The best STALKER 2 mods focus on minimizing the impact of the game's harcore survival mechanics, such as stamina, weapon degradation, and even the number of enemies present. That's not surprising given that STALKER 2 is a rather merciless game, so we understand if you want to tone down some of the more gruelling mechanics with mods. While there’s a wealth of choice, we’ve narrowed down our search to just five areas that’ll hopefully change the gameplay experience to suit you - note that most of the STALKER 2 mods mentioned below are for the Steam version of the game, so be sure to check compatibility first!
How to install STALKER 2 mods
There are two main options when installing STALKER 2 mods. The first involves taking a downloaded pak and installing it in this directory:
- Stalker2\Content\Paks\~mods
So you'll need to find your STALKER 2 Heart of Chornobyl game folder and then add a '~mods' folder, complete with the ~. This is the method for anything using a 'pak' file. You can then 'uninstall' these mods by deleting or removing the pak file from the ~mods folder (hence the 'old' folder in the image above).
Another main option for STALKER 2 mods involves downloading an ini file and copying that into a specific folder. This will replace any previously existing version of that file, so make sure you make a copy first! To 'uninstall' these mods you'll need to put the original file back.
STALKER 2 performance, optimised settings, and graphics mods
You've got a fair few options when it comes to mods that improve performance for STALKER 2 but your mileage will vary depending on your set-up and PC. For example, I've got a Ryzen 7, 4070 Super and 16GB DDR4 RAM, and when I tested Stalker Optimizer, Optimized Tweaks S.2 and STK2 - SPF I saw minor but hugely variable improvements between 0-15 FPS depending on what was happening in the game. Although, that averaged out to maybe 5 fps at best. These are all pak files, so you can swap them in and out of the mods folder to test them.
I also tested S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 - Ultimate Engine Tweaks, which gave me similar results. That one is an ini file, so remember to back up the existing file if you use it. It also has a few lines of text you'll need to manually change as well, depending on your monitor's framerate, VRR, and other settings.
If none of these have any significant effect then you could also try FPS Boost less stuttering better stability and cleaner image all in one or Stalker 2 optimizer.
STALKER 2 weight mods
When it comes to item weight mods for STALKER 2, if you want an adjustment that doesn't completely remove all the challenge, the No weight for ammo nades meds and food pak file only affects those things. The Adjustable Carryweight mod, on the other hand, gives you a range of pak files to download for different options ranging from a maximum weight of 90 to 9999.
There is also CE Scrip Unlimited Carry Weight which gets rid of encumbrance completely. But it's a Cheat Engine script, so you'll need to download that first and, if you're not paying for the Patreon version, it'll probably ping your Antivirus like crazy. It also only works on the Steam version of the game.
STALKER 2 weapon durability mods
STALKER 2 guns and weapon degradation is a contentious issue and something a lot of people want changed. The No weapon durability loss mod is a pak file with two options for 50% and zero durability loss, with options for outfits as well. However, when I tested the zero option it was quite inconsistent - I found some guns stopped wearing out but not all of them.
If that's the case for you then you can also try Reasonable Weapon Degradation - a pak which offers a 50% reduction in wear. Or there's STX's Removed Durability Loss (Pistols), another pak file that only works on pistols.
If you don't want to touch weapon durability at all, then Reduced Repair Cost will let you do just that. There's a range of pak files to download that will change the repair cost from anywhere between 80% to 0, making repairing weapons in STALKER 2 much less coupon-draining.
STALKER 2 stamina mods
You don't get a lot of stamina in STALKER 2, so mods are definitely a good way to make all that a little less painful. There's Reduced Melee and Jump Stamina Costs which has pak files that will reduce the cost by a half or a quarter. It does make changes to ObjPrototypes.cfg so check you've not got any other mods changing that file if you want to use it.
There's also Longer Sprinting which has three pak files to reduce sprinting costs by 25%, 50%, and 75%.
STALKER 2 mutant and bloodsucker mods
A lot of the non-human enemies can be tough, so these Bloodsucker and mutant mods for STALKER 2 aim to address that. Grok's less tanky bloodsuckers and poltergeists will give you three pak files that reduce Bloodsuckers, STALKER 2 poltergeists, and Fleshes' HP by 25%. No More Tanky Mutants on the other hand reduces physical resistance, leaving HP intact.
For more sweeping changes, Lower Mutant Health applies its reduction across all the mutants and animals in the game, with 25% and 50% pak file options.
There's also a Chimera HP Nerf specifically for that one enemy type with two paks that will lower it's HP to 400 or 200 respectively.
These are just the most impactful STALKER 2 mods in terms of gameplay, but you can find a lot more options over at Nexus. There are far more granular things you can do like change day length, FOV and camera mods, more sweeping difficulty adjustments, colour reshaders and more.
© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.
