Unwritten rules are often described as a set of tips and tricks that a community builds while playing a game. These guidelines spread throughout the community via memes or through players watching one another’s gameplay. As such, unwritten rules are usually most commonly associated with multiplayer games, with players being much more likely to be influenced by another’s gameplay style in that competitive setting. That being said, STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl has a few unwritten rules of its own.
The STALKER series is renowned for being very challenging and somewhat unforgiving. In an attempt to adapt to the harshness of the Zone, many players have developed a set of unwritten rules over time that help them to traverse the wasteland more efficiently. Many of these unwritten rules have passed on to STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl.
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STALKER 2’s Unwritten Rules Explained
Make Sure You Have Consumables for Every Ailment
At its core, STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl is a survival game, and as such, players are given a few different status effects to manage while traveling the Zone. Hunger, radiation poisoning, and bleeding are STALKER 2‘s most prominent status effects, and each one can be cured via a consumable like food, drugs, and bandages. Players should make sure that they always leave the Zone with at least a handful of consumables for each potential ailment, and ensure that they remain on the lookout for more while exploring.
Save Constantly
Even with plenty of consumables on-hand, STALKER 2‘s open-world is no walk in the park. Blood-sucking monsters, mutated beasts, and vengeful raiders lurk around every turn in the Zone, and each one can end the player’s adventure in a matter of seconds. While save-scumming is frowned upon in some games, in STALKER 2 it’s actively encouraged due to the unpredictability of the game’s world.
Anomalies Can Be Your Best Asset
On the subject of the Zone’s unpredictability, players will encounter a variety of physics-breaking Anomalies during their adventure in STALKER 2. These Anomalies range from random bursts of electricity to wind tunnels that lift the player up and toss them aside, and a ton in between. While players will always want to avoid walking into these Anomalies, they can be a helpful tool to use against unsuspecting enemies.
Upgrade and Repair As Often As Possible
In many open-world games with RPG elements, players are encouraged to hoard their upgrade materials and resources and hold off from using them until they find the perfect weapon or armor to suit their playstyle. In STALKER 2, however, players need to repair and upgrade their arsenal as often as they can. Finding good weapons in STALKER 2‘s open-world is rare, so players are encouraged to forge their own. And when players find a better weapon or armor, they simply need to sell their current loadout and start the upgrade process all over again. Not upgrading at all will leave players woefully unequipped to handle the Zone’s terrors.
Don’t Waste Ammo
Though STALKER 2 is a shooter, it can’t be played like Call of Duty or Battlefield. Ammo is one of STALKER 2‘s most valuable resources. Every bullet counts, as without any ammo, players have very little to defend themselves with.
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