# S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl Update 1.7 Expedition

- Product: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl (https://whatsnew.fyi/product/s-t-a-l-k-e-r-2-heart-of-chornobyl)
- Vendor: GSC Game World
- Date: 2025-11-17
- Original notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1643320/view/596291616874954993
- Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/s-t-a-l-k-e-r-2-heart-of-chornobyl/releases/2025-11-17-update-1.7-expedition

What's New is an index, not a publisher: every entry below links to the vendor's own release notes, which are the authoritative source. Entries are labelled where they are hand-curated sample data, pre-releases, or drawn from a secondary source such as a developer blog.

Reuse: the summaries, labels and curation here are © What's New. Quote freely with attribution and a link back; wholesale republication of the corpus is not permitted — terms: https://whatsnew.fyi/terms. The vendors' own release notes remain their publishers'.

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- **added** — Add Master Difficulty mode that can only be selected at the beginning of the game
- **added** — Add Expedition Mode
- **added** — Add new anomalies
- **added** — Add Immersive Mode
- **added** — Add Light Rainy weather scenario
- **added** — Add SD Cards with coupons
- **changed** — Improve A-Life system so factions can expand control over new territories and lose control if they fail to defend them
- **changed** — Update NPC vision and combat behavior
- **changed** — Update inventory and equipment stats
- **changed** — Rework stamina and sprint mechanics
- **changed** — Improve controller aim
- **changed** — Reduce enemy detection and accuracy in tall grass, reeds, and bushes
- **changed** — Update mutants and NPCs to retreat from fights when survival chances are low and flank more actively
- **changed** — Tweak NPC combat animation timings for more realistic movement
- **changed** — Add new death animations for mutants
- **fixed** — Fix issues with specific NPC inhabitant areas
- **fixed** — Fix A-Life NPCs not moving after loading a save made while they were traveling to shelter
- **fixed** — Fix issue when NPCs could receive damage from explosions while behind several walls
- **fixed** — Fix issue when some Boar mutants could look like Human NPCs near the Malachite causing game crashes
- **fixed** — Fix issue when Controller could attack Zombified and Raised NPCs

##### 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](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](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.

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