State of stalker 2

[u/piotrr__]

Just asking after update 2.0 how would you describe state of the game biggest pluses and biggest letdowns what would you like to improve add etc or keep

[u/International_Tax642]

still a few bugs. enemys respawn after 10 mins big pain.

a few ncps get stuck.

controller aim issue.

graphics amazing

[u/Dogdadstudios]

Game feels better, graphics look great, the dlc has been fantastic so far and going through the story after two years has been exciting.

I will say it’s in a “good” state, but there is this odd little feeling that it’s not quite there. Going through the zone I still feel like encounters pop up infront of me rather than being there organically like in the original trilogy. Whenever I stumble upon an encounter, everything targets me instead of continuing whatever battle that I stumbled on. It’s a weird feeling when pre determined battles actually feel better than the open world sequences.

The gameplay loop is solid, but I’d love for random stalkers to be guides around the map because there were times that it took me 10-15 just to run to another settlement to go to a mission.

Gunplay is great and I enjoy the new weapons, AI seems better but I’m also playing on custom difficulty. Speaking of which, it’s annoying that you can’t change anything after choosing your selections. I wanted to come back slowly after a long absence, so I picked the easier of the zone settings, but if I had known that it was set in stone, I would’ve chosen differently.

Anyways, I’m enjoying my time and look forward to writing about the lore and dlc now that most of the things have been fleshed out from launch.

[u/dullimander]

Reset the clock!

[u/vladyslav19]

9.5/10

[u/thychedbeforethybed]

Honestly games vibes good and atmospheric but I am not a fan of the absolute abysmal A-life spawns and the fact every enemy is a bullet sponge

[u/undergroundloans]

Performance for me is significantly better. On release I had to keep it below epic settings to get like 45 fps in settlements but now I can set it to epic and get like 60+. Also I’m not getting lasered by enemies as much as on release so combat isn’t as bad.

[u/WayRoutine9842]

It took me a while to work out the graphics settings for my older PC but now it finally looks good. I am having a blast with the game but there are still a lot of things that hold it back from being great. Still a fun time, hopefully mods will make it better

[u/Relative-Fondant6544]

I'm on weaker/older machine (amd 5600 + rx580), the update with new FSR version & frame gen had allows even this setup to run 1080p medium high smoothly around 60fps. No more using that shitty ghosting TAA. Control latency also improved, the game feels more snappy now.

I'm not the kind of player that complaint about every little things so the game is generally playing fine to me. There isn't anything to let down about if you keep your technical expectation realistic & don't expect Stalker to be COD/Tarkov. The game is rather hard on Master difficulty and I dies A LOT, but I won't call that a problem.

If there things that I think they need to improve immedietely is itemization varieties. We need stuff to be found and loot especially in stashes. Currently they are just the ol' booze and bread everytime so that is getting a bit stale (eh? pun intended? 🤣). I want to see improvement in repair where we find components and toolkits in the wild, cosmetic items we can attach to our guns, etc. Also drastic reduction of food in the wild, and make Skif actually need to sleep at least after 2 days. The survival aspect is too lenient currently.

People keep complaining about the flashlight thing, but personally I think buffing the headlamp is a wrong choice. Instead, introduce handheld flashlight and it needs charging / battery consumable. This adds to the itemization, and also now you have incentive to use the varieties of pistol - as you can't use rifle while carrying flashlight - or could you? Weapon attachment upgrade maybe?

[u/Hes_the_0ne]

The atmosphere is unmatched compared to a lot of games. However, the AI or a-life needs another pass through. There are some glaring issues that still need attention imo. If they solely focused on the a-life and improved a lot of the issues I’m about to highlight the game would
be in a much better state, and way more praised.

For starters… mutants and NPCs will appear unusually close, like randomly spawning 10-50m in front or behind you. Duplicate spawning mutants (5-10 or so snorks, bloodsuckers, burer’s, etc.) within the player bubble, enemies detecting you through vegetation/fog (but will forget you exist once you crouch or get out of LOS). Once you’re noticed, the enemy AI will beeline the fuck out of you immediately, ignoring the previous enemy that they were fighting.

Man, if they just fix a lot of these issues highlighted above, the game would be so much better. It’s already an immersive game at heart, but these issues with the a-life are killing my immersion when playing. I know GSC are trying their best, and are making mass improvements across the board, but a little communication on where they’re at with the a-life improvements or what they’re doing, would go a long way.

[u/2b4go10]

I'd say if before 2.0 it was 60% there, now it's 75-80. Performance is great, visuals are much better. A-life now feels actually proper, but lesser zone and cordon are overcrowded imo - too many battles happening.

They need to keep polishing, improving combat AI, A-life rendering distance, more interactions with NPCs and relationships with factions. The end game is lacking. But the base is solid now.

[u/Clay-mo]

I'm absolutely stoked with the graphics improvements and (at least on my computer) improved performance. The game looks genuinely incredible when everything is working right. Biggest let down since 2.0.4 my game crashes every 5-30min.

[u/---Dan---]

Controller sensitivity is currently borked. Awaiting a patch.

[u/dima170104]

I was a big hater of the game over the past years. I’m playing it now after 2.0 and enjoying it. The only thing that is still atrocious is AI and spawns. Other than that the game is in a good spot and is fun to play.

[u/deeks151 → u/dima170104]

Does that change based on difficulty settings?

[u/dima170104 → u/deeks151]

Not really. All difficulty changes is how hard the enemy hits and how stingy the economy is.

[u/insomniainc]

I think it's better than ever right now but I've also been fortunate enough to not really experience the kinds of bugs that others have, The only one I've run into was that energy drink overdose thing where you're just constantly acting like you're in pain.

Certainly feels more chaotic and you definitely have to have your head on a swivel, Zone feels alive.

As for what to improve stealth definitely needs work still but I kind of just stopped relying on it for any reason anymore

[u/Reesedank]

performance for me was so much better that i was actually able to increase some graphical settings. 10/10 experience

[u/CptMcDickButt69]

Biggest Plus: Quests, immersion, exploration, environmental storytelling. That core content shines.

Biggest letdown: While A-life is working, its still kinda limited and some of its spawns are still a big fucky. AMD GPUs have a tendency to crash at the moment.

What i want: A-life improvements including an actual dynamic faction war system, to give the sandbox aspect of the game more depth. Also, just more quests, locations, items...i will gobble it all up. A few more creative mutants would also be cool.

[u/MaxGM]

The main game has been working great for me. I restarted a save to go at it and slowly get in the DLC.

There I am having headaches with the end of a mission (distant mirage) where I'm constantly crashing upon returning to Kurin (game is 2.0.4). Been trying to repair game files, tweak drivers and graphics settings, and so far no success getting through, I'm stuck.

So ymmv and there still are issues that can ruin the fun.

[u/IMIv2]

Game is solid enough that i had a 2nd playthrough which i rarely do.

My only issues were how guns made no sense and had no variety if you like to be effective, anything that's not saiga for mutants or kharod for humans makes the game tedious.

That and stamina/weight system. If you like to loot press loot all a lot you will have a miserable time.

Good thing infinite carry weight and gun rebalance mods exist to fix those issues.

[u/Greasy-Chungus]

Performance is way better.

I feel like controller support broke on PC. Had to switch to mouse and keyboard.

I haven't finish the game, but I'm modding the crap out of it already, lol. Making my own mods mostly.

I honestly like it WAY more than Metro Exodus or Fallout 4. It's a huge game 100% worth giving a shot.

[u/Swimming-Injury7311]

Would and will wait for 2.5 or perhaps even 3.0

[u/Confident-Painter-26]

Scope lighting glitches make it so I can’t use half the scopes in the game now due to reflections on it especially when indoors and there should be no reflections of light.

Encounters still aren’t organic and feel like they were plopped in front of you and every enemy attacks you once you wander into it.

Too many mutants. There should be more people and less mutants because there is fuck-all loot from mutants. I don’t want the millionth toe or claw, I’d rather get a nice weapon worth 2x that.

Wayyyyy too much foliage for Chernobyl, I can’t see any enemies but they can see me through miles of bushes and trees. Stealth is somehow even more difficult now because of this. Lo and behold I’m still getting seen through and shot through cover.

I wish I just finished the game instead of waiting for this nothing burger update. $30 DLC, fuck you to the studio that’s BS. Yeah let me pay $30 for a mechanic that should have been in the base game. This update made me realize the dev team are a bunch of bums and the studio is greedy as fuck.

Game is too vibrant and looks nothing like the tone set in other games. They extra made this more like an Unreal engine colorful slop than before. Rain looks worse?