S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is a gargantuan game. From the size of its world to the amount of content that it houses to the complexity of all of its systems and the way they interact with each other, there’s always plenty going on in the game, so much so that it wouldn’t be surprising if a lot of it ended up completely passing a player by, or even if a players ended up intentionally ignoring a part of the game. Freedom to approach situations however you want is obviously a key part of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 experience, but there are certain aspects of the game that you absolutely shouldn’t be ignoring, and here, that’s exactly what we’ll be talking about.
REGULARLY ORGANIZING YOUR INVENTORY AND STORAGE
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 makes inventory management a key element for players to keep an eye on. The game is pretty stringent with inventory capacity, which means it doesn’t take much for you to become over-encumbered, which in turn makes traversal and exploration a headache. Every time you’re about to head out from a settlement, make sure you trim down your inventory as much as possible by depositing items into your personal stash.
TURNING THE TABLES WITH ANOMALIES
Weird, physics-defying anomalies are one of several ways the Exclusion Zone is constantly trying to kill you, though you’re not the only one they’re a threat to. Anomalies will affect and hurt anyone that gets too close, and that’s something that you can use to your benefit. If anomalies are close by while you’re in a combat encounter, for instance, you can try luring enemies to them. Not only is it lethal, it also helps save bullets.
HUNTING FOR ARTIFACTS
Speaking of anomalies, when a large number of them are clustered together in an area, that usually means there’s an artifact close by. That’s your cue to whip out your detector and look out for the artifact, because one way or another you’re going to want to get your hands on it. Plenty of them can be incredibly useful in combat, while even the ones that aren’t can be sold for healthy sums of coupons (which is the currency used in the Zone).
LEANING IN COMBAT
Every combat encounter is a big struggle in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, which is why it’s critical that you make smart use of every single tool at your disposal. Leaning, for instance, is something that many might entirely ignore, especially if this slower and more deliberate pace of FPS combat isn’t something you’re used to. It is, however, a useful tool, because remaining hidden behind cover is something you’ll be doing a lot of in this game, and leaning will allow you to shoot at enemies much better while doing that.
INCOMING GRENADES
Years and years of shooters have taught us that every time an enemy throws a grenade at us, we’re at least going to get an on-screen indicator to warn us, if not also the option to chuck the grenade back. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 shows no such kindness. Enemies will yell out when they’re about to throw grenades, and if you pay attention, you might be able to hear where and when they land, but you’ll be getting no prompts or indications from the game itself. Always keep an eye out for incoming grenades, then, and if you know someone has thrown one at you, turn around and run.
SHORT-RANGE WEAPONS
It’s often tempting to keep your distance from foes while engaging them in combat, given how terrifying everything is in this game, but short-range weapons will often be your best friends in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2. Shotguns, for instance, are crucial because pretty much every other kind of gun in the game feels useless against most mutant enemy types, who like to get up-close when they attack, but otherwise tend to move around a lot (and erratically). Knives are also useful in such situations, if you’ve somehow completely run out of bullets. Oh, and speaking of knives…
STEALTHY OPTIONS
For obvious reasons, the stealthy approach is often the smartest way forward in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, which is why you should take every chance you get to take enemies out quietly. The game does allow you to sneak up behind enemies and perform stealth takedowns, even though that’s not something that’s ever explicitly tutorialized, while pretty early on, you also get your first silenced pistol. With well-placed headshots, silenced weapons can be particularly useful, especially if you’re moving through indoor environments crawling with enemies. And yes, your aforementioned knife is also always a decent stealth option in a pinch.
LOOTING CORPSES
The usefulness and necessity of scavenging are instilled into the player every step of the way in S.T.A.L.K.R. 2, and while a bulk of that comes through exploring the open world and combing through environments, don’t underestimate the value of good old corpse looting. Every time you kill someone or run across someone who’s already dead, make sure you loot their corpse. It won’t be often that you’ll find something rare, but from food and healing items to ammo or something else, you’ll almost always find something useful.
FIGHTS BETWEEN OTHERS
Conflict is far from a rarity in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, and while you should try to stay out of it as much as possible, if it’s other parties that are getting into it, that can be pretty profitable for you. You’ll often here gunfire and sounds of combat when you’re exploring the open world, and when you do, it’s usually a good idea to follow the sounds, and hang back and wait for the fighting to die down. Once things quiet down and the winning side moves on, you can move in and scavenge the bodies left behind.
SIDE QUESTS
Amassing a healthy pile of coupons is a crucial part of progression in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, because that is, after all, how you get better gear, weapons, weapon upgrades, and what have you. As such, with side quests usually rewarding you with decent chunks of coupons upon completing, tracking down and finishing every side quest you can is highly recommended, more so than in most open world games you’ll play.
TRADING
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 lets you trade with merchants found in every settlement, and it’s here that you’re going to be doing most of your trading (especially if you’re selling things). However, Stalkers found out in the wilds are also NPCs that you can trade with. They obviously have a much more limited selection of things that they’re carrying with them compared to a merchant, but if you’re in desperate need of bullets or food or healing items and nowhere close to a settlement, finding a Stalker to trade with is a suitable alternative.
EARLY REPAIRS
In our tips and tricks feature, we already covered the importance of weapon and armour repairs in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2- but it’s just as important to ensure that you’re getting those repairs done as quickly as possible. Even if your weapon’s condition is, say, over 80 percent while you’re in close vicinity to a tech, it’s smart to get it up to a hundred percent right there and then. The cost of repairing a weapon or armour piece goes up exponentially the further it degrades, so you’re ultimately saving inevitable significant expenditures by getting repairs done before you really need them.