and there’s little reason not to get it; it will make medium-range battles more manageable.

Extra Barrel Rifling

You’ve got two options to consider: the Extra Barrel Rifling and the Return Mechanism Sleeve Tightener. Both are about the same price-wise, but they serve distinct functions that might be better suited for various scenarios.

The Extra Barrel Rifling enhancement will boost the harm you inflict on armored foes. Although armor-clad enemies aren’t common early on, their numbers will grow in challenging fights, making this upgrade particularly valuable in tough situations.

Return Mechanism Sleeve Tightener

Increasing the variety of the “Range Mechanism Sleeve Tighteners” could be beneficial, but when you acquire an effective long-range weapon, the added benefit from these becomes less significant and essentially insignificant in its impact.

In essence, the Extra Barrel Rifling offers a superior penetration power that will serve you better in terms of performance.

Flash Suppressor

For the AKM-74S, the Flash Suppressor stands out as the priciest among barrel upgrades; however, it’s equally renowned for its significant worth. Although eliminating muzzle flash may seem to offer little practical benefit, the reduction in weapon dispersion certainly does.

Body Upgrades For The AKM-74S

There are fewer options when it comes to upgrading the body of the AKM-74S.

Upgrade	Cost	Effect
Milled Parts Replaced With Stamped Parts	300	Reduce weapon weight by 30%.
Adjusted Bolt Locking Lugs	700	Flatten bullet arc by 15%.

Milled Parts Replaced With Stamped Parts

This update is primarily designed for your comfort, but it’s far from being worthless. You’ll frequently struggle with the weight of your backpack and weapons, so any reduction in gear weight will make your travels much easier. It’s a very affordable upgrade, and there’s little reason to pass it up.

Adjusted Bolt Locking Lugs

This can be a bit of a confusing upgrade for some people, as it appears to simply upgrade the range of the weapon, similar to the Return Mechanism Sleeve Tightener. However, flatness and range are two separate things.

Enhancing a weapon’s range also maximizes the distance at which the bullet inflicts its greatest damage. Additionally, improving the bullet’s trajectory by making it more streamlined will help reduce the curvature of its path. This increased straightness means that you won’t have to adjust your aim as much for bullet drop when taking long-range shots, making them easier to hit accurately.

As a gamer, I’ve got some exciting news for my fellow marksmen: This upgrade is about to turn your long-range game up a notch! Instead of just helping in close-to-medium range battles, this bad boy will significantly enhance your accuracy, especially when it comes to those precision headshots you’ve been lining up. Trust me, you’ll be using less ammo and scoring more kills!

Stock Upgrades For The AKM-74S

In terms of upgrades, the improvements made to the AKM-74S fall somewhere in the middle, offering three enhancements that concern both the barrel and the body.

Upgrade	Cost	Effect
Rebalanced Stock	250	Increases aiming speed by 15%.
Enlarged Back Pad	700	Increases aiming accuracy by 15%.
Rubber Stock Rear	1,300	Decreases recoil by 10%.

Rebalanced Stock

The Enhanced Ammunition will speed up the responsiveness of your weapon. It may not significantly reduce aiming time, but in Stalker 2, battles are often won or lost by tiny fractions of a second. Firing your shots with maximum precision as quickly as possible will be crucial.

Enlarged Back Pad

The Enlarged Back Pad works seamlessly with the Rebalanced Stock. Although it may aid in faster target acquisition when aiming, its true advantage lies in reducing the weapon’s movement, which can be crucial for hitting your mark precisely. Essentially, the Enlarged Back Pad serves to minimize unwanted sway, ensuring that any missed shots are due to your skill level rather than the weapon’s instability.

Rubber Stock Rear

The Rubber Stock Rear complements flawlessly with the AKM-74S’s other rubber enhancement, the Rubberized Coating. Each of these enhancements reduces recoil equally, and when used together, they lower recoil by a total of 20 percent.

As a devoted enthusiast, I must say that these upgraded rubber components truly elevate the performance of my AKM-74S, particularly in close combat situations. It’s not always easy to maintain control over the weapon and keep an eye on the adversary, especially when using iron sights. But with these improvements, I find it significantly easier to manage those tight encounters effectively. Simply put, these rubber upgrades are top-tier enhancements for my AKM-74S.

Fully-Upgraded AKM-74S

A fully-upgraded AKM-74S can have very slight variation in performance, based on the choice you made on the barrel upgrades.

Fully-Upgraded AKM-74S Bonuses

Here are the stat improvements for our best AKM-74S:

20 percent Recoil Improvement.
30 percent Armor Piercing Power or ten percent Range.
25 percent Spread Decrease.
30 percent Weight Reduction.
15 percent Flatter Trajectory.
15 percent Aiming Speed Increase.
15 percent Aiming Accuracy Increase.

The Best Upgrades For The AKM-74S

The most valuable upgrades for the AKM-74S are the ones that make it considerably easier to keep on target, improving the bullet spread, recoil, and reducing sway when aiming down sights.

These upgrades are going to be in the barrel and the stock portions; you should consider prioritizing buying those before you invest in the body of the weapon.

Price Of A Fully-Upgraded AKM-74S

The price of a fully-upgraded AKM-74S is going to be steep, though not outside reason. There is some variance in the price based on what barrel upgrade you choose, but overall, it’s going to cost either 5,600 or 5,700 coupons.

Although it appears pricey, it’s a sum that can be earned with minimal time investment, specifically just a handful of hours gathering coupons in the Lesser Zone. If you find weapons needing only minor repairs for resale, you won’t spend much time accumulating the necessary coupons.

2024-12-02 04:34