Tips To Start Your STALKER Debut

So after my previous post, i imagined you people fell kinda interested into STALKER series now. I imagine you all are eager to feel the great gameplay and atmosphere of this game, but don't know where to start. Worry not comrade, here im gonna give you a little bit of tips on how to start your debut in STALKER series

First of all, this game is pretty old now, with the oldest one (Shadow Of Chernobyl) being 10 years old. While the graphical quality is okay, don't expect to see high quality visual and detail like in modern titles (eg. Doom or Titanfall).

Choose Your Game Wisely

Now you probably think, isn't it obvious that you need to play the first game in the series? Yes that is right, but I don't recommend it, especially for new comers to the series. Because, if you can't get a hold of the mechanic fast enough, you will get rekt by the NPC most of the time, at least that's what happen to me the first time i play this game. 

Instead start with Call of Pripyat it's more suited for new players, why? Because the start of this game is slower and you get to explore and practice a bit before taking the main story, as opposed to Shadow of Chernobyl where you get into firefight in the first five minutes using a peashooter. Also in the first area you won't encounter as many hostile NPC mostly are neutral towards you, except for mutants.

But, if you are pretty confident with your shooting skill, i'm not gonna stop you from choosing Shadow of Chernobyl as your first STALKER experience

Consider a Mod

As somebody who already played STALKER, will always recommend playing through any STALKER games without mod at least once. But for you who can't stand the bad graphic of this game, you should probably install a mod or two, especially if you are playing either Shadow of Chernobyl or Clear Sky. The mod that i recommend for those two games are the Complete Mod 

 You can get them here :

Both mod were made by the same team, hence the name. These mod were assembled by a team of renowned 3d artist and game programmer. These mod feature plethora of improvement not only in graphics, but also in the stability and performance of the game itself, as well as enhancing it's AI, weather system and User Interface.

Actually Call of Pripyat also got a complete mod, but considering how improved the game compared to the previous release, the complete mod is not really needed, but it's not hurt to have it installed. Instead of complete mod i recommend you to install absolute nature, atmosfear, and either Arsenal Overhaul or STCOP weapon pack.

 

Don't Rush

STALKER game series is not a game that you could play recklessly like say Call Of Duty. Sure, you can rush into battle with a group of enemies, but it has a big consequence even if you survive. So when you stumble upon an enemy and hoping to survive, don't act like a hero and cover yourself behind anything nearby and minimize being seen by your enemy. Sneak past your enemy, then shoot them with a shotgun, or cover behind some walls and shoot your enemy with long range weapon, it's up to you. Also try to score a head shot to kill your enemy faster while using less ammunition. 

Watch Your Step

The Zone itself is a big cluster of deadly and anomalous trap and the anomaly field is even more so. If you aren't careful, you may end up being roasted, electrified, dissolved, crushed, mutilated, etc. Why go to such area in the first place? Well in anomaly field there is an item called artefact there that has a unique effect depending on the anomaly field you find it, and it's also sell for a high price and doesn't weight so much, good when you are short on cash, and the underground level is unavoidable if you are doing the main quest.
To avoid all of those possible death, you should use your trustworthy bolt to detect an anomaly inside an anomaly field or in underground level by throwing them, simple right. Later only in STALKER Call Of Pripyat you will get an item to help you traverse the anomaly field a lot easier, and that's also why  i recommend STALKER Call Of Pripyat to the new comers.

Don't Afraid to Runaway

 

Every step may bring you to a very dangerous encounter. If you are a new player, and encounter a powerful and intimidating enemy, either a mutant or an NPC, try to avoid them, especially if you are not confident with your skill. 
Also this game allow you to bring a hefty amount of items and weapons, but decrease your Stamina a lot, make you sprint distance shorter and render you susceptible to death. To avoid this is actually pretty easy, you don't really require careful planing or anything like that, just be sensible about what you need bring to complete your goal or an objective.Use your binocular to see the surrounding are before making a movement, especially if you are carrying a lot of things with you.