The best Stalker 2 Mods you should install right now – Destructoid
Stalker 2 hasn’t been out for long, but the PC community has already been hard at work improving the game with the hundreds of mods already available on Nexus Mods.
It can be difficult to determine which ones are worth picking up, though. To help, we’ve compiled a list of the 10 Stalker 2 mods you should use on your first playthrough and beyond.
Optimized Tweaks S.2 – Reduced Stutter Mouse Fix Improved Performance Lower Latency
Optimized Tweaks S.2 – Reduced Stutter Mouse Fix Improved Performance Lower Latency may be a real mouthful to say, but I can’t deny that it’s one of the best Stalker 2 mods available right now.
This mod was released on the same day as Stalker 2‘s release, fixing most of the game’s most egregious performance problems, from boosting CPU and GPU efficiency to enhancing streaming and memory management. That one user has managed to fix in one day what a team of developers couldn’t in years is a testament to their talent.
Grok’s Modular Mutants Health
If you’re finding that the mutants in Stalker 2 are not quite balanced to your tastes, then Grok’s Modular Mutants Health has you covered in just about every regard.
With this Stalker 2 mod, you can have full control over mutants’ HP. You can make them tankier, and add some extra challenge to the game. Or you can make them squishier, for an easier time. You’re in full control with this mod.
Longer Sprinting
While traversing the post-apocalyptic world of Stalker 2, you want to be able to get around fast. In the vanilla game, sprinting uses up a little too much stamina for my liking.
That’s where Longer Sprinting has been a godsend for my playthrough. You can give yourself a 25%, 50%, or 75% reduction in stamina cost, which, at its highest, lets you run four times as far while sprinting. It’s a bit of a cheat, but it feels much better to play with.
Reasonable Weapon Degradation by VAXIS
Reasonable Weapon Degradation by VAXIS is another quality-of-life mod aimed at addressing the balancing issues currently prevalent in vanilla Stalker 2.
Its purpose is simple: it reduces weapon degradation to half of its current rate. You’ll still experience wear and tear, so it’s not a complete cheat code. It just feels a bit more reasonable than how it currently is.
Axxii’s Stealth Mod
Axxii’s Stealth Mod is a pretty comprehensive overhaul of Stalker 2‘s janky stealth mechanics. It’s early days, but it seems to be a massive improvement over the base game. These changes include improvements made to NPCs spotting you in specific weather conditions, nerfs to NPCs noticing you through grass and bushes, and cover height and width are now considered by the game.
That’s not all, either. NPCs will now search for you instead of instantly spotting you and initiating combat, and the minimum distance NPCs need to completely spot you has been increased from 4.5 meters to 10 meters. Right now, Axxii’s Stealth Mod is a must-have Stalker 2 mod.
Maklane’s Better gunfights – NO Aimbot NPCs
Maklane’s Better gunfights – NO Aimbot NPCs addresses a common issue that many shooter games have – NPCs who seemingly can’t miss, no matter the range.
The mod adjusts the dispersion parameters of NPC bullets at long and medium ranges. This should make them less accurate from a distance, for a more realistic and fairer combat feeling. Short-range values have not been affected by this mod.
Grok’s Economy and Difficulty Fix Attempt
Grok’s Economy and Difficulty Fix Attempt is an impressive effort to overhaul the overall difficulty of Stalker 2 through the changing of several important values. According to creator Grokitach0, it was made for a “more balanced and less frustrating (but not easier!) experience.”
So what exactly is affected by this mod? In short, lots, but some highlights include less items to be looted, durability adjustments, more expensive repairs, less expensive upgrades, much squishier enemies, and more deadly NPCs. That’s just the tip of the iceberg for this excellent overhaul – try it out.
Even Longer Days
Even Longer Days by Nexus Mods user JCaleb is perfect for gamers who think the current 1-hour day/night cycle in Stalker 2 is much too fast.
When downloading this Stalker 2 mod, you get to choose between several timescale presets. These range anywhere from a 2-hour day/night cycle to a real-time 24-hour one. It’s a small change, but a pretty noticeable one.
Maklane’s Better Weights Balance
Maklane’s Better Weights Balance isn’t actually one Stalker 2 mod. There are three of them, and you can choose which ones you want.
This is an extremely small selection of mods that balance the weight of grenades, ammunition, and consumables. You still have to do some inventory management, but the aforementioned items have all had their weight changed to more realistic values. Some are lighter, while some are heavier.
No Aiming-ADS Zoom
When aiming down your sights in Stalker 2, there’s a small FOV zoom. It’s not a huge issue, but the beauty of mods is that you can fix any and all minor problems with the game.
No Aiming-ADS Zoom removes this. Overall, it makes the gunplay feel more like a simulation than before.
