Weapons are the most important part of your journey inStalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, particularly as that is the main way you will improve your character’s position over time. The game is quite difficult, as you have tomanage your resources, your Coupons, and your weaponsto keep them all in good shape as you traverse the Zone.You will not earn XP, which means that you need to get better gear to level up instead of filling out a skill tree or getting better stats over time.
Even with other options, you will want toupgrade your weapons inStalker 2to make them even better and to keep you from having to repair them as often. Almost every weaponhas at least one upgrade that will reduce how much your weapon degradesover time, allowing you to use it more often than you would have otherwise. Another thing to keep in mind is that often theunique weapons are just a version of a common weapon with a permanent attachment, and that ability is not always worth the extra cost to repair and maintain the weapon.
10Viper-5
Best Early Game Weapon
Early in the game, you will come across many versions of the Viper-5. It is fairly simple to upgrade and repair, and there are even afew items in Hamster’s shop that can be attached to the Viper-5, one of which can give it a laser sight. It is a solid weapon, and one I found myself using quite a bit even into the mid-game. you may find one rescuingGloomy inStalker 2, but unique variants can be found fairly early as well, withone in a Journalist’s Stash in the Lesser Zone.
More Games Need To Implement STALKER 2’s Coolest Feature
STALKER 2’s coolest feature not only makes it an incredibly immersive experience but also puts it leagues ahead of other RPGs like Fallout.
In the Journalist’s Stash is aViper-5 Monolith, which has varying reports concerning whether or not it is better than a regular one. I personally saw no evidence to say that it was, but if you haven’t upgraded a basic one, you might as well use the fancier one.
1.3
1.1
4.93
1.25
Accuracy
3
However, the best version of the Viper 5 is likelyShah’s Mate, which you can find in Garbage during theNo Honor Among Thievesquestin a stash. You cannot show it off near a Brood-controlled city, but otherwise, it is a great weapon.
9Drowned (AKM-74S)
Collection Of Good Options With Varying Abilities
The AKM-74S is another gun you’re able to find really early on, and there are many different variants of this gun that can be found throughout the game. TheDrowned versionis one that the community seems to have settled on as the best, which can be foundjust outside Slag Heap laying on the groundfor the taking. You will have to tell the owner that you are keeping it, or you can always ignore them or get rid of them instead, but once you pick it up you likely won’t put it down.
1.4
4.9
1.9
2.6
It doescost a fair chunk of Coupons to make it usable, or sellable, but this may be well worth it to you. It is also quite heavy, although upgrades can make this easier to deal with. Another option, particularly if you have sided with the Ward at this point, is theCombatant, which will be given to you by the Colonel if you have helped the Ward up to this point.
8SVDM-2
An Early Sniper Rifle From Leshy
Long-distance weapons like a sniper riflecan be useful to do some scouting before you head into a combative area, particularly if you are lower on ammo. It can also help you take out some larger enemies from a distance. you’re able to get one from abandit known as Leshyvery early in the game, as he is occupying a building nearwhere one of the Journalist’s Stashes is. It will be broken when you find it, but having such an early sniper is a good thing and you can always put it in your personal stash for later.
Leshy can be foundnorth of Zalissya in an Old Warehouse. Approach and you will hear him yelling. He is typically alone at the time you meet him but is also surrounded by traps.
It will cost12,500 Coupons to repair, and it may not be quite as good as some of the late-game guns, but you can have this onerepaired and fully upgraded long before you find another one, which makes it better in my opinion.
3.5
2.1
2.5
5
You can find a unique variant known as theLynxlater in the game at Wild Island during the questHot On The Trail.
7Valik Lummox’s AKM-74S
Different Variant, Better Stats
This can be found in oneearly-game side missionas soon as you reach Zalissya and isone of the best weapons to get you deep into the mid-game. I have yet to unequip it unless it is broken, or for experimenting with something new. It has the power of the other AKM-74S, it is much lighter than the Drowned at only 2.65 kg, and itcomes pre-equipped with a Scopethat makes taking out human enemies fairly easy.
To me, it feels like one of the best weapons, despite its early appearance and simplicity. Trigger the questWarlock’s Debtorto get this gun, and it will be given to you already repaired. Get this weapon tofeel much more confident early, and this can help you take out enemies like Leshy when they also have a long-ranged weapon.
6Skif’s Pistol
No Really, It Is Good
The first weapon you will be given and theonly one that will survive the tutorial, this pistol is actually worth keeping around for quite some time. Early in the game, whenever I found another pistol I would find that I never had a reason to keep it over this one. Fully upgraded, it can do some damage, andit is quite resilient and cheap to repair.
STALKER 2: Heart Of Chornobyl 1.0.1 Patch Is Now Live, Fixing Over 650 Known Issues
Patch 1.0.1 is live for STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl and addresses over 650 issues impacting nearly every aspect of the recently released game.
This is very important because repair costs early in the game are one of thefeatures thatStalker 2has that are not often worth it.
1.6
4.92
0.55
3.3
However, having acheap weapon you can upgrade and keep repairedevery time you see a Tech is important, and it is a good weapon to switch to when others are broken, or you don’t want to waste ammo. While better pistols will show up in the late-game, this one is good enough to keep on hand until then.
5AR416
Different Assault Rifles To Save Ammo
The AR416 is slightly weaker than its counterpart in the AKM-74S, but itdoes use different ammo. This allows you to keep your ammo stocked while having a different version of the same type of gun. I find this one a bit more useful for the mutations, and it can be handy inbig fights with various factionsas well. It tends to do better at crowd control than the AKM-74S.
0.85
4.97
3.6
If you go to thePoppy Fields inStalker 2, you cantrade the religious icon to Pomorinstead of bringing it back. This will get you a slightly better version of the weapon known as theUnknown Stalker’s AR416.
Alternatively, you canpretend to give it to Pomor to get the Unknown Stalker’s ARbefore killing him and taking the icon back to its owner anyway.
The stats, however,are not significant enough to warrant the changein the number of Coupons to repair it. However, if you may afford it and are okay with giving the icon away, it will have some improvement on the base version.
4Fora-221
Great Assault Rifle With Low Power
I found myself really enjoying this weapon, and it may not work out as well for you, but I started testing out a very basic version of this gun and purposely kept it at yellow condition or higher soit was not as expensive to keep repaired. I found it great for human enemies specifically, although it worked fine against some mutations.
For mutations specifically, some kind ofshotgun is generally preferred, as it will take less ammo and less shots to take them down.
Keeping it in good condition is a must asyou do not want your weapons to jamat a particularly bad time.
0.9
4.98
It is not as heavy as some of the other Assault Rifles, and you canfind it as a drop from Ward Soldiersquite frequently. I had one by the time I had barely ventured out of the Lesser Zone.
3Rhino
The Better Pistol To Replace Yours
While early and mid-game pistols may not do the trick to get rid of Skif’s Pistol, theRhino will make it less relevant. This one can be found in theYaniv Journalist’s Stash, and it can do some heavy lifting. It has a very high range of stats, and the description marks it as a hunting weapon. This can easily be a mutation weapon.
The Journalist’s Stash is a mission that unlocksas soon as you are directed toward The Sphere, and there is a lot of good loot you can get from them. This is the best example, but you can only get these weapons with theUltimate Editionof the game.
There is no real downside,beyond not being silenced, but you should be taking out enemies quite easily with it to make up for the loudness.
4.1
Keeping it up will cost some amount of money, but it is well worth it. If you repair your weapons before they hit yellow, it willcost a lot less to keep it maintained.
2M701 Super
Late-Game Sniper Rifle
Your choices for Sniper Rifles are more abundant the further into the game you get, but theM701 Superis a great option. It is available topurchase from Wreck at Yaniv Station, and it can also be found in the wild with some amount of frequency.
STALKER 2: All Unique Weapons & How To Get Them
Unique weapons can make Skif immensely more powerful in STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl. Here’s every one in the game, and where you can find them.
It has the highest damage possible and the bolt-action nature of it makes it feel pretty good.
0.6
3.1
That being said, Sniper Rifles are a case-by-case necessity, as it willdepend on how you are playing the game. If you like the long-range combat, this is the Sniper Rifle for you, and keeping it around will help you out as you head into the endgame.
1Ram-2
Best Shotgun To Keep Mutations Away
Another high-damage weapon and one that you canpurchase from Wreck at Yaniv Station, this is one of the best weapons for dealing with tanky enemies. It has acost of 27550 Coupons, which is not as much as some of the other weapons. It uses a fairly unique caliber, letting you stock up the ammo as well. There is also a unique variant known as the Texan that can be found in the location above.
2.4
It is not as heavy as other options, and thestats are again nearly as high as they can be. It also has a much faster rate of fire than other shotguns, as well as a magazine size of 14. It is well-regarded across the player community, so give it a try and see if you also think it is the best weapon inStalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl.
