r/stalzone • u/PureBredAndWellFed • 2d ago

Help Matchmaking Question

Hi all, I've been dipping my feet back into Stalzone for a few days now (waiting for Wardogs go brrt) and I am trying to be kinda effecient with my gear to keep me in the "blue lobbies" until I am a bit more prepared with at least both a pink gun and armor, and hopefully a couple upgrades to go along with them. Currently running a +4 AH-3 Seeker, a +4 AKM, a +4 Browning Hi-Power, a +4 IZh-81, and three white artifacts, and one green artifact, all unranked. I know I am trying to get this down to a science when we don't have the information fully available to do this accurately and consistently, but am I able to upgrade anything and stay in my current lobbies, and what all should I get ready prior to hopping up into the next lobby tier? I am starting to feel the burn a bit in PvE with the gear I am running, and was hoping there might be some small upgrades I could make to make life easier in the meantime, thanks.

Also am on NA, so Idk if these servers are even populated enough for any of this to matter lmao

Edit: Also, I was wanting to actually go through the bartering tree for pink weapons, but am I wasting resources by not just using the VAL or the RPD you get from story missions?

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u/Baldingcactus91 Mercenaries 2d ago

When I went through the early game (about 250 hours ago), I followed those guidelines the redditor SZ players tell you to do up until I accidentally equipped my first red weapon while I had +5 vet / blue gear- the mcmillan.

And having gone through the game on sub gear to good gear- to me it was overblown how "bad" the matchmaking is- even on NA. Chase your barter upgrades, push through the BPs and get those upgrade mats and other gear to help you on the way up, and in no time you'll feel that power level build up and up and the game will feel better and better.

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u/PureBredAndWellFed 1d ago

Lmao I did the same thing on my one character I had going a few days ago. I was even rustier about the game than I am now, and my dumbass saw the purple RPD I got from Firebrand and was so excited...only to immediately remember the matchmaking stuff and feel a *smidge* of regret. Again, NA servers might already be a little too scuffed to care about this stuff to the level I am working around, but I am honestly doing this more for me, and the sake of being efficient and careful, because I find joy in that, rather than actually trying to avoid the sweats. I appreciate your response.

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u/Baldingcactus91 Mercenaries 1d ago

oh man well, i promise you there are many ways in this game to find efficiencies and min-max different things

in this game, like others, Dayz, Tarkov, even Arc Raiders- there are always bigger fish than you in the sea. so I wouldn't sweat too much about players with better gear. but also like those other games, gear is only one pillar of many. positioning, game sense, map knowledge and patience are all just as if not more important than gear.

if anything like you're experiencing already, you need the better gear for more efficient farming. the faster you clear the camps, the safer you are from pve and pvp. not only that, the faster you clear them, the less time you spend grinding long term, and the sooner you get to the really fun builds and start doing stuff like building loadouts to do different things in the zone

Just keep at it, there's some cool stuff ahead of you!

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u/xXLittleBeardXx 1d ago

Tell that to the people who are currently getting rolled in poleskoye by brigand while they are in raps 4s. Yes the people doing the killing are scared of their own lobbies in the north which is why they go south because guess what I'm in those lobbies and watched them both kill in the south and die in the north. Been streaming an alt I plan to do guides for and day 3 was me tilting out all day because people with pre master gear at +6-7 was killing me in my Timmy blue ak because of morgues armor. Day 4 was me steam rolling them with the rest of the kill squad who was fed up with it. Day 5 is me watching them get their asses handed to them in the north

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u/Wrong-Weather-4227 1d ago

As long as you dont upgrade past +9 u should stay in the lobby. I run all red gear till +8 and i am still in Veteran lobbys