Ammo type for mutants

[Erepb]

Are there any information what type of ammo is the best for mutants? Do they have any armour?

[Bastian]

If it's anything beyond a bloodsucker, using AP ammo makes a big difference. It helps on bloodsuckers too if you don't consistently hit the head.

[dbond1]

In previous Stalker games or mods -- I can't keep it all straight -- Hydrashock was good ammunition for mutants. I have yet to use it in Stalker 2, even though it sits in my storage, but the expansion rounds would seem to be the Hydrashock equivalent and I'd expect would make good mutant ammo. If I recall it was hollow-point armor piercing. Not sure how the expansion rounds here compare, but now that we've talked about it, maybe I should give it a go.

That said, Saiga scattershot is best :)

[ImHelping]

Weapon penetration stat matters more than ammo type.

A 1 penetration double barrel with slugs (or wacky modified for 'slugs only, +0.3 penetration) will struggle compared to the first pump action with buckshot because it has 2 penetration on the gun.

A 1 penetration 5.56 assault rifle with AP ammo will need as much or more work putting down a bloodsucker, than a 2 penetration 5.45 rifle.

etc.

You may notice more on humans because humans are allowed to have pain animations, even when a headshot with "You did a headshot!" sound leaves them alive, it sets up the next shot to be easier at least.

But even then, 3 penetration guns will be more valuable/feel needed when the game starts doing the traditional exo-suit enemy spam sequences. regardless of how much spare AP ammo you had

Meanwhile in say, Call of Pripyat. I could go forever with the mocked by the fanbase IL-86, and mostly only used better guns for the more accurate full auto-headshots once "Can have a silencer on 5.56" was no longer useful against scripted monolith endgame stuff.

[Baron01]

I'm using standard buckshots for controller or lower (controller, burer, psi-dogs, psi-cats and the fooder), this means mutants that you can encounter regularly during triggered spawns on points of interest. Bloodsucker will die in 3 shots if you hit some head or in 4 point blank body shots on Stalker difficulty using SPAS-14. Buckshot is cheap and plentiful, you should never run out of those shells. Another important reason is that slugs, or any special ammo, degrade your weapons much faster and it becomes unsustainable due to high repair costs for minor benefits.

I only use slugs when fighting chimera, which is rare, and pseudo-giants, so far faced only one.

[John Destiny]

Expanding ammo works best against mutants, but honestly you will see people talking about AP ammo a lot like it does anything, and it doesnt. You can go through the entire game without using AP ammo once. Headshots matter more than ammo type, bottom line.

As much as you might not want to hear this depending on what weapons you like to run, you need to ALWAYS run a shotgun in addition to your other primary. Saiga and Spas 12 delete mutants in seconds, regardless of ammo type.

[GrenadeMagnet6]

I'm still in the starting Zone (Lesser Zone) but I upgraded the penetration slightly of my Viper and AKM rifles at Lens, the penetration higher than 1 but under 2. Now I'm having a little bit easier time with Bloodsuckers when I encounter them, and appear to take them out with less bullets (playing on Stalker difficulty).

Of course, now, I know better how to fight the Bloodsuckers, and retreat back just when they are about to strike and mag dump their head whenever they stand-in-place for a second. So that's also helping a little as well.

[John Destiny]

Originally posted by GrenadeMagnet6:

I'm still in the starting Zone (Lesser Zone) but I upgraded the penetration slightly of my Viper and AKM rifles at Lens, the penetration higher than 1 but under 2. Now I'm having a little bit easier time with Bloodsuckers when I encounter them, and appear to take them out with less bullets (playing on Stalker difficulty).

Of course, now, I know better how to fight the Bloodsuckers, and retreat back just when they are about to strike and mag dump their head whenever they stand-in-place for a second. So that's also helping a little as well.

You shouldnt be fighting bloodsuckers if you dont have a saiga or spas 12. They arent worth the amount of bullets they take to kill.

[ImHelping]

Originally posted by John Outlast:

Originally posted by GrenadeMagnet6:

I'm still in the starting Zone (Lesser Zone) but I upgraded the penetration slightly of my Viper and AKM rifles at Lens, the penetration higher than 1 but under 2. Now I'm having a little bit easier time with Bloodsuckers when I encounter them, and appear to take them out with less bullets (playing on Stalker difficulty).

Of course, now, I know better how to fight the Bloodsuckers, and retreat back just when they are about to strike and mag dump their head whenever they stand-in-place for a second. So that's also helping a little as well.

You shouldnt be fighting bloodsuckers if you dont have a saiga or spas 12. They arent worth the amount of bullets they take to kill.

Sometimes a scripted encounter or just ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Diet A-Life puts your back to a wall or leaves you in a tunnel long before you got any shotgun better than a double barrel in working condition. Which is less of a 'stunlock combo' death sentence than it was a launch at least.

Hunting shotgun still struggles to put down a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ flesh with buckshot, while the patch changes mean desperate magdumping with a baby auto is gonna be doing more damage to a bloodsucker's ass than a bad shotgun does to their face.
EDIT: Bonus clarification.
"Oh boy, patch means you can be sure to drop a flesh with less than a magazine of ammo now. even a zero upgrades SMG!"
*pulls out elmer fudd shotgun, watches scripted to run out of a barn in a suicidal straight line flesh tank two shells to their lopsided face* "well that is just silly"

Running if you can without a good gun, is good. But, well. shameless monster closet logic, still more beefy than CoP, and you running like you have asthma even in the green means sometimes means wasted ammo is the safer option.

[Pain]

all muties have passive DR now, so Armor penetration is actually the most important stat. AP ammo simply adds to it. high AP weapons with AP ammo will delete a bloodsucker. Bloodsuckers have very high DR, and large HP pools, and they regen health passively. So you need to kill them quickly otherwise it just turns into damage trades.

shotguns can now brute force bloodsuckers after their health nerf. They used to just laugh at them.