Always carry a bolt, drink vodka to wash the radiation away, and trust no one. You think you know everything about the zone, eh?
The world ofSTALKER 2: Heart of Chornobylis equal parts beautiful and deadly, and the Zone is littered with shallow graves of stalkers who thought they could outsmart it.
You will probably join them sooner or later, but if you are serious about surviving in the Zone,here are 10 things the game does not tell you.
Once you finish reading this list, take a deep breath, check your detector batteries, and pour one out for the homies who did not come back from trips to anomalies.
10Most Mutants Are Optional
If You Outrun Them
Killing mutants is funin moderation, but it is a more expensive hobby than drinking or smoking inSTALKER 2.
The good news is, thatalmost all of the mutants you meet in the game can be safely ignored… which normally means running away begging for your life.
This is especially useful when dealing with mutants that are out of your league or outnumbered beyond hope. Oh, and if you somehow outrun a chimera, you even get a cool achievement.
9Use Knife Takedowns
Crocodile Dundee Would Have Thrived Here
If you have your knife out and approach an enemy from behind without being noticed, you can perform a silent takedown by pressing the Fire button.
This makes next to no noise, allowing you to wipe out entire groupsby stabbing the stragglers.
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The art of infiltration is responsible for some of the best levels in the history of video games.
As a bonus, doinga silent takedownmarginally increases the odds of the enemy having a lootable suit, which is a nice way to score a few thousand coupons or upgrade your fit.
8Leave The Food At Home
Gluttony Is A Sin In The Zone
AlthoughSTALKER 2is technically a survival game,you do not need anything more than one mealbefore settingout on a raid.
Hunger increases slowly unless you are chugging energy drinks every fifteen seconds, so a single tin of meat or a pair of sausages is enough to keep you satisfied for a whole day.
Almost all stashes and human enemies have a couple of snacks in them, and wooden food boxes are everywhere, so you can top up on the go.
7Avoid Inter-Faction Bloodshed
The Zone Can Always Get Worse
Ever get that feeling when you are in the wrong neighborhood? InSTALKER 2, that comes in the shape of bullets flying your way the second a group of hostile stalkers spots you.
Killing members ofa certain factiondecreases your karma with them.Eventually, they will start shooting you on sight, and send out groups of bounty huntersto kill you.
While some shootouts are inevitable, you may avoid some of the drama by not being the first to pull the trigger when you come across someone. It will pay off in the long run.
6Use Glass Shard Anomalies For Cover
Paying The Repair Bill Is Easier Alive
If you do end up pissing off a lot of people (or creatures) at once, the Zone has its home-grown shield to help you out.
Walking through Glass Shards by accident means a lot of cuts and damaged armor, but there are times when you want to be there on purpose.
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Because not all radioactive rocks are born equal.
Glass Shards protect you from bullets, grenade fragments, and mutant attacks.You can avoid damage by pressing the slow walk toggle on your way in, then use this as a chance to heal, reload, and plan your egress.
5Factions Have Ammo Preferences
Old Habits Die Hard
If you want to raise hell against a specific faction,become familiar with their weapons and ammunition, as thosespare rounds you findin corpses can save your bacon if you overstay your welcome.
Freedom and Mercenaries use NATO guns, so expect an abundance of 5.56x45mm and 9x19mm boxes.
Like the pre-war Ukrainian military, they split off from IPSF, and Duty stuck to Soviet-made weapons. While the former sticks almost exclusively to 5.45x39mm Kalashnikov models, their stalker counterpart often mixes those with 9x39mm rifles.
Spark, Ward, and Noontide do not follow any specific pattern, while Bandits have a special love for shotguns.
4Most Stashes Are Worthless
This one hurts, but it is true.Stash huntingis a fun pastime for many veteran stalkers, but inSTALKER 2, most of them are forgettable.
The average stash has vodka, water, bandages, a medkit if you are lucky, and some pistol ammunition.
If you come across them and have enough room in your backpack, it’s free money. Otherwise,you are likely to get stuck fighting a bloodsucker to make 100 couponsfrom the vendor.
3Keep Broken Guns For Ragman
Meet The Rostok Salesman Of The Year
Do you know that frustration about how “broken” guns (cracked red icons near them) are virtually worthless? Well, there is a place this does not apply.
Ragman, one of the three traders in Rostok, buys guns in any state.He does not pay much for them, but if you have room in your backpack, a 4kg broken rifle sells for a lot more than 4kg of sausages.
Who knew the Zone could spawn a vendor sleazier than Sidorovich?
2Your Stash Is Available In All Bases
Is Teleporting Loot An Anomaly?
Teeing up with the previous tip, that big yellow chest in Zalissya is available in every faction base, and the same goes for any item that goes in there.
This means that if you clean up a squad near Yaniv, for example, you may put the broken guns in your stash there and then pick them up the next time you are in Rostok.
Items you put into your stash never disappear, and there is no limit to how much you can fit in there.
1You Can Blind Fire
Ammo Is Expensive, So Is Dying
If you find yourself pinned down and pressed against cover, you may fire blindly overhead to avoid exposing yourself.
Blind fire is triggered automatically if you are against cover, holding your gun closer to you rather than pointing right ahead. Once you press the trigger, Skif puts the weapon overhead and shoots blindly.
The accuracy is far from perfect, but if you have a laser on your gun, it becomes a very viable way to fight back when you are outnumbered.
Major thanks tou/auchinleck917 on Redditfor teaching this old dog a new trick.
STALKER 2: 15 Best Beginner’s Tips
tips that can help both rookies coming from the Lesser Zone and veterans pouring in from the Cordon.
