100 ZONE SURVIVAL TIPS Shooting an enemy in the eye will result in an instant kill, regardless of his armor level. The AC-96/2 has a unique two round burst firing mode. In this mode, both bullets in a burst will hit the same spot. Double-barreled shotguns can be used to fire both barrels almost simultaneously. Don't underestimate pistols. They provide considerable stopping power and can be very effective against poorly armored targets. Sniper rifles are ideal for eliminating enemies from a distance, thanks to their flatness and accuracy characteristics. They are less effective at close range. Firing on the move is considerably less accurate than when you are standing still or crouching. Weapons and protective suits will wear out quickly in the harsh conditions of the Zone. Worn-out weapons are less accurate and prone to misfire, while suits will not protect you as well. To make a screenshot, press "$$ACTION_SCREENSHOT$$". The artifact or the player carrying it is shown on the minimap. If the artifact is far away, an arrow on the minimap will indicate its direction. The AC-96/2 has a unique two round burst firing mode. In this mode, both bullets in a burst will hit the same spot. Double-barreled shotguns can be used to fire both barrels almost simultaneously. Don't underestimate pistols. They provide considerable stopping power and can be very effective against poorly armored targets. Sniper rifles are ideal for eliminating enemies from a distance, thanks to their flatness and accuracy characteristics. They are less effective at close range. Weapons and protective suits will wear out quickly in the harsh conditions of the Zone. Worn-out weapons are less accurate and prone to misfire, while suits will not protect you as well. Some medical products have unique properties. For example, Hercules pills allow you to temporarily carry more weight, while psy-blocking drugs help you resist psy-emissions. To take a screenshot, press "$$ACTION_SCREENSHOT$$". Tip # Vodka, a cheap alternative to antirad meds, is the easiest way to reduce the effects of radiation on the body. You can access detailed information about the current mission by holding "$$ACTION_SCORES$$". You need a detector to search for artifacts. The best detectors make searching easier and may even detect more valuable artifacts. Stalkers don’t let people with their weapons out into their camps. To hide your weapon press the appropriate key ("$$ACTION_WPN_1$$", "$$ACTION_WPN_2$$", "$$ACTION_WPN_3$$", "$$ACTION_WPN_4$$"). You can locate the edges of an anomaly by throwing bolts. To get your bolt out, press "$$ACTION_WPN_6$$". As well as addressing your hunger, food will also slightly improve your health. Energy drinks temporarily improve your endurance recovery, which increases your potential mobility. Low endurance can make you immobile and vulnerable to enemy attack at crucial moments. You can monitor your concealment status using the noise and enemy detection indicators located in the top left-hand corner of the screen. Having a detector in one hand doesn’t stop you from using a knife, pistol or bolt with your other hand. Some medical products increase the body’s resistance to harmful effects. Using such products can save your life during missions into anomalous areas. You can bring up the context menu for items in your backpack by placing your mouse over the required item and pressing the right mouse button. In addition to their useful effects, most artifacts are also radioactive. This can be compensated for by using artifacts that absorb radiation. Your knife is ineffective against enemies armed with firearms. Use it in close combat or for a stealthy kill. The weight you are carrying reduces your endurance. Excess weight will restrict your mobility, while being completely overloaded will stop you from moving altogether. A detector is the only reliable way of checking anomalous areas for artifacts. Most artifacts will remain invisible as they move around in the anomalous area, until they are identified by your detector. Mutants are more active come nighttime, which explains why stalkers prefer to wait for sunlight before venturing into the Zone. If you have suffered serious radiation exposure, use anti-radiation drugs. If you don't have any, use medkits to deal with the initial symptoms and until you make it to a medic. Most stalkers can take you to nearby locations, but only an experienced guide can lead you safely and quickly to distant areas. Despite this, they will all charge you an arm and a leg for the service. Selling artifacts isn’t the only way to make some cash: offloading unneeded equipment can be a profitable business, too. Keep in mind that traders aren’t usually interested in items that are seriously damaged. To detach a silencer, scope or underbarrel grenade launcher from your weapon, right-click on the weapon in your backpack and select the appropriate action from the context menu. If you want to move with minimal noise, press "$$ACTION_ACCEL$$" to walk or "$$ACTION_CROUCH$$" to crouch. Shotguns are close-combat weapons. The further your enemy is from you, the less effective they are. When taking cover from small arms fire, make sure to hide behind something solid. Unlike concrete walls, wooden boards and sheet metal don't make for very safe cover. Headshots do critical damage and are fatal for most enemies. Each type of mutant in the Zone has its own combat traits. If you take these into account, you will be far more likely to survive. You can adjust how far you throw a grenade by holding "$$ACTION_WPN_ZOOM$$". Enemies can and will use grenades. When you see the grenade indicator, leave the kill zone immediately. Speeding up before you jump allows you to overcome big gaps and cracks. Key indicators that show your health and endurance are located in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. The Zone has a life of its own, which means that there’s always a chance of bumping into mutants or enemy stalkers in areas that you have already cleared. Stay alert in the Zone and don’t rely on old information. When you return to an anomalous area you’ve already explored, you may find that the old tested path is no longer available. Talking to regular stalkers may yield useful information about new areas or recent events. You can use any weapon in both weapon slots. This allows you to create flexible weapon combinations, such as assault rifle/shotgun and pistol/sniper rifle. Every trader you encounter in various stalker camps offers his own, unique range of goods. As an example, medics are bound to have the best selection of medical products. If you get to a stalker camp wounded or with radiation poisoning, you can make use of free assistance from the local medic. You can leave your things in a personal box at the camp to avoid dragging around unnecessary stuff. If you need to wait for a specific hour you can take a nap at the camp to pass the time. To do this, find the sleeping area, press "$$ACTION_USE$$" and choose how long you want to sleep for. The night vision device in your helmet can be upgraded to the next-generation version. This will expand its coverage range considerably. When out in the Zone, keep a couple of spare magazines on you - they’re bound to come in handy. Remember to save your game regularly - this will prevent you from playing the same parts over and over. To use drugs appropriately it helps to know what they do. Consult drug descriptions to find out the effects of certain drugs. Use grenades to attack enemies in cover. Keep in mind the grenade’s blast radius to avoid hurting friendly fighters. To discard an item from your backpack right-click the item and select the appropriate action from the context menu. You can use the special setting in the options menu to have the game save your progress automatically at key points. When you return to camp you should repair your equipment, sell unneeded loot and restock on ammo and medical supplies. To reduce the harmful effects of anomalous areas during raids into the Zone, use a protective suit, artifacts, or take appropriate drugs. In addition to weapons and ammo, enemy bodies may contain valuable items like PDAs with information on them. Artifacts aren’t just valuable loot: in addition to being light and expensive, they can often have extremely useful effects. Due to the Zone’s environment, many mutants are radioactive. Approaching them without adequate radiation protection is extremely dangerous. You can use a bandage, a military medkit or Vinca drugs to stop bleeding. If you don’t deal with it quickly, bleeding can seriously damage your health. Some weapons allow you to install an adjustable long-range scope. To adjust range, press "$$ACTION_NEXT_SLOT$$" or "$$ACTION_PREV_SLOT$$". Some places are impossible to pass through even when crouching. To crouch as low as you can, press and hold "$$ACTION_CROUCH$$" and "$$ACTION_ACCEL$$" simultaneously. To reduce your chances of being hit by enemy fire, return fire by leaning around corners. To do this hold "$$ACTION_LLOOKOUT$$" or "$$ACTION_RLOOKOUT$$". Thanks to a built-in target location mechanism, your binoculars allow you to not only get a good look at distant objects but also locate enemies. To get your binoculars out, press "$$ACTION_WPN_5$$". To turn your flashlight on or off, press "$$ACTION_TORCH$$". To get your bolt out, press "$$ACTION_WPN_6$$". If you have a night vision device built into your helmet, you can activate and deactivate it by pressing "$$ACTION_NIGHT_VISION$$". Press "$$ACTION_QUICK_USE_1$$", "$$ACTION_QUICK_USE_2$$", "$$ACTION_QUICK_USE_3$$", "$$ACTION_QUICK_USE_4$$" to use the appropriate item in your quick access panel. Drugs don’t take effect immediately and some last for quite a long time. Your PDA has a map, information about current missions, your personal statistics and a message log. To open your PDA, press "$$ACTION_ACTIVE_JOBS$$". You need to get your detector out to search for artifacts. To do this, press "$$ACTION_SHOW_DETECTOR$$". To pause the game, press "$$ACTION_PAUSE$$". To quicksave, press "$$ACTION_QUICK_SAVE$$". Press "$$ACTION_QUICK_LOAD$$" to quickload the last quicksave. Running is the fastest way of moving, but also the most tiring. Press "$$ACTION_SPRINT_TOGGLE$$" to run. Firing while aiming is far more accurate than firing from the hip. To aim, press "$$ACTION_WPN_ZOOM$$". If you have an underbarrel grenade launcher, you can switch between it and the normal firing mode by pressing "$$ACTION_WPN_FUNC$$". If you have several types of ammo for your current weapon, you can switch between them by pressing "$$ACTION_WPN_NEXT$$". To reload your weapon before your magazine is empty, press "$$ACTION_WPN_RELOAD$$". To discard your current weapon, press "$$ACTION_DROP$$". To wait out an emission, take cover in a reliable building or underground. When an emission is approaching, the nearest cover will be marked on your PDA. To use an item via the quick access slot, drag it from your backpack to one of the four slots above the artifact containers. The blood drop symbol in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen warns you of bleeding and the need to stop it. The color of the symbol indicates how serious the bleeding is. A radiation danger symbol in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen will warn you that you have been exposed to radiation. When this happens, you should use anti-radiation meds. The color of the symbol indicates how badly exposed you are. You can hide and show different markers on the map in your PDA using filters. Filter buttons are located above the map, under the current mission line. Artifacts are not usually static: they tend to move within an anomalous area. Gun ho attempts to chase down an artifact will lead you into an anomaly in no time. Some stalkers may offer you services, such as information, exclusive goods, or give you orders for specific artifacts. New artifacts may appear in anomalous areas that you’ve already explored after an emission. You can change the game difficulty in the game options menu at any time. Technicians in stalker camps can upgrade your weapons, suits and helmets. If you want to survive, always keep track of the crackling noise made by the Geiger counter, which warns you of radiation, and the anomaly danger signal that lets you know you’re close to an anomaly. Your relations with people directly affect the price of goods and services you may wish to purchase. If your relationship is sour, don’t expect a discount. If you’re getting along well, the trader might even be inclined to offer you something special. You can unload the weapons you find to get more ammo. To do this, right-click on the weapon in your backpack and select the appropriate action from the context menu. Killing enemies and acquiring artifacts earns you points required to increase your rank. When your rank increases, you will gain access to new weapons, armor and equipment. Smoke grenades are used to steal the artifact or create cover. The left part of the buy menu contains five tabs, from the top down: pistols, main weapons, equipment, ammunition and medical supplies. Selecting the required tab shows you the range of items available at your rank. The buy menu on the right-hand side of the screen contains four quick buy slots. Pressing the disk icon saves the loadout, while pressing the relevant number will load that loadout. The fourth slot is used to automatically save the last loadout purchased. If you have more than one weapon, you can switch between them by repeatedly pressing "$$ACTION_WPN_3$$". An artifact can be activated to create an anomaly. To do this take the artifact out by pressing "$$ACTION_ARTEFACT$$" and holding "$$ACTION_WPN_FIRE$$". The anomaly which appears is equally dangerous to enemies and the player who created it. A scientific suit will help you survive in anomalies and radioactive areas. ARTIFACT HUNT: In order to win, you must bring a certain number of artifacts to your base. To detach a silencer, scope or underbarrel grenade launcher from your weapon, right-click on the weapon in your backpack and select the appropriate action from the context menu. If you want to move with minimal noise, press "$$ACTION_ACCEL$$" to walk or "$$ACTION_CROUCH$$" to crouch. Shotguns are close-combat weapons. The further your enemy is from you, the less effective they are. When taking cover from small arms fire, make sure to get behind something solid. Unlike concrete walls, wooden boards and sheet metal don't make for very safe cover. Headshots do critical damage and are fatal for most enemies. Accelerated movement, jumping and wounds significantly reduce your endurance. You can adjust how far you throw a grenade by holding "$$ACTION_WPN_ZOOM$$". Enemies can and will use grenades. When you see the grenade indicator, leave the kill zone immediately. DEATHMATCH: Get the most kill points to win. Speeding up before you jump allows you to leap over big gaps and cracks. Key indicators that show your health and endurance are located in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. The minimap shows the direction of the artifact. If the arrow is pointing up, the artifact is above your current position; if the arrow is pointing down, it is below you. You can collect enemy backpacks to gain additional cash. Excess equipment can be sold at the base. You should cover the artifact-carrying member of your team at all costs. Use grenades to attack enemies in cover. Keep in mind the grenade’s blast radius to avoid hurting friendly fighters. You can communicate with your team using voice messages. To access the voice message menu, press "$$ACTION_SPEECH_MENU_0$$" or "$$ACTION_SPEECH_MENU_1$$". TEAM DEATHMATCH: In order to win, your team needs to get more kill points than the enemy. A vote can be started by pressing "$$ACTION_VOTE_BEGIN$$". To see game scores, press "$$ACTION_SCORES$$". To respawn press "$$ACTION_JUMP$$" once the waiting period has ended. To open the buy menu, press "$$ACTION_BUY_MENU$$" while inside your base. You can open general chat by pressing "$$ACTION_CHAT$$". To communicate with your team only using text chat, press "$$ACTION_CHAT_TEAM$$". Running is the fastest way of moving, but also the most tiring. Press "$$ACTION_SPRINT_TOGGLE$$" to run. Firing while aiming is more accurate than shooting from the hip. To aim, press "$$ACTION_WPN_ZOOM$$". If you have an underbarrel grenade launcher, you can switch between it and the normal firing mode by pressing "$$ACTION_WPN_FUNC$$". If you have several types of ammo for your current weapon, you can switch between them by pressing "$$ACTION_WPN_NEXT$$". To reload your weapon before your magazine is empty, press "$$ACTION_WPN_RELOAD$$". CAPTURE THE ARTIFACT: In order to win, you must bring a certain number of enemy artifacts to your base. To discard your current weapon, press "$$ACTION_DROP$$". To look in your backpack, press "$$ACTION_INVENTORY$$". Most weapons have several firing modes. To switch between firing modes, press "$$ACTION_WPN_FIREMODE_NEXT$$" or "$$ACTION_WPN_FIREMODE_PREV$$". Some places are impossible to pass through even when crouching. To crouch as low as you can, press and hold "$$ACTION_CROUCH$$" and "$$ACTION_ACCEL$$" simultaneously. To look around a corner, press "$$ACTION_LLOOKOUT$$" or "$$ACTION_RLOOKOUT$$". You cannot fire while looking around a corner. CAPTURE THE ARTIFACT: To return a stolen artifact to your base, you need to kill the enemy carrying it and pick it up by pressing "$$ACTION_USE$$". ARTIFACT HUNT: You can destroy the artifact by activating it. To do this, take the artifact out by pressing "$$ACTION_ARTEFACT$$" and hold "$$ACTION_WPN_FIRE$$". You cannot run while carrying the artifact. To look in your backpack, press "$$ACTION_INVENTORY$$". To repair an item you'll need to find a technician and click the repair button once you have selected the item in the modification screen. You can also right-click on the item in the same window to select the appropriate action from the context menu. Most weapons have several firing modes by default and you can buy modifications to add new ones later. To switch between firing modes, press "$$ACTION_WPN_FIREMODE_NEXT$$" or "$$ACTION_WPN_FIREMODE_PREV$$". Weapon flatness affects bullet trajectory, while handling determines the time it takes the sight to return to its original position after firing. Some suits have integrated helmets. It is not possible to use other helmets with such suits. Each weapon has unique accuracy, handling, damage and rate of fire characteristics, allowing you to pick one that’s right for you from a large selection. Firing accuracy suffers considerably when you’re on the move. Stand still or crouch to improve it. This energy drink temporarily speeds up energy recovery, allowing you to sprint for longer. You have unlimited ammo when playing in Deathmatch mode. One of the most common threats in the Zone is radiation. Serious exposure will harm your health and can be terminal if not treated adequately. Take some food with you when going out on a long raid. If you get really hungry, your endurance recovery will suffer greatly.