The best STALKER 2 mods for performance, weapons, weight, and enemies
Nov. 22, 2024Improve everything in STALKER 2, from optimal settings to carrying capacity, weapon durability, and more
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Many STALKER 2 mods are available and the best ones help with performance, optimization, and even enemies. STALKER 2 is a rather merciless game with lots of gruelling survival mechanics, such as weapon durability, item weight, and so on. Although, through the power of mods, you can adjust many of the games core mechanics to make them easier to manage or straight up remove them entirely. I’ve tested a range of mods for STALKER 2 to show you which ones are best, with a focus on improving performance and making certain mechanics less harsh.
Just to note that a lot of these are for the Steam versionSTALKER 2, so check compatibility.
How to install STALKER 2 mods
There are two main options when installing STALKER 2 mods. The first involves taking a downloaded pak and installing it in this directory:
So you’ll need to find your STALKER 2 Heart of Chornobyl game folder and then add a ‘~mods’ folder, complete with the ~. This is the method for anything using a ‘pak’ file. You can then ‘uninstall’ these mods by deleting or removing the pak file from the ~mods folder (hence the ‘old’ folder in the image above).
Another main option for STALKER 2 mods involves downloading an ini file and copying that into a specific folder.This will replace any previously existing version of that file, so make sure you make a copy first!To ‘uninstall’ these mods you’ll need to put the original file back.
You’ve got a fair few options when it comes to mods that improve performance for STALKER 2 but your mileage will vary depending on your set-up and PC. For example, I’ve got a Ryzen 7, 4070 Super and 16GB DDR4 RAM, and when I testedStalker Optimizer,Optimized Tweaks S.2andSTK2 - SPFI saw minor but hugely variable improvements between 0-15 FPS depending on what was happening in the game. Although, that averaged out to maybe 5 fps at best. These are all pak files, so you can swap them in and out of the mods folder to test them.
I also testedS.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 - Ultimate Engine Tweaks, which gave me similar results. That one is an ini file, so remember to back up the existing file if you use it. It also has a few lines of text you’ll need to manually change as well, depending on your monitor’s framerate, VRR, and other settings.
If none of these have any significant effect then you could also tryFPS Boost less stuttering better stability and cleaner image all in oneorStalker 2 optimizer.
When it comes to item weight mods for STALKER 2, if you want an adjustment that doesn’t completely remove all the challenge, theNo weight for ammo nades meds and foodpak file only affects those things. TheAdjustable Carryweightmod, on the other hand, gives you a range of pak files to download for different options ranging from a maximum weight of 90 to 9999.
STALKER 2 gunsandweapon degradation is a contentious issue and something a lot of people want changed. TheNo weapon durability lossmod is a pak file with two options for 50% and zero durability loss, with options for outfits as well. However, when I tested the zero option it was quite inconsistent - I found some guns stopped wearing out but not all of them.
If that’s the case for you then you can also tryReasonable Weapon Degradation- a pak which offers a 50% reduction in wear. Or there’sSTX’s Removed Durability Loss (Pistols), another pak file that only works on pistols.
If you don’t want to touch weapon durability at all, thenReduced Repair Costwill let you do just that. There’s a range of pak files to download that will change the repair cost from anywhere between 80% to 0, makingrepairing weapons in STALKER 2much less coupon-draining.
You don’t get a lot of stamina in STALKER 2, so mods are definitely a good way to make all that a little less painful. There’sReduced Melee and Jump Stamina Costswhich has pak files that will reduce the cost by a half or a quarter. It does make changes to ObjPrototypes.cfg so check you’ve not got any other mods changing that file if you want to use it.
There’s alsoLonger Sprintingwhich has three pak files to reduce sprinting costs by 25%, 50%, and 75%.
A lot of the non-human enemies can be tough, so these Bloodsucker and mutant mods for STALKER 2 aim to address that.Grok’s less tanky bloodsuckers and poltergeistswill give you three pak files that reduce Bloodsuckers,STALKER 2 poltergeists, and Fleshes' HP by 25%.No More Tanky Mutantson the other hand reduces physical resistance, leaving HP intact.
For more sweeping changes,Lower Mutant Healthapplies its reduction across all the mutants and animals in the game, with 25% and 50% pak file options.
There’s also aChimera HP Nerfspecificallyfor that one enemy type with two paks that will lower it’s HP to 400 or 200 respectively.
These are just the most impactful STALKER 2 mods in terms of gameplay, but you can find a lot more options over atNexus. There are far more granular things you can do like change day length, FOV and camera mods, more sweeping difficulty adjustments, colour reshaders and more.© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.
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I’m GamesRadar’s Managing Editor for guides, which means I runGamesRadar’s guides and tips content. I also write reviews, previews and features, largely about horror, action adventure, FPS and open world games. I previously worked on Kotaku, and the Official PlayStation Magazine and website.
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