The reason why Ratkiller one taps is that it uses 9.18 ammo. For whatever reason, the AP 9.18 rounds have a 130% penetration bonus, which outshines all other AP rounds by a large margin. The rounds are also the reason why Skifs Pistol is so good.
So it doesn't one tap in veteran mode? If that's the case, who cares. It is still the best fully automatic gun in the game. Good penetration out of the box with a 50 round base mag chambered in the cheapest and most common ammo type in the game. Considering it uses the same ammo type the garbage APSB pistol uses makes the choise quiete clear which to use.
Also the case that 9x18mm ammo, even the AP variety, is easily available from mid-game onwards. Ratkiller may be the only legitimately OP weapon in the game. I predict that it's going to be nerfed at some point.
@@IcedCoffeeGaming Oh man its gonna cause me some headache to figure out why the stats are wrong on it, is it 200HP on Monolith exos or do they have special armour on the head, so many questions...
What makes Clusterfuck so good is that not only does it have great damage and great AP, but its mix of a massive magazine, low recoil and powerful scope means that if you do run into exos you can just dump them from 100m away, because it is trivially easy to just land several follow up shots at range which is something other snipers simply can't do. Landing a stray headshot means you'll down most targets in 3-4 shots while aiming center mass. Not only is it decently potent, it is forgiving to a comical degree and you basically don't have to worry about missing shots
The problem it has is it breaks super fast and is expensive to repair. Took it into my first final mission and it was always in the red between points where I could repair.
@@IcedCoffeeGaming The cluster has a bigger mag, weighs less base, more plentiful ammo, and has more durability base than those rifles. It’s a trade off.
@@IcedCoffeeGamingi think balancing for this game is crazy how you can get corundum suit and svd and more in the noon area which is pretty early stuff that can set you up the whole game
For Pripyat early, the Train jump was patch wirh an invisible wall and more rads. But slightly to the left (Where the stash is for the unique revolver) there is a little fence you can hop on, then jump to a gap in two trains then up and over. Tested this myself on my first Stalker run a few days ago
So early you can get best armor,weapon and flash drive/blueprints? No need to loot or explore just go to mission after mission? Yupp that ruins 80% off the game
My opinion: Ranking should base on progression. For examples: Some S tier weapons like Unique Gauss and Saiga only obtainable when you're nearly finished the game, without NG+, it's just for Pseudogiants and Granite Squad. On the other hand, you can get Drowned 10 minutes after leaving lesser zone with no risk, get the pso scope right above it and you have a straight upgrade from the Valik's AK, which can pop heads until mid game. Sledgehammer is great but can only get after SIRCAA, by then you already have the Saiga from Nimble.
There should be a "bad for the game" tier below D. And Skif's pistol should be there by itself. It invalidates other sidearms. Especially the UDP. Imagine being a Dev, modelling and animating the weapon. Spending time on it.. just so that not a single shot will be fired from it the entire game because some genius had the idea to add a mandatory pistol to the game that horrendously outclasses it.
I agree UDP should offer more to justify running it over skifs. I just recorded a video outlining how to improve/make interesting sidegrades I am uploading soon.
I'm probably a little over halfway through my first playthrough. I've got statistically better rifles in my storage, but I've used Drowned almost this entire time cause 5.45AP is so abundant, I can use the grenade launcher if I need to, and you find a silencer and scope so early. The dual mag is great, too. AND the effective infinite durability. It's a winner until enemies get too tough.
All Monolith DLC weapons are exactly the same as their base counterparts except cheaper (and thus cheaper to repair) and lighter. Combatant being broken when you get it was a bug that has since been fixed. Predator's big claim to fame is its capacity is eight rounds rather than the normal 860's six. Which only matters if you haven't found the 860 magazine upgrade blueprint in Chemical Plant (which increases the capacity to ten plus much quicker reload), or haven't gotten the 860 with the magazine upgrade already on it from Nestor's stash during the main quest. Predator also can't be upgraded with the magazine upgrade. SOFMOD's big problem is the terrible sight that you can't change. If you read the description of Drowned, it's actually been down in that creek for a while and the guy is lying about having just dropped it.
Drowned AK shares same jamming stats with regular AKM-74S, but it never breaks, it reaches 0% durability and still usable but you will have to live with the jamming which to be fair, are not as frequent as other weapons, the AKs in the game are some of the most reliable guns in terms of jamming and he also clears the jamming on the AK guns very quickly. But its still a pretty good weapon, just get all the upgrades for it to reduce recoil and put silencer on it, and its pretty "decent" in bursts at like 50 - 60 metres.
@@SMGJohn AK's aren't reliable at all at jamming, my Valik's AK-74 started jamming at 92%, like wtf? the only gun in game which started to jam so early.
There are 2 ways to get into Prypiat early, first being the closest fence to the east of Yaniv where u can jump onto the pillar and then barbwired fence from where onto the train. The second which I found is actually u can climb the 1 store building right near Yaniv from the west. There’s some old rusted work trash right at the wall of the building that you can use to climb onto the roof and drop down on the other side of
Great list as always, been waiting for this one. Glad you told folks about Drowned's hidden mechanic, I feel like folks overlook this weapon without knowing about it. I'm not the biggest fan of the devs trying to gatekeep us out of Pripyat when it's one of the coolest areas to explore, especially early on. When you visit early there is a sense of dread hanging in the air around Pripyat that I've felt in very few other games. If you've got the kit, the know-how, and the balls to take it on early then by all means have at it. I get them wanting to build a story but open world is open world. 👍
I think they went with a "quantity over quality" approach for uniques in Stalker 2. I think CoP had it right; very few just lying around and almost all of them had some advantage over the regular version. In my first Stalker 2 run I ran Valik's AK until SIRCAA (I was enough of an idiot to return the Drowned to Boo), after which I changed to the Dnipro and didn't look back, with some use of the Clusterf and later Kharod. My secondary is always a shotgun, started off with the TOZ, upgraded to Nestor's M860 and then Nimble's Saiga, which I ran until the end. Was really disappointed by Predator, which was my favorite gun (to pair with Strelok's SGI) in CoP.
Finally, the 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕝 tier list. The one that matters the most. I don't really understand why anyone would wanna use regular weapons that some random NPC can also have, when you can run the one-of-a-kind ones like a true main character. Never used basic weapons, never will.
A lot of the base versions are objectively better than uniques though, or the uniques are identical to base version but look cooler. Some uniques are better but funny enough Base Vector suppressed has better stats than DLC unique Riemann and Ratkiller is worse than base Bizon in terms of range but slightly better breakpoints on base ammo IIRC. Lynx is objectively better than stock SVD, and Texan better than Ram 2 base.
@@IcedCoffeeGaming Now, once we have so many knowlage about the game, some off us are plaing 3 time on veteran, so maybe it is a good time to make a video about moods ? Moods for more enemies, harder enemies, more imersive fights and less loot, and to make the game ultra veteran :) thx fot good work!
@@IcedCoffeeGaming man, are you serious? Why would you use Rat Killer with regular ammo? You want to take advantage from it’s being 9x18 gun and use those overpowered AP weapons rounds with whooping 130% bonus to penetration. This thing stomps, one shots exosuit enemies with headshot, takes 9 rounds to kill bloodsucker. It is absolutely busted
All these unique weapons need 1 special upgrade exclusive to them, like some have sights/mods on them that normally can't be use on the normal versions of the guns
I got into Pripyat early on 1/1/2025 using the acid glitch on the train tracks up north. You jump from the rail car where the body is onto the turned over tanker car and you can jump over. I then B-lined to the base and saved.
Just wanted to say thank you for reacting to comments about a unique variant list(my comment included), and going out of your way to create one. Random question, we all know content was cut from the game, including weapons(anyone remember the sig553 that was in one of the released game trailers?), and it seems a number of pistols did'nt appear that were in previous games, would you at all do a video about weapons that should have been included, or that should be added? I just feel with the weapons as they are there's really not a lot of variety as how to approach missions, and I think personally there should have been like a dozen weapons or so more, especially to fully utilize certain ammos. I mean, without upgrading the vector or mp5, there's what, two weapons that use 45acp(UDP and gordon)....
Great vid! I remember in Stalker 1 C.O.P they had a viper that used magnum ammo that was crazy good. And in Clear sky a ak that used sniper ammo. Sad they didnt do anything like that in this game..
The weapons in the spreadsheet, are they listed with base stats or as upgraded? Because with some of them, they are right on the border between 1-tap and 2-tap for end game exo's. Like the Partner, it 1-taps on normal Stalker mode, but needs 2 on Veteran. That makes me wonder of any penetration upgrades (if available for that gun) will bump it up to 1-tap on Veteran too?
the veteran (vss) is way better than the whole asval line imo it has the same bullet to kill ratio on exos with ap, it has a better bullet to kill ratio on every other enemy, its more efficient to repair, i needs less upgrades, has a default scope etc
@@PieMK6R yeah, but Clusterfuck weights much more. And more costly to repair. CF is a great weapon for main quest missions, but aside from that, it's a pain in the ass to maintain it, especially on Veteran difficulty.
Rat Killer shoots 9x18 instead of 9x19 like a normal Zubr-19 and I believe 9x18 armor piercing ammunition is bugged currently where it gets more armor penetration compared to armor piercing rounds of other ammo types (I think 9x18 gets like 150% pen whereas the standard is 50%) so I wonder if that is why it one taps when the normal Zubr-19 does not.
@@geomotrix By that point you could be using many better mid to late game 5.45 rifles. It’s a bit of pointless money sink by the time you get it. It’s biggest positive being it’s pretty low weight.
@@MultiKbarry for sure! I think actually its biggest positive is being strelok's gun from the og, which is enough for some people to make the investment and still see it get a few kills
By far best weapon tier list yet! I feel like your first two weapon tier list were focused way two much on tapping exo suits. Tapping exo suits only applies to the last 15- 20% of the game. Yes you encounter exo suit enemies earlier 😅but it’s like one out of a bunch of enemies. Keep up the good work!!
I had fully upgraded Saiga, and when I got unique variant from journalist stash, I remember 1 or 2 stats were slightly worse. Maybe because I didn't upgrade this unique weapon
I think the Special should be higher. Yes it's slightly worse than the Monolith Viper, but it's free (barring one semi-mandatory fight at the checkpoint, which tbf is fairly easy), and you get both a silencer and holo sight, and you can get a mag upgrade near Zalyssa. If you want to run a 5.56 you can swap between your SMG and the Special to conserve ammo, and you get a little bit more customization because later you can run the coupled mags. It's a good C tier filler gun for the stealthy smg role, especially when you first get access to 5.56 in garbage. The main drawback is that for 5.45 the scoped AK is a better option.
The whip with a 20 round mag and foregrip and a pso-4x scope is one of the most potent combos in my opinion. Il run that and the fully upgraded integral a with the caliber conversion and I love that combo.
Yeah the PSO-4 scope is a total gamechanger and not very obvious that you can equip it! Coupled with large clip it's a monster at any range, easily best weapon in game. As for low durability eff it, bring two of them :D
@ at least on PC you could technically console command your loadout back with so maybe not every thing so you still have some reason use other things till you get past the early game to save money on repairs but some people can’t stop once they start using console codes so I don’t blame those who want to avoid it….. it’s me I’m some people…
Partner can be found and kept early when zalisya is attacked and Glutton can be found mid game in a basement though I don’t remember where exactly sry…
The Vetran weighs more than the VS Vintar, otherwise has the same stats, but is missing the laser sight attachment. You are better off with the basic VS Vintar in my opinion.
This is a great series. Thank you for putting in all the work. I've played the Stalker series all the way back since the first one. Played Stalker Gamma, anomaly, etc. I do however think they should do maybe a touch of weapon balancing or I guess the modding community will take up the torch. Like why does a 9x18 do more damage than a 9x19 or .45ACP? Why is a revolver chambered in 9x39? Who knows? But anyway I've been just waiting to buy this game after I get another video card as I've been pretty lax on my system the last few years which is embarrassing after being a former computer tech for over 25 years and only have an RX580 overclocked to hell and back. Yes, I know it meets the "minimum" requirements blah blah blah. However I'm just trying to decide whether it's worth to pull the trigger on a $600 video card or is it more worth it to spend $200 on some downers and alcohol so that 15 frames a second is TOO fast for me. Keep up the good work. Subscribed. Hey, at least they named an AR after my machine. Clusterphuck. So I guess there's that.
I used the drowned for ages for an all-rounder gun for doing loot and artifact runs. I ended up losing it when a mutant pulled it from my hand and it just disappeared and I was fucking devastated to lose something so useful.
I see Lullaby is one of the best economy weapons, if you get it in early-mid game. Way better stats than anything that players usually get in early-mid game.
Am I the only one who likes the deadeye/gambit for like rats, blind dogs and fleshes and other small swarm type enemies? (mainly those jumping rat fuckers) There cheap to fix and get ammo for plus I don’t like using my main weapons for them when I can just use my sidearm for them and save the durability and ammo of my main weapons.
to answer your question, as of Jan 3, 2025, you can still get into Pripyat early....easily, actually multiple ways. I'm in pripyat now, and I have just gotten out of the lesser zone in the Story
One thing I would like to point out is the Combatant has better stats across the board than the SOFMOD so I would assume it’s better? I know stats could be deceiving so if anyone can weigh in on this I’d appreciate it.
The "Veteran" (DLCs Vintar) is outclassed by DEFAULT Vintar - same stats at all, but Veteran is .5 kg heavier. And we all know that is a big deal. Spitfire you can get during In Search of Past Glory, it's like the 2/3 of the game, and it has insane fire rate - and that is a bit pointless, imo. You don't want to go automatic mode on AR's, especially on Veteran difficulty. Groza S-14 is like low B-tier weapon, right now using it for midgame fights - ammo found everywhere, cheap to repair, only downside is no scope.
You can upgrade the S-15 to take a scope, and it allows both a red dot and an ACOG, imo the best sight. Its my favorite rifle, despite being subpar post Duga
We also died instantly when caught out of position in firefights even against a single enemy though, depends on how crazy you want combat to be I guess.
Doesn’t combatant give a bunch of speed boost to ads and stuff, I saw a vid talking bout all the unique traits, gangster has better hip fire, decider has more dmg, etc some of the special effects just aren’t listed on the sheet I think also why did you put the one as lavina dlc gun in b but trophy in c if the dlc version is just a normal lavina while the trophy can be found earlier and has better durability and health with a Scope those guns can’t normally get ?
I really wish they would have made spitfire shoot the LMG ammo and give it higher damage. Since its streloks gun from the first game, make me wanna use it!!!
The mags it uses are even 7.62x39 40rd AKM pattern mags. There's no such thing as 40 Rd 5.45 steel mag. They should definitely do a caliber swap on it and give it higher damage, make it like a short dnipro with worse range.
@F1stzz Which isnt saying a lot because AKs have very low pen. I like it and want it to be better, but lets not pretend that its particularly competent.
@@andreschavez6141 there are basically 4 tiers of pen measured by 20-40-60-80% - all the AKs are sitting at 20 while Spitfire's at 40, which is a pen of Fora, GP37 etc. Combined with its SMG-lvl rate of fire & extended mag this thing SHREDS.
@F1stzz Its fun to use for sure, I just wish you got it earlier or if it had a slightly higher pen stat. By the point in the game that you get it, its already getting outclassed. And after the next main mission, its really ineffective because everyone starts using exos
Model Competitor (unique Rhino) has optics attachment preinstalled, but it's missing one upgrade that you could install on normal Rhino. So Model Competitor is worse than upgraded Rhino.
In my opinion, the AK-74 variation should be the same tier. Combatant, with the same attachments as the Drowned or Valik Lummoxs (meaning POS x4 Scope, silencer, Coupled AKM-74 Magazines and the grenade laucher) , only wins in one thing. Weight. Its a bit less compared with the Drowned. It also seems to be more durable, but cant really tell. "Oh,but the damage stat"...well,damage seems funky in all weapons, and 1-2 taps to the head and they are down. If not,maybe you are in a area that you should be using another weapon with more penetration, like a Fora-221 or a derivans uniques, for example ( cause its the same ammo )
What I'm still hung up un id that the damage and penetration is not based on ammo type ,barrel length and distance of the target (for penetration not only damage). It's ridiculous honestly.😂😂 The game has a horrible weapon balance.
I don't like the running away tactic. I am playing the game to shoot stuff and have fun doing it. The only time I run is when I need to heal or am running out of ammo and have to switch to a different gun that is in my storage. I don't run out of ammo anymore. I am 26 hours in and midgame so I have plenty of everything now. Skiff's Pistol with only AP, a Saiga with buckshot and a nice sniper rifle or Drowned is what I run. Loads of fun fighting groups, I love this game.
Does anyone know if they’re going to let us buy the DLC content at some point? I didn’t buy the deluxe or ultimate edition because this was my first stalker game but now I’m fucking hooked
Go out. Do one mission spend 30 minutes walking back loot to sell, sell it then spend double repairing the armor you just repaired before that One mission.
I don't see the unique m701 cavalier but i might be blind. It's pretty low B tier imo because it's stuck with a basic 1x red dot which is really bad for a slow firing sniper
I'm pretty disappointed by the DLC weapons, I haven't used a single one yet as by the time I get them I already have something better. I know they probably don't want them to be "pay to win" but most have identical stats and offer nothing but a cool skin, or are just too difficult to get. I haven't gotten very far into the game as it's just broken for me so maybe later stuff is better.
Scoped long range weapon only good when you are in early game I give it B tier, if the gun can one shot exo in the head, I rate it higher like SVD or SVU. They are bad bc the aim punch you get whenever you got shot and most fight happen when you got really closed to enemies. You might never get a chance to get a jump on other stalker bc the broken A-life system don't let you having any advantage.
@@themaniomarian cuz it still sucks and the ammo is better used on other weapons its simply not worth it to use lmgs when they are worse in every aspect except mag size which is arguably useless for most weapons cuz you never wanna fullauto for more than 2 seconds anyways
Where is everyone getting that the grom-s14 can change caliber? There is np such upgrade that is why the grom-15 is better it is more ammo efficient, lighter, good damage, and has a built in GL, people are trashing the poor gun
It's my main gun. Plentiful ammo, cheaper grenade and cheap repair. Weights like nothing. And has interchangeable scopes. I run it with a M 701 Super/shotgun attachment.
The whole point of this is ranking the uniques for a veteran playthrough - so why even rank the “point of no return” weapons like Beast? You can only use it for a short time, and without mods can’t take it into the base game. For example, you called Labyrinth filler because it’s post-game and put it in C tier. But up until that point, 2 of your 3 S tier weapons are from the point of no return..
A 100% durability higher base damage APSB is S tier because APSB is S tier weapon. 100% Durability Gauss Rifle for free helps you fight the endgame bosses.
"Drowned" What? XD I gave that gun back to the guy... So you telling me it can still work without repairing it? Ohh man... This game is really nuts when it comes to choosing what you say/do etc. Wow. When i do a new game again(probably after couple more patches) then i will keep the "Drowned". Thanks for the info. :D
Great vid tho I downgrade a few. Say drowned ye it shoots broken but so does any other looted ak and its virtually everywhere Skifs pistol can’t be taken out of hands, quite unique stuff, i never talk to burer without one in hands ;) the only downside being I can’t have two like this )
The reason why Ratkiller one taps is that it uses 9.18 ammo. For whatever reason, the AP 9.18 rounds have a 130% penetration bonus, which outshines all other AP rounds by a large margin. The rounds are also the reason why Skifs Pistol is so good.
The ratkillers days are numbered as of tomorrows vid : )
@@IcedCoffeeGaming are there patch incoming?
So it doesn't one tap in veteran mode? If that's the case, who cares. It is still the best fully automatic gun in the game.
Good penetration out of the box with a 50 round base mag chambered in the cheapest and most common ammo type in the game.
Considering it uses the same ammo type the garbage APSB pistol uses makes the choise quiete clear which to use.
Also the case that 9x18mm ammo, even the AP variety, is easily available from mid-game onwards. Ratkiller may be the only legitimately OP weapon in the game. I predict that it's going to be nerfed at some point.
@@IcedCoffeeGaming
Oh man its gonna cause me some headache to figure out why the stats are wrong on it, is it 200HP on Monolith exos or do they have special armour on the head, so many questions...
What makes Clusterfuck so good is that not only does it have great damage and great AP, but its mix of a massive magazine, low recoil and powerful scope means that if you do run into exos you can just dump them from 100m away, because it is trivially easy to just land several follow up shots at range which is something other snipers simply can't do. Landing a stray headshot means you'll down most targets in 3-4 shots while aiming center mass. Not only is it decently potent, it is forgiving to a comical degree and you basically don't have to worry about missing shots
Why run Clusterfuck when SVU 1 taps base ammo semi auto and Lynx (SVD unique) does the same? Landing 1 shot > Landing 2.
The problem it has is it breaks super fast and is expensive to repair. Took it into my first final mission and it was always in the red between points where I could repair.
@@IcedCoffeeGaming The cluster has a bigger mag, weighs less base, more plentiful ammo, and has more durability base than those rifles. It’s a trade off.
yup! and in terms of *suppressed* DMRs, you can get it VERY early in the game
@@IcedCoffeeGamingi think balancing for this game is crazy how you can get corundum suit and svd and more in the noon area which is pretty early stuff that can set you up the whole game
Timestamp for all unique weapons:
0:41 AR416 Monolith
1:22 Beast
2:28 Clusterf*ck
4:25 Combatant
4:52 Deadeye
5:10 Decider
6:10 Drowned
7:58 EM-1
8:14 Encourage
8:23 Gambit
8:29 Gangster
9:07 Glutton
10:49 Grom S-15
12:22 Hunter
14:33 Labyrinth IV
15:03 Lullaby
15:15 Lynx
16:53 M860 Monolith
17:20 Margach D-12MT
18:48 Merc
19:56 Model Competitor
20:04 Partner
21:36 Predator
21:59 PTM Monolith
22:13 Rat Killer
24:05 Riemann
25:03 SA-U Gabion
26:33 Shah's Mate
27:05 Skif's Pistol
27:26 Sledgehammer
28:16 SOFMOD
28:54 Sotnyk
29:51 Special
30:18 Spitfire
31:27 Spitter
32:19 Texan
34:05 Trophy
34:45 Unknown Stalker's AR416
35:26 Valik Lummox's AKM-74S
36:52 Veteran
37:40 Viper Monolith
37:48 Whip
Cheers.
most of these are just a base weapon with attachments and a unique skin.
I wish we had an AK in 7.62.
"do the strelok... is that a spoiler...? I won't say it. do the guy that warps around"
BRUH
X5 isn't end game yet, it's in Strelok's old hideout. However you're going to fight a lot of heavy armored enemies
For Pripyat early, the Train jump was patch wirh an invisible wall and more rads. But slightly to the left (Where the stash is for the unique revolver) there is a little fence you can hop on, then jump to a gap in two trains then up and over.
Tested this myself on my first Stalker run a few days ago
I can see them patching that one once the devs are aware. I am fine with it as early Pripyat is insanely game breaking.
So early you can get best armor,weapon and flash drive/blueprints? No need to loot or explore just go to mission after mission? Yupp that ruins 80% off the game
My opinion: Ranking should base on progression. For examples: Some S tier weapons like Unique Gauss and Saiga only obtainable when you're nearly finished the game, without NG+, it's just for Pseudogiants and Granite Squad. On the other hand, you can get Drowned 10 minutes after leaving lesser zone with no risk, get the pso scope right above it and you have a straight upgrade from the Valik's AK, which can pop heads until mid game. Sledgehammer is great but can only get after SIRCAA, by then you already have the Saiga from Nimble.
Yeah, at least split into 3 stages - beginning, after SIRCAA and in Pripyat.
There should be a "bad for the game" tier below D.
And Skif's pistol should be there by itself.
It invalidates other sidearms. Especially the UDP.
Imagine being a Dev, modelling and animating the weapon. Spending time on it.. just so that not a single shot will be fired from it the entire game because some genius had the idea to add a mandatory pistol to the game that horrendously outclasses it.
I agree UDP should offer more to justify running it over skifs. I just recorded a video outlining how to improve/make interesting sidegrades I am uploading soon.
It only outclasses the UDP. The APSB and especially the Rhino are easily better than Skif's pistol.
Only good when you run into those mutants (idk their name) and they can’t take your weapon
I'm probably a little over halfway through my first playthrough. I've got statistically better rifles in my storage, but I've used Drowned almost this entire time cause 5.45AP is so abundant, I can use the grenade launcher if I need to, and you find a silencer and scope so early. The dual mag is great, too. AND the effective infinite durability. It's a winner until enemies get too tough.
Yeah it's really versatile for when you get it
All Monolith DLC weapons are exactly the same as their base counterparts except cheaper (and thus cheaper to repair) and lighter.
Combatant being broken when you get it was a bug that has since been fixed.
Predator's big claim to fame is its capacity is eight rounds rather than the normal 860's six. Which only matters if you haven't found the 860 magazine upgrade blueprint in Chemical Plant (which increases the capacity to ten plus much quicker reload), or haven't gotten the 860 with the magazine upgrade already on it from Nestor's stash during the main quest. Predator also can't be upgraded with the magazine upgrade.
SOFMOD's big problem is the terrible sight that you can't change.
If you read the description of Drowned, it's actually been down in that creek for a while and the guy is lying about having just dropped it.
Thank you for doing this, finished my stalker difficulty play through a day ago and just started my veteran run, I am sure this will be useful!!!❤
The drowned AK definately jams as much as any other low durability weapon unless they made a change in the last update
i tested it multiple times over the past few weeks and it always jams
That lowers it to low tier then
Drowned AK shares same jamming stats with regular AKM-74S, but it never breaks, it reaches 0% durability and still usable but you will have to live with the jamming which to be fair, are not as frequent as other weapons, the AKs in the game are some of the most reliable guns in terms of jamming and he also clears the jamming on the AK guns very quickly.
But its still a pretty good weapon, just get all the upgrades for it to reduce recoil and put silencer on it, and its pretty "decent" in bursts at like 50 - 60 metres.
@@SMGJohn AK's aren't reliable at all at jamming, my Valik's AK-74 started jamming at 92%, like wtf? the only gun in game which started to jam so early.
@vladromanenko18
Valik has its own jamming stats in the game file, thats why.
There are 2 ways to get into Prypiat early, first being the closest fence to the east of Yaniv where u can jump onto the pillar and then barbwired fence from where onto the train. The second which I found is actually u can climb the 1 store building right near Yaniv from the west. There’s some old rusted work trash right at the wall of the building that you can use to climb onto the roof and drop down on the other side of
Great list as always, been waiting for this one. Glad you told folks about Drowned's hidden mechanic, I feel like folks overlook this weapon without knowing about it. I'm not the biggest fan of the devs trying to gatekeep us out of Pripyat when it's one of the coolest areas to explore, especially early on. When you visit early there is a sense of dread hanging in the air around Pripyat that I've felt in very few other games. If you've got the kit, the know-how, and the balls to take it on early then by all means have at it. I get them wanting to build a story but open world is open world. 👍
I think they went with a "quantity over quality" approach for uniques in Stalker 2. I think CoP had it right; very few just lying around and almost all of them had some advantage over the regular version. In my first Stalker 2 run I ran Valik's AK until SIRCAA (I was enough of an idiot to return the Drowned to Boo), after which I changed to the Dnipro and didn't look back, with some use of the Clusterf and later Kharod.
My secondary is always a shotgun, started off with the TOZ, upgraded to Nestor's M860 and then Nimble's Saiga, which I ran until the end. Was really disappointed by Predator, which was my favorite gun (to pair with Strelok's SGI) in CoP.
Finally, the 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕝 tier list. The one that matters the most. I don't really understand why anyone would wanna use regular weapons that some random NPC can also have, when you can run the one-of-a-kind ones like a true main character. Never used basic weapons, never will.
A lot of the base versions are objectively better than uniques though, or the uniques are identical to base version but look cooler. Some uniques are better but funny enough Base Vector suppressed has better stats than DLC unique Riemann and Ratkiller is worse than base Bizon in terms of range but slightly better breakpoints on base ammo IIRC. Lynx is objectively better than stock SVD, and Texan better than Ram 2 base.
Unique dnipro not S?...that thing demolishes
@@kristiancar9200 You're right, it demolishes your Kupons.
@@IcedCoffeeGaming Now, once we have so many knowlage about the game, some off us are plaing 3 time on veteran, so maybe it is a good time to make a video about moods ? Moods for more enemies, harder enemies, more imersive fights and less loot, and to make the game ultra veteran :) thx fot good work!
@@IcedCoffeeGaming man, are you serious? Why would you use Rat Killer with regular ammo? You want to take advantage from it’s being 9x18 gun and use those overpowered AP weapons rounds with whooping 130% bonus to penetration. This thing stomps, one shots exosuit enemies with headshot, takes 9 rounds to kill bloodsucker. It is absolutely busted
The Grom S-15 is really nice. Free GL, Uses 5.45 instead of 9x39 which is huge for this particular weapon.
Finally bro, for some reason no where on the internet has RATED the uniques so i know which ones are going for in stalker 2
All these unique weapons need 1 special upgrade exclusive to them, like some have sights/mods on them that normally can't be use on the normal versions of the guns
I got into Pripyat early on 1/1/2025 using the acid glitch on the train tracks up north. You jump from the rail car where the body is onto the turned over tanker car and you can jump over. I then B-lined to the base and saved.
Just wanted to say thank you for reacting to comments about a unique variant list(my comment included), and going out of your way to create one.
Random question, we all know content was cut from the game, including weapons(anyone remember the sig553 that was in one of the released game trailers?), and it seems a number of pistols did'nt appear that were in previous games, would you at all do a video about weapons that should have been included, or that should be added?
I just feel with the weapons as they are there's really not a lot of variety as how to approach missions, and I think personally there should have been like a dozen weapons or so more, especially to fully utilize certain ammos. I mean, without upgrading the vector or mp5, there's what, two weapons that use 45acp(UDP and gordon)....
Great vid! I remember in Stalker 1 C.O.P they had a viper that used magnum ammo that was crazy good. And in Clear sky a ak that used sniper ammo. Sad they didnt do anything like that in this game..
Enjoyed this, thanks for all the weapon reviews. Keep em coming.
Ps combatant now comes at 100%
Can confirm this!
I did this today i was pleased that it was fixed it was wack u snitch and get a broken ak ❤😂
@@therealamon if this mission taught me anything is that I will snitch for a weapon skin
The weapons in the spreadsheet, are they listed with base stats or as upgraded?
Because with some of them, they are right on the border between 1-tap and 2-tap for end game exo's. Like the Partner, it 1-taps on normal Stalker mode, but needs 2 on Veteran. That makes me wonder of any penetration upgrades (if available for that gun) will bump it up to 1-tap on Veteran too?
16:25 bro sounds like talking ben "yeah, yeah yeah." 😭🙏
Uncle Ben from spiderman?
the veteran (vss) is way better than the whole asval line imo it has the same bullet to kill ratio on exos with ap, it has a better bullet to kill ratio on every other enemy, its more efficient to repair, i needs less upgrades, has a default scope etc
the only drawback are that you loose out on 10 bullets in your mag but you dont spray in this game anyways so 20 bullets per mag should be enough
the higher base damage also makes it way better against unarmored humans cuz they die in one shot to the head and 3-4 on the body
As much as I tried to like this weapon, the clustefuck just outperforms this.
And it looks cool(+ is possibly scar’s rifle from clear sky)
@@PieMK6R yeah, but Clusterfuck weights much more. And more costly to repair.
CF is a great weapon for main quest missions, but aside from that, it's a pain in the ass to maintain it, especially on Veteran difficulty.
Has anyone actually converted grom s-14 to shoot 5.45, because I didn't see any option to do so.
He spoke as if there was an option to do so can anyone confirm?
I believe it's only the grom s-15, the special unique version of the grom s-14, that uses the 5.45 ammo.
Rat Killer shoots 9x18 instead of 9x19 like a normal Zubr-19 and I believe 9x18 armor piercing ammunition is bugged currently where it gets more armor penetration compared to armor piercing rounds of other ammo types (I think 9x18 gets like 150% pen whereas the standard is 50%) so I wonder if that is why it one taps when the normal Zubr-19 does not.
It does but I breakpoint test ratkiller in tomorrows vid for ZUBR, starting to include uniques in the weapon overviews
The ak you put in f teir is streloks ak found in his stash. It's quite good.
I can benchmark it against endgame enemies, but it won't do well based on its damage/penetration stats.
@@IcedCoffeeGaming X5 is between the 2 Duga missions so mid/late game, before most enemy spawns are exos so still has application for little while
@geomotrix exactly what I was thinking.
@@geomotrix By that point you could be using many better mid to late game 5.45 rifles. It’s a bit of pointless money sink by the time you get it. It’s biggest positive being it’s pretty low weight.
@@MultiKbarry for sure! I think actually its biggest positive is being strelok's gun from the og, which is enough for some people to make the investment and still see it get a few kills
By far best weapon tier list yet! I feel like your first two weapon tier list were focused way two much on tapping exo suits. Tapping exo suits only applies to the last 15- 20% of the game. Yes you encounter exo suit enemies earlier 😅but it’s like one out of a bunch of enemies. Keep up the good work!!
Spitfire is an incredible short range weapon, large magazine(40+1), high fire rate with the fastest reload animation(AK74U)
Correction: you can upgrade the beast,at least in the scar route
I think Sidoravich will sell quite a few ammo types
I had fully upgraded Saiga, and when I got unique variant from journalist stash, I remember 1 or 2 stats were slightly worse. Maybe because I didn't upgrade this unique weapon
I think the Special should be higher. Yes it's slightly worse than the Monolith Viper, but it's free (barring one semi-mandatory fight at the checkpoint, which tbf is fairly easy), and you get both a silencer and holo sight, and you can get a mag upgrade near Zalyssa. If you want to run a 5.56 you can swap between your SMG and the Special to conserve ammo, and you get a little bit more customization because later you can run the coupled mags. It's a good C tier filler gun for the stealthy smg role, especially when you first get access to 5.56 in garbage. The main drawback is that for 5.45 the scoped AK is a better option.
Combatant does not come broken when you get it, you get it at 100% durability. I just got it today on Veteran and it doesn’t have a scratch on it.
It used to come broken.
The whip with a 20 round mag and foregrip and a pso-4x scope is one of the most potent combos in my opinion. Il run that and the fully upgraded integral a with the caliber conversion and I love that combo.
Yeah the PSO-4 scope is a total gamechanger and not very obvious that you can equip it! Coupled with large clip it's a monster at any range, easily best weapon in game. As for low durability eff it, bring two of them :D
I love getting weapons I can only use Once because the game ends after the final missions with no chance to backtrack…….
Yeah it is bullshit
@ at least on PC you could technically console command your loadout back with so maybe not every thing so you still have some reason use other things till you get past the early game to save money on repairs but some people can’t stop once they start using console codes so I don’t blame those who want to avoid it….. it’s me I’m some people…
Spitter is my favorite early game weapon. It's a great all rounder through the midgame, super easy to use, cheap ammo.
Predator has 8 rounds and standard has only 6. But you can't put a clip on it.
Partner can be found and kept early when zalisya is attacked and Glutton can be found mid game in a basement though I don’t remember where exactly sry…
The Vetran weighs more than the VS Vintar, otherwise has the same stats, but is missing the laser sight attachment. You are better off with the basic VS Vintar in my opinion.
This is a great series. Thank you for putting in all the work. I've played the Stalker series all the way back since the first one. Played Stalker Gamma, anomaly, etc. I do however think they should do maybe a touch of weapon balancing or I guess the modding community will take up the torch. Like why does a 9x18 do more damage than a 9x19 or .45ACP? Why is a revolver chambered in 9x39? Who knows? But anyway I've been just waiting to buy this game after I get another video card as I've been pretty lax on my system the last few years which is embarrassing after being a former computer tech for over 25 years and only have an RX580 overclocked to hell and back. Yes, I know it meets the "minimum" requirements blah blah blah. However I'm just trying to decide whether it's worth to pull the trigger on a $600 video card or is it more worth it to spend $200 on some downers and alcohol so that 15 frames a second is TOO fast for me. Keep up the good work. Subscribed. Hey, at least they named an AR after my machine. Clusterphuck. So I guess there's that.
So weird thing but equipping a grenade launcher on the SOFMOD doesn't remove the bonus of the foregrip that comes locked on it
I used the drowned for ages for an all-rounder gun for doing loot and artifact runs. I ended up losing it when a mutant pulled it from my hand and it just disappeared and I was fucking devastated to lose something so useful.
I see Lullaby is one of the best economy weapons, if you get it in early-mid game. Way better stats than anything that players usually get in early-mid game.
Damn, i returned Drowned, didn't know it doesn't requre repair 😭😭😭
Am I the only one who likes the deadeye/gambit for like rats, blind dogs and fleshes and other small swarm type enemies? (mainly those jumping rat fuckers) There cheap to fix and get ammo for plus I don’t like using my main weapons for them when I can just use my sidearm for them and save the durability and ammo of my main weapons.
The problem is they have to contend with the Skif Pistol. The only time you would use them over SP is if you are using a 9x18 SMG.
The Special quest was so bugged for me, one bandit just randomly shot another one after chilling around and he had 2 of them on him
The sledgehammer has the fastest fire rate out of all shotguns, you can delete anything in front of you in a second
to answer your question, as of Jan 3, 2025, you can still get into Pripyat early....easily, actually multiple ways. I'm in pripyat now, and I have just gotten out of the lesser zone in the Story
One thing I would like to point out is the Combatant has better stats across the board than the SOFMOD so I would assume it’s better? I know stats could be deceiving so if anyone can weigh in on this I’d appreciate it.
My favourite is the cavalier. It's slow, but so satisfying when it hits.
I was able to jump into Pripyat early like 2 days ago but it wasnt a jump I was able to find online , I had to figure that shit out
I hope they make the dlc guns available for purchase. They look really cool.
Unique achievement idea: Defeat Granite Squad using only the Gangster
They could call it "Straight Outta Cordon" or something.
The "Veteran" (DLCs Vintar) is outclassed by DEFAULT Vintar - same stats at all, but Veteran is .5 kg heavier. And we all know that is a big deal.
Spitfire you can get during In Search of Past Glory, it's like the 2/3 of the game, and it has insane fire rate - and that is a bit pointless, imo. You don't want to go automatic mode on AR's, especially on Veteran difficulty.
Groza S-14 is like low B-tier weapon, right now using it for midgame fights - ammo found everywhere, cheap to repair, only downside is no scope.
Spitfire also has a Fora lvl of penetration, which actually makes it better than any other AK in the game DPS-wise & IMO better than Fora itself 🤷🏻♂️
@@F1stzz yeah, couldn't find use for Lullaby when you can have Spitfire (or S-14 much earlier).
You can upgrade the S-15 to take a scope, and it allows both a red dot and an ACOG, imo the best sight. Its my favorite rifle, despite being subpar post Duga
That's one thing that irks me. In the OG trilogy you only ever had to double tap guys in Exo suits.
We also died instantly when caught out of position in firefights even against a single enemy though, depends on how crazy you want combat to be I guess.
You missed m701 super which you can get in duga region and it has preinstalled red dot sight
I wish I could progress my game before it locks me out of a main mission so I can try out some of these.
Another great informative list. You can still get into Pripyat early as of the current patch.
Doesn’t combatant give a bunch of speed boost to ads and stuff, I saw a vid talking bout all the unique traits, gangster has better hip fire, decider has more dmg, etc some of the special effects just aren’t listed on the sheet I think also why did you put the one as lavina dlc gun in b but trophy in c if the dlc version is just a normal lavina while the trophy can be found earlier and has better durability and health with a Scope those guns can’t normally get ?
It might, it still has low damage/pen though which will hurt it vs most mutants and middle-endgame armored humans.
I really wish they would have made spitfire shoot the LMG ammo and give it higher damage. Since its streloks gun from the first game, make me wanna use it!!!
The mags it uses are even 7.62x39 40rd AKM pattern mags. There's no such thing as 40 Rd 5.45 steel mag. They should definitely do a caliber swap on it and give it higher damage, make it like a short dnipro with worse range.
It doesn't need higher damage as this AK has double the penetration of any other AK in the game 👌🏻
@F1stzz Which isnt saying a lot because AKs have very low pen. I like it and want it to be better, but lets not pretend that its particularly competent.
@@andreschavez6141 there are basically 4 tiers of pen measured by 20-40-60-80% - all the AKs are sitting at 20 while Spitfire's at 40, which is a pen of Fora, GP37 etc. Combined with its SMG-lvl rate of fire & extended mag this thing SHREDS.
@F1stzz Its fun to use for sure, I just wish you got it earlier or if it had a slightly higher pen stat. By the point in the game that you get it, its already getting outclassed. And after the next main mission, its really ineffective because everyone starts using exos
I got to Pripyat early using the bolt launch method.
Model Competitor (unique Rhino) has optics attachment preinstalled, but it's missing one upgrade that you could install on normal Rhino. So Model Competitor is worse than upgraded Rhino.
DLC skins in a nutshell, slightly worse than stock
@@IcedCoffeeGaming except when it comes to repair cost for most of the weapons
I've yet to get the ClusterFugg gun, The woman doesn't have the quest to get it.
In my opinion, the AK-74 variation should be the same tier. Combatant, with the same attachments as the Drowned or Valik Lummoxs (meaning POS x4 Scope, silencer, Coupled AKM-74 Magazines and the grenade laucher) , only wins in one thing. Weight. Its a bit less compared with the Drowned. It also seems to be more durable, but cant really tell. "Oh,but the damage stat"...well,damage seems funky in all weapons, and 1-2 taps to the head and they are down. If not,maybe you are in a area that you should be using another weapon with more penetration, like a Fora-221 or a derivans uniques, for example ( cause its the same ammo )
drowned being considered better thank valik's ak is crazy
Valiks ak has lower damage, no question here.
Dat Valik's AK is actually the worst AK in the game, believe it or not.
Drowned carried my ass all the way until late mid-game. Only replaced it when I cheesed a Dnipro and Kharod out of the Rostok Arena.
ラットキラーマジで強すぎる、これ一本でいい
Strelok fight was easy with the SVU and the mag increase. He blinked right in front of me and got mag dumped, fight lasted less than 30 seconds.
Goofy question I have the free game pass version of the game can you still purchase the dlc now?
Drowned jammed for me at like 97% durability...I haven't used it since. Is it only effective at 0% or something?
Not sure, may have never been good
What I'm still hung up un id that the damage and penetration is not based on ammo type ,barrel length and distance of the target (for penetration not only damage). It's ridiculous honestly.😂😂 The game has a horrible weapon balance.
clusterfuck becomes usable as an assault rifle if you have an autoklicker.
I don't like the running away tactic. I am playing the game to shoot stuff and have fun doing it. The only time I run is when I need to heal or am running out of ammo and have to switch to a different gun that is in my storage. I don't run out of ammo anymore. I am 26 hours in and midgame so I have plenty of everything now. Skiff's Pistol with only AP, a Saiga with buckshot and a nice sniper rifle or Drowned is what I run. Loads of fun fighting groups, I love this game.
try the veteran as your sniper i run the same loadout with saiga ap and skiffs and it works great with it
Does anyone know if they’re going to let us buy the DLC content at some point? I didn’t buy the deluxe or ultimate edition because this was my first stalker game but now I’m fucking hooked
No pipe pistols in the list I notice
Its really sad that the UDP is bad becuase I really Like the Deadeye its so cool.
Whatever you like - you make it work👌🏻
Go out. Do one mission spend 30 minutes walking back loot to sell, sell it then spend double repairing the armor you just repaired before that One mission.
I don't see the unique m701 cavalier but i might be blind. It's pretty low B tier imo because it's stuck with a basic 1x red dot which is really bad for a slow firing sniper
My loadout saiga D12,kharod,clusterfuck,Rhino revolver
Spitfire is definitely not end game.
Spitfire is not end game dude it's mid game. It shreds everything.
I'm pretty disappointed by the DLC weapons, I haven't used a single one yet as by the time I get them I already have something better. I know they probably don't want them to be "pay to win" but most have identical stats and offer nothing but a cool skin, or are just too difficult to get. I haven't gotten very far into the game as it's just broken for me so maybe later stuff is better.
Scoped long range weapon only good when you are in early game I give it B tier, if the gun can one shot exo in the head, I rate it higher like SVD or SVU. They are bad bc the aim punch you get whenever you got shot and most fight happen when you got really closed to enemies. You might never get a chance to get a jump on other stalker bc the broken A-life system don't let you having any advantage.
How is Beast a filler when it is a PKM that uses AK ammo?
Beast is in point of down below only, so you can only get it at the end of a playthrough and cannot benefit from that fact.
@@IcedCoffeeGaming Just like EM1 rifle which is S.
@@themaniomarian cuz it still sucks and the ammo is better used on other weapons its simply not worth it to use lmgs when they are worse in every aspect except mag size which is arguably useless for most weapons cuz you never wanna fullauto for more than 2 seconds anyways
@@minzekatze It sucks so much that regular PKM was put in "B" tier in Veteran Weapon Tier list from the same channel.
EM1 helps you in the boss fights, Gauss destroys the bosses, LMG vs "Lok boss" who warps around is not good.
The weapon balancing needs and overhaul for real
I might be working on a nexus mods mod for it : )
Where is everyone getting that the grom-s14 can change caliber? There is np such upgrade that is why the grom-15 is better it is more ammo efficient, lighter, good damage, and has a built in GL, people are trashing the poor gun
It's my main gun. Plentiful ammo, cheaper grenade and cheap repair. Weights like nothing. And has interchangeable scopes. I run it with a M 701 Super/shotgun attachment.
The whole point of this is ranking the uniques for a veteran playthrough - so why even rank the “point of no return” weapons like Beast? You can only use it for a short time, and without mods can’t take it into the base game.
For example, you called Labyrinth filler because it’s post-game and put it in C tier. But up until that point, 2 of your 3 S tier weapons are from the point of no return..
A 100% durability higher base damage APSB is S tier because APSB is S tier weapon. 100% Durability Gauss Rifle for free helps you fight the endgame bosses.
With Hunter rifle is not possible to use underbarrel shotgun. So stupid!!! Why developers did like this, donno. 😒 No point to use it!
"Drowned" What? XD I gave that gun back to the guy... So you telling me it can still work without repairing it? Ohh man... This game is really nuts when it comes to choosing what you say/do etc. Wow. When i do a new game again(probably after couple more patches) then i will keep the "Drowned". Thanks for the info. :D
A few have claimed it still jams, so it may just be bad lol
Drowned definitely jams at 0% durability.
I tested on stream and it seems to rarely jam at low durability.
Pro Tip: Use whatever weapon you like the most, it's not a competitive game.
Great vid tho I downgrade a few. Say drowned ye it shoots broken but so does any other looted ak and its virtually everywhere
Skifs pistol can’t be taken out of hands, quite unique stuff, i never talk to burer without one in hands ;) the only downside being I can’t have two like this )
Cavalier? The m701 from Duga?
Wasn't aware of it, if it accepts holemaker and is just an M701 with a red dot, it is S.
Name the images for those of us who do not understand English
Forged Noatun >>>