10 STALKER 2 tips to help you survive in the Zone

Our STALKER 2 tips will help you battle mutants, avoid anomalies, and stay alive in the harsh and unforgiving of the Zone. STALKER 2 can be quite rough with an unforgiving take on combat and survival. There's , but with that said, there's plenty you can do to stay alive

This is a game where it's really important to know what you're doing, largely because everything is trying to kill you all the time. Knowing what's coming or how to deal with it can make a huge difference. You might just need to run, and that’s okay.

1. If anything looks dangerous, it is. If it doesn't, it probably still is

STALKER 2 dangerous anomaly — (Image credit: GSC Game World)

STALKER 2 is a game that loves to kill you. A lot. But in a very 'you stuck a fork in a toaster what were you expecting?' kind of way. Basically assume anything and everything is trying to kill you. Suspicious noise? Probably death. Suspiciously quiet. Also death. Hidden in a cupboard in an empty house thinking you're safe? You better believe that's death. Just approach everything like it's going to suddenly and mercilessly tear you limb from limb. Throw bolt to test the way ahead, hide and check things out before you do anything and be careful.

2. Save before doing ANYTHING

STALKER 2 save often — (Image credit: GSC Game World)

STALKER 2 has a generous save system that lets you save at any point so use it. You can die suddenly, unexpectedly and often. There are autosaves, but I can guarantee they will not be as often as you would like, leaving you with a lot to retread if you die. Or worse dislike the outcome of a decision you made. There are a lot of choices so prudent saving can let you test the results before you commit. Things like whether to help or kill Squint or deciding who to give the sensors to in STALKER 2 have very different outcomes and you might want to play around with before you decide what to go with

3. Always unload weapons you find to take the ammo

STALKER 2 unload weapons to take the ammo — (Image credit: GSC Game World)

Ammo is precious in the zone, but fortunately you can strip it from any weapons dropped by defeated enemies to keep your reserves up. If you select an enemy's weapon as you loot their bodies you can press L2 or G to unload it, separating out the ammo from the gun. Get used to doing that all the time and you'll never run out of bullets. I ended up with so much ammo from doing this that selling it ended up being a useful way to earn a little money on the side.

4. Look for the crosses on your compass, which mark corpses you can loot

STALKER 2 crosses on the compass mark corpses to loot — (Image credit: GSC Game World)

STALKER 2 doesn't do a huge amount to make life easier but one thing is does do is that nearby dead bodies are marked on your compass with a little 'x'. It's very easy to lose track where the people you shot are after a big fight, so this a godsend for finding corpse to loot. And always loot them - most enemies will have ammo, food and healing items on them and it's an vital way to top up on the essentials for free.

5. Repair your guns and gear whenever you can

STALKER 2 Repair guns and gear whenever you can — (Image credit: GSC Game World)

Always pay a tech to repair guns in STALKER 2, and your gear, whenever and wherever possible. Everything has a durability and the closer it is to 100% the better it will perform. Worn out guns will jam, for example. leaving you hammering reload to clear the chamber and use them again. But everything from gas masks to armor can degrade and lose effectiveness over time, so you want it in the best condition you can afford.

6. There are no grenade indicators so just run!

STALKER 2 grenade indicators — (Image credit: GSC Game World)

There are no grenade indicators or icons to point them out in STALKER 2. So if you hear an enemy saying they're going to throw one, run. That will be the only warning you'll get, and unless you see them throw it you might have no idea where it is until it goes off. Your best option at this point is always to run away from where you are as quickly as possible. Grenades can kill you instantly, and you can't always be sure a wall will save you - if you don't know where the blast will be, just be as far away from where you were standing as possible when there's talk about throwing one.

7. Watch indicators by your health to track bleeding and other important statuses

STALKER 2 indicators track bleeding and other statuses — (Image credit: GSC Game World)

There are three important indicators near your health and stamina that will give you some important info you need to know about:

Bleeding - Red blood drops mean you're bleeding from an injury and losing health. Use a bandage to stop that by holding left on the D-pad or Q. You'll get a small health boost from using it but the main benefit is that it stops the gradual health loss bleeding inflicts if untreated.
Weight - If you see a little weight icon it means you're carrying too much. That starts with draining your stamina a little more as you move to completely stopping you in your tracks. You can go a little over if you don't mind being a slower, but if you max out what you can carry miles from a base you might want to consider dropping something.
Food - Hunger is represented by a small chicken drumstick icon. The main food you'll have at any given time is bread, sausage, condensed milk or canned food so eat one of those from your inventory to make it go away.

8. Hearing gunfire means danger but also loot

STALKER 2 gunfire means danger but also loot — (Image credit: GSC Game World)

When you hear gunfire in the zone but it's not at you, take a moment to work out where it's coming from and investigate. Carefully. It's easy to get killed by a surprise attack but if you hear fighting that's not directly involving you it's worth checking it out from a distance because there might be some loot once the smoke clears. Stay back until you can work out what's going on and who's involved, because if an enemy faction survives they might immediately attack you. Although any survivors will be weakened and easy to take out. When it's safe there will probably be some bodies you can loot for supplies and things to sell.

9. If you're heading back to base carry as much back to sell as you can

STALKER 2 carry as much as you can to base to sell — (Image credit: GSC Game World)

You want to travel light in STALKER 2 as a rule - the encumbrance system can leave you crawling along if you go so much as a bullet over weight. However, if you're heading back to a base and don't mind some impaired sprinting it might be worth grabbing all the gear you can comfortably carry to sell at a merchant. You can make a fair bit of cash selling loot and, because it costs a lot to repair things, that cash can keep you fighting fit.

10. Always grab the Journalist Stashes when you can

Stalker 2 journalist stashes — (Image credit: GSC Game World)

Not long into the game you'll be contacted by a mysterious character who gives you a list of Journalist Stashes to find throughout the game. It is always worth chasing these down when you reach new areas, as they contain a good range of gear that seems designed to help you out - better guns, armor and so on. So track them down as soon as you can to get a good advantage in terms of hardware. Although trying to reach the Journalist's Stash in the roof in STALKER 2 will drive you mad, check that guide for how.

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