How to find the Stalker 2 Drowned gun and should you keep it?

Stalker 2 Heart of Chornobyl Drowned gun
(Image credit: GSC Game World)

The Stalker 2 Drowned gun is right below Boo near the pond, but the real question is should you keep this wrecked weapon for yourself? Drowned is essentially an AKM with some fancy attachments equipped – dual magazines for rapid reloads and an underbarrel grenade launcher. That sounds incredible but there are some flaws to this Stalker 2 rifle to be aware of. If you’re struggling to help Boo and find his rifle or want to know if Drowned is worth keeping in Stalker 2, I’ve got you covered with this guide.

Stalker 2 Drowned gun location

Stalker 2 Heart of Chornobyl Drowned gun in trench pond highlighted with circle

(Image credit: GSC Game World)

The Stalker 2 Drowned weapon is right on the edge of the pond in front of Boo, propped up against a ruined bit of concrete. While it sounds like it would be somewhere deep in the pond, it’s actually right in the open – somehow, the lazy bastard can’t just walk down and grab his own weapon, but this gives you a good opportunity to keep Drowned or hand it over.

Should you keep the Stalker 2 Drowned gun?

Stalker 2 Heart of Chornobyl Drowned gun telling Boo I'm keeping it

(Image credit: GSC Game World)

When you return to Boo with his beloved Drowned AKM, you’ll have the option to either give it back to him or say you’ll keep it. Saying you’ll keep it is generally the better option as Boo offers no rewards for giving to him and doesn’t fight back if you keep it, and what kind of Stalker would turn down a free gun? With that said, Drowned is far from perfect and needs a lot of work, so you could consider it useless if you think you’ve got something much better already.

Firstly, you’ll find that it’s at zero durability and therefore needs a technician’s touch for some Stalker 2 gun repairs but this will set you back 11,500 coupons. Poor durability also means you can’t sell it for profit either. Next, you can only use the underbarrel grenade launcher if you’ve got the correct VOG-25 grenades to load into it, which is another resource to both gather and manage, taking up inventory space and weight – though certain Stalker 2 mods can help with this.

Overall, I think Drowned is certainly worth keeping, but it’s not something you should expect to use to its full effect for a while. There are other Stalker 2 guns that will help you out more reliably in the early game, so it’s best to store Drowned and come back for it later when you’ve found grenades and adequate coupons for repairs and upgrades.

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Will Sawyer
Guides Writer

Will Sawyer is a guides writer at 12DOVE who works with the rest of the guides team to give readers great information and advice on the best items, how to complete a particular challenge, or where to go in some of the biggest video games. Will joined the GameRadar+ team in August 2021 and has written about service titles, including Fortnite, Destiny 2, and Warzone, as well as some of the biggest releases like Halo Infinite, Elden Ring, and God of War Ragnarok.