Progression in STALKER 2 is entirely centered around finding and upgrading quality pieces of gear, so you'd be forgiven for thinking most of the equipment in the early game is mediocre and will need to be replaced quickly. However, that's actually not the case, as I came to find out once I found three excellent pieces of kit early that ended up carrying me for over 30 hours of my ongoing 40+ hour playthrough.
All three of these items — a rifle, suit of armor, and artifact — can easily be collected in the opening hours of the game, and you don't even have to put yourself in much danger to get them. Make no mistake, this is gear you absolutely don't want to miss, and to make sure you don't, I've put together a quick guide below that shows where to get them and why they're so good. If you're interested in getting the best early game gear in STALKER 2, read on.
Valik Lummox's AKM-74S location
The first piece of gear from this early game shopping list you can easily get your hands on is Valik Lummox's AKM-74S, a standard AKM-74S that comes with a nifty scope attached. Headshots are important when fighting other stalkers in The Zone, and that scope will make landing them far, far easier. Because of this, I ended up using this weapon for a ridiculously long time until other scoped options became available.
You'll find the rifle at the Water Tower location northwest of Zalissya in the Lesser Zone, which is the first settlement you'll come across; the rifle is at the top of the climbable water tower, to be more specific. Note that you may need to accept the quest "Warlock's Debter" from the bartender Warlock in Zalyssia first before the weapon spawns, which you can do after you enter his establishment and see the cutscene that plays.
During that quest, you have to track down a stalker called Valik Lummox who owes Warlock money and is hiding out at the water tower. When you get there, you'll find bandits trying to shake him down that claim he owes them money as well; you have the option to help him, and if you do, he'll mention the rifle in an offhand comment.
The one drawback of Valik Lummox's AKM-74S is that you can't detach its scope, so it can be difficult to use in close-quarters. You'll eventually get a unique AKM from the main story and a scope in a stash at the top of the Slag Heap in the Garbage area that can be freely added to and removed from weapons — together, those two items replaced this rifle in my loadout, as the added flexibility is nice to have. Until that happens, though, I recommend using this as a marksman's rifle of sorts while keeping a shotgun or SMG handy for dealing with close-range threats.
Weird Ball artifact location
The next item to track down is the Weird Ball artifact, which became a permanent part of my loadout the second I got my hands on it. It considerably reduces the damage you take from enemy firearms and doesn't have a drawback to contend with like most artifacts do, making it a must-have treasure.
Unlike most artifacts, the Weird Ball is one-of-a-kind and doesn't require a detector to pick up. You'll find it to the east of Zalissya in the Lesser Zone, next to an ambulance that's close to a large anomaly in a pond called a Bulba. Note that this location is unmarked until you get close to it, so use the image above to find it.
You'll notice the Bulba anomaly in the pond constantly expands and contracts, with nearby objects in the environment getting sucked closer to it when it expands and then expelled when it contracts. To avoid getting damaged, sucked in, and killed by the Bulba, you'll need to crouch behind the vehicles and boulders in the pond when it's expanding, then move up closer to the ambulance when it's contracting. Once you're behind the ambulance, you can then easily grab the Weird Ball when it's safe to do so.
Something important to know is that whatever you do, don't jump while in the pond. This will allow the Bulba to immediately pull you right underneath it, which kills you instantly (I learned this the hard way).
PSZ-5V Guardian of Freedom Suit location
Last but certainly not least is the PSZ-5V Guardian of Freedom Suit, which is excellent armor I used for 30+ hours. It's undoubtedly the most well-rounded suit I found in the early game, with a great balance of weight, damage protection, good resistances to anomalies, and two slots for artifacts. It also has a good suite of upgrades that allow you to add extra damage reductions and artifact slots, and isn't unreasonably expensive to repair.
This is the last of these three items you'll find, as you'll need to head to the Garbage to get it. Specifically, you'll find the suit to the west of the Slag Heap at the Brood bandit hangout on top of a structure you can reach by climbing on the roof of a bunker entrance and walking across some pipes. Once up there, you'll see the armor sitting next to a basic stalker stash labelled "Tucked-Away Loot" on your map. Note that the Brood bandits are neutral unless you decide to attack them, so don't worry about them coming after you.
While there are several decent suits of armor in the Lesser Zone and the Garbage — the Light Mercenary Suit from one of the stashes from The Journalist's "Seek, and you shall find" quest is what I used before finding this one — I found the PSZ-5V Guardian of Freedom to be the best one overall. Its great protection, solid early game artifact flexibility, strong upgrade potential, and modest repair costs make it an S-tier pick you should track down ASAP.
STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl has arrived on Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC, and is one of this year's best Xbox games and best PC games. It has a $59.99 MSRP, but notably, you can get it for a discount at CDKeys right now. You can also play it through Xbox Game Pass, PC Game Pass, and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
