5 Tips for Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl

After 14 long years in development, Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl is finally here for PC, Xbox, and Game Pass. This hardcore, open-world, first-person shooter takes place in The Zone, an exclusion zone surrounding the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Here, you’ll face mutants, blind dogs, bandits, and other stalkers scavenging for loot. After spending about 15 hours in Stalker 2, I’ve got a few tips to help make your early hours in The Zone a little smoother.

1. Aim for the Head

Human enemies go down with one shot to the head—use this to conserve ammunition. If I’m sneaking into an area with human enemies, I like to use a silenced pistol to pick them off if they’re spread out. A scoped assault rifle or sniper rifle also works great. It doesn’t matter what caliber your weapon is; in my experience, headshots always do the trick.

Mutant enemies are a different story. For blind dogs or those pesky mutant rat/cat things, I prefer a pistol because they move fast, and I don’t want to waste precious assault rifle ammo. A shotgun is another good option. For the invisible bloodsuckers, your best bet is a shotgun—just keep pumping them full of lead.

2. Complete the Warlock’s Debtor Quest Early

After completing the prologue, you’ll arrive at the settlement of Zalissya. Find the bartender, Warlock, and take on his quest to reclaim money from another stalker. The quest area isn’t far, but keep an eye out for a tall water tower nearby. Climb up to find a scoped AKM-74S—likely your first scoped weapon. Use it to take out the enemies surrounding Valik, the stalker who owes Warlock. Once you save Valik, he’ll let you keep the rifle. Congrats! You now have your first scoped assault rifle, which will prove invaluable.

3. Take Only What You Need

When exploring The Zone, regularly return to the main encampment of your area to access your stash. Stashes are yellowish boxes often located near a bed or a trader. These are global stashes, meaning your items transfer between them no matter where you are in The Zone.

When heading out for quests or exploration, avoid overpacking. Weight encumbrance is a big deal in this game, and you’ll want to strike a balance. Here’s what I usually take:

• Weapons: Two primary weapons and a pistol
• Ammo: ~100 assault rifle rounds, ~90 pistol rounds, ~20 shotgun shells (if using one)
• Healing Items: 12 bandages, 10 medkits, 3 anti-radiation meds
• Food and Drinks: 4 canned foods, a couple of energy drinks

Optional: grenades (I don’t use them often, but they’re there if you need them).

Keep your load light enough to pick up loot, like extra weapons in good condition (yellow icon or better), which you can sell later for coupons (money).

4. Unload Weapons You Find

Whenever you find a weapon in The Zone, whether or not you plan to keep it, make sure to unload it. On a controller, look at the weapon and hold X to unload it. If it’s already in your inventory, press Start to find the unload option. This also works when viewing enemy inventories.

It might not seem like much at first, but those extra bullets add up over time.

5. Use Your Echo Detector

As you explore The Zone, you’ll encounter anomalies—distorted bubbles, acid pools, bursts of flame, and more. When you run into anomalies, pull out your echo detector. If it starts beeping, follow the signal to locate an artifact.

Artifacts often come with pros and cons. For example, one might increase electrical resistance but raise radiation exposure. Some artifacts, however, have no drawbacks. I recommend keeping these, but for the most part, selling artifacts is a great way to earn coupons, especially in the early game.

Bonus Tip: Adjust HDR Settings

If you’re playing on an HDR-enabled TV or monitor and the game looks too dark, consider increasing the “HDR Brightness” setting. The default value is 30, but I bumped mine to 50, and it significantly improved visibility while maintaining the inky black areas on my OLED TV. The brightness might be bugged and could change in a future patch, but for now, it’s a solid fix.

Also, don’t forget to turn on your flashlight by pressing RB (on controller). That one’s for you, Lord Cognito.

2nd Bonus Tip: Improve Gunplay with Settings

I’ll admit it—Stalker 2’s gunplay doesn’t feel great to me. On Xbox Series X, the performance mode is very choppy, but tweaking the controls helped a lot:

• Increase controller sensitivity to a comfortable level.
• Turn on aim assist (this is a single-player game—no shame in it!).

These settings make gunfights more satisfying and help you land those critical headshots with ease.

That’s all I’ve got for now. There are plenty of resources out there for new stalkers, but I hope this short guide helps you out. Despite its performance issues and bugs, Stalker 2 is a great game with tons of potential. I know it’ll only get better with time. Stay safe in The Zone!