Character characteristics and what affects them

[p][/p][p]Hello to all chemists of the Zone!
Today we will discuss the parameters of an ordinary stalker's body and the impact of an aggressive external environment on it. In other words, let's examine the character's characteristics and the factors that may influence them.[/p][p]In the game, such changes are called buffs and debuffs:[/p]

Buffs are positive effects that strengthen a character, while
debuffs are negative effects that weaken them.

[p]This article will be useful for newbies to learn about this tricky topic and get some practical experience, while masters might find a couple of new tricks for themselves.[/p]

• [p]Healing effects[/p]
• [p]Buffs and debuffs from medicines[/p]
• [p]Carry weight[/p]
• [p]Infections and artefacts[/p]
• [p]Buffs and debuffs in PvP[/p]
• [p]Conclusion[/p]

[p][/p][p]Health is based. That’s just facts. Let's start with that. First, let's look at all the buffs that affect its recovery: Healing Effectiveness, Regeneration, Periodic healing and Instant healing.[/p]

How do they differ, and how do they work?

[p]Regeneration affects the speed at which a character's health recovers.
When taking damage, this stat is reduced by 5 times (i.e. by 80%) for 5 seconds. However, pure damage and damage from infections do not interrupt regeneration.
Regeneration's base value is 2.5% health per second.[/p][p]Periodic healing is the passive restoration of a character's health. Unlike Regeneration, it works regardless of whether damage is taken.[/p]

For example, RAPS AH-5 Pilgrim suit has 2% Periodic healing.
This means that every second, regardless of whether you take damage or not,
2% of your health will be regenerated per second.

[p]Healing Effectiveness, meanwhile, affects the rate at which health is restored from medicines, artefacts, and the suit's built-in healing. Unfortunately, this characteristic does not apply to Regeneration.[/p][p]Let's not forget about Instant healing. Medicines with this parameter immediately restore a certain amount of health when used. For example, STRIKE medicine instantly restores 6.3 health points. Healing Effectiveness does not affect this parameter.[/p][p][/p][p]Consumables can not only restore health, but also improve other characteristics.[/p][p]Next, we will examine how they are divided into groups based on buffs and which ones have debuffs.[/p][p][/p][p]Consumables are divided into groups according to their purpose – there are six in total. Each group is responsible for a particular purpose, which is fairly intuitively designated. For your convenience, we have compiled them into a table:[/p][p]It is important to keep in mind that these characteristics may be found in different consumables of a particular group and are not necessarily present simultaneously.[/p][p]Within the group, each consumable has a priority level — yes, just like in game development. It is set up so that when consumables from one group are used, the stronger one works. And you didn't have to eat and smear yourself with everything in sight to understand what would ultimately work. The purpose and priority level can be found in the description of the consumable:[/p][p][/p][p]It's simple — the consumable with the higher priority will take effect. Effects of a lower priority medicine will not work until the higher priority effect has passed. When using several consumables from the same group with the same priority, the last one used will work.[/p][p][/p][p]Example of priority in action[/p][h2]Debuffs from consumables[/h2][p]Medicines do not have many negative effects. Some of them are cleared out pretty quickly, while others stick around in the character's body until the medicine stops working.[/p][p]For example, Vodka poisoning lasts only 3 seconds after consumption. At the same time, the negative effects of SchizoYorsh accompany the character until death or the end of the medicine's effect.[/p]

So what are the debuffs?

[h2]Poison and intoxication[/h2][p]Most frequently, you will encounter Poison or Intoxication.[/p][p]With 25 accumulated units, Poison begins to deal damage and impose the following penalties:[/p][p][/p][p]Visual effect of Poison[/p][p]If you use multiple items with Poison effect, its value will accumulate and deal more damage, and the penalties will increase.[/p][p]Keep in mind that Poison can come not only from consumables, but also from Bioinfection![/p][p]There is also Intoxication, which causes the character to stagger and their vision to blur. This effect lasts only a couple of seconds, then disappears. Debuff affects only the visuals — the screen appears to sway and blur.[/p]

And what helps us carry more loot?

[h2]Carry weight[/h2][p][/p][p]The name of the characteristic speaks for itself — Carry Weight determines how many kilograms of equipment and loot you can carry without debuffs to Movement speed and Stamina consumption.[/p][p]A character without armour, artefacts or consumables has 50 kilograms of Carry weight.[/p][p][/p][p]Carry weight is affected by your suit, backpacks, and artefact builds. Let's not forget to mention consumables — they increase Carry weight for a certain period of time.[/p][h2]Various stages of overload[/h2][p]Carry weight has three indicators. Now let's figure out what they mean:[/p][p]1. Optimal weight — corresponds to the weight of current inventory and is 75% of the character's Carry weight. That is, if you have 69.4 kg of Carry weight, you can only gain 52.05 kg without receiving any debuffs.[/p][p][/p][p]2. Insignificant overload[/p][p]Penalties:[/p][p]• Movement speed -15%[/p][p]• Stamina consumption x3[/p][p][/p][p]3. Slight overload[/p][p]Penalties:[/p][p]• Movement speed -30%[/p][p]• Stamina consumption x4[/p][p][/p][p]4. Overload[/p][p]Penalties:[/p][p]• Movement speed -45%[/p][p]• Stamina consumption x5[/p][p][/p][p]5. Heavy overload[/p][p]Penalties:[/p][p]• Movement speed -60%[/p][p]• Stamina consumption x5[/p][p]• Cannot run[/p][p][/p][p]We've sorted out the overload, but what about the infections? What are they, how can they be avoided, and how can artefacts be used correctly to maximise their benefits without harming your health? Let's figure it out.[/p][p]Infected areas are found from The Swamps to Stillwaters. If you enter there without the proper level of protection, a negative effect begins to accumulate in the character's body.[/p][p]Each accumulated infection deals damage and applies its own debuffs.[/p][p]Usually, sources of infection can be spotted from a distance if you pay close attention and observe changes in the terrain: [/p]

• [p]Radiation appears in water, near metal objects, inside arch-anomalies, and in certain areas of the Zone. These are only approximate guidelines, so don't be surprised if you encounter it in an open field.[/p]
• [p]Bioinfection is more common in swampy areas and can be distinguished by the greenish colour of the terrain. Usually, anomalies such as Aspic form in it.[/p]
• [p]Thermo-infection is distinguished in the landscape by scenes of burnt areas and anomalies such as Inferno, Lighter, and Kettle.[/p]
• [p]Psy-emissions is mainly found near power line towers and antennas. It stands out due to the dark purple colour of the terrain.[/p]
• [p]Frost in the open world only occurs during certain themed events and from grenades such as Snowstorm.[/p]

[p]It's time to talk about what debuffs you can get from infections, how to safely move through infected areas without scientist armour, and how to use damage from infections or anomalies to your advantage in combat.[/p][h3]Debuffs from accumulated infections[/h3][p]Infection can begin to accumulate not only when entering an infected area, but also from artefacts in your container or backpack if the container's internal protection is insufficient to reduce the negative effects. In such cases, you need to have a counter-artefact, which you can use to suppress the accumulation of infections.[/p][p]For example, if you receive psy-emissions from the build, it is worth adding an artefact such as a Disintegrator or Transformer to the container to remove the psy-emissions.[/p][p]Again, to avoid spreading out the sheet, we packed everything into a table listing all possible debuffs from infections and their ranges:[/p][p]Resistance to infections decreases at 90 000 accumulated infections, but that won't help you any more.[/p][p]In addition to infections, you can also get effects such as Bleeding and Burning in the CEZ. They seriously complicate the life of every stalker and are quite common, so let's go over them separately.[/p][h2]Bleeding and burning[/h2][p]Both of these effects are similar in that they reduce Regeneration and Healing Effectiveness, while Bleeding also reduces Movement speed.[/p][p]Negative effects of Bleeding:[/p][p]Bleeding Protection reduces the amount of effect received by a specified percentage, which may prevent Bleeding from reaching high levels and cause it to be removed more quickly.[/p][p]Bleeding can be caused by mutant bites, bullets, melee weapons, and radiation.[/p][p]Negative effects of Burning:[/p][p]Burning affects Regeneration, as it strikes with fire and reduces it by 80%.[/p][p]For example, character has 15% Health regeneration. He gained the Burning effect, which removes 5% Regeneration. The final 10% is subject to an 80% penalty, leaving 2% Health regeneration for 5 seconds.[/p][p]Burning can be obtained from anomalies such as Lighters, incendiary rounds, and, who would have thought, campfires.[/p][p]Let's return to infections — it is possible and necessary to protect yourself from them. Now we will show you how to calculate the necessary protection required from artifacts and other sources so that you can safely move through infected areas.[/p][h2]Protection against infections and its analogues[/h2][p]First, let's figure out how much Protection from Infection is needed to avoid being affected by different levels of infection.[/p][p]There are 5 levels of infection in the Zone:[/p][p]The game features such terms as Infection Protection and Resistance to infections. But what is the difference between them?[/p][p]Protection against infections provides immunity to a particular type of infection. We can obtain protection from armour and artefacts, as well as consumables. However, it is worth noting that artefact build will consume a certain amount of your Vitality.[/p][p]So you have to choose between two evils: either stay away from infected areas without a reliable suit, or sacrifice your already fragile health.[/p][h2]Artefacts for protection from infection[/h2][p]When selecting an artefact, consider the Infection Protection parameter and its value. For your convenience, below is a list of artefacts that have protection against infection.[/p]

• [p]Radiation — Mirror, Leech, Hedgehog;[/p]
• [p]Psy-emissions — Morror, Spectral Crystal, Ilyich Lamp;[/p]
• [p]Bioinfection — Acid Crystal, Lemna, Eye of the Storm;[/p]
• [p]Temperature — Kettlebell, Eye of the Storm, Red Crystal.[/p]

[p]For example, if Brigand Armored Suit has 180 Thermal Protection, and you need to pass through a Level 2 infection, you need to take an artefact that will give you at least another 20 Thermal Protection. Red Crystal with a quality of 100% or higher may be suitable here, without taking into account the effectiveness of the container or backpack. Cheap and cheerful.[/p][p]Meanwhile, Resistance to Infection does not protect against negative effects, but reduces the damage inflicted by accumulated infection. That is, at 100% resistance, the player will not take damage from accumulated infection, but the debuffs from this infection will remain. Yes, you won't die, but it will still be uncomfortable.[/p][p]Example: with 100% Radiation resistance, while in this infection, you will take damage from Bleeding, and your Healing Effectiveness, Regeneration, and Vitality will be reduced.[/p][p]The character's characteristics also include an Infection parameter. It means the removal of infection from the body, and when the value is negative, it slows down the accumulation of infection and accelerates its removal.[/p][p]Remember, the body of a healthy stalker can clear infections on its own:[/p][p]Important clarification — accumulating heat does not remove frost! Because we have our own physics, with blackjack and everything else.[/p][p]Debuffs from infections can not only be neutralised, but also exploited to your advantage — some artefacts provide useful characteristics in response to anomalies.[/p][h2]Anomalous effects[/h2][p]These are reactions that occur when damage is sustained from a particular anomalous effect.[/p][p]There are currently the following reactions in the game:[/p]

• [p]Reaction to burns (Burning);[/p]
• [p]Reaction to chemical burns;[/p]
• [p]Reaction to electricity;[/p]
• [p]Reaction to laceration.[/p]

[p]The reaction occurs at the moment when the character receives damage from the corresponding anomalous effect. The higher the reaction value, the greater the increase in Vitality and Stamina regeneration for 20 seconds. Identical reactions are cumulative.[/p][p]That is, with 2.27% Reaction to burns when receiving damage from fire, Vitality and Stamina regeneration increase by 2.27%.[/p][p][/p][p]Many artefacts have negative characteristics, such as infection, and many difficulties may arise when creating a build.[/p][p]This means that we have come to an important feature of containers — the inner protection parameter.[/p][h2]Inner protection of containers[/h2][p]This property helps reduce infection from artefacts in the build. The higher the percentage of inner protection, the fewer infections the container allows through.[/p][p]Take, for example, the Berloga-5U container. It has 78.5% inner protection, and we want to put an artefact in it that gives 0.56 Radiation. The container will block 78.5% of 0.56 Radiation, leaving only 0.12 infection, 0.5 of which is removed by the body. Remains -0.38 Radiation.[/p][p]First, all infections from artefacts in the container are accumulated, and only then is the body's internal defence applied to the resulting value. The container's protection is not effective against frost.[/p][p]You can read more about how containers work in this article.[/p][h2]Buffs and debuffs in PvP[/h2][p][/p][p]When encountering an enemy, you can receive not only damage from bullets, but also additional negative effects that depend on the player's shooting: Suppression and Stopping power.[/p][h2]Suppression[/h2][p]Suppression is activated when bullets pass within 2.5 metres of the player, causing the following effects:[/p]

1. [p]Stamina regeneration — from -1 to -5;[/p]
2. [p]Stamina — from -5 to -25;[/p]
3. [p]Speed — from -1 to -5;[/p]
4. [p]Sway.[/p]

[p]The penalty depends on the amount of effect received. The more bullets fly past the player, the higher the penalty, but it is limited to a maximum value.[/p][h2]Stopping power[/h2][p]This effect only works when bullets hit the player and results in the following effects:[/p]

1. [p]Decreased stamina regeneration — maximum penalty -30%;[/p]
2. [p]Decreased movement speed — maximum penalty -60%.[/p]

[p]Stopping power penalty works the same way as Suppression penalty. The more damage a player receives, the higher the penalty.[/p][p]In addition to Suppression and Stopping power, you may also suffer negative effects such as Burning, Bleeding, and reduced Health regeneration. We discussed them above.[/p][p]Well, that's it. We hope that this information will at least slightly increase your chances of survival in the harsh conditions of the CEZ. Eat useful consumables and cover your friends!

See you in the Zone![/p][p]
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