Summary
- STALKER 2’s update 1.3.1 rolled out on March 27.
- The new patch introduces 22 changes, including 15 fixes for mission bugs.
- Six fixes targeting a variety of game systems are also part of the package.
STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl update 1.3.1 is now available for download. The game’s second patch for March 2025 introduces nearly two dozen changes, largely fixes for STALKER 2 bugs.
Ukrainian developer GSC Game World has released 11 updates for its latest title in the three and a half months that followed STALKER 2‘s November 2024 release. Its patching practices have so far adhered to a pattern of having one major update, followed by one or more minor revisions that further refine it.
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This trend has now continued with the March 27 arrival of the 1.3.1 update, which builds on STALKER 2’s 1.3.0 patch from March 18. The new version of the game introduces 22 changes, most of which are bug fixes. A few of these solve critical mission blockers that had a chance of soft-locking players, such as a weird issue where one major character would be missing at a certain lab that the protagonist visits over the course of the Visions of Truth mission.
On a similar note, the 1.3.1 update addresses a known bug in Dawn of a New Day, one of STALKER 2‘s mid-game story missions, where the task of obtaining the Control Emitter wouldn’t pop up following a certain character’s death. Other missions that have received bug fixes as part of the late March 2025 patch include The Boundary, Chasing Ghosts, Let No One Leave Unsatisfied, Hot on the Trail, Once More unto the Breach, and Dark Times. Ditto for Legends of the Zone, Extreme Simplicity, and The Road to the Foundation. The 1.3.1 update also resolves an issue with an NPC blocking a certain watchpost entrance during a mission whose name spoils one big story event. The patch includes 15 quest-specific fixes in total.
The 1.3.1 update also includes half a dozen fixes for technical issues with various game systems. For instance, it resolves a bug that sometimes prevented STALKER 2 NPCs from returning to wherever they were before running to cover due to an Emission. Likewise, the patch revises the Ribs anomaly, whose sound effect should no longer have a chance of getting stuck in a loop and repeating every 10 seconds even after the player is long gone from its general area. Another batch of “Exception Access Violation” errors has been fixed by the update, though some ostensibly remain unresolved given how GSC has been dealing with this particular category of memory access bugs since the game’s release.
The Ukrainian developer has previously committed to providing STALKER 2 with extensive post-launch support, including at least two paid DLCs. In terms of patching efforts, the 1.3.1 build marks the game’s 12th update in four months.
STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl Update 1.3.1 Patch Notes
Technical Fixes
- Fixed an issue where NPCs could not return to their designated places after the Emission.
- Fixed an issue where the sound effect for entering Ribs’ anomaly could loop and repeat every 10 seconds.
- Fixed an issue when the crosshairs could not be disabled through the settings.
- Fixed an issue where all drag’n’drop actions are done with a delay in any item container at the STC Malachite location.
- Improved voiceover positioning. Fixed issue when the player could only hear the voice through one earbud.
- Fixed an issue where item highlighting did not move to the next item when looting with a gamepad.
- Fixed a dozen of EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION errors, and other crashes.
The rest of the update 1.3.1 changelog contains STALKER 2 story spoilers, including boss names and references to a certain character’s death in some playthroughs.
Main Story, Side Quests, and Encounters
- Fixed an issue where Scar could be missing at X-17 lab during the Visions of Truth mission.
- Fixed an issue where the “Get the Control Emitter from the technician” mission stage of the Dawn of a New Day mission could not be started due to the death of Powerplug.
- Fixed an issue where the mission objective Find Spirit could not end if the player talks to Spirit again right after the first dialog during The Boundary mission.
- Fixed an issue where mission Chasing Ghosts could not progress after activating tower equipment.
- Fixed an issue where the mission objective “Talk to Scar” could not be completed for some users if Richter is dead during The Road to the Foundation mission.
- Fixed an issue where the player could fall into the elevator shaft without any possibility of getting out during the Let No One Leave Unsatisfied mission.
- Fixed an issue where the “Get inside the underground lab” objective could start without obtaining Emitter from Powerplug during the Dawn of a New Day mission.
- Fixed an issue where Simon Dubny could be missing The Faust’s cell during the Hot on the Trail mission.
- Fixed an issue where the doors to the underground tunnel and Location D could be closed for some players during the Once More unto the Breach mission.
- Fixed an issue where the mission Dark Times could be blocked due to the death of Jarl.
- Fixed an issue where the NPC could block the entrance to the watch post during The Assault on the Duga mission.
- Fixed an issue when the dialog with Roosevelt did not start during the Legends of the Zone mission.
- Fixed an issue where the door to the Forestry location could be locked at the Extreme Simplicity mission start.
- Fixed an issue where monolith NPCs could enter safe zone in Prypiat during the The Road to the Foundation mission.
- Fixed an issue where Richter’s body could be missing after the bossfight with Korshunov.
- Released
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November 20, 2024
- ESRB
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M For Mature 17+ Due To Intense Violence, Blood, Use Of Drugs And Alcohol, Language, Crude Humor