How to find the Stalker 2 Drowned gun and should you keep it?

The Stalker 2 Drowned gun can be found next to the pond below Boo, sat pretty much out in the open, but the real question you should be considering is whether to keep this wrecked weapon for yourself? On the surface Drowned appears to be a solid assault rifle with some fancy attachments applied – dual magazines for rapid reloads, plus an underbarrel grenade launcher to make things go boom in Stalker 2.

However, while that may sound incredible there are some flaws to this Stalker 2 rifle that you need to be aware of, as they may change your opinion. Knowing how to find the Drowned gun in Stalker 2 is a good start, and then figuring out what to do with it comes next. Luckily, we’ve got you covered on all fronts here.

Stalker 2 Drowned gun location

The Stalker 2 Drowned weapon is right on the edge of the pond in front of Boo, propped up against a ruined bit of concrete. While it sounds like it would be somewhere deep in the pond, it’s actually right in the open – somehow, the lazy bastard can’t just walk down and grab his own weapon, but this gives you a good opportunity to keep Drowned or hand it over.

Should you keep the Stalker 2 Drowned gun?

When you return to Boo with his beloved Drowned AKM, you’ll have the option to either give it back to him or say you’ll keep it. Saying you’ll keep it is generally the better option, as Boo offers no rewards for giving it to him and doesn’t fight back if you keep it, and what kind of Stalker would turn down a free gun? With that said, Drowned is far from perfect and needs a lot of work, so you could consider it useless if you think you’ve got something much better already.

Firstly, you’ll find that it’s been reduced to zero durability, and therefore needs a technician’s touch for some Stalker 2 gun repairs – but that will set you back 11,500 coupons, and the poor durability means you can’t sell it for profit either. Next, you can't use the underbarrel grenade launcher unless you have the correct VOG-25 grenades available for it, which is another resource to both gather and manage. This takes up inventory space and weight – though certain Stalker 2 mods can help with that.

Overall, I think Drowned is certainly worth keeping, but it’s not something you should expect to use to its full effect for a while. There are other Stalker 2 guns that will help you out more reliably in the early game, so it’s best to store Drowned and come back for it later when you’ve found grenades and adequate coupons to pay for repairs and upgrades.

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