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 [spoiler]Max Saturday corpse[/spoiler] 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.
Changed files in this update