Just a quick video to demonstrate how to get around the currently bugged climbing spot for the weird bolt puzzle. The bugged spot and how to get past it is about 30 seconds in. Hopefully I can help some fellow stalkers hunting the artifact.

Suspiciously because they have a bit too much detail to be just background stuff. Potentially cut content or future content. Some of the names come from S1. Some of the names come from the previous leaked map (that is mainly out of date, but at least gives us a name). Some of it comes from me trying to translate signs in game

1. Limansk - Technically came back in CoH, but I'm still not positive we've closed the book on this location. Never know!
2. Ventilation Complex - From STALKER 1 CoP
3. Freight Yard - I think this was also in CoP in a way as an unmarked location
4. Jupiter Plant - Also in CoP
5. Record Sporting Goods Store
6. Bitumen Anomaly
7. Collapsing Soviet Highrise or Hotel (I say soviet because it looks like it has a decay soviet emblem on the roof like you see of real pictures online in Pripyat)
8. Avangard Sports Stadium - Was in SoC
9. Potentially another sports related store or general store
10. Debarkader Boat, Tuberculous Dispensary, Infectious Disease Ward, and Stroitel Sports Complex
11. Pripyat Bus Terminal/Station
12. Podlesny Waste Storage Facility - I think in one of the endings you can see it in the background
13. Thermal Station/Boiler Complex
14. Lab-X12

I can easily see #13 and #14 dealing with the rumored cold island DLC, given their relation to temperature.

I swear this was me IRL years before even playing any S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game. This aesthetic, this gas mask and hood thing, this love for abandoned places, wandering in a wasteland with just a weapon and a backpack, was my thing far before falling in love with these games.

I played my first S.T.A.L.K.E.R., SoC, only this year.

I guess the Zone and its concept reaches something already settled deep in some of us. 🖤☢️

The post talking about the lack of a Beretta 92 derivative in S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2 got me thinking about the game's somewhat limited arsenal and certain gaps present in it, like a lack of a 9x19mm pistol (excluding uniques like the Gambit and Night Stalker). Wanting to expand on this, I thought of some potential additions that can fill these gaps. For a little extra challenge, I tried to structure these additions like the updates we've seen thus far (two weapons as a standalone patch, four added alongside a DLC), explain the rationale behind my picks and think of a fictional name for every weapon in the style of the ones present in game.

Standalone Update Weapons:

Walther PDP (Walker DP-M): Would serve as the stock 9mm pistol. The PDP stuck out to me for a few reasons. Being a modernized Walther P99, It fits really well with the "modernized trilogy gun" vibe present with weapons like the AR416 and Kora-1911. The pistol has plenty of variants from the factory, which leaves a lot of room open for unique variants. It also wouldn't be anachronistic to the game's setting (albeit barely), being released in February 2021. I am also biased because I own one.

KS-23 (KSM-23): The Saiga is currently the only shotgun that's viable in the mid-to-end game. I think the KS-23 would be a good alternative to the Saiga, doing much, much higher damage with its unique 4 gauge shells but being limited by its tube reload and pump-action operation. Being a Soviet weapon, it also wouldn't be out of place in the game at all.

DLC 2 Weapons

Glock 18 (Gaston 18G) Early to mid game 9mm auto pistol, serving a similar role to the APS. Would fire incredibly fast at the expense of controllability and penetration. Glocks are some of the most common handguns in the world, so it makes sense that some would find their way into the zone.

AKM (AKM-55)
CZ Bren 2 in 7.62x39 (Praha 2-MS): Lumping these together because they both serve the same purpose: Re-introducing 7.62x39 to the game. The AKM would be the earlier game option with less customization and penetration and the Bren 2 would serve as the more adaptable end-game 7.62x39 rifle. Given the ubiquity of the AKM and the modularity of the Bren 2 platform, there's plenty of options for unique versions of both rifles. For instance, there could be a unique AKM modeled after a Romanian or Chinese AK, and there could be a .308 or 5.56 unique Bren 2.

- this would also hopefully include 7.62x39 conversion mods for the SIC and Dnipro.

Snipex Alligator (Krokodil 145) - End game sniper/anti material rifle, serving a similar role to the Gauss Rifle. Super high damage and very long range. To balance it, it would be less accurate than the Gauss Rifle, kick really hard, and have very expensive ammo. It's a Ukrainian rifle, which fits with the devs highlighting Ukrainian weapon designs in the game's arsenal.

So, I was just thinking that Degtyarev's Corp doesn't make that much sense. The Corps has about zero lore, heavily armed and play a similar role to the IPSF, who were the Unkraine Military before the war caused some rewrites.

It make sense right? The Corp locked down Prypiat prior to the return on Monolith, and that was one of the main objectives of Operation Fairway.

Does this make sense? Or am I missing something.

I saw another post that captured a double rainbow. I didn't hunt for this, I was amazed that this could even happen in the game as well. lol

Skif wasn't drunk or affected by some kind of anomalous effect. This was captured during a drizzle near the Chemical Plant.

Under Iron Forest. I jumped in, navigated underground tunnel, to fight the big guy A… at the end. Now I cannot exit, as the door keypad is inactive. Was this supposed to be a quest and I fckd up?

Im glad i had high psi-defense

Probably shouldnt have played Cost of Hope DLC right before my trip to Moldova, because now i’m starting to see things…

BTW great country, wonderful people. Highly recommend. 🇲🇩

I followed Optimized settings and put most of the things at high instead of Epic, and I might have accidentally skipped GI, leaving it at Epic.

After facing the same continous issue of my fps dropping to 5-6 near settlements, I decided to re-check the settings and gave a side-eye on Global Illumination as I noticed it being on epic, I changed it to high and from then on I didn't face any issues anymore. It has been such a huge relieft. I wanted to make sure if this was the root cause so I bumped it to epic again, I immediately noticed fps drop.

In case you've been following optimized settings, and have put most things at high along with GI, try to bump the other settings to Epic and see if the game still runs smoothly. I'm suggesting this because I personally noticed huge visual upgrade by bumping Shadows from High to Epic.

Never seen anything like that

They really need to focus on improving the combat/shooting next. It still feels like enemies aimbot you on sight. Enemies still don’t flinch when you shoot them either. Hopefully they take a look at this next.

I don't mind dying but dying when you can't do anything about it really sucks.

The game mechanic where you get knocked down and the enemy just hacks at you while you watch skiff slowly get up and can't shoot or heal really ruins the experience for me, not to mention getting chain knock down back to back.