Thread for all things STALKER 2. How are you liking it so far? Have any memorable experiences you want to share? Post it all below!
STALKER 2 Discussion Thread
- Thread starter neogunhero
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Still fiddling with graphics settings. TAA/TSR seem to provide the best image quality to performance for me, however just like with DLSS and FSR, there were moments where the game tanked all the way down to 5FPS, specifically when speaking to NPCs in populated settlements. I wonder if that is more of a bug than pure performance issues because it only happens to me in that instance when using those upscalers. While I was messing with graphics settings I decided to try Intel XeSS. Performance wise, even on the Native AA setting (100% resolution), the game performed the absolute best than all the other upscalers. The downside, again even on Native AA which is the highest quality setting, the image was very fuzzy and full of jaggies even with AA turned up. Although my frames were the best, the image quality was too bad for me to enjoy. I’ve still settled on TAA/TSR, they have nearly identical image quality and near identical frame rates, I tend to keep jumping from one to the other.
I’ve been getting further into the map. I traveled to Rostok, better known as Bar in STALKER Shadow of Chernobyl. It was oddly nostalgic walking the area as it’s very familiar to me. I even climbed the tall tower and look out over the area, it was very calming to rest up there for a bit.
Prior to reaching Rostok, I cleared out a massive factory and looted it thoroughly. I’m not good at stealth in games, so when presented with the choice of stealth or guns blazing, I always go guns blazing. STALKER 2 kind of punishes you for that as the enemies can be very difficult. This factory had about 10-20 guys wanting to blow my head off. I had to be very careful as they are also prone to flanking you when you least expect it. It took me a solid 15 minutes to clear out the place, and I nearly ran out of ammo, but not was worth it in the end as I found a better suit and lots of guns to sell. For how early in the game I am, 50k coupons doesn’t seem like a bad amount to have, especially when repair your suit and weapons can cost upwards of 10k.
I’m having a blast and I’m very happy I can at least run the game. This probably happens to everyone, but the first few times you play a big, demanding game like this, performance is going to be bad. Over time as shaders get cached or whatever, the game seems to run better. Also since I’ve messed with graphics settings a ton, I finally got it at a mostly good spot. Still waiting on patches and hoping it fixed performance.
I’ve been getting further into the map. I traveled to Rostok, better known as Bar in STALKER Shadow of Chernobyl. It was oddly nostalgic walking the area as it’s very familiar to me. I even climbed the tall tower and look out over the area, it was very calming to rest up there for a bit.
Prior to reaching Rostok, I cleared out a massive factory and looted it thoroughly. I’m not good at stealth in games, so when presented with the choice of stealth or guns blazing, I always go guns blazing. STALKER 2 kind of punishes you for that as the enemies can be very difficult. This factory had about 10-20 guys wanting to blow my head off. I had to be very careful as they are also prone to flanking you when you least expect it. It took me a solid 15 minutes to clear out the place, and I nearly ran out of ammo, but not was worth it in the end as I found a better suit and lots of guns to sell. For how early in the game I am, 50k coupons doesn’t seem like a bad amount to have, especially when repair your suit and weapons can cost upwards of 10k.
I’m having a blast and I’m very happy I can at least run the game. This probably happens to everyone, but the first few times you play a big, demanding game like this, performance is going to be bad. Over time as shaders get cached or whatever, the game seems to run better. Also since I’ve messed with graphics settings a ton, I finally got it at a mostly good spot. Still waiting on patches and hoping it fixed performance.
Stalker 2 quick beginners tips
I thought about making this post yesterday. Just a few quick tips for anyone just starting out, things I’ve found helpful myself. Some of these may be obvious to Stalker veterans but I think they could be helpful nonetheless.
I thought about making this post yesterday. Just a few quick tips for anyone just starting out, things I’ve found helpful myself. Some of these may be obvious to Stalker veterans but I think they could be helpful nonetheless.
- Selling Weapons & Armor: you can only sell weapons and armor is the durability is still decent. If it has a red broken shield icon, don’t bother picking it up. If it has at least a yellow broken shield icon, it can be sold for a fraction of its total value, but worth it if you are close by a trader and don’t mind being over-encumbered.
- Stash Boxes: There are stash boxes hidden all over the map, but sometimes not worth dedicating time to seek them out. Early game, it’s worth finding them as they have lots of healing and ammo. As you progress, it’s better to find them on your way to another objective rather than go out of your way for it.
- Your Personal Stash: You are given a stash box where the inventory inside can be accessed at any major settlement. Usually the stash box is located next to the bed you can sleep in, and it’s usually a large yellow box. Useful for storing weapons you don’t want to use right away.
- Find Lens: This could just be my own stupidity but I struggled very hard to find the weapon repair guy in the first settlement. He is located to the right of Hamster’s trading shop on the map. At first you cannot see his icon on the map, so while looking at Hamster’s shop, look to the right and you will see a wrench and screwdriver spray painted on the side of a wall. Once you go in and talk with him, his icon will then appear on the map.
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Im having a fun time, havent been able to play the last day or so though.
Im using a couple of different mods with my version. First, a mod for optimization. I get roughly 10-15 fps boosts in certain areas like big settlements. This was the biggest reason why i looked at mods, and then i found others that make my experience better for me personally.
Then im using a stamina mod, takes away roughly ~20% stamina cost which allows you to sprint further. Theres a couple of settings from, just a bit (which im using) all the way up to "never losing stamina" which, for me, is too much, i like to feel like i cant run forever with everything, but vanillas version was too slow for me when traveling in large uninhabited areas and with the, acknowledged by devs, broken respawn points, it helps with dealing with that in areas where you cleared, but then turn around and see enemies right there.
Lastly, im using a enemy health modifier. I am only using ~20% on 1 mutant (mod allows you to modify health on everyone individually) the mouth eater. For some reason i feel my shots dont register when shooting this enemy. So i reduced its health to help out. Its still tough because 20% means roughly 2 or 3 less shots if you aim right.
Those are the only ones, the game is still inherently hard, i could use mods that do things like allow me to sell dmg weapons, reduce repair costs, take away durability loss etc., but im not trying to make the game easier by any means. None of these mods have made the hardest difficulty any less difficult lol.
This run, particularly in the beginning, you can see i run into enemies that disappear or get stuck in stuff. Its things like that which justify some mods atm. Im waiting on the patch to see what is addressed and, outside of shader mods i havent applied yet, i wont need to use any mods.
Im using a couple of different mods with my version. First, a mod for optimization. I get roughly 10-15 fps boosts in certain areas like big settlements. This was the biggest reason why i looked at mods, and then i found others that make my experience better for me personally.
Then im using a stamina mod, takes away roughly ~20% stamina cost which allows you to sprint further. Theres a couple of settings from, just a bit (which im using) all the way up to "never losing stamina" which, for me, is too much, i like to feel like i cant run forever with everything, but vanillas version was too slow for me when traveling in large uninhabited areas and with the, acknowledged by devs, broken respawn points, it helps with dealing with that in areas where you cleared, but then turn around and see enemies right there.
Lastly, im using a enemy health modifier. I am only using ~20% on 1 mutant (mod allows you to modify health on everyone individually) the mouth eater. For some reason i feel my shots dont register when shooting this enemy. So i reduced its health to help out. Its still tough because 20% means roughly 2 or 3 less shots if you aim right.
Those are the only ones, the game is still inherently hard, i could use mods that do things like allow me to sell dmg weapons, reduce repair costs, take away durability loss etc., but im not trying to make the game easier by any means. None of these mods have made the hardest difficulty any less difficult lol.
This run, particularly in the beginning, you can see i run into enemies that disappear or get stuck in stuff. Its things like that which justify some mods atm. Im waiting on the patch to see what is addressed and, outside of shader mods i havent applied yet, i wont need to use any mods.
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ZedClampet
Community Contributor
I haven't done anything new since my last post on it. Not a shooter player, but I thought the world was cool. Not as cool as the book, but pretty cool anyway. Before I quit I want to make it to a populated area and wander around. I might check out some mods, too.
ZedClampet
Community Contributor
What CPU does your system have? What is your GPU? Given that this is an open world game, if you have an old system, you might be CPU bound, and you might be able to raise some graphics settings without losing FPS.
Most PC gamers are pretty clueless when it comes to this stuff.
Do an experiment. Put everything on medium and pick whatever setting for DLSS. Now set shadows to "low". Then go into the game and run around wherever you are and carefully watch your FPS. Now change your shadows setting to high and leave everything else the same. Now run around again watching your FPS. You should get significantly more frames per second. If you aren't, then it's your CPU causing the problem.
This will help you to decide which graphics options to adjust rather than just using a preset and getting bad results. In fact, you may be able to take some heat off your CPU, raise some graphics options to high and still get better frames per second.
Ryzen 5700X, 16GB DDR4 @ 3600MHz, RTX 2060 6GB. For my system I’m going to guess a mix of both CPU and GPU limitations, especially with only 6GB VRAM. I’ll have to do those tests another time, but if I set it to the Medium preset with no DLSS, it runs decently but I have a strange image issue where there are “sparkles” and specks everywhere, I’ll get a screenshot. Upscalers improve FPS and removes those sparkles, but adds in a very minor amount of input lag, and of course image can be a bit fuzzy when using upscalers on 1080p.
Most obvious areas of frames tanking are when entering larger settlements full of NPCs. They have a lot more going on internally than just a pack of enemies, because I cleared out a bar full of about 10 guys and my frames didn’t dip nearly as bad as entering settlements that could have the same if not more NPCs around.
I also have seen lots of posts around specifically about the FPS tanking when in dialogue. Seems to be a common issue, for some reason when in dialogue with a character your FPS can go down to about 5. I’ve ran into this issue a lot. One poster said a temporary fix is to open graphics settings, hit Save without changing anything, and it works temporarily. I tried that and it does help but it always goes right back to the issue eventually. Also, this doesn’t seem to happen when I don’t have any upscaler turned on, but then my overall average FPS is worse. Minor issue to me because it doesn’t happen out in the open world where it would be more annoying if it did.
ZedClampet
Community Contributor
Never mind the test. You have a good CPU. I couldn't remember. As you've said, the game has technical problems.
Roaming around in the swamp looking for artifacts while hoarding way too much gear and ammo. Slow walking back to base I will 
Later in the game, there is a vendor that lets you sell broken weapons. You can also unload the weapon and take the ammo for those of you who like hoarding or are in a clinch.
Some stashes also have artifacts near them, so just going to the area might be lucrative even if the stash is bad. I'm not 100% sure of this, but I think stashes come with quality loot depending on the stash description, so if the stash description does not sound great, it probably isn't either. There are also a few stashes that will not show up on the map containing good items which is a carrot in itself for deep exploring.
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ZedClampet
Community Contributor
Started over. Since I saw a bunch of people saying there wasn't any difference in the difficulties, I changed from easy to stalker. I really didn't fight much. I ran away/stealthed. Made it to the first settlement (after having problems figuring out the bolt section). We're about ready to eat Thanksgiving dinner so I saved and exited. Am interested in the story at this point, so I'm fairly invested in playing some more.
Funny thing was I was bleeding from the first enemy and finally found a bandage. Fixed myself up and immediately walked into a barbed wire fence and started bleeding again...
Funny thing was I was bleeding from the first enemy and finally found a bandage. Fixed myself up and immediately walked into a barbed wire fence and started bleeding again...
The whole AI system is not working and the devs have pointed that out, which is why you get enemies suddenly spawning into the place you are in or factions not doing what they are supposed to do. Some of the enemies also run away if you stand on stuff which I guess is not working as intended. The one thing that really makes me riled up is all the bloody scripted enemies! You run into a small cave and there is NOTHING there. Then you loot a stash and suddenly a mutant spawns behind you. To add insult to injury, you don't even need to fight the mutants, you can just run away.
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It's my kind of game, but I think I'll wait for some patches and fixes to have a better experience with it. Most people seem to like it despite bugs and performance issues, which is probably a good sign, right?
ZedClampet
Community Contributor
I waste a lot of time in these types of games trying to figure things out. Like at the very beginning, you pick up this scanner thing in the lab, I immediately equipped it to my off hand next to the pistol, and then spent time trying to figure out how to use it before finally giving up and continuing onward. Then, of course, it turns out to be context sensitive and it automatically comes out when you are near an anomaly.
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@Frindis "To add insult to injury, you don't even need to fight the mutants, you can just run away."
You might be surprised how many games you can do that in. For instance, I hardly killed anything in my second playthrough of RE7, and a lot of the enemies in the last Serious Sam were avoidable, same thing with Evil West (occasionally)--those were 3 of the most recent shooters I played. No way I'm sticking around to fight mutants in Stalker unless I have to.
Now, in Remnant 1/2 they will usually track your arse down unless you manage to get to a gateway to another area. I generally found it useless to run in those games.
You know how sometimes I'll mention a game and say that I haven't died yet, even though I'm almost finished? This is why. Just consider it speed running.
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@Frindis "To add insult to injury, you don't even need to fight the mutants, you can just run away."
You might be surprised how many games you can do that in. For instance, I hardly killed anything in my second playthrough of RE7, and a lot of the enemies in the last Serious Sam were avoidable, same thing with Evil West (occasionally)--those were 3 of the most recent shooters I played. No way I'm sticking around to fight mutants in Stalker unless I have to.
Now, in Remnant 1/2 they will usually track your arse down unless you manage to get to a gateway to another area. I generally found it useless to run in those games.
You know how sometimes I'll mention a game and say that I haven't died yet, even though I'm almost finished? This is why. Just consider it speed running.
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That is also why I like some of the moments in STALKER 2 when you are trapped. Later in the game, there is a type of puzzle you have to do, and while you are doing the puzzle you are being attacked. This is cool because you are stuck in a room with nowhere to run before you figure out the puzzle and having something attacking you while you try to think is stressful and it creates of moment of suspense.
I did experience a bloodsucker following me for a very long time and that was exciting. It seems they are more prone to follow you if there are open fields and they have a line of sight on you. It could also be that it is just a distance thing as it is with the other creatures, that if you reach a particular distance then they just stop following you, but since this mutant is much faster than most other creatures they tend to follow you for a bit.
I played RE7 with my nephews and when we got to the mines/ship we just started to run through everything. Unfortuantly there was a shift from the slow pace in the first half of the game to a more arcady feel, so we all just lost any interest in taking the game seriously. The last boss? What a bloody joke.
ZedClampet
Community Contributor
Well, we'll have to disagree on RE7. Final boss was bad, but the rest of the game was great. It's a survival horror game, not a military shooter. I wouldn't have any interest in a military shooter.
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Put some more time into this after the patch. Im not sure what it really fixed because i havent noticed much, it could be because of the performance mod im using but im not sure.
I still run into a lot of bugs too. You guys notice that the voice changes when talking to people? One minute theyll be talkin like they are on a radio (which they are) and then itll sound like they are standing next to you and vice versa? Also, watching NPCs walk around and do stuff is funny because they usually glitch into somethin or their bodies get stuck in weird jesus-on-the-cross type stances with their arms out.
But all these bugs dont take away from the game, it looks great out in the wild and the atmosphere has me hooked a lot. I also spend a lot of time doing random things and exploring because you can find lots of ammo, meds and some-good quality weapons.
Im currently fighting a "controller". After killing a bunch of zombie soldiers i have to fight this thing. Didnt realize it was a tough fight and im out here with broken gear and not much ammo for the guns that work well against them, but a fun tense situation already, even if the fighting is kinda broken too.
I still run into a lot of bugs too. You guys notice that the voice changes when talking to people? One minute theyll be talkin like they are on a radio (which they are) and then itll sound like they are standing next to you and vice versa? Also, watching NPCs walk around and do stuff is funny because they usually glitch into somethin or their bodies get stuck in weird jesus-on-the-cross type stances with their arms out.
But all these bugs dont take away from the game, it looks great out in the wild and the atmosphere has me hooked a lot. I also spend a lot of time doing random things and exploring because you can find lots of ammo, meds and some-good quality weapons.
Im currently fighting a "controller". After killing a bunch of zombie soldiers i have to fight this thing. Didnt realize it was a tough fight and im out here with broken gear and not much ammo for the guns that work well against them, but a fun tense situation already, even if the fighting is kinda broken too.
ZedClampet
Community Contributor
It's kind of interesting that the game has so much character that everything can be broken, and we all still like it.
After the patch, I got a bit more fps and noticed the shop prices are a bit more fair now. It could still be a bit better when it comes to armor repair cost, but too much and people might not care to do side missions or other means to get money. They have fixed some quests that were a bit broken, so more people can progress and not have to reload older saves.
A few times I have noticed the voice changing and the NPC T-pose I have experienced only once thankfully. Some jankiness here and there, but thankfully nothing immersion-breaking for me.
Hoarding for life!
The controller took me by surprise, a nasty little mutant! Sucks to be in a position with less ammo and It happened to me in a larger main story battle and I was even going in prepared for something major to happen. It was one big battle and then straight into another battle without being able to get more ammo, so I had to run around evading bullets to get to the next checkpoint. It was messy, but such is the life of a stalker.
The game was made with passion and it shows. People tend to be more forgivable when they notice developers caring about their player base.
ZedClampet
Community Contributor
Played just a few minutes more. I'm kind of going back and forth today. I thought I had made it to a settlement, but I hadn't. I had lost all my gear when the guy knocked me over the head, but the game generously gave me several knew guns after my next fight. Picked up a side quest that I'm going to do before heading to the settlement.
ZedClampet
Community Contributor
Is ammo supposed to be scarce? I've not played long enough to know. So far I'm just picking up everything,How much ammo do you have? Me: Yes.
You would think with veteran difficulty, but there is an abundance of ammo in every nook and cranny. Just looting guys and unloading weapons will net you a lot, not to mention all the loot bags, stashes, ammo crates, ammo in lockers, ammo in shelves, ammo on the ground, ammo in weird places, and ammo just about everywhere you can think of. It does make it fun to hoard, so in that department, I am not complaining.
When it comes to the harsh survival factor, I would say Metro Exodus (a similar survival game) did it much better when it came to ammo scarcity and deterioration of weapons on the hardest difficulty. When it comes to enemy difficulty STALKER 2 does a good job for the most part except for a couple of ridiculous bullet sponges where you'll have to spend like 300 in 5.56 ammo. Metro Exodus had bad AI and the mutants did not have any special abilities so you just had to aim and shoot.
The environmental hazards like anomalies/radiation I think are well done. If you get too close it hurts a lot and you have to tinker a bit with the different artifacts to balance out the damage while also keeping in mind how to craft the gear to build around it further. It is quite fun and rewarding even if it could have been better with some actual stat info on exactly how much this and that does in damage. I'm not talking spreadsheets, just some number thrown out there.
If I am not mistaken you can also undo the last gear upgrade you did, so that could be a smart way to try out some of the more expensive gear upgrades and see if there is much of a difference aka wort the cost.
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ZedClampet
Community Contributor
I'm going to change to veteren difficulty tomorrow and see if I notice a difference. I've seen a lot of people claiming they are all the same.
I’ve reached a part of the game that made me put it down. It’s a mission you get from Star, asking you to go to a location and get some info. This location is full of zombies, and the zombies are breaking my game. The issue is when too many of them are up and walking at the same time. If there is more than 2-3 zombies in an area, my game goes down to 5FPS. Unplayable. That was my breaking point. I’ve had a great time with it so far and would love to continue, but the poor performance on my PC makes the game much more annoying to play. It’s hard to look past the performance issues when every trader you go to makes you game drop to 5FPS. I was able to look past it since I never had that issue in the open world, but that moment with the zombies changed my mind. I need to wait for some performance patches for now.
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