STALKER 2 just got a huge Patch 1.2 update with over 1,700 fixes, a new attack for one of its scariest mutants, and more
The first major STALKER 2 update of 2025 is here.
![STALKER 2](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/g6ibxCZjpzJJe9qoYaq4G7-1200-80.jpg)
Following the release of the minor Patch 1.14 update in January, developer GSC Game World has now updated STALKER 2 with the much longer Patch 1.2. It's available to download and install now on Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC, and represents the first large update to the open-world survival shooter in 2025.
In total, Patch 1.2 brings over 1,700 fixes, improvements, and additions to the game, with the most notable of the lot being a brand new roar attack for the controller mutant — the humanoid one with line of sight-based psychic attacks. In addition to assaulting your mind from afar and making you hallucinate the presence of hostile stalkers, controllers can now roar, which presumably disorients your aim and vision in the same way that a bloodsucker can. This will make them more dangerous up close, though getting into close-range and peeking in and out of cover to shoot them is still likely going to be the best way to take them down.
A-Life 2.0 — STALKER 2's standout AI system that simulates realistic movement and behaviors for groups of NPC stalkers throughout The Zone — has also gotten some refinements. Specifically, stalkers will now heal incapacitated allies with medkits, and will now loot and switch to the best weapons from slain enemies if they're better than what they already have. On top of that, some bugs giving NPCs spawned by A-Life access to quest-exclusive locations have been fixed, and the A-Life system will no longer spawn corpses from recent simulated battles close to the player.
GSC has put forward some balance adjustments with this update, as well. Radiation is now more of a concern with radiation damage getting an increase and the anti-radiation properties of the Weird Water arch-artifact reduced, but hostile encounters with other stalkers should generally be a bit less difficult; NPCs are now more likely to spawn with low or mid-tier armors instead of high quality ones, and stalkers with Exoskeleton suits are much rarer now too. Oh, and blind dog mutants will now use their evasive jump attack more often, so you'll need to strafe more and aim especially carefully when fighting them.
Outside of these highlights, the rest of Patch 1.2 contains heaps of miscellaneous fixes for various bugs and glitches that survived the first few big updates to the open-world shooter. There are far, far too many to discuss in detail here, but for a full list of everything addressed in this release, make sure you read the complete patch notes in the section below.
In terms of what's next for the long-awaited sequel, GSC Game World's plans include two story expansions and continued support for STALKER 2 with additional updates and bugfix passes. Next to nothing is known about those DLCs, but players finding unfinished "Iron Forest" and "CNPP" locations has everyone thinking that they'll be set in these regions of The Zone. Hopefully we'll learn more about the expansions and when they're coming when the developers release their planned STALKER 2 roadmap this year.
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All in all, Patch 1.2 seems like a great update, though I worry the new roar for controllers and the increased frequency of blind dog jump attacks will make those two mutants more annoying to fight than they need to be. That said, I haven't actually jumped in game to feel these additions out yet, and they could end up making controllers and blind dogs more engaging to battle. I was also hoping STALKER 2's PvP multiplayer would've released with this patch, though it seems like that's something GSC still has in the oven. Regardless, I'm always happy to see tons of bugfixes, and the change to enemy armor spawns should hopefully make your average cheeki breeki a little less bullet spongey.
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STALKER 2 is normally $59.99 on both Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC, but you can get it for just $36.19 at CDKeys thanks to a sweet discount. You also have the option of playing the survival shooter through Xbox Game Pass, PC Game Pass, or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which is what I'd recommend doing if you're already subscribed to the service or want to try the game out before you purchase it fully.
STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl | $36.19 at CDKeys (Steam, PC)
Despite a few issues with gameplay balance, STALKER 2 stands tall as a triumph for GSC Game World. It's one of the most captivating open-world shooters I've ever played, and is a must-play if you have Xbox Game Pass. It was already fantastic at launch, but since then, it's gotten even better with lots of helpful patches such as this one.
Xbox: Amazon (Physical)
STALKER 2 Update 1.2: Patch notes
Here's a complete look at everything included in STALKER 2 Patch 1.2, taken directly from GSC Game World's official news post about it. Note that there are some spoilers in the "Story" section, so be sure to skip it if you want to avoid them!
Tech Part
AI
- Fixed a bug with A-Life NPCs unable to properly approach corpses. Now they can pick up the best loot and weapons from them, and switch to more powerful weapons.
- Improved corpse looting behavior for NPCs.
- Fixed an issue where NPCs could loot body armor and helmets from corpses.
- Fixed an issue where NPCs could not loot the corpses of NPCs from another faction.
- Fixed NPC shooting accuracy
- Reconfigured bullet dispersion accuracy for all distances for all weapons.
- Added randomization of accurate shots in bullet sprays.
- Reduced wall penetration from certain NPC’s weapon bullets.
- Improved Stealth
- Fixed an issue where after a melee attack, the NPC could end up behind the player.
- Adjusted the time of identification of the player character by NPCs.
- Fixed an issue where NPCs at Malachite location could notice players at a long distance and through the objects.
- Improved mutant behavior in combat
- Fixed an issue where AI wouldn't avoid obstacles and get stuck during scripted combat.
- Fixed an issue where jumping mutants could stuck in the air in certain conditions.
- Fixed that Controller ability does not work through grate doors.
- Fixed that mutants were not able to attack in certain positions.
- Fixed an issue where Chimera could jump through objects.
- Fixed issue where Chimera did not use jump attack.
- Fixed an issue where Deer summons could spawn in the player's field of view.
- Fixed an issue where Poltergeist could activate an anomaly and receive damage from it.
- Fixed an issue where mutants with ability to jump were running around the Player on elevated, unreachable surface.
- Fixed an issue where Pseudodog couldn't create summons when retreating.
- Added roar ability for Controller.
- Fixed an issue where A-life NPCs did not heal friendly wounded NPCs.
- Fixed an issue where A-life could spawn corpses near the player.
- Fixed an issue that could cause A-Life NPCs to have access to quest locations.
- Fixed the absence of some characters that could lead to a blocker during walkthrough of the main line.
- Fixed an issue where A-Life militaries could spawn endlessly near Rookie Village.
- Fixed the issue with a stuck guard NPC in the doorway at the Skadovsk location.
- Fixed issue where more rats spawned in the lair than there should have been.
- Fixed an issue where NPC may stuck after loading saves made right after Emission ends.
- Fixed an issue where weapons grabbed by the Burer ability would disappear.
- Fixed an issue with NPC animations when walking upstairs with a gun in hand.
- Improved animations for some mutants.
- Fixed that player takes damage near the NPC that is going through zombification.
- Fixed an issue where NPC may be stuck in the doorway after emission and block player.
- Fixed an issue where shooting at mutant limbs could stretch them.
- Fixed use of NPC rifle stand position when standing with a pistol.
- Fixed an issue where NPCs could spawn in front of the player at the Sphere location.
- Fixed NPC's repeatable cover animations.
- Fixed an issue where NPCs would stop in doorways on Rostok.
- Fixed NPC's walking animation during stand in combat.
- Fixed an issue where enemy NPCs did not react to flying bullets.
- Improved open world combat with Pseudogiant near Abandoned Science Campus at Prypiat.
- Fixed an issue where an NPC with a closed helmet could eat, smoke and drink through the helmet.
- Fixed an issue where animations of death from an anomaly could be missing for some mutants.
- Fixed an issue where Lex Legend and his group could not return to the quest location after the end of Emission.
- Fixed a problem that made it difficult for rats to move in narrow places.
- Fixed an issue where Burer could snatch a quest weapon from the player's hands.
- Fixed an issue where NPC could start searching for an enemy after warning players to hide weapons.
- Reduced spawn rate for Bloodsuckers before the completion of the Behind Seven Seals mission.
- Fixed the issue when NPC can block a doorway in the Quiets camp after the combat.
- With additional 70+ issues fixed.
Balance
- Weird Water arch-artifact anti-radiation effect was reduced
- Fixed issue when a grenade could deal damage to Burer when the shield was active.
- Now NPCs need less shots to kill Pseudodog summon.
- Increased frequency of Jump Attack for Blind Dog mutant.
- Rebalanced pistols and silencer attachments.
- Decreased spawn rate for NPCs in exoskeletons.
- Reconfigured the number of armor NPC are wearing. Increased the chance of spawning low and mid-tier armor, while the chance for top-tier armor to spawn was reduced.
- Increased damage from radiation depending on accumulated rad-points
- The chance of spawning NPCs with high tier weaponry in early stages of the game was reduced.
- Added ability to trade with additional NPCs at Hubs.
- Economy tweaks for A Job for the Barkeep repeatable missions on Veteran difficulty.
- And a few more minor balance tweaks were made.
Optimization and crashes
- Fixed FPS drops during boss fight with Faust.
- Fixed an issue with performance drop on closing PDA or Pause Menu.
- Slightly improved performance by disabling navigation mesh rebuild properties for multiple objects.
- Fixed memory leak related to item manipulation.
- Fixed over 100 EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION crashes and other errors, including some other minor memory leaks.
- Fixed input lag after enabling VSync with enabled FidelityFX Frame Interpolation.
- Added Framerate lock during the pause menu, main menu and loading screens.
- And some other optimization tweaks.
Under the Hood
- Player's flashlight now casts shadows on objects.
- Fixed the issue where relationships with NPCs didn't change.
- Changed names of some ammo types.
- Fixed the issue where the title could unexpectedly freeze during the dialogues.
- Fixed the issue where some quest logic couldn't start after the NPCs death.
- Improved transitions from cutscene to game.
- Fixed a generic issue where mission logic could break if Player gave an item to a NPC via dialogue option.
- Fixed the issue where the dialogue with NPC was closing after exit from the Trade/Upgrade.
- Fixed an issue where the Player was teleported outside the playable area.
- Added custom Aim Assist logic for invisible targets for all supported controllers.
- Fixed an issue where save backups could be missing after losing game saves.
- Fixed NPC's broken animations while smoking.
- Fixed an issue where NPC could teleport outside the playable area of the map.
- Fixed achievement to sneakily clear the lair.
- Fixed the issue where In Game saves become corrupted after deleting local saves and unsuccessful cloud saves sync.
- Polished PDA models look in low light areas.
- With over 100 other improvements implemented in both sections: Optimization & Crashes, and Under the Hood.
Story
Main Story Line
- Fixed an issue where Col. Korshunov and/or Cpt. Zotov could not spawn during the Wishful Thinking mission.
- Fixed a bug that caused the reputation with Sultan bandits or Shevchenko stalkers not to increase after completing the Three Captains mission.
- Fixed an issue that caused Scar NPC to be hostile to the player during the Visions of Truth mission.
- Fixed an issue that prevented players from a stealth walkthrough during the Shock Therapy mission due to being identified by NPCs instantly.
- Fixed an issue where the final dialogue with Gaffer could not start during the On the Edge mission.
- Fixed an issue where objective Kill Dalin remains active after Korshunov kills Dalin during the Down Below mission.
- Fixed an issue where Inductor could despawn if Skif goes too far from it during the Hot on the Trail mission.
- Fixed a bug that made the stage of killing monolithians not-optional during the The Eternal Shining mission.
- Fixed an issue where the player Character was able to jump down the pod chamber after taking the elevator during stage Find Cartridge with no possibility to take the elevator back up during the Legends of the Zone mission.
- Fixed an issue where the dialogue with Dr. Dalin and Col. Korshunov was looped during the Wishful Thinking mission.
- Fixed an issue where the player could not trade with Wreck during the The Boundary mission.
- Fixed an issue where the doors to STC Malachite could not open during the A Minor Incident mission.
- Fixed multiple issues that could cause NPCs to move during the dialogue with the player.
- Fixed an issue where Spark squad did not attack wardens during the Visions of Truth mission.
- Fixed an issue where objective Bring the Shah's PDA to Varan could be marked as completed after trading with Huron during the King of the Hill mission.
- Changed Chimera's behavior during the Ad astra per aspera mission, now it should retreat after losing a certain amount of HP.
- Fixed an issue where Ocheret ignored the battle between the player and Ocheret's squad.
- Fixed an issue where A-life NPCs could spawn in Claw during the Dead Frequency mission.
- Changed positions of Ward guards near the entrance to X18 lab during the Answers Come at a Price mission.
- Fixed an issue where the monolithians were not present outside the Enerhetyk Palace of Culture during the The Road to the Foundation mission.
- Fixed an issue where the stage "Discover the whereabouts of the escaped Wardens" of the Shock Therapy mission remained active after killing Beard.
- Fixed an issue where Player could lure Chimera into a peaceful zone and make it non-hostile during The Road to the Foundation mission.
- Fixed an issue where scientists constantly attack player during Visions of Truth mission.
- Fixed an issue where Noontiders would not become hostile if a friendly NPC was killed in front of them near the entrance of Noontide base during the Hot on the Trail mission.
- Fixed an issue where phantoms were spawned in the front of the player during the Eye of the Storm mission.
- Fixed an issue with auto completing Three Captains mission right after taking it from Sonya Kalyna.
- Fixed an issue where Players couldn't finish Shift Change mission, if they didn't talk to Jumper at WPS after killing Hog's squad.
- Fixed an issue where Zakhar Babay and Akopyan could end up dead or missing with no ability to finish Deceive the Deceiver mission.
- Fixed an issue where Player was still able to ask Beard about missing wardens after killing them in Shock Therapy mission.
- Fixed an issue where Just Like the Good Old Days mission would not progress if the Player exited Shelter base via roof route.
- Fixed an issue where Strider disappeared instantly after completing Dark Times mission near Doctor's hut.
- Fixed an issue where Find a way into Prypiat objective would not finish if the Player reached Prypiat via shortcut during The Boundary mission.
- Fixed an issue with a missing encounter mission at a checkpoint near Icarus Camp.
- Fixed an issue where Hosha Mohyla could one-shot Player during Answers Come at a Price mission.
- Reduced amount of rats at Offloading Terminal during The Road to the Foundation mission.
- Fixed an issue where Rainy weather persisted through the rest of the game after completing The Boundary mission.
- Fixed an issue where several stashes, markers, and journal objectives were not completed/removed after completing Budmo! mission.
- Fixed an issue where Pomor could die during The Poppy Field mission.
- Fixed an issue where aggressive Strider was present near Doctor's house after a cutscene during An Act of Mercy mission.
- Fixed an issue where Warden guards near the fence had no reaction to Player sneaking right in front of them during Answers Come at a Price mission.
- Prevented issues where corpses with important quest items could get despawned during Bullseye and Shift Change missions.
- Fixed an issue where Strider was dead/missing at Ranger Station during the Extreme Simplicity mission.
- Fixed an issue where psi-effect applied on Player would not disappear after completing A Light in the End of the Tunnel mission.
- Fixed an issue where Talk to Chornozem objective failed from the start and picking up PDA from Chornozem's corpse wouldn't progress Answers Come at a Price mission.
- Fixed an issue where Dark would not help Player to fight the Pseudogiant which blocked progression in Legends of the Zone mission.
- Fixed an issue where Player was not able to interact with Shcherba during In the Name of Science mission.
- Fixed an issue where a cutscene with Scar at the Sawmill during Back to the Slag Heap mission would not start properly.
- Fixed an issue where Skif could die from bleeding effect after bossfight cutscene with Korshunov in Down Below mission.
- Fixed an issue where during the Strelok branch of Down Below mission journal entry in PDA would have Ward branch description instead.
- Fixed an issue where Player was unable to give Sultan his briefcase after killing ambushing stalkers too fast in The Mysterious Case mission.
- Fixed an issue where mercenary squads would not spawn on the way back from Faust's cell during Just Like the Good Old Days mission.
- Fixed an issue where optional journal objectives to fight off Ward/Spark remain active if one side dies due to emission during Extreme Simplicity mission.
- Fixed the issue of stuck Dr. Kryvenko during the A Long Overdue Visit mission.
- Removed the ability to use guide during the The Boundary mission while assault is going.
- Fixed the issue where Richter is absent or dead during the To the Last Drop of Blood, A Minor Incident, The Boundary missions.
- Fixed the issue where some phrases were missing during the On the Edge mission in the final dialogue.
- Fixed the issue where Dalin could be stuck at one place during the Visions of Truth mission.
- Fixed the issue where Objective “Return to Gaffer” is impossible to complete during the On the Edge mission.
- Fixed the issue with infinite reward from Gaffer during the On the Edge mission.
- Fixed the issue where NPCs were blocking the doorway during the On the Edge mission.
- Fixed the issue when Gaffer could exit the building and start fighting during the On the Edge mission.
- Fixed the issue where several Warlock NPCs could be present in the clubhouse during the On the Edge mission.
- Fixed the issue where some Monolithian NPCs weren't attacking the player during the An Act of Mercy mission.
- Fixed the issue where Dalin didn't inspect Ozerskiy`s body during the Visions of Truth mission.
- Fixed the logic of radio messages from Scar after the Bossfight with Faust.
- Fixed an issue where infinite psi-effect was applied to Player after completing A Light in the End of the Tunnel mission.
- Fixed an issue where monolith troops didn't spawn after activating substation during the Happiness for Everyone mission.
- Fixed an issue where Sgt. Metlov was missing in a place of Diode during the Back to the Slag Heap mission.
- FIxed an issue where Skipper's mercenaries squad didn't attack Player on returning Emitter to Lodochka during Just Like the Good Old Days mission.
- Fixed an issue where Scherba was missing at Dvupalov's office during emission in In Search of Past Glory mission.
- Fixed an issue where Player was unable to progress during Dangerous Liaisons mission if decoder was sold.
- Fixed an issue where Player was unable to interact with Dvupalov to give suppressor's blueprint during In Search of Past Glory mission.
- Fixed an issue where Player could get softlocked during the Dangerous Liaisons mission.
- Fixed an issue where mercenaries squad near Brain Scorcher spawned right in front of Player after accepting a collar collecting mission from Shcherba.
- Fixed an issue where Player was able to get stuck behind two NPCs in Zalissya's shelter during A Race against Death mission.
- Fixed an issue where Player was unable to start dialogue with Dvupalov or Scherba to return suppressor during In Search of Past Glory mission.
- Fixed an issue where Dr. Kaymanov and Strider could disappear during An Act of Mercy mission.
- Fixed an issue where the objective "Fight off the Monolith assault" was getting stuck during The Boundary mission.
- Fixed an issue where A Big Score and Deceive the Deceiver missions were able to start twice and have contradicting objectives.
- Fixed an issue where Prof. Lodochka was not interactable at toxic waste storage during the Hot on the Trail mission.
- Fixed an issue where Bandits were starting to fight at Slag Heap if Player escorted Zakhar Babay after emission in Deceive the Deceiver mission.
- Fixed an issue where Take the instruments to Mykolayich objective failed after talking to Gaffer in On the Edge mission.
- Fixed an issue where Ricochet died in Zalissya's house after the second monolith wave during On the Edge mission.
- Fixed an issue where the objective to complete the request without killing the Monolithians failed after hitting monolithians during An Act of Mercy mission.
- Fixed an issue where Monolith soldiers were able to spawn in front of Player during Visions of Truth mission.
- Fixed the issue where friendly NPCs could be stuck at one place during the The Assault on the Duga mission.
- Fixed that mercenary NPC were spawned in inaccessible areas during the Legends of the Zone mission.
- Fixed an issue where some zombies were able to get stuck in an idle state during bossfight with Scar.
- Improved AI behaviour of Korshunov during bossfight with him.
- Improved Korshunov's shield during the bossfight with him.
- Increased Korshunov's armor during bossfight.
- Tweaked Col. Korshunov health points during bossfight in Down Below mission.
- Improved Scar's aiming behaviour during bossfight with him.
- Fixed an issue where Strelok was able to dash outside the playable area of the arena, blocking bossfight with him during The Eternal Shining mission.
- Fixed an issue where Faust's clones could be transparent during a bossfight if the Object Details graphic option is set to low.
- Fixed an issue where the stage "Talk to Korshunov" could stuck when player returns to Korshunov via elevator during the Visions of Truth mission.
- Fixed an issue where hunting could not progress after interacting with Borodulin while he is moving to the hunting spot.
- Fixed an issue where Strider could block the entrance to the warehouse during the Hot on the Trail mission.
- Fixed an issue where Scar could be missing at Rostok Depot during the Take the Emitter to Scar stage of Just Like the Good Old Days mission.
- Fixed an issue where the monolithians could not spawn when the player escaped X-5 lab during the In Search of Past Glory mission.
- Fixed an issue where Korshunov could stuck during the bossfight.
- Overall, over 300+ quest issues were addressed within the Main Story.
Side Missions and Encounters
- Fixed an issue where the player could use the guide's services for free.
- Fixed an issue where NPCs from car scam encounters turned hostile after the Player ran away and came back to them.
- Fixed an issue when a player was unable to take Just Business mission from Carl Clinch if he was previously healed during the Emission.
- Fixed an issue where NPCs could teleport during dialogue after combat in encounter at Wild Territory.
- Improved Rodents' spawn in open-world encounters near Rostok.
- Fixed an issue where relationships with the Scientists' faction were spoiled after completing Black Sheep side mission.
- Added new notes in the open world and hubs.
- Fixed inconsistencies in rewards for repeatable missions.
- Fixed an issue where no travel options were available in dialogue with the guide at Noon base.
- Fixed narrative inconsistencies for loudspeaker announcements at Skadovsk.
- Fixed narrative inconsistencies with available encounter missions after the Monolith comeback.
- Fixed an issue where Spark branch specific encounter mission was able to start after completing In Search of Past Glory mission on Ward branch.
- Increased loot value for stash near Bloodsucker village in the Industrial Zone region.
- Fixed an issue where repeatable missions could get stuck in the Journal tab, preventing other repeatable quests from appearing in dialogues with vendors.
- Fixed an issue where Malachite Hub could get locked for Players on Spark Branch after completing Visions of Truth mission.
- Level Design improvements in encounters near Rookie Village.
- Fixed an issue where Player was unable to start a dialog with Zhenya Hulk during The Key to Freedom mission near Fish Farm, if the door to captives room was opened during combat.
- Fixed an issue with missing Kostya Dry's dead body after the player runs away and comes back to his observation point during an encounter near Duga.
- Fixed an issue where Pseudodog couldn't spawn its Phantoms during Arena: Round Two mission.
- Fixed an issue when Player could loot armor and helmets from dead NPCs during The Key to Freedom mission.
- Fixed the issue where players could be stuck inside the building after the fast travel to Malachite with a guide.
- Fixed the issue where guides at Yaniv station were missing after the player already got to Pripyat.
- Fixed receiving several shotgun rounds during the The Freedom Colosseum mission.
- Fixed the issue when the NPC was not going to search for the player character during the fight at Arena.
- Fixed an issue where doors to STC Malachite were closed on reaching it during A Minor Incident mission.
- Fixed an issue where peaceful NPCs remained in STC Malachite during the fight in Visions of the Truth mission (Spark branch).
- Fixed an issue where the voiceover line for Skif's phrase didn't play in dialogues with guide NPCs.
- Fixed an issue where two groups of bandits did not start combat in the encounter between Poisonous Hole and Commissary Store locations.
- With additional 130+ “anomalies” being discovered and neutralized.
The Zone
Interactable Objects and Zone Experience
- Level design improvements for interactive doors at Wild Territory, Rostok.
- Level art polish for destructible medical boxes.
- Added missing icon of damaged state for weapon looted from NPCs.
- Fixed an issue where arch-artifacts were able to spawn again, after Player's rank is updated.
- Rebalanced loot for stash near Hydrodynamics Lab.
- Fixed an issue with some artifacts models being overexposed.
- Fixed an issue where Burner anomalies were able to damage a Player in discharged state.
- Fixed an issue where Weird Kettle archartifact applied a permanent PSI effect on the Player instead of temporary.
- Fixed that dead bodies could stay in A-pose for several seconds during Wishful Thinking mission.
- Fixed that the first destructible wood plank always destroys without effects.
- Fixed the issue where the door to the tunnel of the Red Fortress was closing after using a key during Just Business mission.
- Fixed an issue where fake psi artifacts didn't disappear after save/load.
- Improved strafing jump mechanics for artifacts.
- Fixed an issue where the Vortex anomaly could damage the player at the Yaniv Station territory.
- Plus an additional 30+ issues were spotted and dealt with.
Player Gear and Player State
- Fixed an issue where character's hands are misplaced after moving the character by expulsion anomaly during examining artifacts.
- Fixed availability to unlock locked doors with grenades.
- Fixed the consumption of grenades when switching to the weapon immediately after throw.
- Fixed grenade disappearing when throwing it at one's feet.
- Added parkour animation from crouch state.
- Fixed receiving of the damage from razor anomaly when already out of it.
- Added NPC's death animations from anomalies.
- Fixed an issue when auto lean and weapon up moves were triggered by small trees and bushes.
- Fixed an issue when the character was not always performing auto lean moves over obstacles.
- Improved NPC footsteps sync.
- Fixed an issue with changed movement keybindings that blocked player from climbing the ladder.
- Fixed an issue when psy effect was not removed after leaving the psy damage area.
- Fixed an issue where the Player was able to become unkillable during gameplay.
- Fixed an issue where dropped NPC corpses could clip with surrounding objects.
- Fixed availability to skip reload animation.
- Added cancel for reload animation of the weapons with under-barrel launcher attachments.
- Adjusted acceleration of the player after sprinting from a standstill.
- Fixed an issue where phantoms could kill regular NPCs with a grenade.
- Decreased amount of artifact slots available by default for X7 suit.
- Fixed an issue with position of upgrade slots on Bulwark Exosuit being mixed up.
- Fixed inconsistencies in PA-7 Gas Mask upgrade tree.
- Rebalanced available upgrades for PSZ-5D Universal Protection armor suit.
- With additional 50+ bugs gotten rid of.
Player Guidance and Game Settings
- Fixed map tooltips not containing region descriptions.
- Fixed map zoom from gamepad.
- Fixed the presence of a dimming effect in the inventory and item selector.
- Fixed an issue where in some cases technicians did not show already installed upgrades.
- Fixed issues with ammo counter visibility on HUD.
- Fixed that the firing mode of the under barrel grenade launcher is not displayed in the inventory.
- Fixed there was no notification on HUD about finding new stashes locations.
- Fixed an issue where, in certain conditions, players could not drag and drop items into loot or stash windows with a gamepad.
- Fixed that caliber on the HUD does not change after upgrading weapon caliber with a technician.
- Fixed a problem where the player could not skip a cutscene with gamepad with proper key if subtitles were off.
- Fixed that "Track" status is present for completed missions in the Completed tab of Journal.
- Fixed incorrect display of the time and equalizer in audiolog.
- Fixed the missing mouse cursor in the attachment selector when shotgun equipped.
- Fixed an issue with not working controls for MSI Claw A1M.
- Integrated Razer Chroma Illumination effects for supported devices.
- Integrated haptic Razer Sensa effects for supported devices.
- Added key binding options for Journal and Notes. Changed default key bindings for leaning left and right.
- Fixed an issue where the new grenade/bolt throw keybinds were not working.
- Fixed missing flashlight button in key bindings.
- Fixed an issue where the Speaker Name UI size didn't change when changing the size of subtitles.
- Fixed that the mission stage about founding shelter does not finish when the player enters shelter during emission.
- Added fire mode change animation when item selector is open.
- Fixed losing input when enemy shoots player while he is in the inventory.
- Increased the duration of the "Point of no return" message.
- Improved UX in the upgrade menu.
- Fixed an issue where the ammo counter for grenades was not displayed.
- And other 120+ fixes were made.
Regions and Locations
- Fixed multiple issues where the player could get stuck in X-17 Lab.
- Fixed the issue where players could be Soft locked at the Cooling Tower's location.
- Fixed that it was possible for NPCs to reach a burning tank at Sphere location and die in it.
- Teleport anomalies were added in Old Barge and Fishing Hamlet areas.
- Fixed an issue when a shelter mark appeared on an inaccessible building if emission was started in the Red Forest area.
- Removed several invalid artifact spawners and anomalies
- Fixed issues with the weather system after leaving Pripyat region.
- Beautification/visual improvements to multiple locations and regions.
- Level design, and terrain improvements for multiple locations and regions.
- Adjusted the foliage placement in multiple locations
- Lighting improvements for multiple locations.
- Tweaked collision for multiple objects in multiple locations.
- Fixed that foliage appearing was noticeable after loading save.
- Fixed an issue where the player could leave the playable area between Cordon and Zaton region.
- Fixed an issue when Monolithians were spawned in the safe zone in Zalissya.
- Adjusted positions of anomalies at the Waste Processing Station location.
- Fixed the load on distance of some objectives around the map.
- Updated the stashes inventory around the Cordon region.
- Added artifact spawn in electrofield at Datacenter of SIIRCA.
- Fixed an issue where ducks sound effects were missing.
- Polished glass and stucco materials in the open-world.
- Overall, over 450+ improvements were made in this section.
Audio, cutscenes, and VO
Cutscenes
- Fixed an issue when both elevator buttons were interactable during entering the cutscene with Korshunov in The Last Step mission.
- Fixed an issue where Agatha's model disappeared when dialogue options were displayed in a cutscene during Wishful Thinking mission.
- Fixed an issue when no videos were playing at screenwall displays during Dangerous Liaisons mission for PC Microsoft Store players.
- Fixed an issue with missing haptic feedback in multiple cutscenes
- Fixed an issue with disappearing hair with different NPCs in multiple cutscenes
- And some other stuff was fixed.
Voiceover and Localization
- Improved facial animations for idle NPCs.
- Updated NPC animations in the multiple dialogs.
- Improved facial animations for several important story NPCs.
- Fixed EN voiceover playing for UA localization during car scam encounter at Buryakivka.
- Fixed voiceover desync issue during dialogue with Richter in The Boundary mission.
- Fixed mismatch in subtitles and VO during first dialogue with Strider in Hot on the Trail mission.
- Minor fix of Serbian localization in dialog phrase.
- Minor fixes to multiple localizations
- With over 25+ other issues being addressed.
Sound and Music
- Reworked sound effects of Carousel anomaly.
- Fixed an issue where Clicker Anomaly was inaudible at close distance.
- Changed the sound of receiving damage from some anomalies to better reflect the type of damage received.
- Fixed an issue where Poltergeist sounds would play after loading a save that was made after the player killed him during the There and Back Again mission.
- Reworked sound effects for opening weapon selector menu.
- Fixed an issue where mutants were too loud at long distances.
- Reworked sound effects for opening weapon selector menu.
- Minor audio improvement for weapon sounds occlusion.
- Improved audio environment in 10+ locations and regions.
- Fixed issue when Region/Location music could disappear when Player moved between different Region/Location
- Fixed issue when combat music could end and start immediately during the same fight
- Fixed an issue where Rostok Region Music could disappear after loading a save.
- Created a new night music theme for Zalissya.
- Added missing music to discball visual anomaly.
- Fixed an issue with disappearing ambient sound at The Poppy Field after loading savefile.
- Fixed an issue where lightnings and visual anomalies were missing sound effects.
- Added audio for grenades underwater.
- Fixed an issue when sound of critical damage was not played when the player was dealing critical hits.
- Fixed duplicated footsteps sound when holding the detector.
- Added different sounds for the bolt depending on the surface.
- Improved sound of mutants while the player is affected by psy.
- Added sounds for actions in Upgrades and Journal tabs in PDA.
- Added sound for exiting to the main menu.
- Fixed the sound of walking over the wooden sleepers.
- And some other minor improvements.
Brendan Lowry is a Windows Central writer and Oakland University graduate with a burning passion for video games, of which he's been an avid fan since childhood. He's been writing for Team WC since the summer of 2017, and you'll find him doing news, editorials, reviews, and general coverage on everything gaming, Xbox, and Windows PC. His favorite game of all time is probably NieR: Automata, though Elden Ring, Fallout: New Vegas, and Team Fortress 2 are in the running, too. When he's not writing or gaming, there's a good chance he's either watching an interesting new movie or TV show or actually going outside for once. Follow him on X (Twitter).