S.T.A.L.K.E.R.--- just hard for me?

[Vrbas]

Am i the only one that finds this game a bit difficult. I can't count the number of times i've been w/in 3 feet of someone, pumped them w/ 2 shotgun shots, and they somehow just don't die. Not to mention that the enemy stalkers (or any enemy by that) literally refuse to die, no matter how much you hit them. That's even if you can land a shot, it seems all the guns are about as accurate as a nerf gun on a windy day. Not to mention everyone ALWAYS knows exactly where you are, shadows are useless. It's like they have radar. It's not even possible to sneak up on anyone.

I'm just curious, is there something i'm missing? I'm in the catacombs underneath one of the bases looking for Sterek's or whatever stash. The only gun i can really count on is my pistol (which still sux, but makes more sense then the shotgun), plus ammo for ANY semi-auto rifle or automatic gun is COMPLETELY rare.

Don't get me wrong, this is a baller game, i just don't understand why i'm having soo much trouble w/ it (finding ammo for something other than my pistol, killing people w/ shotgun point blank, etc.)

[Maxtron]

i've only played the game on easy, but i hear that medium and up is quite a challenge... dont know anyone who's beat it on hard

[smokin_mitch]

you should attack the military outpost south of the rookie camp for some assault rifles and ammo, or attack the military guarding the railway crossing north of the rookie camp (instead of paying them 800 to pass or using the tunnel full of electricity anomolies)

thats the easiest way to get an assualt rifle and plenty of ammo right at the start of the game

*also there's a stalker suit hidden in the rookie camp at the start of the game, it makes the start of the game easier having decent armor early in the game

[Vrbas]

so where is the this hidden stalker suite? I've looked for it, but alas nothing.

[vicaphit]

there is a drum circle in camp and the guy who gives you the raid quest in the beginning...

Climb up that ladder but dont go inside the attic... use that tiny ledge to climb onto the roof of that house, then go to the far side of the roof (far side from guy who gives you the quest) then sprint jump to the next house.

After landing on that house, go to the far side of the house (furthest away from quest guy) and there should be a hole in the roof of the house, right inside that hole is a crate, if you shoot the crate and crouch you should be able to reach the suit. Hope that helps

[Vrbas]

thanks bro, MUCH better now. Next objective: obtain some freakin' ammo for something other than my pistol and pathetic excuse for a shotgun.

Quick question: is there a 3rd person view?

[vicaphit]

I think you might be able to get 3rd person by entering a command in the console, but I havent tested it

Im glad my instructions helped, thats a nice suit to have for starters.

remember though, if you have patched your game, your suit will degrade as you get shot, it will eventually become useless so make sure you switch it out before youre left with no armor.

[smokin_mitch]

if any of u guys get the "Ghost suit" keep it dont give it up to pass a mission cause it heals you

kepp it as long as u can

although u will eventually need to get rid of it to get the "seva suit or better to go into heavily radioactive areas"

[hercules71185]

headshots.. why do they not seem effective from over 15 feet away?

[Major_A]

The hardest part of the game to me was the respawn of bandits. I would spend 1 hour and 15 Quick Loads dispatching a group of bandits only to find them in the same spot when I came back. Finally I just downloaded a trainer and cheated through half the game. When you QA test a game one of the criteria to evaluate is gameplay. You know is the game fun, yes or no? Was this part too hard or frustrating, yes or no? The respawn of bandits quickly became no fun and was frustrating. The endings were pretty lame too. When I beat it for the 1st time I was literally like "what the ****?!?!". Then I found out afterwards there were like 6 or 7 endings depending on how you played the game.

[Nastidon]

The hardest part of the game to me was the respawn of bandits. I would spend 1 hour and 15 Quick Loads dispatching a group of bandits only to find them in the same spot when I came back. Finally I just downloaded a trainer and cheated through half the game. When you QA test a game one of the criteria to evaluate is gameplay. You know is the game fun, yes or no? Was this part too hard or frustrating, yes or no? The respawn of bandits quickly became no fun and was frustrating. The endings were pretty lame too. When I beat it for the 1st time I was literally like "what the ****?!?!". Then I found out afterwards there were like 6 or 7 endings depending on how you played the game.

Actually I found the re spawn to actually be helpful. When you storm the military camp, you can wait inside the one building you are supposed to go (wont say which or where) and just wait by the door, wait for a guard or someone to pass by the window, and BLAM give him a nice lead sandwich, this will start the alarm, and send an endless wave of doods to kill. If you have a rifle, you can just simply keep it zoomed to the front door, and they will just run right into your bullets, one shot to the head, over and over. It works out great because it leaves you with just about unlimited ammo (depending on how long you want to keep picking them off) and also makes it WAY easier to get a certain ending. I didn't cheat on my way through it, it was difficult up until I hit that military camp and just picked off a ton of doods and got a crap ton of ammo and med kits.

[Davo26]

headshots.. why do they not seem effective from over 15 feet away?

It's a design flaw.

[hercules71185]

yea, it sucks. Because I do headshots and NOTHING HAPPENS. No games do that. Pretty much every game headshots are the key.

[vicaphit]

Get the dragonov ASAP, it uses fairly common ammo, and you can find it at the large military base after you go into Bar. It is in one of the long buildings away from all of the people, in one of the back closets. You have to really aim high at long distances, as the bullet drops pretty quickly, but you can get headshots galore with it. That is my favorite weapon by far, in most games.

[rudis]

Well i can try giving you some advice since i finished TEH stalker in russian. I also have some real firearms experience behind me.

1. Anything other than headshots will be useless unless you are facing armor with proper AP rounds. The usual ones will drop people and other stuff only when sent into the scull.
2. Most weapons are damn inaccurate. Getting those lovely headshots is 50% luck, 30% equipment, 20% skill. Keep in mind that sneaky silencers degrade accuracy even further.
3. Get some optics. Optics=many headshots.
4. Pick off stuff (people+not people) from distance, the chances are very good that your aiming is better than the A.I. Rounds shot from distance have less chance to pierce armor (AP doesn't count), but you will have chances to deal headshots.
5. If you are not familiar with the Zone then be careful with shotguns. They have very good potential in dealing massive damage (especially the vert-double-barreled), but if something goes wrong, then it goes wrong bigtime. Almost the same for pistols.
6. Bring food. Keep an eye on the bleeding icon (especially when facing foes with nasty ammo).
7. Keep your eyes and ears open. Seeing stuff before it sees you is the key to living.
8. Dont tank. Run-cover-shoot-repeat. Most of the time you will be greatly outnumbered but not so greatly outgunned.
9. If you see a chance to outflank the enemies then do it. Sometimes they will just pass by or get involved in battling some other Zone hazards.
10. Mostly the skill of a stalker could be determined by taking a look at his inventory. The more skillful you get, the less ammo/health kits/weapons you will carry.

[Tim Burton]

The hardest part of the game to me was the respawn of bandits. I would spend 1 hour and 15 Quick Loads dispatching a group of bandits only to find them in the same spot when I came back. Finally I just downloaded a trainer and cheated through half the game. When you QA test a game one of the criteria to evaluate is gameplay. You know is the game fun, yes or no? Was this part too hard or frustrating, yes or no? The respawn of bandits quickly became no fun and was frustrating. The endings were pretty lame too. When I beat it for the 1st time I was literally like "what the ****?!?!". Then I found out afterwards there were like 6 or 7 endings depending on how you played the game.

It is these reasons I have not played this. I would like to get into it, but just can't justify the poor game decisions.

[vicaphit]

The respawning is only bad in one or two areas. I don't think that should be the reason not to play the game. It is very fun, and looks really good, and the price is great right now.