S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl

**Sealed Truth is focused around the new questline. Explore the places of horrific experiments and find the answers. With calculated risks, you can get your hands on… Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

**

**☢️ **What’s new

• Explore a new questline that starts when you talk to Diode.

• Fixed an issue causing overpopulation of strong mutant types in long campaigns.

• Fixed an issue where the mission 'Dark as a Dungeon' would immediately cancel if the player had already reached the point of no return.

• Added new loading screens.

The update is available after completing the story quest "Hot on the Trail" and before starting the quest "A Minor Incident".**

⚠️ WARNING**

The Zone is ever-changing, and a new update can shift Her structure. If you’ve chosen to walk the path with modifications, know this: they may not withstand the latest shifts. If you have performance or stability issues following the release of Sealed Truth, we recommend you to disable your mods. If you continue to experience issues, please visit https://support.stalker2.com/hc for additional troubleshooting steps and assistance.

For more information on how to correctly uninstall modifications, read the dedicated topic:

Thanks for your support and feedback. The Zone keeps improving and evolving. Stay tuned and keep sharing your feedback on our social media. It’s time to put those combat improvements to the test.

Please, if you face an unexpected “anomaly”, that is not supposed to be in the game, report it to our Technical Support Center. Our colleagues will take a closer look at it to annihilate and destroy the danger to the Zone. https://support.stalker2.com/hc

[

](https://support.stalker2.com/hc)

Stalkers, welcome to Stories Untold, the free content update for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl.

Let’s go through everything new you can find in your playthrough, starting with.

NEW STORIES

Over five hours of gameplay have been added, depending on your pace. Discover the mysterious transmission that gives stalkers headaches, nosebleeds, and even hallucinations.

As the story unfolds, you can choose to help the stalkers and scientists figure out what’s going on. Make decisions, fight for what you believe in, search for answers, and more.

You can catch a PDA message anywhere on the map, with the biggest chance around the Burnt Forest. How you deal with it will shape the fates of stalkers you meet. This mission will become available after leaving the Zalissya region in the early stages of the game.

This new storyline brings to life 8 new missions, 7 new locations, 6 new characters, 3 new unique items, unique weapon, and more.

NEW LOCATIONS & NEW HUB

Speaking of new locations, if you decide to explore untold stories, you are going to visit and explore new places. They are free to explore for everyone in the Zone, some locations that were previously occupied only by rusty metal or mutants are now used by stalkers. The storyline also might lead you to creating a new hub in the Burnt Forest region. The new place on the map will draw the stalker's attention, so you can expect the whole area to become more populated. But again, this outcome of the quest is not granted. You may choose to play another way.

NEW WEAPON

The GP37V2 is a modified version of the GP37 rifle, crafted for the most tactically proficient players. It features a pre-installed suppressor and a low-magnification scope. The trigger group has been modified to support single and burst fire modes only.

The cost of failure is higher, but in the hands of a skillful operator, the GP37V2 can reward you with its precision and power. This thing you can get during the completion of the questline.

MASTER DIFFICULTY AND EXPEDITION MODE SIMPLIFICATION

This change allows you to simplify the save system if you want to play on “Master” difficulty or any other difficulty with the “Expedition mode” enabled.

After starting the game (if Master difficulty or difficulty with Expedition mode enabled is selected), you can enable the Manual Save system in the settings menu. This option is enabled once and permanently (for the current playthrough) and allows you to save with:

• Quick Save (F5).

• Regular Manual Save via the menu.

If these saves are enabled, the player's progress status, which is displayed in the Pause menu, will change.

ADDITIONAL FIXES

• Fixed an issue where multiple artifacts could spawn in one place.

• Optimized multiple mutant models.

• Fixed an issue where NPC could not find a way to the shelter during an Emission at the Cement Factory location.

• Fixed an issue where NPC could not find a way to the shelter during an Emission in Zalissya.

• Fixed an issue that could cause massive mutant hordes to spawn at the Plant location of the Garbage region.

• Adjusted dead zone settings for DualSense controller on PC.

• Fixed an issue where the player could obtain the Heart of Chornobyl artifact from the regular anomalies.

⚠️ WARNING

The Zone is ever-changing, and a new Update can shift Her structure. If you’ve chosen to walk the path with modifications, know this: they may not withstand the latest shifts. If you have performance or stability issues following the release of Stories Untold, we recommend you to disable your mods. If you continue to experience issues, please visit https://support.stalker2.com/hc for additional troubleshooting steps and assistance.

Thanks for your support and feedback. The Zone keeps improving and evolving. Stay tuned and keep sharing your feedback on our social media. We can’t wait to hear tales about your adventures with Stories Untold!

Please, if you face an unexpected “anomaly”, that is not supposed to be in the game, report it to our Technical Support Center. Our colleagues will take a closer look at it to annihilate and destroy the danger to the Zone. https://support.stalker2.com/hc

Hello, stalkers!

In update 1.7.1, we exterminated some pesky anomalies, especially underground ones that were stealing artifacts from the Zone, and returned the missing power lines.

• Introduced fail-safe mechanism for cases where mod incompatibility prevents users from launching title

• Fixed an issue where the power lines could disappear on approach.

• Fixed an issue where the Ward NPC could teleport in the player's field of view after killing noontiders during the Wishful Thinking mission.

• Fixed an issue where the Ward soldiers could not help Skif to hold position during the Assault On The Duga mission.

• Fixed a massive performance drop on opening PDA while the Shadows option is set to Epic.

• Fixed an issue where the player could sprint while overweighted with loot.

• Fixed an issue where the player could observe texture flickering on the staircase after the cutscene during the Back To The Slag Heap mission.

• Fixed an issue where the player could have visual artifacts on Richter during the cinematic in the The Price Goes Up mission.

• Fixed shadows on Skif's hands during the cutscene in the Back To The Slag Heap mission.

• Fixed an issue where the player could use weapon attachments from the trade window.

• Fixed an issue where the settings values could be displayed incorrectly after using the auto-detect or reset settings features.

• Fixed an issue that could cause artifacts to spawn under the ground.

• Fixed several issues with dead zone settings for the DualSense controller.

• Fixed crashes.

Thank you very much for your ongoing feedback and support. Comments you write on social media and bug reports you send to the Technical Support Hub help the Zone become a better place with each update. Please, continue sharing your thoughts here on Steam and other socials, and if you see the anomaly that is not supposed to be in the Zone, report it to the Technical Support Hub:

https://support.stalker2.com/hc

Stalkers, welcome to the latest update of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, glad you are back and ready to see all the new shiny toys the Zone got.

Let’s go through the changes, starting from the Highlights.

**☢️ **Highlights

• Fixes and improvements to the A-Life system

• Master Difficulty & Expedition Mode (This difficulty level can only be selected at the beginning of the game)

• NPC Vision & Combat Update

• Inventory & Equipment Stats Update

• Stamina and sprint rework

• New anomalies

• Controller aim improvements

• Immersive Mode

• Light Rainy weather scenario

• SD Cards with coupons

⚠️ WARNING

The Zone is ever-changing, and a new Update can shift Her structure. If you’ve chosen to walk the path with modifications, know this: they may not withstand the latest shifts. If you have performance or stability issues following the release of Update 1.7, we recommend you to disable your mods. If you continue to experience issues, please visit https://support.stalker2.com/hc for additional troubleshooting steps and assistance.

For more information on how to correctly uninstall modifications, read the dedicated topic: https://steamcommunity.com/games/1643320/partnerevents/edit/525346350588494399

**⚔️ **AI and Combat

• Numerous fixes and improvements to the A-Life system, so now factions can expand control over new territories. This means they may also lose control over their lands if they fail to defend them. Various points of interest, checkpoints, locations (but not hubs) are in contest between different NPCs and… mutants! They also want to defend their lairs and territories from their very unfriendly stalker-neighbours.

• With Update 1.7, enemies have real problems detecting you in tall grass or reeds, and are much less accurate when shooting through the bushes. Swamp shootouts will feel fair at last! You can now use the greenery to your full advantage, but be cautious – the closer you are to an enemy, the more likely you are to be spotted.

Mutants and NPCs have also learned to retreat from the fight if they realize that chances for survival are low. They will also try to flank more actively, and choose a distance to fight from that best suits their weapon.

It’s also worth noting that NPC combat animation timings were slightly tweaked to make their movement more realistic. Oh, and mutants have also received new death animations!

• Fixed some issues with specific NPC inhabitant areas.

• Improved AI reaction to player's hostile actions.

• NPC behavior during Emission optimization.

• Fixed an issue that caused NPCs to occasionally move to the side after detecting an enemy

• Fixed an issue when A-life NPCs didn't move after loading a save that were made on their way to shelter.

• Fixed an issue when the NPCs could get damage from explosions while being behind several walls.

• Fixed the issue when some Boar mutants could look like Human NPCs near the Malachite, causing the game to crash.

• Fixed the issue when Controller could attack Zombified and Raised NPCs.

• Fixed the issue when the NPCs weren't reacting to the shots from Gauss rifle that were landed near them.

• Adjusted Combat behavior of bandits in Prologue mission.

• Fixed death animations for mutants in some specific cases.

• Fixed the issue when the NPCs weren't returning to their stay destination point after the sudden combat.

• Fixed the issue when the random neutral Stalkers were becoming the enemy to the Player character.

• Fixed an issue that caused NPCs to get stuck in a weapon draw animation loop.

• Fixed an issue when NPCs were unable to shoot the Player after they get too close to them while crouched.

• Fixed an issue where mutants could change their position during jump midair.

• Fixed an issue when some NPCs were not hiding from the emission and die from in Zalissya location.

**🛠️🐞⚡ **Bug Fixes, Crashes, and Performance

• Fixed an issue when player was able to die instantly after fast travel.

• Fixed visual issues for Vortex anomaly.

• Fixed an issue when Player was unable to install x8 scope to Mark I EMR rifle.

• Fixed an issue when magazine adapter for M860 was not displaying.

• Fixed an issue with delayed reaction of the mutants when killing them by using shotgun.

• Fixed an issue when game could freeze during the emission start.

• Fixed an issue when title was becoming unresponsive if Skif was knocked down by mutants while sitting near the campfire.

• Fixed an issue where the backup files could be sorted randomly after reopening the backup menu.

• Fixed an issue where the cursor could not be controlled after placing a custom marker using gamepad.

• Fixed an issue where the notifications about receiving notes could remain on the screen infinitely.

• Fixed an issue where, if the Numpad 5 and 2 keys were assigned to move forward/back, rotating the camera up/down would also be triggered.

• Fixed an issue where some steel casings lying on the ground could appear totally black.

• Fixed an issue where some metal objects could change their color on approaching.

• Fixed an issue where the changed input binding for NVG did not work during the dialogs.

• Fixed an issue where the aim assist could turn off after opening the pause menu.

• Fixed an issue where the player could not activate NVG via mouse wheel while climbing a ladder.

• Fixed an issue where the psy effect could remain after leaving the dangerous area for some users.

• Fixed an issue where some players could gain unkillable state after some points in the game.

• Fixed an issue where a very loud sound effect of a running water could be heard around the Swamp area under SIRCAA and around the Swamps region.

• Reduced resources consumption before cutscenes start.

• Performance optimization regarding the projectile hitting the surface.

• Performance optimization of damage dealt by grenades.

• Fixed an issue that caused performance issues with item objects inside anomalies.

• Fixed an issue that caused Flashlight to appear above the head of NPC with NVG.

• Fixed infinite loading on the save that were made in 100 Rads Bar.

• Fixed the impossibility to make two saves in a row after overwriting or deleting the previous save.

• Fixed Infinite loading screen on saves made on Noontide base.

• Fixed an issue when aim assist was not functional after loading of saved game.

• Fixed over 90 crashes.

**💡 **Optimization

The list below is just the tip of the iceberg. A lot of things were done under the hood to increase performance on all platforms, setups, and graphic presets.

• Optimized Foliage Meshes (changes in performance may be particularly noticeable in the Red Forest).

• Optimized Foliage Materials.

• Optimized Rostok buildings (Architecture meshes and collision improvements).

• Optimized Duga region buildings (Architecture meshes and collision improvements).

• World streaming optimizations on most intense locations (Zalissya, Rostok, Slag Heap).

• Optimized Lighting on Slag Heap, Zalissya, SIRCAA, Rostok.

• Optimized NPCs skeletal meshes.

• Optimized Grooms.

• Optimized and adjusted Skeletal Mesh budgeting.

• Optimized usage of Morph Targets.

• Optimized Tick Rate of simulated Components by prioritizing visible primitives with higher screen size.

• Optimized update of items used in Contextual Actions.

• Optimized Cloth Simulation.

• Optimized animation update of placed in world Skeletal Meshes.

**🗺️ **Main & Side Quests, Open World Encounters

• Fixed an issue when Squint dead body and becomes inaccessible to the Player if he was killed without starting the dialog during the A Needle in a Haystack mission.

• Fixed an issue when Player was able to get to the first floor of the Chemical Plant from the roof and unable to exit during Escape from the Cage mission.

• Multiple immersion fixes for A School of Life mission.

• Fixed an issue when Scar was missing in X17 Lab during Visions of Truth mission.

• Fixed an issue when all dialogues with Varan were excluded if Player lose his reputation after accepting the _Deal with the Devil _mission.

• Fixed an issue when Player was able to get higher reward after completing a job task from Warlock.

• Fixed an issue when _Kill the bloodsucker _objective was still active after killing the bloodsucker during Nightingale’s Hunt mission.

• Fixed an issue when Player was unable to proceed through the "Wishful Thinking" mission.

• Optimized resources consumption for the cutscene with Dalin and Korshunov inside D2 room during Wishful Thinking mission.

• Fixed an issue when objective _Discover the location of the cellar _was not completing after receiving of cellar coordinates during _The Poppy Field _mission.

• Fixed an issue when Player was unable to get a money reward from Nightingale after giving him the dog collar during the Dogfight mission.

• Fixed an issue where the Ward assault squad could die from Emission during the Answers Come at a Price mission.

• Fixed an issue where the weather could not change after some point in the game.

• Level art and design improvements for multiple locations.

• Fixed an issue where Zhuzha and Gonta were unable to start arguing in scene if the last snork was killed close to Gonta.

• Fixed an issue that occasionally prevented Richter from starting dialogue during the Down Below mission.

• Fixed an issue that caused Agatha to disappear after the dialogue during Wishful Thinking mission.

• Fixed an issue that prevented completion of the Get to the Teleportation Hall objective during The Last Step mission.

• Fixed an issue that occasionally prevented completion of the _Fight off the Monolithians _objective during _Happiness For Everyone _mission.

• Fixed an issue that prevented Richter from starting dialogue during the Through The Valley Of The Shadow Of Death mission.

• Fixed an issue that prevented Scar from starting dialogue during _The Eternal Shining _mission.

• Fixed an issue that prevented Col. Degtyaryov from starting dialogue during the _Down Below _mission.

• Fixed an issue that prevented Dark from starting dialogue during the _Legends Of The Zone _mission.

• Fixed an issue where Richter didn't run the Cabin during_ A Tough Awakening_ mission

• Fixed an issue when the Dalin could be missing during the Law And Order mission.

• Fixed an issue when the Scar is missing at Rostok Depot during An Invisible Threat mission.

• Fixed the issue when player's camera could be locked on the Baturin forever after one of the encounters around the Zone.

• Fixed the issue when the A sign of Hope mission wasn't cancelling after the start of Just Like the Good Old Days mission.

• Fixed the issue with impossibility to start a journal stage to Kill Shterev during the Dead Frequency mission.

• Fixed an issue that prevented the cutscene at Sawmill from starting during Back To The Slag Heap mission.

• Fixed an issue that caused a player to stuck in dialogue with Honta.

• Fixed an issue that prevented bandits from appearing during A Big Score mission.

**⚙️ **Mod Support

• Mod conflict detection and notification: in-game popup with the list of conflicting mods

• Detailed conflict dump (with information about exact conflicting CFG nodes) in AppData - Mod conflicts.csv

• Selective Download (Zone Kit is separated into multiple chunks: The Lesser Zone Kit, Zone Kit Editor, Cutscenes, World Map)

Shape the Zone your way with the Zone Kit! Unleash your tinkering nature and modify existing content or create something new — animations, weapons, mechanics, and even wonders of the Zone. Official Mod Support is here, so now is the time to create your own content and use modifications made by your fellow stalkers. You can access modifications at Steam Workshop and Mod.io, and if you want to try making your own, Zone Kit is available for download at: https://store.epicgames.com/uk/p/stalker-2-zone-kit

**🔹 **Other Updates

• Detector item size in inventory changed to 1x1.

• Added additional mutant sounds, which can now be heard at a distance under 100 meters, and sometimes even further, outside of Skif's field of vision. Attentive stalkers will now find it easier to determine where danger is coming from.

• Fixed an issue where the NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency option could disable after the title reboot.

• Slightly reworked visuals for artifacts and consumables effect influence.

• Fixed 3D audio with Dolby Atmos for headphones and other spatial plugins for Windows.

• Added the option to disable headshot sound in option.

• Improved the voiceover clarity when talking too close to NPC.

• Added icons for partially looted stashes on the map.

• Placed a bit more weapon attachments around the Zone.

• Improved readability of fonts for Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Korean languages.

• Improved some tutorials.

Thanks for your support and feedback. The Zone keeps improving and evolving. Stay tuned and keep sharing your feedback on our social media. It’s time to put those combat improvements to the test.

You can find the full list of changes at: https://www.stalker2.com/news/update-1-7-patch-notes

Please, if you face an unexpected “anomaly”, that is not supposed to be in the game, report it to our Technical Support Center. Our colleagues will take a closer look at it to annihilate and destroy the danger to the Zone. https://support.stalker2.com/hc

Stalkers!

Welcome to the latest update of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, glad you are back and ready to see all the new shiny toys the Zone got.

Let’s go through the changes, starting from the Highlights.

**☢️ **Highlights

• Night Vision Goggles

• Night vision rebalance for NPCs

• Offset Aiming and Laser Pointer

• Updates to combat system and long-ranged battles

• NPCs can now loot mutants

• New anomaly: Fireball

• Return of the old friend

• Tweaks to the controller inputs

• New face and hair options for female characters

• Local Save Backup Restoration option

• Rebalanced loot in stashes throughout the Zone.

• Added Auto-Lean Disable option in controls settings.

• Player stash items can now be sorted.

• Added a new unique weapon: Honta's "Drahunka"

⚠️ WARNING

The Zone is ever-changing, and a new Update can shift Her structure. If you’ve chosen to walk the path with modifications, know this: they may not withstand the latest shifts. If you have performance or stability issues following the release of Update 1.6, we recommend you to disable your mods. If you continue to experience issues, please visit https://support.stalker2.com/hc for additional troubleshooting steps and assistance.

For more information on how to correctly uninstall modifications, read the dedicated topic: https://steamcommunity.com/games/1643320/partnerevents/edit/525346350588494399

**⚔️ **AI and Combat

• Fixed an issue where NPCs would take low cover behind trees incorrectly.

• Fixed an issue where squad leaders nearby would all shout the same phrase simultaneously after a fight.

• Fixed an issue where zombie NPCs could freeze midair after being headshotted.

• Improved Chimera combat behavior.

• Fixed an issue where Chimera could get stuck after performing a jump attack.

• Fixed an issue where Chimera and Snork could jump through objects if the player was standing on top of them.

• Fixed an animation issue with Bloodsucker arms during melee attacks.

• Fixed an issue where Bloodsuckers could remain permanently invisible when not attacking.

• Fixed an issue where Pseudodog clones would get stuck if spawned during a Retreat action.

• Fixed an issue where Burers and Poltergeists were unable to use their throw ability.

• Fixed an issue where Pseudogiant stomp could damage player in the air.

**⚖️ **Balance

• Fixed an issue where the Mercenary’s Light Suit could weigh 0.0 kg after upgrades.

• Adjusted the weight of the Veteran rifle.

• Increased the damage of the Predator shotgun to match its description.

• Fixed an issue where the Flytrap artifact effect did not provide weight reduction.

• Increased HP for boar mutants.

• Reduced HP for pseudogiant mutants.

• Adjusted the upgrade tree for Kora.

• Fixed an issue where Kora’s extended magazine was missing from the Zone and unavailable for the player to find.

**🛠️🐞⚡ **Bug Fixes, Crashes, and Performance

• Fixed an issue where Players could have incorrect rotation after teleporting via the Spatial Bubble anomaly.

• Polished headgear on multiple NPC presets.

• Fixed an issue where Zombies were unable to stand up during Scar’s boss fight.

• Fixed an issue where Burers could constantly turn back and forth during combat.

• Added missing combat barks for Bandits, Free Stalkers, and Military factions.

• Fixed an issue where hostile NPCs did not react when the Player fired a PM nearby.

• Fixed an issue where a hostile Mercenary Sniper could follow the Player across the entire map after the Underpass Exit encounter in the Rostok region.

• Fixed an issue where A-Life NPC actions were interrupted and inconsistent after saving/loading.

• Applied CPU optimization tweaks.

• Optimized projectile performance.

• Fixed a freeze that occurred when exiting the 100 Rads Bar.

• Fixed a freeze at SIRCAA during the Wishful Thinking mission.

• Fixed an issue where NPCs that changed faction could revert after saving/loading.

• Fixed an issue where the game became unresponsive due to a missing update wrapper message.

• Fixed an issue where ammo icons appeared duplicated after quickly switching weapons and ammo types.

• Fixed an issue where the equipped Detector tooltip appeared on the wrong side during comparison.

• Fixed an issue where a main quest marker could become hidden at certain zoom levels if placed near a location marker.

• Fixed an issue where medkit count in quick slots did not update after reviving an NPC.

• Fixed an issue where the laser on the Zubr weapon was hidden under its magazine in the upgrades menu.

• Fixed multiple crashes.

• Fixed a freeze during Light Rainy or Thundery weather.

• Improved Player shadow rendering during reloads.

**🗺️ **Main & Side Quests, Open World Encounters

• Fixed an issue where the Yaryk Mangoose could despawn after activating the device during For Science! mission.

• Fixed an issue where Mutants and NPCs from some encounters could follow the Player across the whole map.

• Fixed an issue where the Roadhog was not attacking the Player during the encounter.

• Fixed an issue where the Taking Back What's Mine objective could not be completed if the Player looted their belongings before talking to Zhora Mammoth during Escape From the Cage mission.

• Fixed an issue where the Sleepiness post-process effect was displayed every time after loading a save made during In Search of Past Glory mission.

• Fixed an issue where the Ward NPCs remained idle after killing Mutants or Monolithians during Law and Order mission.

• Added reactions for Crows when throwing bolts at them.

• Fixed an issue where the Player could fall out of playable area bounds near the Friendship Kindergarten location, District No. 2 region.

• Level Art and Level Design improvements for various locations.

• Fixed dialogue inconsistencies for encounter missions.

• Fixed an issue where Shcherba was missing any quest-related dialogue after returning to him with collars during In the Name of Science mission.

• Fixed an issue where Duty Soldiers and Bayun were absent at the boathouse location during A Minor Incident mission.

• Fixed the spawn of the Partner unique weapon during On the Edge mission.

• Fixed an issue where a Poltergeist was not spawning during Subtle Matter mission.

• Fixed an issue where Sgt. Metlov was missing during Back to the Slag Heap mission.

• Fixed an issue where Players were unable to receive a reward from Akopyan and finish the quest if they decided to kill Zakhar after successfully escorting him during A Big Score mission.

• Fixed an issue where Players could get negative relations with Senkevych and become unable to talk to him during The Assault on the Duga mission.

• Fixed an issue where nothing happened after interacting with the lever during A Sign of Hope mission.

• Fixed an issue where Powerplug was missing during Dawn of a New Day mission.

• Added quest item status to the Granite Security Squad Key Card in The Last Step mission.

• Fixed an issue where enemies at Yaniv Station were spawning out of the Player’s reach during The Boundary mission.

• Fixed an issue where Richter became hostile towards the Player after killing any neutral NPC nearby during Down Below mission.

• Fixed an issue where the stage Kill all bandits did not complete after killing all Bandits during Answers Come at a Price mission.

• Fixed an issue where the quest marker for the Find the Inductor objective was not shown during Hot on the Trail mission if Shift Change mission was finished before the Player talked to Strider.

• Fixed an issue where a second \Max Saturday corpse appeared after killing him during The Lost Boys mission.

• Fixed an issue with incorrect positioning of some quest markers during Just Like the Good Old Days mission.

• Fixed issues caused by the ability to save the game inside the Malachite elevator during Visions of Truth mission.

• Fixed an issue where Players were unable to talk to Strelok during Let No One Leave Unsatisfied mission.

• Fixed an issue where the Player could get stuck at TCS without a key card during Dangerous Liaisons mission.

• Fixed an issue where Dalin was missing at Chemical Plant during Just Like the Good Old Days mission.

• Fixed an issue where Korshunov was missing at Chemical Plant during Just Like the Good Old Days mission.

• Fixed an issue where the objective Fight off the Monolithians did not complete during Happiness for Everyone mission.

• Fixed an issue where the On the Edge side mission could start even if all neutral Stalkers defending Zalissya were dead.

**⚙️ **Mod Support

• Added ModSDK support for autoloaded blueprints.

• Polished ModBrowser UX.

• Fixed an issue where arrow icons in mod detail window of Mod Browser were non-clickable via mouse. Fixed placeholder text appearance after the mod update.

• Added a visible queue in currently downloading mods message.

• Fixed an issue when there was any effect on the title after pressing 'retry' button when trying to continue downloading mods. Removed possibility to report mods without accepting EULA previously.

• Fixed an issue when it was impossible to start game if was chosen to resolve after some mod had an error.

• Removed image flickering when the mod installation starts from its page.

• Fixed an issue where all save slots were overwritten after starting a new game without mods while having all three slots filled with modded saves.

• Fixed an issue where mod version was incorrect in mods update pop-up.

• Fixed an issue where gameplay was not loading after loadings modded save with corrupted version of modification.

• Decreased time spent on asset discovery when booting Mod Editor.

• Fixed an issue where mod mismatch popup didn't handle mod version mismatches after “Resolve” button has been pressed when trying to load save without required mod installed.

• Fixed an issue where mods, which have external updates available, were not mounted if external updates have been skipped.

Shape the Zone your way with the Zone Kit! Unleash your tinkering nature and modify existing content or create something new — animations, weapons, mechanics, and even wonders of the Zone. Official Mod Support is here, so now is the time to create your own content and use modifications made by your fellow stalkers. You can access modifications at Steam Workshop and Mod.io, and if you want to try making your own, Zone Kit is available for download at: https://store.epicgames.com/uk/p/stalker-2-zone-kit

**🔹 **Other Updates

• Removed the gap in the Player equipment block on the inventory screen.

• Fixed an issue where music stopped playing after a certain point in the credits.

• Updated armor and helmet icons in upgrade and inventory menus.

• Improved UX of weight display for single items within a stack.

• Improved UX of the upgrades purchase interface.

• Updated tutorials for using the flashlight and installing weapon mods via the Technician.

• Added a new icon for Dvupalov’s Vodka when placed in quick slots.

• Minor UI improvements in the Journal tab of the PDA.

• Pressing J while hovering over a quest marker in the Map menu now opens the relevant mission entry in the Journal.

• Adjusted placement of side quest HUD notifications.

• Polished the Player Stats panel widget in the HUD.

• Added additional settings for HUD element visibility.

• Fixed an issue where the Windows Scale Option affected fullscreen borderless and windowed modes on PC.

• Improved vaulting and climbing on or over objects.

• Improved VFX for laser sights.

• Added new NPC death animations caused by anomalies.

Thanks for your support and feedback. The Zone keeps improving and evolving. Stay tuned and keep sharing your feedback on our social media. It’s time to put those combat improvements to the test.

You can find the full list of changes at: https://www.stalker2.com/news/update-1-6-patch-notes/

Please, if you face an unexpected “anomaly”, that is not supposed to be in the game, report it to our Technical Support Center. Our colleagues will take a closer look at it to annihilate and destroy the danger to the Zone.

https://support.stalker2.com/hc

Stalkers, we are back with the new fixes.

Here is the full list of changes:

• Fixed an issue that caused mutants to teleport during the attack.

• Fixed an issue where NPCs could spawn in the air.

• Fixed an issue where bloodsuckers could spawn in large groups and too often.

• Fixed an issue where the door to the Skadovsk hub could be permanently closed.

• Fixed an issue where some A-Life NPCs could spawn in the quest areas.

• Fixed an issue where some NPCs could spawn in the radiation field on the Slag Heap.

• Fixed an issue where the subtitles for the intro cinematic were out of sync.

• Fixed mistakes in the credits.

• Fixed an issue where the interact dots could be missing for some items.

• Fixed an issue where the sound could be corrupted during the credits on Xbox.

• Fixed an issue where some NPCs could spawn in unexpected places.

• Fixed a bug where the left arm of an NPC could be twisted when they were only holding a pistol.

• Fixed an issue where the HUD widgets could be displayed while PDA is open on the ultra-wide monitors.

• 4 crashes fixed.

Your reports keep the Zone safer. Every bug you flag, every detail you share on social media or in the Technical Support Hub, helps us track new anomalies. Keep your eyes open, and if you see something that doesn’t belong, let us know here:

🔗 https://support.stalker2.com/hc

Good hunting, stalkers!

⚠️ WARNING

The Zone is ever-changing and a new Patch can shift Her structure. If you’ve chosen to walk the path with modifications, know this: they may not withstand the latest shifts. If you have performance or stability issues following the release of Patch 1.5.2, we recommend you to disable your mods.

For more information on how to correctly uninstall modifications, read the dedicated topic:

☢️ Patch 1.5.2 is ready to be downloaded, here is the full list of changes:

• Fixed an issue when a door to the Shevchenko hub was closed.

• Fixed two crashes that could occur randomly during gameplay.

Thanks a lot for your continuous feedback and support. Comments you write in Social Media and bug reports you send to the Technical Support Hub help the Zone become a better place with each update. Please, continue sharing your thoughts here on Steam and other socials, and if you see the anomaly that is not supposed to be in the Zone — report it to the Technical Support Hub:

https://support.stalker2.com/hc

Good hunting, stalkers!

⚠️ WARNING

The Zone is ever-changing and a new Patch can shift Her structure. If you’ve chosen to walk the path with modifications, know this: they may not withstand the latest shifts. If you have performance or stability issues following the release of Patch 1.5.2, we recommend you to disable your mods.

For more information on how to correctly uninstall modifications, read the dedicated topic:

Hello, stalkers! ☢️

We are fixing the Zone once again and are ready to share what we’ve been working on in the Patch 1.5.1.** **Chaos hour is over — bloodsuckers are no longer invited to party with stalkers inside hubs (they can’t behave after a few shots at the bar), and NPCs no longer fly away after particularly skillful headshots.

• Fixed an issue when some NPCs didn't go to shelter in offline mode during Emission.

• Fixed an issue when interacting hints could disappear after save/load.

• Fixed issue when NPC could get stuck walking in one place.

• Fixed an issue where two bandits at Varan's camp attacked Player without any reason during the King Of The Hill mission.

• Fixed an issue when Player was able to leave X-17 lab via elevator without any way to return during Visions Of Truth mission.

• Fixed an issue when NPC corpses could get misplaced after picking it up for the second time.

• Adjusted position of money and weight indicator icon in Player inventory.

• Fixed an issue when Faust could freeze during his bossfight after his emitter was destroyed during special attack ability.

• Fixed an issue when the context menu was impossible to open twice for the same item in the looting window.

• Fixed an issue when an NPC's corpse could fly away after killing them with a headshot.

• Fixed 2 EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION crashes.

• Fixed an issue when the The Assault On The Duga mission could be stuck if the player had slept before talking to Scar.

• Fixed an issue when the FOV value automatically resets to 110 on ultra wide monitors.

• Fixed an issue when the A-life mutants and NPCs could be found in the restricted areas (such as Hubs, Main Quest locations, etc.).

• Fixed an issue when the NPC's left hand could be in an improper position when the NPC holds a pistol.

• Fixed an issue when NPCs could stuck in each other during patrolling.

• Fixed an issue when the Windows Scale option affected the game in the Fullscreen Borderless and Windowed modes.

• Fixed an issue when Scherba could not have a dialog option to receive collars during the In The Name Of Science mission.

• Zone Kit: New MOD SDK update will support content base from Patch 1.5.1. Please update to get latest content changes and reduce chances of game instability for your Modifications

⚠️ WARNING

The Zone is ever-changing and a new Patch can shift Her structure. If you’ve chosen to walk the path with modifications, know this: they may not withstand the latest shifts. If you have performance or stability issues following the release of Patch 1.5.1, we recommend you to disable your mods. If you continue to experience issues, please visit https://support.stalker2.com/hc for additional troubleshooting steps and assistance.

For more information on how to correctly uninstall modifications, read the dedicated topic:

Thank you very much for your ongoing feedback and support. Comments you write on social media and bug reports you send to the Technical Support Hub help the Zone become a better place with each update.

Please, continue sharing your thoughts here on Steam and other socials, and if you see the anomaly that is not supposed to be in the Zone, report it to the Technical Support Hub:https://support.stalker2.com/hc

⛱🌴☀️ Also, this is your final opportunity to grab S.T.A.L.K.E.R.2: Heart of Chornobyl with a 30% discount during the Steam Summer Sale 2025.

The sale will conclude on July 10th.

Stalkers!

Time to reload your shotgun and pack your backpack with new weapons and loot from mutants. The latest update brings improvements to A-life and AI, balance tweaks, quality-of-life upgrades, and much more. Time is coupons, so let’s quickly check out what’s new in the Zone and gear up for the next raid for some sweet habar.

For the release of Patch 1.5, we have prepared a trailer for this update — Guns & Looting Showcase is here!

☢️ Highlights

• A-Life changes

• Life in the Zone is now simulated for all characters, not just those in the player's view.

• Characters continue to live their lives and pursue their goals in the Zone until they meet their end.

• The player can meet the same stalkers after some time.

• Players may encounter more A-Life characters resting or interacting in various locations, adding to the world’s immersion.

• Characters will no longer respawn directly in front of the player. When the player clears the mutants' lair, for example, those mutants won't simply reappear moments later.

• A-Life Director will no longer respawn characters at the edge of visualization. Instead, respawn moved further away from the player, while maintaining the Zone's population.

• Visualization range is slightly increased. Characters now appear in visualization range with relevant animations and equipped weapons. This reduces the "pop-in" effect and contributes to a more seamless character visualization.

• Added new anomaly: Water Electric Tornado.🌪️

• Added Three-Line Rifle weapon.

• Added new handgun Kora.

• Added the new feature: looting of mutant parts.

• Added displaying of available artifact slots for armors in the Upgrade tab.

• The player stash window is increased in size.

• Fixed an issue when the "Take all" button becomes inactive after putting any item to the loot window.

• Added unlockable "Fix all" button in the technician's upgrade menu, to repair all equipped gear.

• Added reload renewal feature for all of the weapons.

⚠️ WARNING

The Zone is ever-changing and a new Patch can shift Her structure. If you’ve chosen to walk the path with modifications, know this: they may not withstand the latest shifts. If you have performance or stability issues following the release of Patch 1.5, we recommend you to disable your mods. If you continue to experience issues, please visit https://support.stalker2.com/hc for additional troubleshooting steps and assistance.

For more information on how to correctly uninstall modifications, read the dedicated topic:

⚔️ AI and Combat

• Fixed an issue when Snork was unable to jump off from some isolated areas.

• Fixed an issue when Controller was able to deal damage by his roar ability out of his line of sight, through the objects and walls.

• Fixed an issue when Pseudogiant was able to stuck at short distances from the player.

• Fixed an issue when Rodents kept making sounds after death.

• Added ballistic falloff on the long distances for NPC`s so they won’t be able to hit players while too far away.

• Improved mutants' attacking behavior when Player is standing still.

• Fixed issue where Сhimera jump attack deals damage before reaching Player.

• Fixed issue where Burer could be killed while its shield was active if you were close.

• Fixed issue when NPCs take exposed cover while fighting with each other.

• Fixed issue where NPCs could walk in place in peaceful hubs.

⚖️ Balance

• Fixed generic issue where Mission NPC could have overpowered items in inventory.

• Reworked ammo for machine guns and sniper rifles:

• replaced 762x39 MM ammo with 762x54 MM ammo;

• Sniper rifles (SVDM-2, SVU-MK S-3 and M701 Super) now don't use light steel core ammo, without weapon upgrade — only super-sonic and armor piercing ammo;

• PKP machine guns, Mark I EMR and Three-Line Rifle can use light steel core ammo by default;

• supersonic ammo now deals way less damage to weapon durability, making it more useful.

• Increased armor penetration for Grom S15 weapon, increased armor penetration and damage modifiers for AS Lavina weapon.

• Reworked damage of Cavalier unique weapon.

• Artifacts' effects rebalance:

• Horn: decreased chemical and radio protection;

• Rosin: replaced "weight: weak" effect with "endurance: weak";

• Shell: replaced "radiation: weak" effect with "endurance: weak";

• Updated some stashes and their markers in the Rostok region.

• Updated some stashes locations in Yaniv region.

• Fixed an issue where price for a common artifact was higher than repeatable quest reward for it.

• Implemented new artifact effect: Durability, that will increase durability of equipped gear.

• Reworked and replaced 7.62 ammo across the map.

🛠️🐞⚡ Bug Fixes, Crashes, and Performance

• Fixed a noticeable performance drop when entering Generators region from Dead Valley location.

• Fixed an issue that caused the inventory menu to remain open after the Controller used Psy Strike on the player.

• Fixed an issue that caused sound and input loss after quick resume on Xbox platform.

• Fixed an issue when the game becomes unresponsive when loading save, made in certain points of Prypiat, during The Road to the Foundation mission.

• Fixed an issue when Player get permanent and consistent negative effects from uncharged Weird Bolt.

• Fixed an issue which caused the ammo counter to appear when picking up ammo.

• Fixed an issue where the player could get the achievement for clearing a lair without raising an alarm by only performing one kill.

• Fixed incorrect description for 'Overall quality' and 'Mouse aim sensitivity' options in settings menu.

• Fixed an issue where stamina drain effect was stuck after loading save made in shallow water.

• Fixed an issue where Player was able to get permanent effect and damage from anomaly after loading save made inside that anomaly.

• Fixed performance drops on collision with psy phantoms.

• Fixed an issue where Forced Mono audio setting did not affect music.

• Fixed an issue that caused the vertical field of view to appear reduced when using ultrawide aspect ratios.

• Fixed an issue where the Vortex anomaly icon was shown as Poppy Field on the map.

• Fixed an issue which caused the Drop function to not work while looting.

• Fixed an issue when two Main missions could be tracked simultaneously.

• Fixed an issue when trees and bushes could appear right in front of the player.

• Fixed an issue when the sound of weapon reloading is not played from NPCs in cover.

• Fixed a crash when drinking vodka.

• Fixed an issue when enemy quest markers were remaining at the NPCs after they were killed.

• Improved performance at locations with lots of dialogues pending (e.g. large hubs like Rostok).

• Fixed an issue when the Equipment Tab was becoming unresponsive after looting, putting items in stash or corpse.

• Fixed placeholder texts in upgrade tabs.

• Fixed crash on Xbox Series S that could occur after approaching Chemical Plant location.

• Optimized skeletal meshes for stashes and some interactable objects.

• Fixed an issue with performance degradation when multiple NPCs attempt to open doors simultaneously.

• Fixed severe FPS drops while looking at interactive objects and NPCs at close interact range.

• Fixed different crashes.

🗺️ Main & Side Quests, Open World Encounters

• Fixed an issue when Korshunov was sliding inside the elevator during _\The Last Step_ mission.

• Fixed an issue when Powerplug was missing at Rostok when players needed to get the Control Emitter during the _\Dawn of a New Day_ mission.

• Fixed an issue when \Scar was leaving the arena\ and starting to fight with \Monolithians\ if they were not killed during the previous quest objective of _\The Last Step_ mission.

• Fixed an issue when \Ward's reputation became negative\ after the start of the _\Assault on the Duga_ mission for the \Ward\ side.

• Fixed an issue when the Player was able to get reward for A Matter of Honor mission twice.

• Fixed an issue that allowed Gray's Last Hunt mission to be accepted again after completion.

• Adjusted several minor NPC voiceovers.

• Fixed an issue when the elevator door at the top of X-3 lab was closed and blocking further progression during the_ Legends of the Zone_ mission.

• Fixed an issue when elevator door to X-17 was closed and blocking further progress during the Visions of Truth mission.

• Fixed an issue when Player was able to stuck behind the \Sidorovich bunker door\ at the end of the combat.

• Fixed NPC relations inconsistencies between encounter and mainline missions.

• Fixed an issue where the main entrance door to Malachite was locked after the Dangerous Liaisons mission.

• Fixed an issue where objective "Fight off Monolith attack" could remain incomplete during The Road To The Foundation mission.

• Fixed an issue where \Col. Korshunov could be killed\ during the Dangerous Liaisons mission.

• Fixed an issue where players could get stuck inside Troposphere Comm Station at the end of Dangerous Liaisons mission.

• Fixed an issue which caused the \Ward squad to get stuck\ during The Assault On The Duga mission.

• Fixed an issue where several objectives could remain active after failing the The Sound Of Music mission.

• Fixed an issue where the Black Sheep mission could remain active in the journal under certain circumstances.

• Fixed an issue where The Sound Of Music mission could not be completed under certain circumstances.

• Fixed an issue where _A Job For \Sidorovich_ repeatable mission was able to get stuck uncompleted.

• Fixed an issue where Player was able to get stuck in the dialogue with Sultan during The Mysterious Case mission.

• Fixed an issue where elevator doors to Dalin's apartment were blocked during A Long Overdue Visit mission.

• Fixed an issue when player can be locked inside the Zalissya's Clubhouse during the On The Edge mission.

• Fixed an issue when the door leading to the Granite squad arena could close in front of the player during the _The Last Step _mission.

• Fixed an issue when the player character could be killed by emission during the Escape From The Cage mission.

• Fixed an issue with missing Sgt. Metlov during the Back To The Slag Heap mission.

• Fixed an issue where the Dark Times mission could not progress after the death of \Jarl.

⚙️ Mod Support

Shape the Zone your way with the Zone Kit! Unleash your tinkering nature and modify existing content or create something new — animations, weapons, mechanics, and even wonders of the Zone. Official Mod Support is here, so now is the time to create your own content and use modifications made by your fellow stalkers. You can access modifications at Steam Workshop and Mod.io, and if you want to try making your own, Zone Kit is available for download at: https://store.epicgames.com/uk/p/stalker-2-zone-kit

🔹 Other Updates

• Improved pathing for NPCs.

• Improved NPC cigarette smoking animation.

• Added possibility to speed up credits scrolling for PC and XBOX.

• Improved distant and indoors gunshots sounds.

• Improved HUD appearance for changing ammo functionality.

• Enhanced inventory sorting and scrolling on loot windows.

• Enhanced weapon attachments descriptions.

• Adjusted sound volume for medkit usage.

• Added support of 21:9 and 32:9 Aspect Ratio.

• Added an "Auto Detect" button to the graphics settings to adjust graphics presets according to our recommendations for players hardware.

• Rework Ukrainian lip-sync.

Thanks for your support and feedback. The Zone keeps improving and evolving. Stay tuned and keep sharing your feedback on our social media. It’s time to put those combat improvements to the test.

You can find the full list of changes in our website: https://www.stalker2.com/news/patch-1-5.

Please, if you face an unexpected “anomaly”, that is not supposed to be in the game, report it to our Technical Support Center. Our colleagues will take a closer look at it to annihilate and destroy the danger to the Zone.

https://support.stalker2.com/hc

Patch 1.4.2 is ready to be downloaded. Here is the full list of changes:

• Balance changes: lowered armor piercing multiplier for 9x18 ammo.

• Fixed an issue where camera movement sensitivity was too low on low framerate when using gamepads as input devices.

• Fixed an issue where mutants were shaking and twitching erratically when investigating a threat.

• Fixed an issue where consumable items were duplicated in quick slots, and appeared as available, despite not being present in Player's inventory.

• Fixed an issue where radiocall with Strelok was not triggered and next objective didn't trigger if Player hadn't killed all Wardens at TCS location during Dangerous Liaisons mission.

• Fixed an issue where Scar could get stuck playing confused animation after killing him during bossfight in The Last Step mission.

• Fixed an issue where Sanya Ocheret could start a combat with stalkers in his squad during The Boundary mission.

• Fixed an issue where doors to Duga's underground tunnel and Location D could be locked on user saves during Once More Unto The Breach mission.

Thanks a lot for your continuous feedback and support. Comments you write in Social Media and bug reports you send to the Technical Support Hub help the Zone become a better place with each update.

Please, continue sharing your thoughts here on Steam and other socials, and if you see the anomaly that is not supposed to be in the Zone — report it to the Technical Support Hub:

https://support.stalker2.com/hc