STALCRAFT: X News

[p]For a long time, you only saw hints in spoilers from the development fields: pieces of new container branches, bits and pieces of information. Now it's time to put everything together and show it directly in the game.[/p][p]We have provided you with a complete overview of all the changes that have affected containers and artefacts.[/p][p]The main goal of the update is to make the system of containers, backpacks, and artefacts cohesive and convenient. To make it easier to understand the mechanics, more interesting to gather builds, and always have room for choice, without unnecessary tweaks and incomprehensible restrictions.[/p][p]Now containers and backpacks differ not only in the number of slots, but also in effectiveness. Small and cheap models have become significantly more useful, while bulky ones still offer maximum power but require investment and resources.[/p][p]Armour no longer affects container selection — there are no advantages or disadvantages to the armour + container combination. Put on whatever you wanted, combine it with anything else, and go for a raid. As for artefacts, some of them had their presets reworked, which added even more variety to builds and allowed their potential to be revealed in a new way. This has made it easier to construct builds and customise them to suit your playing style.[/p][h2]
Changes to containers and backpacks: what has changed and why[/h2][p]We have reworked the container and backpack system to make it more intuitive, diverse and balanced.[/p]

• [p]Container effectiveness
  Previously, the difference was mainly felt in the number of slots. Now the effectiveness parameter is important, which enhances artefacts inside the container.[/p]

[p]Let's take a simple example: suppose an artefact gives 4% vitality:[/p]

• [p]In a container with 100% effectiveness, this number will not change;[/p]
• [p]In a container with 150% effectiveness, the output is 6%;[/p]
• [p]And in a container with 50% effectiveness — 2%.[/p]

[p][/p][p]It should be noted that effectiveness does not affect the inputs and outputs of infections (Radiation, Temperature, Biological Infection, Psy Effect, and Frost), but it can affect debuffs, either strengthening or weakening them.[/p]

• [p]Different types of containers have become more equal
  Small containers are simpler, offer less power due to slots, but are easier to handle. Heavy and spacious ones still deliver maximum power, but require more effort to assemble.
  Example: [/p]

• [p]Cocoon (Tier 8, Standard Container) — 3 slots, 100% effectiveness, 89.5% protection;[/p]
• [p]Canister (Tier 8, Bulky Container) — 5 slots, 75% effectiveness, 60% protection.[/p]

[p]With only three artefacts available, it is obviously more advantageous to use Cocoon, as it will allow you to maximise the power of the artefacts, achieving a total of 300% effectiveness, compared to 225% for Canister. But if we fill the Canister full of artefacts, we will get 375%. As a result, Canister has more potential power, but it also requires more artefacts, as well as the use of an artefact with infection output due to reduced internal protection. Cocoon implies an easier build method, where you can do without output artefacts in principle, but it will be slightly inferior to Canister.[/p][p]
[/p][p][/p][p]On average, containers with numerous slots allow you to unlock greater potential, but will require more effort on your part to build.[/p]

• [p]Container protection has been redesigned
  This change gives more freedom for builds and forces players to choose artefacts more carefully. In some cases, you will have to choose artefacts of a certain quality to fit them into a container without an artefact to remove the infection.[/p]
• [p]Weight and speed of container equipment
  The weight and speed of equipment depends on the number of slots and the type of container. Compact ones are lighter and quicker to put on, while larger ones are heavier and take longer to equip. Now it is worth considering choosing smaller containers for secondary builds.[/p]
• [p]Obtain and price
  Since containers have been improved, we have adjusted the rate at which they are obtained, and they are now more expensive than they were, but the amount of serum required remains the same.[/p]
• [p]Protection and backpack logic 
  Now backpacks offer protection comparable to full-fledged containers — you can imagine that the same containers are inside.[/p]
• [p]New backpack groups
  We have organised backpacks by type, maintaining continuity between branches. However, there may still be differences within each group, so the division into three categories below is a guideline rather than a strict rule As a result, the number of slots for artefacts could also change depending on which group the backpack belonged to:[/p]
  • [p]Light backpacks — high protection, few slots, give less weight than regular ones, but compensate it with a speed boost.[/p]
  • [p]Standard — weak protection, many slots, provide the greatest amount of weight.[/p]
  • [p]Heavy — medium protection, medium number of slots, give less weight than regular ones, but have increased effectiveness. [/p]

[p][/p]

• [p]Barter branches rework
  The backpack and container branches have been reworked and expanded. For example, compact and bulky containers now have full-fledged lines, and old backpacks such as Jagdtasche or Soviet Travel Backpack are included in new branches.[/p]

[p][/p][p][/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][p][/p][p]Previously, suits and containers became hostages of each other, where due to compatibility only with a specific container, the suits simply were not used with other containers, and conversely, when due to the unpopularity of the costume, the container was hardly used.[/p][p]In this regard, suits received certain buffs or debuffs to their characteristics. But after the possibility of using any containers with any suits arose, the need for this disappeared, so the basic characteristics were changed.

We carefully monitor the balance of all suits and understand that they will always attract a lot of attention. But the current changes relate exclusively to containers: we are removing the system of bonuses and penalties associated with them. This step allows for more accurate monitoring of the situation and prevents mixing different elements of the balance.[/p][p]
[/p][p][/p][p]Artefact builds became more interesting, more flexible and synergize better with the new container system. The changes also apply to their qualities:[/p]

• [p]Common: 85%–100%[/p]
• [p]Uncommon: 100%–115%[/p]
• [p]Special: 115%–130%[/p]
• [p]Rare: 130%–145%[/p]
• [p]Exclusive: 145%–160%[/p]
• [p]Legendary: 160%-175%[/p]
• [p]Unique: 175%–190%[/p]

[p]Rarer artefacts are now more valuable, and the difference in stats between quality levels is now more substantial.[/p][h2]Here are some terms to clear things up:[/h2][p]Artefacts have 3 main property types, but in some cases they might get a 4th one — compensatory.[/p]

• [p]Main property — the strongest one (100%), gets upgraded with artefact potential.[/p]
• [p]Secondary property — weaker (~70%), but also gets upgraded with artefact potential.[/p]
• [p]Special property — gets unlocked by reaching a certain level of artefact potential, has ~50% power.[/p]
• [p]Compensatory property — is given to artefacts in order to equalize them with others on the same level if they're weaker.[/p]

[p]We also have different categories of artifacts, that have their own properties. Weak, Standard, Protective —  the kind that give you protection from hazards, Strong Output — the kind that has a hazard output, Weak Output, there are also others, but we'll only talk about the aforementioned ones, as the changes only apply to the listed ones.[/p][h2]Main changes[/h2]

• [p]Weak artefacts are G O N E!
  This category got removed. All the weak ones got moved into different groups (mainly into standard ones) and became substantially stronger. New standard tier 3 artefacts are almost equal in power to old tier 5 artefacts.[/p]
• [p]Standard artefacts
  All artefacts from tier 1 to tier 3 now have 1.25 infection (as opposed to previous 1 to 2) This means they became especially viable. They are not only a great option for those that want little infection and a lot of extra stats, but also allow players to make budget builds composed entirely out of them. Or, alternatively, supplement stronger artefacts, if the build doesn't have enough infection output to fit a standard artefact of higher tier.[/p]
• [p]Output artefacts[/p]

[p]Important note[/p][p]Due to artefact changes we had to reduce the output value by ~0.8. At first, the numbers might seem strange, but their influence on builds stays the same. Without this reduction, we could've broken the balancing, allowing for excessive counterplay.[/p][p]Yes, some common quality, low level artefacts may have suffered a bit from this. But if you upgrade its potential to level 9+, the problem disappears. And because of container improvements, many might not see the difference.[/p]

• [p]For strong output artefacts, the special property depends on the tier:[/p]
  • [p]Tier 1, Tier 3, Tier 5 — get an additional property.[/p]
  • [p]Tier 2 and Tier 4 — get a stronger output.[/p]
• [p]Weak output (Fahrenheit, Veiner and others) now provide one infection output at the baseline. Improvement of potential is no longer needed to unlock or improve it — baseline output is enough. Now instead of infection output, an additional property acts as a normal parameter (in the form of regeneration, movement speed or vitality, etc.). Additionally, their characteristics have been increased.[/p]
• [p]Atom has received separate changes: it still has 4 outputs remaining, and now they are available at the baseline, but instead of receiving additional outputs from improving potential, it now receives proper parameters — for example, vitality, stamina regeneration, and bleeding output.[/p]
• [p]Artefacts with high output may have other parameters reduced.[/p]
• [p]High-output, low-level artefacts now have a small amount of infection input. [/p]

• [p]Frost artefacts
  Temperature output of many frost artefacts has been significantly reduced, but it is now available directly at the baseline and does not take up a special property slot, which means that artefacts gain new parameters when levelled up. For example, Heel now has a special property in the form of a reaction to burns.[/p]
• [p]Psy-artefacts
  They now function like all the others. The input and output of the infection have been equalised, and the output of Psy by the body has also become 0.5, as with other infections. There are no more special conditions.[/p]
• [p]Protective artefacts
  They have received more output at the baseline, so they can partially replace the output ones. But their protective characteristics are now lower at the baseline, and the maximum is only achieved through levelling up. This was done so that combat armours do not have too easy way to counter infections.[/p]
• [p]Other changes
  Changed the significance of parameters such as Laceration, Reaction to laceration and Explosion[/p]

[p]These characteristics should become higher on average for artefacts.[/p]

• [p]Artefact compensation[/p]

[p]Some artefacts have received compensation — 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]Adjustments to artefacts:[/p]

[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]

[p][/p][p]We will be performing server maintenance in the EU, NA, and SEA regions:[/p][p]📆 03 September, 2025[/p][p]08:00 - 14:00 (CET)[/p][p]AM 02:00 - AM 08:00 (EST)[/p][p]PM 02:00 - PM 08:00 (GMT+8)[/p][p]❕ Schedules may change due to unexpected problems.[/p][p]🚧 STALCRAFT: X servers will be unavailable during maintenance. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause, and we thank you in advance for your understanding and patience. [/p][p]Respectfully,[/p][p]EXBO Team[/p]

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[DISCLAIMER] JUMPSCARE WARNING!

The Exclusion Zone sinks into a cold, grim Autumn — new trials and unknown dangers lie ahead.
In the shadows, strange figures stir, as if the Zone itself was watching every step.
Who can say what secrets lurk in the dark…

VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED!
The new season — Horrors of the Zone...

[p][/p][p]Attention, Seekers! On September 3, the Murmur of the Zone season comes to an end, so here’s an important reminder:[/p]

[p]• Season currency (Bills) will expire with the end of the season. Make sure to spend them in advance![/p][p]• Accumulated chances for the Special Case do not carry over between seasons. However, the Special Case token remains and can be used in future seasons.[/p][p]• Accumulated chances for the Advanced Case are preserved and carry over between seasons.[/p][p]• Season Pass left in hand will carry over into the new season.[/p]

[p]Spend your remaining currency wisely to be fully prepared for the upcoming autumn season![/p]