STALKER 2: 10 Things The Game Doesn't Tell You

Carry a bolt at all times, consume vodka as a supposed cleansing agent for radiation, and maintain suspicion of everyone around you. Do you truly believe you have mastered every secret of this place?

The realm of STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl presents a blend of breathtaking beauty and lethal danger, where the Zone is marked by the silent graves of stalkers who underestimated its cunning.

It’s quite likely that you’ll end up with them at some point, but if you’re determined to thrive in the Zone, let me share 10 crucial details the game tends to keep hidden.

After you’ve gone through this list, take a moment to breathe deeply, ensure your detector batteries are fully charged, and offer a silent tribute to those friends who didn’t return from their journeys to unusual phenomena.

10. Most Mutants Are Optional

If You Outrun Them

In the game STALKER 2, it’s enjoyable to occasionally eliminate anomalous creatures, but maintaining this pastime can be pricier than indulging in habits like drinking or smoking.

In the game, most of the mutants you encounter can generally be avoided without any risk, often requiring you to flee or evade them.

This proves particularly valuable when confronting mutants who are significantly stronger than you, or vastly superior in numbers, seemingly insurmountable odds. By the way, should you manage to outpace a chimera, you’ll be rewarded with an exciting accomplishment.

9. Use Knife Takedowns

Crocodile Dundee Would Have Thrived Here

As a stealthy gamer, I sneak up on my foe with my trusty blade in hand, ensuring they haven’t spotted me yet. In such moments of quiet tension, a swift and silent takedown is achieved simply by firing off a well-timed press.

This makes next to no noise, allowing you to wipe out entire groups by stabbing the stragglers.

An added perk when performing a stealthy disarm is that there’s a slight chance the opponent will drop an equipment set worth several thousand coupons, providing you with an opportunity to enhance your gear.

8. Leave The Food At Home

Gluttony Is A Sin In The Zone

Despite being categorized as a survival game, you won’t require much in terms of supplies, such as multiple meals, before embarking on an expedition in STALKER 2.

If you don’t constantly drink energy beverages every quarter of an hour, your hunger tends to grow gradually. As such, just one can of meat or a couple of sausages should be sufficient to keep you feeling full for the entire day.

Most hideouts and adversaries often contain some edible items, while wooden food containers are abundant, enabling you to restock supplies easily as you move along.

7. Avoid Inter-Faction Bloodshed

The Zone Can Always Get Worse

Have you ever experienced a sense of unease when finding yourself in unfamiliar territory? In STALKER 2, this feeling manifests as enemies spotting you and immediately firing at you.

Engaging in violence against a specific group will lower your standing with them significantly. As a result, they may view you as an enemy and take aggressive actions such as attacking you immediately upon spotting you, or hiring assassins to eliminate you.

Instead of jumping straight into confrontations that might be unavoidable at times, try holding back on responding aggressively when you meet someone new. This tactic could help reduce unnecessary tension and bring about better outcomes eventually.

6. Use Glass Shard Anomalies For Cover

Paying The Repair Bill Is Easier Alive

Should you find yourself upsetting many individuals (or beings) simultaneously, the Zone will provide an indigenous protective barrier to aid you.

Accidentally stepping onto broken glass results in multiple cuts and potential damage to your protective gear, yet there are instances where one intentionally desires to be in such a precarious situation.

Sharp Pieces of Glass serve as a barrier against gunfire, bomb debris, and attacks from mutants. To minimize harm, simply activate the slow-paced movement option when entering, which allows time for healing, ammunition reloading, and strategic planning before exiting.

5. Factions Have Ammo Preferences

Old Habits Die Hard

As a seasoned gamer, I’d definitely advise getting acquainted with the weaponry and ammo of the faction you’re targeting. You never know when the extra bullets you find on fallen enemies could mean the difference between a close call and a game over.

Freedom and Mercenaries use NATO guns, so expect an abundance of 5.56x45mm and 9x19mm boxes.

Similar to how the Ukrainian military before the war broke away from IPSF, they also parted ways, and Duty remained faithful to Soviet-manufactured weapons. In contrast, the former predominantly uses 5.45x39mm Kalashnikov variants, but their counterparts in the stalker world frequently combine these with 9x39mm firearms.

Spark, Ward, and Noontide display no discernible pattern in their behavior, on the other hand, Bandits show an unusual fondness for shotguns.

Or,

Spark, Ward, and Noontide don’t seem to stick to any particular routine, while Bandits exhibit a unique affinity towards shotguns.

4. Most Stashes Are Worthless

If Only The Journalist Had More

This may be tough to swallow, but it’s accurate: For numerous seasoned hunters, stash hunting can be an enjoyable hobby. However, in the game STALKER 2, many of these experiences tend to be forgettable.

Typically, a cache includes vodka, water, bandages, a first-aid kit (if available), and rounds for a handgun.

If you encounter these items and there’s space in your bag, consider it found cash. If not, you might end up battling a pest to amass 100 coupons from the seller instead.

3. Keep Broken Guns For Ragman

Meet The Rostok Salesman Of The Year

Are you aware that the annoyance caused by useless guns marked with cracked red icons doesn’t hold true everywhere? Indeed, there exists a place where this rule doesn’t apply.

In the town of Rostok, among the three merchants, Ragman is known to purchase firearms regardless of their condition. He doesn’t spend much on them, but should you have space in your pack, a 4kg shattered rifle will fetch a higher price than 4kg of sausages.

Who knew the Zone could spawn a vendor sleazier than Sidorovich?

2. Your Stash Is Available In All Bases

Is Teleporting Loot An Anomaly?

Building on the last piece of advice, you’ll find the large, yellow storage container in every faction base within Zalissya, and this rule applies to any item that can be placed inside it as well.

Cleaning up a squad at Yaniv gives you an opportunity to store damaged weapons in that location temporarily, which you can retrieve later when you visit Rostok again.

Whatever you place inside your cache will always remain, and it has an infinite capacity to hold items.

1. You Can Blind Fire

Ammo Is Expensive, So Is Dying

If you’re cornered with no escape route and have to hide behind a barrier, shooting upwards can help you avoid revealing your position.

If you’re up against a protective barrier, your gun will fire automatically without being pointed directly forward. When you pull the trigger, Skif adjusts the weapon to be positioned above you and fires in a general direction.

Although the accuracy isn’t always spot-on, having a laser sight on your firearm significantly increases its effectiveness in self-defense situations where you find yourself outmatched by larger numbers.

Major thanks to u/auchinleck917 on Reddit for teaching this old dog a new trick.

2025-01-06 16:39

STALKER 2: 10 Things The Game Doesn’t Tell You