I won't sugarcoat it - STALKER 2 launched with several key features broken (although GSC Game World is working on it).
But look past that infamous STALKER jank, and you'll find a truly challenging game on any difficulty level. You can only take so many shots, and you'll have to shoot back with unparalleled accuracy in order to make them count. Mutants are fast and deadly, and terrifying anomalies wait around every corner. Through all of it, tutorials and explanations are minimal. So whether it's your first time playing a STALKER game, or you just want to know what's new in the sequel, here are ten mistakes you'll need to avoid.
10 Spending Too Much Time Looting In The Tutorial
You Can't Take It With You
STALKER 2 begins with a not-so-brief introductory sequence, in which you can get your first taste of life in the Zone. There's a surprising amount of exploration to be done and loot to be found during this sequence. You'll certainly want to pick up some of it - think ammo, healing items, and any weapons better than your default pistol - but don't get too attached. You won't be able to keep any of your loot after the tutorial is over, so it'd be a waste of time.
STALKER 2: Heart Of Chornobyl - More Than Another Cult Classic
STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl is an ambitious and engrossing open-world immersive sim, putting you in the Zone, an unnerving and unfathomable place.
There is an exploit that allows you to keep some loot. Near the third scanner, you'll find a blue safe you can dump your inventory into. You can then return to this location after starting the game proper to find some of the things you left behind. However, it doesn't save much - this exploit will only allow you to keep broken weapons, and everything else will disappear.
9 Trying To Fight Everyone & Everything
Restraint Is A Virtue
STALKER 2 is a survival game first, and a first-person shooter second. That said, gunplay is undeniably a large part of its identity, and you'll be participating in it often. But it's absolutely not necessary (and indeed, not advisable) to try and fight every single enemy you see. Even if you're looting constantly, you'll often find yourself low on resources, and scrounging to keep up. The more fights you get into, the more ammo and Medkits you'll burn through. You'll find some on the enemies you fight, but it often won't be enough to keep up.
In general, it's better to look for alternatives in every situation before resorting to outright violence. Can you get away with a stealth approach? Is there a clear path for you to run away? Can you come back later? Always ask yourself these three key questions before tackling the problem head-on, and save your resources for the big, unavoidable fights where you'll surely need them. You'll be glad you did.
8 Attacking Everyone On Sight
Making Friends
The opening hours of STALKER 2 do a great job of teaching you that the Zone is a terrible place, that everyone in it is out to get you, and that if you trust any of them, you'll wind up in a ditch. To some extent, it is true: the Zone is dangerous in every way, and your fellow Stalkers will use you, lie to you, and every so often, try to kill you. But while the Zone itself is hostile, there are many friendly NPCs. You'll actually make quite a few friends throughout the game, as long as you play your cards right.
Otherwise friendly NPCs may react negatively if you approach them with your gun drawn. Press H to hide your weapon.
These NPCs are important allies, as they unlock various side quests and stashes throughout the game. That said, learning to tell the difference between friendly NPCs and enemies is an important skill. In the early game, it's best to approach every situation with restraint and stealth, and wait for NPCs to react before turning on them.
7 Constantly Running & Gunning
Stealth Is Important
When you do find yourself in hostile territory, you effectively have two options: rush in guns blazing, or sneak around. While there's occasionally some value to the head-on approach, most of the time, you're better off using stealth. If you've ever played a stealth game before, you know the drill. Sneaking around seems to be easier at night, or when weather conditions create low visibility. You'll want to pay close attention to enemy movement, positioning, and sightlines in order to unseen.
You can find suppressors for your handguns, but enemies are on high alert, so they should only be used sparingly.
Naturally, gunplay should be out of the question during sneaking sections. To that end, STALKER 2 has a hidden stealth takedown mechanic. If you manage to sneak up behind an enemy unseen, simply attack them with a knife equipped for an instant kill. More often, though, you'll find yourself sneaking past large enemy groups as soon as the opportunity presents itself. Stealth takedowns are useful for eliminating enemies with good vantage points, but they can't do everything.
6 Not Looting Enough
Resource Management
Throughout STALKER 2, you'll live and die based on the resources available to you. There's a lot you'll need: ammo to shoot, Medkits to heal, bandages to stop bleeding, beer/vodka to dispel radiation, food to stave off hunger, energy drinks to restore stamina, et cetera. Running out of any one of these, then finding yourself in the wrong situation could spell certain death. There are plenty of in-game shops that will sell you most of these items, but they're few and far between, money's in short supply, and it's rare for them to have everything in stock.
How Scary Is STALKER 2?
STALKER 2 is labeled as a survival horror game that features creepy mutants. But just how scary is it, and can horror haters still enjoy it?
There's only one thing for it: you'll have to loot like your life depends on it (because it kind of does). You should be looking absolutely everywhere for loot: on bodies, in containers, even just lying on the ground. Exploring landmarks on your way to or from a major mission objective is another great way to stock up on necessary items.
5 Looting Too Much
Overencumbrance Can Be Deadly
On the other hand, there is such a thing as too much loot. STALKER 2 does have a weight system for tracking your inventory, and if you push it over a certain point, it can become a problem. There's a little multicolored bar at the bottom of your inventory screen, with an arrow alongside it. Once that arrow enters the yellow segment of the bar, your stamina will deplete more quickly, and be restored more slowly. These effects will only get worse as your overall carry weight goes up, and the arrow enters the darker sections.
You can mitigate some of the effects of overencumbrance by chugging energy drinks to restore stamina, but that's a dangerous idea.
As a general rule, it's best to leave most weapons you won't use where they stand. Sure, there's some value in selling them, but the odds of your carrying capacity accommodating more than one unusable weapon alongside your active gear are slim to none. But you won't need them for repair parts, and you're better off making money by completing some of STALKER 2's side missions. You'll need as much of your carrying capacity as possible in order to haul all those Medkits and bandages.
4 Not Repairing & Upgrading Weapons
Stay Fighting Fit
It always seems to happen at the worst moment: you'll be in the heat of battle, fending off hordes of rabid mutants or sadistic Stalkers, when your favorite rifle suddenly jams. As you frantically attempt to reload, the enemy takes advantage of the brief break in your covering fire, flanks you, and finishes you off. It's a persistent problem you'll encounter throughout the game - weapons and armor break down over time, and must be periodically repaired at a settlement.
In the same vein, you'll want to make sure you're consistently upgrading your gear as you progress. , there's absolutely no leveling system or perks in STALKER 2, so the only way to get stronger is to improve your loadout. This can be done either by paying a Technician to improve the existing parts, or by finding accessories throughout the world and equipping them by holding down T with the relevant weapon equipped.
3 Not Using Doctors Or Sleeping
Cheap Heals
And while you're in town getting your weapons fixed and stocking up on resources, don't forget to visit the doctor. Almost every settlement has one, and though their prices vary, visiting a doctor is consistently the cheapest way to heal up in between missions. As an alternative, you can sleep to restore your HP whenever you find an available bed in a settlement. Sleeping both restores your HP and allows you to skip time, in case you want cover of darkness for a stealth mission, or high visibility for an outpost raid. Plus, it's free.
If you try to sleep, but get a message saying you can't, it's usually because you're being affected by a damaging status. Check your status bar (near your HP bar) and resolve any status effects, then try again.
Of course, you can use Medkits to keep your HP topped up, but those are better saved for later. You'll need every Medkit you can get while you're out in the field, so using them to restore health during downtimes just seems like a waste. Whenever you find yourself in a settlement, even if you're at 80% HP, you should make a point of visiting the doctor. In fact, make it a mental checklist: repair weapons, shop for supplies, and visit the doctor before heading out on your next mission.
2 Ignoring Your Status Bar
Status Effects & How To Heal Them
As you travel throughout the Zone, you'll need to keep an eye on the lower-left corner of the screen. Not only is that where your HP and remaining consumables are displayed; it's also the location of your status bar. There are five different status effects you'll commonly see in STALKER 2: bleeding, hungry, radiation, encumbered, and drunk (although that last one will wear off with time). It's important to understand what each of these means and how to get rid of it in order to survive.
STALKER 2's Map Size Compared To The Original
It is easy to see that STALKER 2's map size is very big compared to the original trilogy of games, and the developers made sure to handcraft it.
For example, bleeding (red droplet icon) will kill you faster than most mutants if you ignore it, but can be quickly patched up with a bandage. Hunger (chicken drumstick icon) makes you slower in combat, but is easy enough to fix - just eat something. Radiation (indicated by the wheel next to your HP bar) can be cured with alcohol - usually one bottle of vodka, or several of beer. Encumbrance (weight icon) can simply be dispelled by dropping some items, and drunkenness (indicated by a tilted screen and blurred vision) goes away on its own.
1 Ignoring Your Anomaly Detector
Don't Underestimate Anomalies
Finally, we come to what's inarguably STALKER 2's coolest unique mechanic: anomalies. These disruptions in the rules of reality are peppered throughout the world, and may take any number of forms: floating bubbles, pools of acid, ball lightning, jets of fire, et cetera. You may not always see them (some are decidedly sneakier than others), but you will always hear them. As soon as you get within range of an anomaly, you'll hear a beeping sound. That's your detector, warning you to stay away.
Thankfully, most anomalies can either be avoided or disrupted, once you learn how to deal with them. And that's a skill you'll need to learn, as anomalies are often the source of powerful, valuable artifacts, which you'll need your detector to find, too. While you're at it, don't forget to upgrade your detector periodically throughout STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl, so you can keep a steady supply of artifacts and more easily avoid anomalies when the going gets tough.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl
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- Top Critic Avg: 75/100 Critics Rec: 63%
- Released
- November 20, 2024
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Intense Violence, Blood, Use Of Drugs And Alcohol, Language, Crude Humor
- Developer(s)
- GSC Game World
- Publisher(s)
- GSC Game World
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Franchise
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is a survival horror FPS game that picks up in the world where the first game's expansion, Call of Pripyat, left off. Players will head deep into the heart of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone as they meet new allies, foes, and terrifying mutated creatures carving out their tale in a world ravaged by nuclear disaster years prior.
- Platform(s)
- PC, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
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