Core Balance Enhancements v1.0
Fixing and improving the original core balance of Stalker 2.
This mod isn’t about realism, hardcore gameplay, or new items. It is about fixing and improving the original game, while respecting GSC’s vision. I’ve tried to preserve the original gameplay and pacing, while addressing the issues with stats and mechanics that are inevitable in a game of this scale.
Key changes:
– A complete and systemic overhaul of weapon and armor stats, as well as the overall concept of technicians and upgrades. Goal: Allow players to use any equipment throughout the game without creating overly powerful weapons at the start. A technician’s skill now affects not the list of weapons or armor they can upgrade, but the upgrade level. Fractional technicians work better with fractional equipment, and scientists know the best ways to protect against anomalies.
– A complete overhaul of NPC equipment. Goal: More varied equipment that evolves naturally as the main storyline progresses. Additionally, residents of the zone now more frequently wear various gas masks and face-concealing helmets.
– Partial economy overhaul. Goal: Searching for artifacts as the primary source of income, in addition to quest rewards. Price changes based on the main storyline stage have been removed.
– Partial overhaul of the trading system. Technicians now sell certain modules and can buy damaged gear at very low prices, while merchants only trade equipment in normal condition (with the exception of the Ragman in Rostock). The assortment of certain merchants has been adjusted to reflect their factions. Scientists no longer buy anything other than artifacts, but their prices are higher than those of other merchants.
Partial overhaul of mutants. Goal: To reduce the average HP of mutants in order to eliminate the “tanking” effect without lowering the overall difficulty.
Most of the Zone’s fauna has lost its armor, which has increased the effectiveness of shotguns, SMGs, and expansive rounds against them. At the same time, armor-piercing rounds will no longer be effective against unarmored targets.
Some unique changes:
Pseudo-Dog: Increased the number, frequency, and spawn mechanics of phantoms. Increased the damage dealt by the real Pseudo-Dog. Phantoms have been reworked into psi-hallucinations with corresponding stats.
Controller: Added psi damage and psi effect from standard attacks; reduced the psi effect of the aura.
Pseudo-deer: Added an element of randomness regarding the number and type of animals it can summon.
Other changes:
– Headshot damage has been increased for both humans and certain mutants.
– Fixed a mistake that caused stalkers armor to be ignored when calculating the damage dealt to them by mutants.
– The damage that NPCs deal to each other has been significantly increased.
– Complete overhaul of the stats and prices of attachments (muzzle brakes, grips, lasers) installed by the technician (identical attachments on different weapons now have the same stats and price)
– All exoskeletons can now sprint in one way or another (some have received a corresponding upgrade, while others are capable of doing so from the start)
– Changed the stats of armor-piercing and explosive rounds.
– Minor changes to the stats of some artifacts of all tiers.
– Fixed artifact parameters for correct display in the interface.
– Prices for guide services have been slightly increased to better reflect the effort required to build friendly relations with factions.
– Added the ability to hold your breath for x2 and x3 scopes.
– Health regeneration speed from medkits has been slightly reduced.
– Damage from camp guards and some invisible snipers has been adjusted to match that of regular NPCs.
– Armor penetration of certain NPC weapons has been corrected.
– The amount of coupons on the cards in the stashes have been increased.
– Fixed the activation radius of the “Electra” anomaly. (Yes, GSC didn’t fix it.)
– Slightly increased the damage from the “Carousel” anomaly.
– Increased the time until grenades explode by 1 second.
– Changed the Pseudo-Giant’s movement speed to match the animation.
Installation:
– Download archive
– Extract CBE.pak to your ~mods folder (located in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of Chornobyl\Stalker2\Content\Paks)
