Patchnote [03.09.2025]

[p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]Something strange is happening in the Zone... More and more stalkers are encountering new oddities. Tales and rumours about various weirdness fill the Bar.  Some blame anomalies or mutants, others the autumn madness. However, those who know the answers to the Zone's mysteries understand the true cause of the changes... But can an ordinary person get close to the solution and remain the same?[/p][p]In this patchnote you will see the following changes: new Horrors of the Zone season, second iteration of Arsenal, artefacts, armours and containers balance changes, addition of in-game event hub, weather changes and much more.[/p][h2]Season rewards[/h2][p]
[/p][p]In this season, the following key rewards are available:[/p]

• [p]SR-1-10mm pistol;[/p]
• [p]Witness Amulet Charm;[/p]
• [p]Phantom Hunter Armored Suit;[/p]
• [p]SMG Nut;[/p]
• [p]Special Case Tokens;[/p]
• [p]Experienced Hunter Skin;[/p]
• [p]Claw Charm;[/p]
• [p]Act II Tickets;[/p]
• [p]Hunter's Ornament Container;[/p]
• [p]Watcher Charm.[/p]

[p]
[/p][p]Pancor Jackhammer shotgun — a unique reward for reaching level 500.[/p][h2]Special Case[/h2][p]The Special Case now has new offers, and one of them is a unique shotgun — KS-12 Komrad.[/p][p]
[/p][h2]Styles and Motifs[/h2][p]Added new unique motifs and styles for the Horrors of the Zone season to the shop.[/p][p]
[/p][h2]Horrors of the Zone Starter Pack[/h2][p]The Horrors of the Zone season Starter Pack is now available for purchase in the in-game shop. It includes the following items:[/p]

• [p]10 season levels;[/p]
• [p]7 day Premium;[/p]
• [p]Bad Intentions Paint in two pieces for weapons and armour.[/p]

[p][/p][h2]Charms-Counters[/h2][p]You can now buy kill counter charms for session battles in the in-game shop.[/p][p]
[/p][p]You can now also exchange the open world kill counter charms for session battle kill counter charms at the Dealer NPC.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Events Hub is a new system for displaying in-game events and news. It’s designed not only to organise all relevant information, but also to serve as the place where in-game events will live — some of which you’ll be able to experience very soon.[/p][p]The hub will include:[/p]

• [p]Patchnotes, news, and important announcements;[/p]
• [p]Events — both small and big.[/p]

[p]When you enter the game, you’ll be greeted by a special page with the latest information, acting as a news hub. News is also duplicated in the character selection menu and remains available during maintenance.[/p][p]You can access this section both from the initial character selection screen and through interaction buttons in the in-game menu.[/p][p]
[/p][p]On the events page, you’ll see brief information about each event, as well as links to the platform for discussion.[/p][p]
[/p][h2]Daily login reward[/h2][p]Moved daily login rewards to the Event Hub.[/p][p]From now on, rewards are no longer claimed automatically — you’ll need to collect them manually through the Event Hub.[/p][p]You can now sell almost all unnecessary gear from past seasons to the Exchanger. Simply open the “Sell” tab at the trader to get rid of excess items.[/p][p]Please note: Veteran and Stalker gear can no longer be purchased for Act Tickets.[/p][h2]New weaponry[/h2][p]The collection of weapons that Arsenal can upgrade has been expanded with the AUG A3, AK-12, and HK416. Upgrading them will cost you 20 000 reputation.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Upgrading attachments[/h2][p]Arsen is expanding his field of activity. He now also takes attachments for upgrades. Currently, you can upgrade grips, silencers, and muzzle breaks. An attachment upgrade will cost you 30 000 reputation.[/p][p]
[/p][h2]Arsenal assignments[/h2][p]Arsenal has started offering daily tasks to those who want to obtain Arsenal items with less financial investment.[/p][p]Here's the tasks that Arsenal can offer you:[/p]

1. [p]Shoot — Have a look. You are granted a random Arsenal weapon, and you must use it to eliminate a certain number of enemies. Once done, come back to Arsenal. Ammunition will be issued with the weapon. The weapon itself has a very limited durability amount. The weapon cannot be repaired, or used in various game modes.[/p]
2. [p]Feed Imp. You must gather an estimated amount of food for Imp.[/p]
3. [p]What are you murmuring over there?! You must find and destroy the Murmur psy-installations.[/p]
4. [p]Dig deeper, brotherly. You must dig out caches in Labirynth and Stillwaters.[/p]

[h2]Arsenal voiceover[/h2][p]Arsenal has been given his own voice, so that everyone can hear his charming tone![/p][h2]Drossel[/h2][p]
[/p][p]Drossel, a pal of Arsenal, has appeared in the Zone recently. He is ready to help you earn Arsen's reputation. Drossel can be found at faction bases.[/p][p]He requires specific items which he then puts in packages for Arsen.[/p][p]Items presets required for trading are individual for each player and will change daily throughout the week.[/p][p]Packages come in two types: dropped upon death and not. The latter requires more valuable items. The list of items can be viewed when interacting with Drossel.[/p][h2]Changes to selling items to Arsenal[/h2][p]The Arsenal's items selling mechanic has been changed.[/p][p]From now on, every day, each player will receive a random set of items instead of fixed sets shared by everyone.[/p][h2]Other changes[/h2][p]Reduced the number of players allowed to enter the Stillwaters burrow to two instead of five.[/p][p]
[/p][p]We’ve reworked both the visual and technical aspects of weather in the following locations: Radial North, Labyrinth, Lyubech-3, and Stillwaters.[/p][p]Made minor adjustments to the weather in the South Zone, making it a bit darker and more ominous.[/p][p]Updated vegetation colour grading across the entire Zone to match an autumn atmosphere, and in open-world locations added the effect of falling leaves.[/p][p]Fog is now dynamically adapting to the character’s position, further enhancing the sense of immersion.[/p][h2]Containers[/h2][p]Here are the key changes you need to read to fully understand the container and artefact system update. Please review this carefully to make sense of all further adjustments.[/p][p]
[/p][p]We’ve reworked the system of containers, backpacks, and artefacts, extended the barter branches for both compact and bulky containers, while backpacks have now received full progression lines of their own. From now on, container effectiveness directly influences the strength of the artefacts placed inside.[/p][p]Different types of containers have become more balanced: containers with fewer slots now provide greater comfort when assembling artefact builds. Containers with more slots offer far more potential power, but require a more complex setup — with reduced internal protection, they demand a more careful build approach. Overall, containers have become stronger, which is why their prices have been adjusted — though the amount of Serum required has remained unchanged. In addition, a completely new 7-slot container has been introduced — a true behemoth that will certainly attract those who enjoy assembling the most powerful builds.[/p][p]Armour no longer comes with built-in advantages or drawbacks tied to equipping specific containers — you can now wear any container with any armour suit without limitations. As for artefacts, their changes are aimed at broadening build diversity: some presets have been updated to improve compatibility with new setups, and their certain qualities have been revised.[/p][p]You can find more details about the balance adjustments in a separate article via this link.[/p][h2]Barter branch changes and edits[/h2][p]Due to the barter reshuffle, some items will be replaced with others for players.[/p][p]
[/p][p][/p][h2]Armour changes[/h2][p]The main change is that all containers and backpacks are now compatible with any armour (except IU-2, but this is temporary).
[/p][p][/p][h2]Artefacts[/h2][h3]Artefact compensation[/h3][p]Due to the rebalance, it is now possible to reclaim the resources spent on certain artefacts — this is due to significant changes made to them. If an artefact is eligible for compensation, a small star will appear on its icon. There are four such artefacts in total: Atom, Polyhedron, Amberite and Eye of the Storm.[/p][p]Compensation is entirely optional: you can either accept it or decline it.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Adjustments to artefacts:[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Consumables changes[/h2][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Infection output display[/h2][p]Added a standard infection output display. Debuffs applied by infections are now also shown.[/p][p]
[/p][h2]Other[/h2][p]Increased the number of exit points from Klondike.
(UPD: will be released later.)[/p][h3]Suppression[/h3][p]Added Movement speed penalty (up to 5%).[/p][h3]Account Recovery[/h3][p]As part of improving the gaming experience, we are introducing a partial character deletion mechanism. Now players will be able to cancel the deletion of a character within three days if they change their mind. The recovery mechanism after full deletion remains unchanged.[/p][h3]Sights[/h3][p]Sights now feature switchable zoom functionality: [/p]

• [p]Trijicon ACOG 4x20 (x2.4 → x1.5);[/p]
• [p]NcStar VISM (x3.4 → x1.5);[/p]
• [p]Composite Optical Sight 2.8 (x2.8 → x1.8); [/p]
• [p]Trapezoid Collimator Sight (х2.4 →  х1.5). [/p]

[p]The default button for switching is assigned to Middle Mouse button, but this can be changed in the settings.[/p][h3]Sounds[/h3][p]Added long-range ambient sounds, new lines from Archont Zuza on the radio, and music in the main menu.[/p][p]Updated weapon firing sounds:[/p]

• [p]KS-1;[/p]
• [p]PKP Pecheneg; [/p]
• [p]LR-300.[/p]

[h3]Models[/h3][p]Updated muzzle device models:[/p]

• [p]Custom Guns Doncaser 9x19; [/p]
• [p]SUPRA K-8 С.К.О.С.;[/p]
• [p]GE-OCTO Gunethics 9x19; [/p]
• [p]VR-09;[/p]
• [p]MICRO BADGER;[/p]
• [p]Nomad 9 MBC; [/p]
• [p]Titan-9 Long;[/p]
• [p]Spikes Tactical Dynacomp; [/p]
• [p]SPVV 7.62;[/p]
• [p]AKML;[/p]
• [p]Venom Tactical Antidote;  [/p]
• [p]PBS-1.[/p]

[h2]Localisation[/h2]

• [p]Fixed multiple naming inconsistency bugs;[/p]
• [p]Fixed the translation of several legacy items.[/p]