Table of content:

1. Set the goal of the expedition
2. Prepare properly
3. Go for your goal
4. Replenish resources
5. Try not to die

FAQ

1. What is Open World
2. What is Alife and how it works
3. Saving and auto-saving the game
4. How to turn on the flashlight
5. How to change weapons
6. How to get treatment
7. What to do if I'm out of ammo
8. How to save the game
9. What happens if my character is killed
10. How to adjust the game difficulty

Hello. So you have started or are about to start your adventure in the Zone.

The first thing you will see is the HUD (Heads-Up Display). It helps you keep track of everything you need to survive: health and stamina, radiation levels, effects that affect your character (such as hunger or bleeding), the number of rounds, weapons you have selected, and more. Read more about it so you don't miss anything important.

1. Set a goal for your expedition

     Look through the quest log in the PDA and choose which quest you want to complete next. You can take quests from other residents of the Zone.

     Or open the map to find interesting and unexplored locations. You can mark them with a marker on the map so that they are easily visible on the compass.

2. Prepare properly

     As experienced stalkers say, "Preparation is half the battle. If you're not ready, don't even think about going beyond the Perimeter."

     Most often, your travels in the Zone will begin and end in the Hubs. The hubs are small centers of more or less calm and safe life, if we can even talk about safety in the Zone. You'll reach the first hub, Zalissya, after about an hour and perhaps a few deaths from the beginning of the game.
     So, what should you do in the hub, preparing for another journey to some forgotten corner of the Zone:

1. Go through your inventory, put all unnecessary items in your stash or sell them, and throw them away if they can’t be sold.
2. Buy supplies from a vendor: first aid kits and bandages, ammunition for your main and secondary weapons, anti-rads, energy drinks, and food. Make sure that the backpack is not too heavy - you'll need to put trophies in it, and it will be difficult to run away from mutants if you are overloaded.
3. Ask the local technician to repair your weapons and equipment. You can also install upgrades from time to time.
4. Review the artifacts installed in the slots - what effects they give, whether they are relevant now, or whether they should be replaced with others.
5. Have a rest before the expedition. Sit around the campfire with other adventurers, listen to music and stories, and then get some sleep so you can go out with full energy.

3. Go to your goal

     So, you have entered the open world of the Zone, full of dangers. What you may encounter:

• Individual anomalies and entire anomalous fields. Use bolts and a detector to make your way through and possibly find artifacts.
• Mutants. They are dangerous, but there is always a chance to find something interesting in their lairs.
• Stalkers from different groups, military, bandits. Some of them will treat you neutrally, some will even help you, but some will attack you without warning. For more details, see the description of factions and reputation.
• Emissions are one of the biggest dangers of the zone. You'll know it's a blast when you first see it. The only way to survive an Emission is to wait it out in a shelter.

4. Replenish resources

     Resources are crucial for survival in the Zone. You can carry only a few with you and they are constantly being used up, so you will constantly have to replenish your supplies:

• Search for caches. An attentive Zone explorer will find stalker caches everywhere, where you can find medicine, food, ammo, and, if you're lucky, something more valuable. In dark locations, don't forget to turn on your flashlight, as it makes it much easier to search. You can get cache marks by picking up the PDAs of dead stalkers.
• Bodies of enemies. There are many enemies, and ammo runs out quickly, so don't forget to search the dead enemies.
• Trade. Trade with other stalkers in the vastness of the Zone.
• Completing missions. You can get useful resources as a reward for completing missions.

5. Try not to die

     The battle is a real test of tactical skills, caution, and speed of reaction. Every bullet is worth its weight in gold, and enemies can be smarter than they seem at first glance.

• Use cover. In the open, you are an easy target. Always look for walls, trees, boxes to hide behind when shooting. But keep in mind that enemies will also use them.
• Choose the appropriate weapon. A shotgun shot at close range will help in some situations, while sometimes it is better to stay away from a more dangerous enemy and look at him only through the scope of a sniper rifle.
• Monitor your health. If you are injured, use a bandage as soon as possible to stop the bleeding and restore your health with first aid kits and food. We recommend that you always keep these resources in your quick-access slots. All negative effects that affect you are displayed by HUD indicators or post-effects on the screen.
• Be aware of limited resources. Ammunition and first aid kits should be used wisely. Long gunfights can deplete your supplies.
• Remember to escape. It is not always necessary to engage in combat. If the situation is too dangerous, it's better to retreat and plan your actions again.
  So, be careful, take advantage of the terrain, and save resources, and you'll have a chance to win your battle.

FAQ

1. What is Open World?

     An open world is a game environment where you can move freely and explore whatever you want, without being limited by a linear storyline and predefined routes. Almost all locations are available from the start. You can travel between them on foot - and this is the best way to get the full experience of the Zone world - or you can use a guide.
     You are the one who decides where to go and in what order to complete tasks, how to interact with various objects and characters in the world of the Zone. And the Zone will react to your actions.

2. What is A-Life 2.0 and how it works

     The A-Life 2.0 system is responsible for ensuring that the Zone lives its own life regardless of your actions. The game world around you is changing all the time. Mutants, stalkers, bandits, and other inhabitants of the Zone move around, hunt, fight among themselves for lairs and territories, or join groups.
     Imagine a fight between a pack of pseudo-dogs and a group of bandits a kilometer away. You may never know about it, but its outcome will affect what you encounter when you get there. One day a place to rest is safe, and the next day it's occupied by mutants. You'll never know what's behind the next bush, and that's what makes every outing special.

3. Saving and auto-saving the game

     The save system allows you to manually save your progress. You can save almost at any point unless you are in combat at the time or saving is prohibited by the game's story.
     In addition to manual saves, the game automatically saves at key points.

4. How to turn on the flashlight

     For keyboard and mouse:

Press the mouse wheel OR Press L on the keyboard OR Press Tab to open the radial menu then press E.

     For the controller:

Press RB OR Open the radial menu with LB, press D-Pad Right.

5. How to change the weapon, the type of ammunition in the weapon, and the shooting mode

     For keyboard and mouse:

• Scroll the mouse wheel
• Press the 1 - 5 keys on your keyboard.
• Press Tab to open the radial menu. When it is open, select a weapon type from the menu.
• Press Y to pick up the previous weapon.

     To change the type of ammunition in the current weapon, press N.
     To change the firing mode (single shot or burst), press B.
     To switch to using the under-barrel weapon, hold B. Pressing it again will return you to the basic firing mode.

     To hide or draw your current weapon, hold down the H key.

     For the controller:

• Open the radial menu via LB and select a weapon from there
• Press Y, to switch to the previously used weapon.

     To change the type of ammo in the current weapon, open the radial menu by pressing LB, press X.

     To change the firing mode (for example, single or burst), open the radial menu with LB, press and release Y.

     To switch to using the under-barrel weapon, open the radial menu with LB and press D-Pad Down. Pressing it again will return you to the basic firing mode.

     Press and hold Y, to hide or draw your current weapon.

To hide the current weapon:

• Press and hold the Y
• Open the radial menu LB, press the key D-Pad Up

6. How to heal

     First, if you have little health left, use the first aid kit or food to restore it.
     After that, remove any effects that reduce your health. It can be:

• Bleeding - use a bandage
• Radiation - use anti-rads or drink vodka

     It will be easier for you to play if you have all these useful things in your quick-access slots.

7. What to do if I'm out of ammo

• Try searching the corpses of enemies if they are nearby. You can unload their weapons - either in the corpse's inventory or directly pick up ammo from weapons lying on the ground
• Switch to another weapon
• Use a knife, it does not require ammunition
• Run away

8. How to save the game

     For keyboard and mouse:

• Press F5 to make a quick save.
• Press Esc to access the main menu. From the main menu, select Save and specify the slot in which to save the game.

     For the controller:

• To quickly save in the pause menu, press Y
• In the pause menu, select Save and specify the slot where the game will be saved.

Important: If you are in combat or danger, you will not be able to save the game, you must first complete the battle or find a safer location.

9. What happens if my character is killed

     Death in the Zone is an integral part of the game. It means you made a mistake: you didn't find shelter or prepare or underestimated the danger.
     After you die, you can load from any save of your choice. Everything you have completed or gained after this moment will have to be done again. The zone is unforgiving.

10. How to set the game difficulty

     At the beginning of each campaign, you can choose the game's difficulty, depending on your preferences.
     The difficulty of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. can only be selected at the start, and cannot be changed during the game.