Everyone starts from scratch inSTALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl, andyou are no different.
All the money in the world would not save you as you arrive at Zalissya, because the traders there do not sell anything worth more than a couple thousand coupons.
As you proceed to drop bodies left and right, and stick your nose into other people’s stashes, you will find a few guns.
This guide is here to tell you what is worth keeping, and what is not, until youfind your footingin the Zone.
There are plenty ofbetter gunsto be found later in the game, but you probably cannot afford to repair them until you are a few hours in, so let’s stick to the best of the worst.
This list only covers weapons accessible to all STALKER players in the opening hours of the game. If you pre-ordered one of the upgraded editions, you also have access to early bird perks that scatter upgraded guns across stashes.
The Old Cordon Gunslinger
Much likeShadow of Chernobyl, you start Heart of Chornobyl with a Makarov pistol.
The best combat feature of the PTM is that you do not get made fun of for walking into the Zone unarmed.
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Skif’s old service weapon from his army days cannot be sold, and it does not add weight to your inventory.
Keeping some rounds for the PTM makes it a perfect backup when you pick up something better, and it is a nice economical choice if you run into rodents, zombies, or dogs since it can drop them in one shot to the head.
4Gordon M10
Awful, But Self-Aware
The M10 is a bandit’s favorite, and it fires as well as those guys shoot.
The main purpose of this gun in STALKER 2 is to unload it for .45 ammo, which can later be used in respectable guns, like the Compact pistol.
The M10 is light enough, but it has a low rate of fire, high recoil, and terrible accuracy.
This SMG is better than nothing, but only marginally so.
3Boomstick
Two shells, One Gun
No matter what everyone says, it does not get any simpler than a double-barrel sawed-off shotgun.
The Boomstick is the first choice of the pragmatic stalker, and for very good reason.
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It is light, compact, and comically cheap, and shotgun shells practically grow on trees in the Zone.
The low rate of fire makes jamming unlikely even with a junked gun, so by the time you need to clear a misfire, you are going to reload anyway.
Because Size Doesn’t Matter
Mikhail Kalashnikov hit it out of the park with the AK-47, and it is no surprise that even the more modern derivatives just build on the original’s greatness instead of reinventing the wheel.
The AKM-74SU is a shortened version of the AKM-74S that is also ubiquitous to the Zone.
While its standard cousin is typically found in more militaristic factions like the Ward, the carbine version often finds its way to the hands of bandits, which you can loot to your heart’s desire.
Thanks to its high rate of fire, lightweight construction, and accuracy, the AKM-74SU is a junior stalker’s best friend.
The only reason it is not at the top of this list is that 5.45x39mm rounds are not cheap to buy in bulk when your primary source of income is selling bread to traders.
A Stalker’s Best Friend
If it is good enough for the SAS, it is good enough for you.
This German 9x19mm submachine gun became a special forces icon when British special forces stormed the Iranian Embassy in London in 1980.
In STALKER 2, the Viper-5 offers the complete package: good rate of fire, 30-round mag, cheap to repair or buy, and plentiful ammunition.
The biggest advantage of this SMG over most weapons in the game is its very soft recoil. The muzzle stays more or less put even when firing bursts.
The result here is that you can be just as accurate as with a rifle under 100 meters, even though the destructive power is naturally going to be lower.
The Viper-5 is such a comfortable weapon that you even find veteran stalkers taking it to dodgy places like the swamps since nothing says “I love you, Mr. Mutant” like 30 rounds of 9x19mm to the face.
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