Stalker 2

[MrSquished]

Just bought this game on a small sale, was waiting until some things got patched. Pretty excited, I rarely play any single player games.

 

[EXCellR8]

I think I'm just about at the 50 hour mark... didn't get around to playing for a couple of weeks. I still like, though I have my fair share of gripes. I've started running into issues with shader compilation when the game is starting; I've needed to clear the DX cache a couple of times in order to get the game to even work. Not the end of the world, but kind of annoying. I've also experienced some kind of memory leak issue where all of a sudden the game uses nearly all 64GB of ram in my PC and then it's unresponsive. Last time I managed to force close the game and it was good, but one other time I needed to hard reset.

There's also some definite QoL type issues, and problems with the AI still linger. These will likely be fixed in time, but it does break the immersion and create a less-than-desirable experience overall. For example, there was on instance where I went into a bunker, hopped down a broken stairway so I couldn't get back out. Now, that's all fine and good but as I proceeded into the bunker a group of like 6 or 7 enemy NPC's spawned behind me and simultaneously opened fire lol. Another instance, and this is more of a spoiler, so It'll get added below:

Spoiler: Side mission woes

There's a mission titled "Just Business" that you get in the westernmost area of the map, south of the Tornado anomaly and Devils Mushroom artifact scanner. Basically, you need to go into a bandit base and take them all out. Very STALKER, nothing real crazy. Except, the bandits have trapped a Pseudo-giant enemy in some containers that you can optionally use to help you clear out the base--if you don't want to do so yourself. Saves ammo I suppose, but I didn't trick out my arsenal so a mutant could steal all my kills. Here's my issue, if you do decide to take the monster on, good ****** luck! If it weren't for the beast's AI flaking out, I would never have taken it down. Nor would I have had the patience, just way too much of a bullet sponge for basically no reason.

Here's what it took to kill it, just to give you an idea:

• 3 grenades
• at least 20 buckshot
• several clips of .45 ACP
• 2 mags of whatever the AR16 takes
• ...and the AI glitch

Like, are ya kidding me? I think when it got stuck on the map I stood there and fired all that ammo just to see if it was actually killable. I can't imagine actually fighting it head on while it's mobile, and attacking with telekinesis and ground slams. Was just a really dumb "haha game is hard" type moment. Mind you I've been playing on normal difficulty the entire time and this would have been an absolute roadblock.

Title definitely still needs some work, but I'll put it down and get back to it again soon.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Title definitely still needs some work, but I'll put it down and get back to it again soon.

I have more hours in, but I am at the same point with the game unfinished. More interested in starting a new playthrough now that the economy and many other issues have been positively tweaked. Knowing where to find the best gear will remove a lot of the grinding, as will understanding what is worth my time and what isn't.

 

[sze5003]

While I do like the changes that have happened so far to the game I feel like there will be more A-Life related changes to come that may or may not affect existing save game files.

I feel like the AI is a little better now but still needs improvement. They really have to work on stopping them from aimbotting you through cover and walls.

If I am in an open field and it's 1 vs 6 they shoot me through trees and other small cover items. It's better to charge them with your shotgun or pistol. They still shoot through walls and automatically spot you once you are within the vicinity.

I think I'm almost done with the lesser zone but honestly have not found any useful gear other than the viper, my toz shotgun and a merc suit. Seems a lot of the stashes I've been clearing have only basic items. And I'm still spending majority of my cash repairing my vest and weapons.

 

[EXCellR8]

I wish the stealth was more realistic; enemies can spot you through dense vegetation and structures way too easily--as pointed out by others. I'm close to the 70 hour mark and there's still a LOT of map to explore, which is cool. I'm doing pretty well with gear/upgrades and coupons and got to a point in the story where decisions do change how the factions react. I'll put some spoilers in below.

Enjoying the very nice performance increase with a new GPU (thanks IEC!), which makes the combat a little easier. Was tricky to get kills in certain areas before when there were FPS dips, but that's basically gone now. I think my go to weapon of choice is the Veteran/Vintar, which uses the 9x39 rounds. Very good range and damage; experimenting with different firefights I am FAR more effective with headshots/knockdowns with that gun vs the AR16 or GP37. I actually prefer it over the SVD too, since it's got a built-in silencer. Highly recommend.

Spoiler: Faction Alignment

During the mission "Wishful Thinking" you can side with either the Ward or Noontide (i.e. ex Monolith fanatics). I sided with Ward because of their influence, access to gear/resources, and general presence in the game world and story. Turns out this makes the game a bit easier, and is beneficial for a number of reasons--but a lot of folks went with Noontide because it's more "STALKER" canon. Turns out though, Noontide reverts back to Monolith after this mission regardless, and they become the actual bad guys again--they're like the Zone's boogeymen. I suggest making a save before the decision in the SIRCAA facility so that you can explore both avenues.

Almost at the end of my winter vaca, so I'll try and get some more additional hours in, but after that I may need to shelve it for a bit.

 

[sze5003]

I wish the stealth was more realistic; enemies can spot you through dense vegetation and structures way too easily--as pointed out by others. I'm close to the 70 hour mark and there's still a LOT of map to explore, which is cool. I'm doing pretty well with gear/upgrades and coupons and got to a point in the story where decisions do change how the factions react. I'll put some spoilers in below.

Almost at the end of my winter vaca, so I'll try and get some more additional hours in, but after that I may need to shelve it for a bit.

Same..I try to play stealthy as much as I can it as much as the game currently allows.

There's an artifact, a blue flower if you did the poppy field sidequest in lesser zone. It's supposed to mask your scent and make you harder to detect if you have it equipped while you sleep.

There's a couple of items within lesser zone before I head out through the northern checkpoint.

 

[MrSquished]

Looks like I'll wait for more patches to start this game lol

 

[EXCellR8]

Good ol STALKER damage logic... my armor/helmet protects me from high caliber projectiles in firefights just fine, but I go underground and take two hypervelocity buckets to the dome and I'm down for the count 🤪

I did do the Poppy Field sidequest, but must've missed the artifact. I'll circle back at some point when I play again and grab it. I do have a fully-equipped suit with 5x arts, that isn't giving me any rads... so that's neat. One of the "legendary altered items" was causing many peoples' games to crash when equipped, but I'm not sure if that is still the case.

You can get that weird ball item from that pulsing bubble near Zalissya easy enough, just gotta crouch behind cover when it's "inhaling" which is kinda creepy. Says it has some kind of projectile recovery affect but I've not seen any difference.

 

[Racan]

I’m not going to buy this game until some major patches are released. First and foremost, they should address the CPU bottleneck. I’ve heard they’re using an early version of UE5, so maybe they could update it to a more recent version that offers better CPU utilization.

They are doing it:

Stalker 2 says to hell with it, let's just update our entire Unreal Engine implementation in new roadmap for the rest of the year

The Zone is getting a 5.5.4 makeover, with devs whispering they might even take a look at UE5.6.

www.pcgamer.com

Maybe I'll even buy the game after I see benchmarks.

 

[Stg-Flame]

They are doing it:

Stalker 2 says to hell with it, let's just update our entire Unreal Engine implementation in new roadmap for the rest of the year

The Zone is getting a 5.5.4 makeover, with devs whispering they might even take a look at UE5.6.

www.pcgamer.com

Maybe I'll even buy the game after I see benchmarks.

See, this is why I wait a long time before touching new games these days. All the major issues that so many games had (Witcher 3, Borderlands 3, Dying Light 2, etc.) I never experienced and it looks like all the major issues this game has had should be fixed by the time I get around to grabbing it on sale and finally playing it. Far too many people just want to be the first to play something, but they get a sub-par experience due to bugs and performance issues.

 

[sze5003]

There has been quite a few updates to the game since I last posted. I haven't played it since either. From what I understand they may have made it more difficult now with monsters now actually patrolling properly and enemies now able to loot bodies. I absolutely hate those mind control gnomes that snatch your weapon out of your hand and throw it where you can't find it on the map anymore. I think I stopped right after I encountered one of those on the wild island. So make sure you save frequently because if they take your weapon you are pretty much screwed.