Modders are already hard at work improving Stalker 2, from performance enhancements to changing some of the game's more challenging systems.
Stalker 2 has only been out for a day, barely over 24 hours, but there are already 19 mods available for it on Nexus. Honestly, I can see why. As Andy wrote in his three-star review, it's "The best but most broken game I've played all year". It's a demanding game, and even though I played it with the recommended hardware specs I got a lot of texture pop and frame rate drops. Luckily, most of the mods out for it aim to optimize its performance on PC.
Two of the hot mods on the page right now are Stalker Optimizer and Optimized Tweaks. They have 11,647 and 10,621 unique downloads, respectively, and both aim to make the game run more smoothly. The first "reduces stuttering considerably by optimizing shader compilation and assets streaming," and the second "boosts CPU and GPU efficiency, reduces latency, accelerates loading and boot times."
There are also a couple of mods that tweak the gameplay. One is Reasonable Weapon Degradation. Weapons in the Zone degrade with use – being fired in an area full of anomalous energy and constant radiation storms will do that – and it's expensive to keep them in good shape, but it's a part of the game I actually quite enjoyed. It makes fights tenser, knowing your gun could jam because you opted to buy ammo or some medkits instead of fixing it.
There's another, No Weapon Durability Loss, that simply removes the mechanic and adds the option to remove it from your gas mask and armor, too, but I think that seems overkill.
There's one that makes some enemies easier: Grok's Less Tanky Bloodsuckers and Poltergeists. This quarters the health bars of two of the most annoying and spongy mutants in the game. They're a real drain on your ammo, but again, that's the point. They're meant to prevent you from ever amassing so much ammo you stop feeling afraid of the Zone. You have to scavenge to survive. Once you take that away, Stalker 2 loses some of its character.
If you don't want to use mods, you can play Stalker 2 with GeForce Now to simply stream the game using Nvidia's beefier tech, which is a great option if you've got a crappy laptop but a good internet connection.
If you're just getting into the game yourself, check out our Stalker 2 guides to help give you the best chance at surviving the hostile Zone.
If your PC isn't powerful enough to handle Stalker 2's impeccably janky vibes, I'm here to tell you that the best way to play it is on GeForce Now
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