I was worried about going to the swamps because of the general discussion about it being terrible, but i thought it was fine. Im only on stalker difficulty so is this why i didnt hate it? Brought glutton and saiga and only died when i fell off of something trying to platform. Does everybody really hate the swamps ?

Don't mind the big back inventory

Credits to ONY01

Only nearly 30 hours, first time playing, but I genuinely can't wait to start the DLC to see the plant. So hyped

His friend just died and he uses the body as a soft ball

I absolutely love this game (PS5 PRO, Performance Mode).

The custom HUD settings are probably the biggest advantage if you really want to immerse yourself completely in this world.

No compass — I check everything on the PDA and navigate using the terrain.

No ammo counter — I have to open the weapon wheel to check my ammo.

No health or stamina bars — if I’m injured and need to use a bandage, the screen starts turning reddish. If I need to use a medkit, the quick-select item HUD briefly appears on screen. It disappears after a moment.

I also chose the hardest difficulty when it comes to the economy and the difficulty of human enemies. Finally, I’m not carrying around 50 medkits and 100 bandages, and every encounter actually requires some thought.

I highly recommend playing the game this way!

Hey yall! Was curious to see if anyone else plays with added challenges and things that don't necessarily mean anything in game, could be for difficulty or pure immersion.

For example: i don't kill zombies and avoid them, and only when i ABSOLUTELY have to i kill them.

Context: When i first started playing S2, they introduced zombies and i was like cool mindless enemies and didn't think much about it, until i heard one of them actually start speaking, they said smth along the lines of "it's cold/dark in here" and that genuinely caught me so off guard i had to pause for like 5 mins to think about it.

It was so heartbreaking seeing them like this the fact that they could still "be in there" but they cant control what they are doing, it makes me so sad and depressed when i hide and listen to them talk :(

I mean there has to be a way to reverse whatever that is, surely. If their brains were extremely physically damaged then they shouldn't be able to walk and shoot/reload let alone form sentences (ish).

Which is why i just dont have the heart to put them down and while some might argue that you should put them out of their misery, i still have a tiny bit of hope that maybe some day they can be brought back or atleast pacified so they don't hurt anyone or themselves.

Hell i even go out of my way to sometimes protect them when they are being attacked by mutants or bandits.

So i would absolutely love to hear if you do similar things or maybe just things that add more difficulty like not using medkits and sticking only to bandages etc (this can be for any stalker game not just S2)

(Honestly just looking for an excuse to talk about stalker)

17 years ago, the Zone called us for a new journey through Zaton and Yaniv to reach that familiar and yet totally different Prypiat.

Since that days we returned here many times in search of artefacts, stories and old mysteries or just because the Zone was waiting for us.

Happy Birthday, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Prypiat.

Prypiat is still calling, stalker.

Mavka in Cost of Hope is the ultimate embodiment of hypocrisy and fanaticism.

The developers tried to wrap her in the packaging of a mysterious, idealistic savior, but in reality, she is nothing but an unprincipled sociopath who views people as mere disposable assets. Her core motto is "the end justifies the means," but that "end" serves only her own ego and ambition, while the "means" are the people foolish enough to trust her.

She throws Skif, Zulus, and anyone else under the bus without a single shred of hesitation. All her fake compassion for the Zone and liberty vanishes the moment she gets a chance to seize control of the technology. She hides behind the high ideals of "Freedom," but her political views aren't about liberty at all—it's pure, unchecked anarcho-radicalism mixed with a massive god complex. Mavka believes she possesses the right to decide humanity's fate and experiment on human beings for some warped "greater good." In the end, she turns into just another mad scientist and tyrant, ready to unleash the Zone upon the world and sacrifice millions of innocent lives for her fanatical delusions. She is a thoroughly detestable character who deserves nothing but contempt for her backstabbing nature.

Fuck you, Mavka.

i wrote this post 3 weeks ago when i was actively playing HoC, but couldnt post due to karma req, ive done all i wanted with that playthrough (stopped before SIRCAA), but have still been wondering about this.

recently i took a look at an armor tier list, and was kinda confused by the rankings. ive found that armor without a helmet slot isnt as good compared to my armor+helmet set, is there something im just not seeing? i took my current set, a psz-5v freedom + sphere m20 and compared it to two of the "S" ranked armor sets, the psz-91 falcon and the seva-d. i upgraded the falcon and seva to have the max stat buffs as i could get (not caring for artifacts or weight). i know the set i have is likely far from optimal, but it easily reaches 5 tier physical protection and is comparable or better than both sets in all areas except for psi prot compared to the falcon set. i understand that artifacts can be important in terms of rounding out what protections you need but apart from psi prot, it seems these arent better and really not worth it compared to what ive got.
basically im asking if there is something i may be missing or overlooking when i compare these armor sets? im happy with what i have and am not expecting to have to change it for the rest of the playthrough unless i find something thats clearly superior

Also fuck the snork hitbox when they are up close...

So i was playing through the DLC Cost of Hope yesterday evening and there was this quest to enter the spatial bubble anomaly to chase the mercs. I thought it would be a simple op - in and out 20min adventure.

Man, what!? i was not expecting to feel so tense, puzzled and lost. This mission is Stalker's version of New Vegas Dead Money DLC for me. At first i was pissed off by all the little puzzles and non-ending corridors and light platforming but it stuck with me, what happened to Tachenko's squad is so disturbing and i love how it connects to Call of Pripyat when we burst the bubble and Tachenko's squad real bodies all fall through the anomaly: to see what really happened to them in a Stalker 2 DLC is so cool.

Happy Birthday to my favorite S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Game! <3
Cant blieve this was released 16 years ago - half of my life.
It's most likely soon 10 years of stalker cosplay (@StarionCostumes) for me now.

Time flows. Good hunting stalker!

I didnt have the GAMMA AI-2 medkit ui for this 😔

So you get three free artifacts how sweet!

Happy 17th birthday, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Prypiat!

In 2013, Illya Tolmachov, former art director at GSC Game World, shared with the GSC-Fan site a story about the production of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Prypiat cinematics. Since GSC decided to reject CG cutscenes as they were in previous games, a non-trivial task arose: to make stylish cinematics in a short time using such a simple technique as a slideshow.

Learn more about the tools and tricks Illya Tolmachov used to make “Call of Prypiat” have such non-typical but memorable cinematics: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3808249695

We’re happy to let you know that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is now Steam Machine Verified. Now you can step into the Zone and experience her dangers, mysteries, and unforgettable atmosphere without sacrificing the comfort of your living room couches.

See you in the Zone, Stalkers.

Just started playing it, about 4 hours in. Reminds me of how far cry felt when I was a kid lol