STALKER 2: Best Beginner Builds

Welcome to the Zone, Stalker. If you’re going to survive out there as a rookie, there are a few things you ought to look for. In addition to finding yourself a good primary and backup weapon, you also won’t want to skimp on armor or artifacts.

Different weapon types and loadouts can lead to varied playstyles depending on the mission requirements and enemies you’re likely to encounter. Whether it’s clearing out the tunnels of an X-Lab or simply scavenging artifacts from nearby anomalies, it’s always important to make sure you’ve brought the optimal equipment for the job.

The following builds are ideal for any rookie, and all the equipment for each of them can be found in the first two areas in the game: The Lesser Zone and Garbage.

With this equipment at hand, you’ll have everything you need to tackle the mid-game and progress through the game’s story, regardless of your chosen playstyle.

8

Basic Bandit

You’re Just A Rookie, After All

If you simply want to fit in with the other vagabonds of the Lesser Zone, the Basic Bandit build is a good place to start. For the roleplayers among you who fancy yourselves as a Zone bandit, this equipment will help you play the role while remaining combat effective to a certain degree.

While it won’t stand up particularly well against the tougher factions in the game, the TOZ-34 shotgun and Viper-5 combo should easily see off most low-level mutants such as dogs and fleshes, as well as deal with small groups of enemy bandits.

The Armored Bandit Jacket is one of the stronger armors in the early game and will help you look the part, while artifacts such as the Spring or Cavity well help when it comes to carrying loot.

7

Selection of Lummox

Take What You Can Get

Valik Lummox is one of the first friends you can make in the Zone by doing the side quest ‘Warlock’s Debtor’ for Warlock, the barman in Zalissya. The quest is a good way to get some slightly better equipment than your average bandit setup, as well as a bit of extra money in your pocket.

To start with, you can buy the Debut Suit from Warlock himself, which represents a considerable upgrade from the starting Leather Jacket.

Upon heading to Valik’s location and siding with him during the bandit standoff, you can keep his special scoped AKM-74S, which will serve you well throughout the first half of the game due to its highly abundant ammo.

In terms of secondary weapons and artifacts, you can really choose just about anything. Simply making sure you’ve picked up these two important items will make your life much easier as you get started out in the Zone.

6

CQB SKIF

Clear Buildings Like A True Point Man

Close Quarters Combat is a regular feature in STALKER 2. Whether you’re clearing out the corridors of an underground Noontide base or storming the grounds of SIRCAA itself, at some point in the game, you’re going to get up close and personal.

The best solution to this problem is, of course, a shotgun. The M860 Cracker is one of the best in the game, and you can find a mag-fed version in Nestor’s stash on top of the crane at the end of the mission “The Price Goes Up”.

As a secondary weapon, the Buket S-2 is also highly effective at close range with its high rate of fire and good damage relative to other early-game SMGs.

The Weird Ball artifact can be recovered from the Bulba anomaly and will reduce incoming bullet damage. In combination with a good set of armor, such as the PSZ-7, you can feel more confident about peeking those corners and rushing enemies behind cover.

5

Three-Line Hunter

Turn The Zone Into A Mutant Safari

One of the newer additions to the game is the Three-Line Rifle. While it’s not the best sniper rifle in the game by any means, it does give the chance to try out this ranged weapon type early in the game.

Though the ammunition is very costly, the benefits do largely outweigh the costs. Having this ranged advantage will come in handy when assaulting bandit outposts or clearing out roving mutants from afar.

A submachine gun or shotgun is ideal for a backup, but the Viper-5 will be more than sufficient initially. The Sunrise Suit is also a good set of starting armor and will protect especially well against Physical damage.

4

Artificer

For The Long Haul

If you want to quickly fatten your bank account in the Zone, the best way to do it is by finding and selling artifacts. For this, you’ll want a good Detector first and foremost. Once you get to the Garbage region, the side quest “Budmo!” will give you the opportunity to steal a Hilka detector, which is a significant upgrade compared to the standard Echo Detector.

If your primary occupation is the hunting of artifacts, it’s also likely that you’ll run into mutants in some of the Zone’s less populated regions. For this, the M860 Cracker is usually a safe bet, and the unique SMG Shah’s Mate makes an excellent secondary weapon.

Additionally, the PSZ-5V Guardian of Freedom Suit can be acquired from The Brood in Garbage and provides solid defense against environmental hazards as well as radiation.

Specialist artifacts, such as the Rat King, which protect against specific elements, will work best for artifact hunting. Just remember to switch your artifacts depending on the different environmental hazards.

3

Ninja

Who Said You Can’t Use Stealth?

Sometimes, barging into an enemy outpost head-on isn’t the wisest strategy. For such occasions when a little more subtlety is requiredthere are some good options for early-game stealth builds.

The first thing you’ll want to look out for, of course, are silencers. Fortunately, you can find several around the Lesser Zone and Garbage stashes, as well as from several traders.

The Spitter is a unique version of the powerful Buket S-2 and is ideal for stealth attacks, while the M10 Gordon makes a good sidearm and silencers for it can be found early.

The Weird Flower artifact, which can be obtained from the northern area of the Poppy Field, is also a very useful artifact that will make you harder to detect by sneaking.

2

Freedom Fighter

Represent The People’s Will

Although the Freedom faction isn’t as prominent in STALKER 2 as in earlier games, their gear is still pretty solid when compared with the other items around Garbage and the Lesser Zone.

The unique rifle, Drowned, can be acquired at Slag Heap from the radioactive pool near the southern entrance, while a powerful SVDM-2 sniper rifle can be found in the Plant area where Varan resides.

However, the best piece of kit to go looking for is the Wind of Freedom suit. As well as looking like a true soldier of Freedom, it also has very strong stats across the board and will be more than sufficient for the first half of the game.

1

Ecologist

The Best Kit In The Early Game

By far one of the best items you can find in the early game is the SSP-99 Ecologist Suit. Compared to other early-game armors, none of the others come close to providing the same amount of balanced protection.

The suit can be found in the toxic rooms just after meeting Scar in the mission “Behind Seven Seals”, which makes it especially convenient as you’ll pass it fairly early on in the game’s story.

In terms of weaponry, the Fora-221 is arguably the strongest early-game assault rifle and can be found from several dead stalkers in the starting regions. Similarly, the Buket S-2 offers a great secondary weapon for close-range encounters.

The Thunderberry artifact will also help to maximise your endurance early in the game, enabling you to carry more weapons, artifacts, and equipment from an early stage in the game. It can be found occasionally as a random spawn at the Electric Field near Slag Heap.