S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Gets Major Patch 1.7

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl received a major patch 1.7 titled "Expedition". The developers also released a trailer showcasing the update's main features.

The new patch significantly improves the A-Life system, adds a "Master" difficulty (reduces resource availability, raises vendor prices, and increases weapon and gear degradation) and a hardcore "Expedition" mode (disables saving anywhere), slightly revamps the inventory UI, tweaks the stamina and sprint systems, introduces several new anomalies, adds a new weather preset — light rain — and includes numerous bug fixes and performance optimizations.

Factions have learned to fight for territory. They can lose control of their lands if they fail to defend them. Stalkers and mutants now contest various points of interest, checkpoints, and locations (but not hubs). They also learned to defend their lairs and territories from hostile stalkers. Enemies are now much harder to spot the player in tall grass or reeds, and shooting through bushes is less accurate. Mutants and NPCs will retreat if they judge their chances of survival to be low. They will more actively attempt to flank opponents and choose engagement distances that best suit their weapons. In addition, NPC combat animations have been made more realistic, and mutants have received new death animations.

It’s also worth noting that the PS5 version of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is set to launch on November 20.