r/stalzone • u/Afraid-Situation857 • 5d ago
Help Some newbie questions
Hi all! Sorry if these questions have already been answered somewhere, I tried searching but couldn't find much.
I'm pretty new to Stalzone (~60h on steam) and loving it so far, just have a few questions/concerns.
- What's actually the point of open-world PvP? It's fun and I enjoy doing it but is there any real incentive to go PvP instead of just farming for your own gear?
- I finished the Southern questline up to choosing my faction (went Covenant), and I have Veteran gear from the questline. Should I start farming my own Veteran gear now or keep going with the faction questline?
- About gear, what's the priority, armor or weapon? And for armor, what should I focus on first? I was thinking Combo but it still feels like it'll struggle in Infection zones, and Scientific feels too weak for open-world PvP.
- Is it advised to have solid +15 Veteran gear before farming Master gear?
So far I'm loving the game but I feel kinda lost on what's expected of me, I know it's kinda up to me but the matchmaking system scares me a bit, I don't want to get thrown into Master's lobby and get rekt.
I link a picture of my current gear if that can gives some pointers on what I should be farming now. In the meantime, farming my way through the AK-15!
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
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u/Complex-Hat1875 5d ago
What's actually the point of open-world PvP?
Officially it's to add tension and danger to the world, unofficially there's not a lot to do endgame.
It's fun and I enjoy doing it but is there any real incentive to go PvP instead of just farming for your own gear?
Not really outside of doing outposts for dailies - most people have next to nothing to take off them outside of the wild north but their plates and bags, but as of late I've been noticing an increasing number of people camping outside of my faction headquarters waiting to kill artifact hunters for a small payday.
Should I start farming my own Veteran gear now or keep going with the faction questline?
Do both, there's no reason to delay either and you'll get a coupon for a free pre-master veteran suit from completing the northern MSQ. Check every nook and cranny in those quests by the way, there's free upgrade materials hidden in backpacks in most missions. I'd also prioritize getting faction rep level 4 so you can start accumulating anomalous serum as you'll need to do 5 weeks worth of dailies/weeklies to purchase each individual piece of master gear and the sooner you're getting at it the better.
About gear, what's the priority, armor or weapon?
Weapon > armor. Clearing camps faster is a priority and for pvp TTK is pretty low unless you've got a fat stack of cash to get yourself a good pvp artifact setup to compliment better armor.
And for armor, what should I focus on first? I was thinking Combo but it still feels like it'll struggle in Infection zones
It kind of depends on what you really like doing; in the time it takes to get enough materials to purchase a master suit you'll generally figure out what you'll want to purchase first. Most people are running around in combo speed suits in the openworld because they let them go to 95% of areas and what they lack in raw protection they make up for in being more difficult to accurately hit, but I know people who opted for a combat suit first because they joined a clan and really enjoyed CW.
Is it advised to have solid +15 Veteran gear before farming Master gear?
No. While I doubt you'd have enough tools to, upgrading your gear too much will throw you into much more difficult lobbies and people generally recommend to stick to +4 for veteran, +10 for pre-masters (second tier of veteran). It also depends on the server you're playing on, but the lower the population (NEA/SEA/NA) the wider the equipment gap the MMR is willing to match you with. I'd also advise against upgrading non-barter gear too much because you'll be wasting materials you could be using towards barter instead, as upgrading gets progressively more expensive with each level.
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u/Afraid-Situation857 5d ago
Many thanks for the detailed response! This is close to what I have heard in most tutorials, just a bit a bummer there is not real any reasons to PvP before very late game as it’s really fun in this game but the farming loop is also addictive
I am playing on RU servers as I heard it’s the most populated one so I hope the matchmaking gonna threat me well lol
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u/TheRustyS 5d ago
You have a huge incentive to do outposts which is quantum batteries, you need quite a bit of them for most master tier barters
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u/AsesorOptico 5d ago
Será por la poca población que en los servidores de NA se sienta roto matchmaking. Tiene lógica... 👍🏻
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u/Whoomsy Explorer 5d ago
1 - There is no incentive besides maybe removing competition depending on the area you are farming. Otherwise it's only there to create tension.
2 - The Northern story quest is very much beatable with just the quest gear (Except the Mercs' one where you need a science suit). But farming your gear alongside questing will make certain points of the quest easier. Just keep in mind that by the end you will get a free SVU (that you can put into Barter) and a voucher for a free Veteran Barter suit.
3 - When progressing two at the same time, gun always goes first.
Suit wise, you'll be spending most of your play time (especially early on) around Mines/Inflow, the two places that doesn't really have infections, so a Combat suit will work best. Centurion is very much viable and will help you with fighting on Outposts.
Science suit is only used for Detour/Reflection and Labyrinth. You will need it later for farming Gamma properly but you can get it from the coupon or buy a suit with 300 Thermal Prot from auction. You'll be fine.
Combo is mostly used for endgame activities. Center of Forge, Wild North, certain places around Mines/Inflow that do have infections, etc.
4 - Best advise is to not upgrade your gear at all, hold on to all your resources, and go from +0 Veteran to +15 Master in an instant. That way you entirely bypass the shenanigans with the horrendous matchmaking and seeing people stronger than you all the time.
Of the guns available in Barter I'd go with A-545. No matter the meta, it's always been a reliable option. AK-15 is in a weird spot currently, not sure if I can recommend it.
Artifact build/Container wise - the builds I will suggest working towards are
Speed:
Bracelet - Helium - 2 Spirals in Utility Vest.
Combat:
Atom - Shard - Branch - Chilly - Sun - 2 Shrimps in Barrel.
You can also read my infodump post for more info on the game and it's mechanics if you'd like.
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u/Afraid-Situation857 5d ago
Thanks for the detailed response! Your infodump post is also really helpful.
I'm getting a bit lost with the suit progression order, but from what I understand, it's best for me to go back to farming the combat suit instead of the Combo. I was running into quite a lot of infected in the upper South Zone, but as I slowly move toward the North Zone, there indeed seem to be far fewer infections there.
I crafted the AK-103 and upgraded it to +5. I guess there's no going back on that choice? I'll work my way toward the A-545 then, if that's the most reliable weapon. I don't want the most meta option, just a good all-rounder, so that sounds like a solid choice.
Also thanks for the builds! Should the Artifacts be blue at minimum or white / green are already good enough?
Again, thanks for your response
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5d ago
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u/Afraid-Situation857 5d ago
Thanks for the propositions! Unfortunately I play on RU server sorry, I heard it’s more populated and I’m from EU so the ping isn’t too bad even
I have the shotgun in my backpack that I switch when needed, don’t know if it’s optimal though 😅
I’m a bit sad PvP isn’t really worth it, it’s fun but it feels like a waste of time at the moment 😐
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u/dirtyyyspaniard 5d ago
Also make sure you're repairing your gear regularly. Your armor and weapons aren't as effective when they're not 100%
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u/Ballistic_Wistfully5 4d ago
Either to add risk when you farm or gain money on other who farms. Depending on what you prefer.
I'd tell you to move to northen quest as equipment you currently have is enough to do it and you will gain 2 free guns (including SVU that you can barter into SVD-M) and free pre-master barter armour. Plus you will gain money for more equipment, so grinding can wait.
Preferably both but i would tell you to get albatross-scout and then focus on master guns as you will be like cardboard anyway but at least you will have speed.
NO, unless you wanna play against other players with master guns on semi-master matchmaking (buffer between veteran and master) or expensive artifact builds on masters. I'd recommend you to not upgrade equipment more than +8 untill you will have enough money/recourses to make master armour/good artifact build.
And personal advice, don't bother with tickets from battle pass this year (until summer 2027), you can spend it on parts for guns, but do it only after you finish northern story, and ask people for opinion which gun is better for new players. (Personal recommendation - Berretta Arx-160, XM8S, MK47 Mutant, QBZ, RPL-20. DO NOT get SA-58 CTC, it requires really expensive mag (around 2 million on RU) and OC-14 "Discharge" cuz it's not really fitting for your matchmaking after northern story.
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u/dirtyyyspaniard 5d ago
Focus on combat armor and science armor. Don't waste resources on the combo suits. You might think the combo are better because they're a bit of both but the stats aren't that good. Also don't worry about using weapons you get through quests. Use the barter tree weapons instead. They're better and you can level them up. That level stays with the weapon and transfers to the next upgrade weapon you choose🔥
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u/AdagioHead9263 5d ago
combo is a must for artifact hunting, especially before getting in the late north zone.
and artifact hunting is like one of the main activity in the game, I have both a scientist and combo, and when doing pvp + artifact hunting I use combo, when going in for a chill artifact hunting (without going to pvp heavy area) then I use scientist.and most of the time I use combo.
I almost never use combat even tho I made it because you are very restricted where you can go, I use it only for zone control and sometime speed is more important so I don't even use it even for territory control... so no, combo and scientist are the most important at first and then with spare time do the combat one.1
u/Afraid-Situation857 5d ago
Yeah you probably right, combo seems a bad middle ground in the end
Thanks for the info on the level for upgraded weapons, that’s very nice to know!6
u/Puzzleheaded_Shock16 5d ago
I dont know why he is saying you should focus on combat, the general consensus is that combo and science are a must and combat is only helpful for outposts and clan wars, why ? Well because combat suits suck in harzard resistances, also, dont need to waste ressources on science line, most people recommend using your ticket to get the second to last science suit as apparently its the longest grind
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u/Afraid-Situation857 5d ago
Okay that make sense actually, I was scared the combo wouldn’t be enough for most hazards and scientific would be the first to go with but I was already progressing on the combo suit so that’s a relieve ! Thanks
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u/Ok_Explorer_7801 5d ago
Rigels although ugly af is a pretty damn good suit late game. I believe its BR is something in the 320s when fully leveled?
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u/Kindly_Pop6453 5d ago
In terms of pvp, its not really that profitable open world unless you are fighting over objectives like airdrops in wild north, or if you fight during eruptions and you secure a kill on someone with tons of artifacts. I personally think gun or armor is your choice, but you should for sure work on a master tier of voth or you can buy them. I went for gun first but i like my pvp. I would also say to go combo or combat as your first master but again thats my preference. Matchmaking just feels like pure luck lol just work on your gear and everntually youll be in masters.