STALKER 2 Starter Guide

This STALKER 2 Guide will explain the HUD, teach you the basics of the game, and give you a walkthrough for the first hour of the game.

HUD Explanation

STALKER 2 is the long-awaited sequel to the late-2000s STALKER franchise of first-person shooter survival games. There's a lot to learn if you want to survive in the Zone, find artifacts, and explore the map. Read on to learn about the HUD; after that, we'll dive into a walkthrough for the early game!

---

1. Mission Objectives: If you have an active mission, the objectives for that mission will pop up here when you accept a mission or complete an objective. Otherwise, this area is blank.
   
2. Compass: The compass shows the direction you're facing, along with some other information. Centering the crosshair over most icons will show you the distance to that icon in meters. You can also see the following information on the Compass:
   
   • Objective Markers: Any mission objective you've highlighted on the map will show an icon pointing you toward it. Main missions are yellow and side missions are blue.
     
   • Location Markers: Similarly, you can click on any objective on the map and highlight it on your compass.
     
   • Threat Indicator: If you are currently in combat, the bottom of the compass will glow red.
     
   • Mission Area Indicator: Some missions require you to search an area; when you're in the area, the bottom of the compass will glow yellow or blue to indicate that you are within the area that you need to search.
     
   • Enemy Indicators: If potentially hostile enemies are near you, they will be represented with a yellow skull. If the enemies are aggroed and fighting you, they will be represented by a downwards-facing red triangle.
     
   • Dead Body Indicators: Any dead bodies that still have loot on them will be marked with a grey X. Once you loot a body, you should drop any excess items on the ground to remove these icons.
3. Quick Access: This bar shows four consumable slots that you can activate without going into your inventory. You can put most consumable items here, but I recommend equipping Medkits, Bandages, anti-radiation items, and stamina-restoring items here.
   
4. Radiation Indicator: This meter shows whether or not you are currently being exposed to radiation and how much radiation you've absorbed. If the radiation symbol in the center of the circle is pulsing, you're being irradiated. The meter around this circle shows how much radiation you've absorbed. If the radiation meter gets full, you'll die.
   
5. Buffs and Debuffs: Any buffs or debuffs currently affecting you will appear above the health bar. These can include:
   
   • Hunger: If you're hungry, a chicken leg will appear on the screen. It will start as light grey to indicate mild hunger and change color to a brighter white to show that you are very hungry. Hunger reduces your overall effectiveness, so you should eat some food right away.
     
   • Weight: If you are carrying too much stuff (represented by the yellow bar in your inventory), the weight symbol will appear. You'll move slower and your stamina will drain faster. If the symbol is read, you are carrying so much junk that you are unable to move, and you'll have to drop some items on the ground.
     
   • Bleeding: Getting wounded has a chance to cause bleeding which is represented by a red blood drop symbol. If you're bleeding, you'll slowly lose health over time until you use a bandage to stop the bleeding. If you don't stop the bleeding, you'll eventually lose all of your health and die.
     
   • Drowsiness: If you haven't slept in a while, a crescent moon symbol will appear to show that you're tired. You'll need to head to a town and sleep in a bed to remove this effect. Drowsiness makes you weaker overall, so try to take a nap every time you visit a town.
6. Health: The standard health bar. If this reaches 0, you die. Medkits restore the most health, but you can also restore smaller amounts of health by eating food or by using bandages. Don't waste a Medkit if you've only taken a little damage.
   
7. Stamina: Stamina is used for running, jumping, and melee attacks. Your stamina will drain faster if you're hungry, tired, or carrying too much stuff.
   Interaction Indicators: People and objects that you can interact with in the world are represented by a white dot on the screen. This can include switches, NPCs, and dead bodies.
   
8. Fire Mode: Many guns have different firing modes. You can see the available fire modes of your currently-equipped gun along with which mode is currently active.
   
9. Ammo Count: This box shows you how much ammo you have in your current magazine and how much ammo you have in your inventory.
   
10. Ammo Type: This box shows the current type of ammo you have equipped. Nearly every gun has multiple types of ammo available; naturally, some ammo types are better but also rarer and more expensive.

---

Now that we've explained the HUD, it's time to get started with the walkthrough part of this STALKER 2 Starter Guide. We'll help you get through the first hour or so of the game and point you toward some useful loot and guns that will help you survive your first few days in the Zone.

Choosing Your Difficulty

The first choice you'll have to make in STALKER 2 is selecting your difficulty. You have three options:

• Rookie: Suitable for beginners and players who are more interested in the story.
  
• Stalker: Suitable for players looking for a balance between story and combat.
  
• Veteran: Suitable for players who crave intense, challenging battles.

STALKER 2 can be a difficult, unforgiving game — especially if you fail to prepare for a situation. You should select Stalker difficulty only if you have a good amount of experience with shooters or survival games.

Once you've chosen your difficulty, you'll be treated to a cutscene and you'll enter the game.

Learning the Basics

Your first mission is essentially a tutorial — you'll breach the Zone and you'll use a special device to scan points of interest. The tutorial does a good job of guiding you and holding your hand, so I'm not going to waste your time by repeating its instructions here.

At the end of the tutorial, you will be captured and knocked out. You'll then wake up in the same place you were left unconscious, and that's where the real game begins.
Bolts can be used to reveal anomalies and, in some cases, temporarily neutralize them.

Escaping the Anomalies

You awaken in a field surrounded by anomalies. You're wounded, and these anomalies can hurt you. Fortunately, you have a way out with the almighty bolt.

Edge up close to one of the anomalies, then throw a bolt and run through it. The type of anomaly surrounding you can be temporarily disabled by throwing a bolt into it. However, some anomalies cannot be disabled and throwing a bolt will simply reveal their location.

After you escape, Richter — the man who helped you — will walk a short distance away. Go up to him and talk to him.

A Long Road to Zalissya

Finish your short conversation with Richter and you'll hear some gunshots in the distance. STALKER 2 is a game of choices, and this is your very first one — you can either go straight to the nearby town of Zalissya or you can follow Richter and find out what just happened. You should follow Richter; he'll take you to a location called "Cabin."

STALKER 2 has a lot of missions that you can find in towns, but you can also encounter random events and smaller missions simply by visiting certain locations. Start by investigating the corpses near Richter, then explore the other buildings; you'll find a blue safe in the back room of the garage.

Equip any Medkits or Bandages that you've found on your Quick Access bar; you'll want to be able to use them quickly if you get hurt in combat.

Next, head to this destination down the road:
This is the Post Office.

As you get closer, you'll see three bandits shooting at the building. Equip your pistol, reload it, and carefully take them out. A man inside will thank you for the help. Loot the bandits, then go inside and talk to him.

The Dangerous Visitors Mission

The man you just saved is named Zhorik. He's quite thankful for the help, and he has another problem that he'd like your help with.

One of Zhorik's friends is trapped in a building down the road. Accept the mission, and he'll tell you the location of his personal stash along the way. Head over to the stash.

Zhorik's Stash is located in a downed helicopter buried in some water. Do your best to avoid going into the water; you cannot swim in STALKER 2. Water will often irradiate you, and you'll drown if you go into water that's too deep.

When you get to the stash, you'll hear a barking sound — this is likely your first encounter with the wild dogs of the zone. Grab the stash's contents and retreat back to the road, then bring up your pistol and get ready to shoot the dog.
This encounter was pretty easy; in the future, you can expect to encounter 4 or more dogs at any time. Always keep your eyes and ears open when you're walking through the Zone.

Getting Armed

I recommend equipping the Viper-5 to your main weapon slot and equipping a Boomstick to your secondary weapon slot. Change the Viper-5's firing mode to single shot to conserve ammo.

You'll eventually come across a wide variety of guns in the Lesser Zone, the starting region of STALKER 2's map. However, you should pay special attention to the availability of ammo — some guns will be difficult to keep supplied.

For example, you may occasionally come across an AR-style rifle that uses 5.56 ammo. Unfortunately, you won't be able to find very much 5.56 ammo in the Lesser Zone, so you'll eventually run out of bullets if you try to use it now.

It's best to stick with an AK-style gun for your main weapon and an SMG (such as the Viper-5) as your secondary weapon for the first zone. You'll get access to a wider variety of weapon options (and ammo types) as you head deeper into the Zone.

Saving Gloomy

Your next stop is the Boiler House down the road. There is a total of five bandits in here. You can approach this situation with stealth, or you can go in guns blazing. Either way, you'll need to kill all of the bandits. There are three bandits on the ground level and two bandits upstairs.

You'll want to loot the area before you talk to Gloomy. Pick up everything off of the bandits, then search the area for supplies; you can find a blue footlocker on the upper deck that has some decent items in it.

I'm sure that you'll want to sell the excess guns you've picked up. Unfortunately, merchants won't buy any gun in poor condition (which is indicated by a red icon). Select each gun and select "unload" to take out its ammo, then drop all of the weapons with the red symbol on the ground.

Getting Rewarded

Speak with Gloomy and he'll give you three choices for a reward:

• Echo Detector: This is an anomaly detector. You already have one, so this is only a good option if you want to sell it for some Coupons.
  
• "I have a detector" or "Got anything else?": Gloomy will give you the location of his personal stash nearby.

I recommend selecting either two of the last options. You'll also get 1,147 Coupons.

Fortunately, Gloomy's Stash is nearby. Grab it, loot the nearby area, and get ready to move again.

---

Click Here to Continue Reading this Guide at TechRaptor!

[techraptor.net]

---

[Red Dragon]

Not every anomaly has an artifact, just because your device beeps doesn't mean there's a goodie, just that there's an anomaly. The first device has a blue light and the device beeps faster in a certain way the closer it is to an artifact. If the blue light isn't clealy glowing there's nothing there. You get the bolts at the very end of the tutorial.

[BlueFire]

I'm not sure from which difficulty setting you wrote your fine tutorial, but after a short prologue, I was whisked off into a Main Mission of "There and Back Again" on Rookie difficulty. I worked my way into a tunnel, completed the first two steps, and now face my first anomaly already without your famous BOLT to throw at it. This mission is more like Dark Souls. My only salvation is to figure out how to get that detector to work. It's the one I got from Hermann in the prologue. Your description of the basics was gr8 and spot on. Thanks. I'ts just the walkthrough was not what was actually experienced after the prologue.

worst difficulty selection ever

[Stuck_On_Semiauto]

how do i break down broken weapons what can i do with them??

[Beta 🚫 Geuze 🚫]

Schlechter als schlecht geht nicht oder?
Dieser Guide sagt absolut gar nichts aus.
Alles das was hier geschrieben ist, ist Clickbait und eh Standart Basic aus dem Spiel.
Ein Guide sieht anders aus. Warum sperrt Steam solche Farmer nicht???