Z.O.N.A: Origin News

[h3]New Features:[/h3]

• [p]While sprinting, the player's breathing now gradually intensifies over time. Once the player stops running, their breathing slowly returns to normal.[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Changes and Improvements:[/h3]

• [p]The injection healing mechanic has been reworked. Previously, it was enough to simply hold the syringe in your hand to highlight the injection zones. Now, after picking up the injection, you need to activate it — press and hold the trigger on your controller to extend the needle and make the injection zones visible. This change helps reduce the chance of accidental use.[/p]
• [p]You can now store not only grenades, a detector, or a flashlight in the right and left wrist slots, but also an injection. This allows you to quickly restore health without needing to open your backpack.[/p]
• [p]A usage guide has been added to the description of healing injections. You can view it by holding the B or Y button (depending on your controller).[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue with a repeated dialogue with Markus on the “ST Perimeter-2” level, which occurred if you chose not to tell him that the password worked on the hermetic door.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where certain anomalies on the “Perimeter-2” level could not be destroyed.[/p]
• [p]The script responsible for positioning the backpack and shoulder weapon slots has been partially revised. Previously, in some cases — especially on Quest headsets — if the player changed their position during level loading, the slots could shift, making the backpack or weapons unreachable. This behavior should now be more stable. If the issue persists, a temporary workaround is to use the recentering function (position reset buttons on Quest controllers).[/p]
• [p]Some textures have been updated.[/p]

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[h3]New Features:[/h3]

• [p]Added a new location — "Perimeter-2".[/p]
• [p]Introduced a new artifact: "Bloody Shard" — considered quite rare. Grants +29 health and +1% regeneration to both psi and radiation protection. Can only be found in the raid location Dead Swamp.[/p]
• [p]Introduced a new artifact: "Frozen Heart" — considered quite rare. Grants +15 health and +75 psi protection, but reduces radiation protection by 75 points. Found only in Dead Swamp.[/p]
• [p]Introduced a new artifact: "Heart of the Zone" — considered one of the rarest. Grants +15 health, psi protection, and radiation protection. Has no side effects. Found only in Dead Swamp.[/p]
• [p]Introduced a new artifact: "Shard" — considered quite rare. Grants +33 health, but reduces both psi and radiation protection by 20 points. Found only in Dead Swamp.[/p]
• [p]Added two new anomalies: "Vortex" and "Electra".[/p]
• [p]Added a new achievement: "Zone Trophy", awarded for finding rare artifacts in the Dead Swamp: "Bloody Shard", "Frozen Heart", "Heart of the Zone", and "Shard".[/p]
• [p]A new character named Klyk has arrived at the Free Stalkers’ base. You can chat with him and ask about the Zone.[/p]
• [p]Added a new random dialogue event at the Dawn base.[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Changes and Improvements:[/h3]

• [p]Improved physics interaction of pistols with the player’s hands and when inserting into a socket — the hand should no longer get stuck in the weapon.[/p]
• [p]Improved hand interaction with detectors OSP-01, TALISMAN, OSA, and GROZA — they will no longer stick to the hand.[/p]
• [p]Improved physics for the Individual Medkit. By the way, did you know you can hold the B button to read what each medicine in the medkit heals and what parameters it boosts?[/p]
• [p]HMG light machine gun durability doubled.[/p]
• [p]Minor adjustments made to shoulder inventory slots and the automatic weapon slot.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug where healing injections didn’t fully work if the player was wearing a thermal visor — temporary visual effects weren’t removed.[/p]
• [p]Adjusted the Strike faction cleanup quest at the Checkpoint. Previously, the quest description said to clear the Depot, which confused players due to another location with the same name.[/p]
• [p]Removed a door at the Checkpoint location — many players didn’t realize it could be opened and didn’t know how to enter the building.[/p]
• [p]Dialogue audio levels have been normalized in several scenes.[/p]
• [p]Fixed animation for one of the zombies.[/p]
• [p]Artifact prices have been adjusted.[/p]
• [p]Fixed zombie behavior bugs in ST Perimeter-2 level.[/p]
• [p]Adjusted the properties of the "Red Star" artifact — reduced regeneration effects for psi and radiation protection.[/p]
• [p]Improved physics on several lootable objects.[/p]
• [p]Minor fixes and polish across several levels.[/p]

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[h2]New Features:[/h2]

• [p]A new location leading to "Perimeter-2" has been added. The Perimeter-2 location itself will be introduced in an upcoming update.[/p]
• [p]The storyline related to decoding Iskra’s PDA at the Dawn base has been completed.[/p]
• [p]A new type of zombie has been added — not your typical kind: it has high durability and deals powerful melee damage. It's essentially a tank among regular zombies. Avoid letting it get too close. You may encounter it in certain locations and raids.[/p]
• [p]New campfire tales have been added at the Free Stalkers’ base. You can listen to them in the building where Sivy is located.[/p]
• [p]A short dialogue between stalkers has been added at the Free Stalkers’ base. You can hear it in the post office building where Mikhalych is sitting.[/p]

[p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][h2]Changes and Improvements:[/h2]

• [p]The quest for finding the Sova detector has been improved. Now, when you enter the bunker during this mission, an additional objective will appear in the PDA, showing where to deliver the detector. If you've already completed this quest, your progress will not be affected.[/p]
• [p]The health of the soldiers guarding the helicopter in Pripyat has been reduced, as this is one of the first encounters with hostile factions. The difficulty has been slightly lowered intentionally.[/p]
• [p]Heavy weapon handling has been improved across all slots. Placing weapons in shoulder slots or the backpack is now easier and more convenient.[/p]
• [p]Improved interaction with the left shoulder socket of the backpack — retrieving and storing items there should now be even smoother.[/p]
• [p]Similarly, the right shoulder socket used for storing heavy weapons has been improved for easier access and placement.[/p]
• [p]Additional random encounters have been added in some locations — both with faction fighters and monsters.[/p]
• [p]Minor fixes and improvements on several levels.[/p][p][/p][p][/p]

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[h2]Changes and Improvements:[/h2]

• Fixed a bug with the quest in "Bunker 88". It occurred if the player saved and loaded the game during the task — objectives would reset. As a result, the quest could only be completed without loading a save.
  
• Optimized some textures across levels.
  
• Optimized textures on certain weapons.
  
• Fixed bugs in faction AI scripts.
  
• Adjusted headlamp brightness on all levels.
  

[h2]Changes and Improvements:[/h2]

• You can now receive a radio message from the AFU squad commander at the Free Stalkers’ base — he has a mission for you. Previously, many players missed this quest, as it required revisiting the "Outpost" location after clearing it. This quest unlocks a storyline branch leading to secret bunkers in Alex’s questline.
  
• Fixed an issue with the leaderboard display at the "Dawn" base. Thanks to user VenousPillow95 for reporting it.
  
• Fixed a bug in the stash hunt quest from Stryzh — the item could fall into the bottom drawer.
  
• Fixed a critical error in the "Outpost" clearing quest.
  
• Improved lighting at the "Dawn" base — corner lens shading has been removed.
  
• Improved lighting at the Free Stalkers’ base — corner lens shading has been removed.
  

The leaderboard has been reset. Be the first to claim the top spot!