Up-Armored NPCs

[Edit]

Is it just me, or do NPCs start spawning everywhere with better armour after the player visits SIRCCA? I'm noticing dutyers & wardens all wearing PsZ(?) armour, plus they seem harder to kill, plus every squad of free stalkers I bump into are fully kitted out in SEVA suits.

Anyone else notice this?

[Sparhawk122]

"Answer Provided

Author:
<@161493830011584512>

Question:
Will there be plans to tone down the amount of exo-suit users? After a certain point in the story literally every single NPC for most factions comprises of exo guys no matter what location you’re at. In the late game it sort of pigeonholes you into using certain weapons.

Answered by:
<@396635126131458049>

Answer:
The team is aware of exoskeleton spam issue, atm we are focused on more direct fixes, but this issue is on our radar"

[Nite69]

Yes the Sircaa mission is what gets alot more of the map active I noticed this too, its the half way point of the story too

[Edit]

Originally posted by Sparhawk122:

"Answer Provided

Author:
<@161493830011584512>

Question:
Will there be plans to tone down the amount of exo-suit users? After a certain point in the story literally every single NPC for most factions comprises of exo guys no matter what location you’re at. In the late game it sort of pigeonholes you into using certain weapons.

Answered by:
<@396635126131458049>

Answer:
The team is aware of exoskeleton spam issue, atm we are focused on more direct fixes, but this issue is on our radar"

That's not what I mean, in fact I think I've only seen two exosuits thus far. I'm talking about every loner I encounter wearing a SEVA suit instead of anoraks and sunrise suits.

[Nite69]

Originally posted by Edit:

Originally posted by Sparhawk122:

"Answer Provided

Author:
<@161493830011584512>

Question:
Will there be plans to tone down the amount of exo-suit users? After a certain point in the story literally every single NPC for most factions comprises of exo guys no matter what location you’re at. In the late game it sort of pigeonholes you into using certain weapons.

Answered by:
<@396635126131458049>

Answer:
The team is aware of exoskeleton spam issue, atm we are focused on more direct fixes, but this issue is on our radar"

That's not what I mean, in fact I think I've only seen two exosuits thus far. I'm talking about every loner I encounter wearing a SEVA suit instead of anoraks and sunrise suits.

well the monolith are alot more active at that point, should know that if ya seen the sircaa mission cut scenes, so of course stalkers have better gear

[HiggsLP]

Exos come into play around ....much later on...
I dont fint it a problem at all.
By thay time u should have Super/Kharod/Ram combo+Rhino which blow everyone away in 1-2 shots.
Thats the whole point to upgrade armor, weapons.

Much better system to upgrade enemies during mission rather than have "red sculls" in starter area which u can only kill 40lvls later, like w3(and basicly any RPG open word game ive played)

[Edit]

Originally posted by HiggsLP:

Exos come into play around ....much later on...
I dont fint it a problem at all.
By thay time u should have Super/Kharod/Ram combo+Rhino which blow everyone away in 1-2 shots.
Thats the whole point to upgrade armor, weapons.

Much better system to upgrade enemies during mission rather than have "red sculls" in starter area which u can only kill 40lvls later, like w3(and basicly any RPG open word game ive played)

Oh I couldn't agree more, a lvl system in a stalker game would go together like a meal of skittles and fish. And I don't have a problem with more tough enemies showing up the further north I go.

Originally posted by Nite69:

Originally posted by Edit:

That's not what I mean, in fact I think I've only seen two exosuits thus far. I'm talking about every loner I encounter wearing a SEVA suit instead of anoraks and sunrise suits.

well the monolith are alot more active at that point, should know that if ya seen the sircaa mission cut scenes, so of course stalkers have better gear

Aye, that makes sense, but just because the Monolith are back doesn't mean Sidrovich is gonna start handing out SEVA's for every rookie that comes wandering in. It's just strange to see the variety in the NPC's equipment disappear.

Something STALKER Anomaly did that I though was quite immersive was it's rank-listing. A stalker would spawn into the game with a rank score, i.e. a statistic that reflected how many mutants he's killed, quests completed, artifacts found, e.t.c. This score had no relation to his health or anything like that, but what it did effect was what gear he might spawn with. So a "rookie" loner spawning in the cordon would have maybe a sunrise suit or a leather jacket, plus a poorly maintained shotgun or AK, whereas a "Master" Monolither might spawn with an exosuit and an AUG. This rank-list was also tied to locations, meaning that in the cordon, you'd only have lower-mid ranked stalkers spawning, but you'd have much higher ranked stalkers spawning in the northern, more dangerous zones. I felt it made sense, the poorly equipped rookies and bandits can be found in the south, near the entrance to the zone, and the high-end stalkers would populate the northen, much more dangerous reaches because the could afford the gear and had the experience to let them survive in Monolith/Chimera territory. This wasn't exclusive, though. You'd still find the occasional high-ranked and well equipped stalker in the south, but it was rare in comparison to those you'd find in the north and relative to the kind of stalkers you'd normally meet in the south.

[WhiteSnake76]

Gets a bit more challenging, but by that time you should also have better weapons and armor piercing rounds.

[Coldhands]

Yes, that 100% happens, and yes, it does make large parts of The Zone much less fun to explore. Bring a scoped rifle with armor piercing rounds, and you should be able to deal with them okay so long as you keep your distance and keep falling back so a whole squad isn't shooting at you at once. With the NPC's aimbot accuracy, a pitched firefight against a group of enemies sucks complete ***.

[Edit]

Originally posted by Virake:

Originally posted by Edit:

Is it just me, or do NPCs start spawning everywhere with better armour after the player visits SIRCCA? I'm noticing dutyers & wardens all wearing PsZ(?) armour, plus they seem harder to kill, plus every squad of free stalkers I bump into are fully kitted out in SEVA suits.

Anyone else notice this?

yes, it's tied to plot progression. you have a hidden rank that increases at certain points in the story, and the difficulty of random NPC spawns is determined by your rank. anyway, here's a mod to fix this:
https://www.nexusmods.com/stalker2heartofchornobyl/mods/596

You're a gentleman and a scholar, thank you that is exactly what I was looking for