Which Difficulty Should You Pick In Stalker 2: Heart Of Chornobyl

There can be many factors at play to make Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl feel much more intense and hardcore than most other games in the genre, which isn’t too surprising if you’re familiar with the previous installments in the series. However, while some may be ready and willing to struggle, others may just want to see the story through with as little pushback as possible.

Fortunately, there is a difficulty setting for all types of players, making the game accessible for all, whether you’re brand new to the series or are a super fan of the series that wants nothing but the most brutal circumstances tossed at them from the moment they step foot into the wasteland until they ultimately see their story end.

Which Difficulty Should You Pick In Stalker 2: Heart Of Chornobyl?

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl has three difficulty settings for you to select from, all altering core aspects of the game substantially, making your experience more manageable or immensely more challenging as a result, allowing you to (hopefully) find the one that’s just right for your wants and needs.

The unfortunate aspect of this is that you cannot mix and match specific settings from each difficulty to make a hybrid difficulty, meaning if you like aspects of, say, the Veteran difficulty, you cannot toggle just those options on while leaving the rest on Stalker or Rookie, like you can in some other titles.

Overall, there are some massive changes that come with each difficulty tier, so you may want to switch it up periodically if you find it’s too easy or you’re getting rocked in every encounter, no matter what you do. You can learn more about all three difficulty settings in the sections below!

Rookie Difficulty In Stalker 2: Heart Of Chornobyl

Rookie is Stalker 2’s “Easy” difficulty, making it the best option for players who just want to see the story through and explore the wasteland without wanting to pull their hair out. If you aren’t well versed in this genre or series, this may also be an excellent choice when you first start your journey, allowing you to switch to a more challenging one as you get more comfortable with the controls and gameplay.

Here, enemies are far-less bullet-spongy compared to the other modes, while Skif (you) becomes the bullet sponge, allowing you to take substantially more damage than them, making combat less stressful. Additionally, you will also find more loot and resources, meaning you will rarely be out of ammunition or healing supplies.

That’s not to say you won’t ever be put on your back foot, as the game will still be challenging here and there, it will just be much more manageable and less daunting, especially for newcomers. Choose this option if you’re in it for only the story or are entirely new to the genre!

Stalker Difficulty In Stalker 2: Heart Of Chornobyl

Next up is the Stalker difficulty, which serves as the game’s “Normal” option, which will still offer a decent challenge overall. This difficulty will be the best choice for most players, as it provides an excellent balance between both Rookie and Veteran, giving you the best of both worlds.

Compared to Rookie, the enemies will be much harder to eliminate. While the Bloodsuckers and other Mutants will feel perfect, some of the human enemies can have the tendency to feel a bit too bullet-spongy, which can get a tad annoying, especially when your resources are more scarce.

You won’t be constantly struggling here, but it is a noticeable leap from Rookie, so please keep that in mind if you are new to the genre and series. You won’t have nearly as many resources to work with, and you will have to use much more ammo to eliminate your targets. You will also die much faster. It’s challenging, but the perfect amount of it, in our opinion!

Veteran Difficulty In Stalker 2: Heart Of Chornobyl

Veteran is the final difficulty available in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl and offers the most hardcore experience for those who want to struggle in every encounter they stumble across. Here, your opposition will take substantially more bullets to kill, and Skif will die in the blink of an eye. It’s not for the faint of heart.

Not only that, but your resources will also be substantially limited, making every bullet count. Like from Rookie to Stalker, Veteran is another noticeable leap up in terms of the challenge it provides, making this difficulty tier only recommendable to die-hard fans or those who enjoy extreme challenges.

Every battle will seem impossible, and one wrong move will have you reload the checkpoint, as it will cost you your life. While there is something to be said about Veteran feeling right for a game like Stalker 2, it’s certainly not for everyone, and we only recommend it to the super serious Stalkers who want to feel like they’re actually in the wastelands.

How To Change The Difficulty In Stalker 2: Heart Of Chornobyl

Are you getting destroyed by a Bloodsucker, or are you finding your adventure a tad too easy? Don’t fret; you can adjust to your difficulty whenever you wish. To do this, open the Pause Menu and navigate down to Options. Open the Options Menu, then scroll down to the Difficulty Settings.

Once you’re here, you can select Rookie, Stalker, or Veteran as your difficulty. After selecting your difficulty, back out of the menu and apply the changes to confirm them. Again, there may be instances where the game feels too challenging or easy for you, so being able to adjust this whenever you want is fantastic to see.

Furthermore, you can find more settings to tweak underneath the Accessibility tab at the far end of the Options Menu, allowing you to make the game even more manageable. If you’re on PC and are running into performance issues,don’t forget to adjust the graphics settings for better performance as well!