Being a stalker is all fine and well in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl until you’re in the middle of a fight with some bandits, mutants, or other hostile creature and your weapon suddenly decides to break. Unfortunately, Stalker 2 features a rather brutal weapon degradation system that means you’ll want to keep a close eye on the condition of your favorite weapons.
Fortunately, repairing weapons in poor condition can be easily done across the Zone, provided you know where to look and have enough Coupons to afford them. So you’re not caught short, here’s exactly how to repair and upgrade your weapons in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl.
How to repair weapons and armor in Stalker 2
Repairing weapons and armor in Stalker 2 is fortunately pretty easy, provided you have the Coupons for it and enough time and resources to travel to your closest Technician.
Technicians are NPCs found in the major settlements — safe hub areas — across the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone. The first one that you will meet, which the Stalker Wisdom side mission points you to, is Lens in Zalissya; the first major settlement you’ll arrive at, which is located in the Lesser Zone.
As you progress with Stalker 2’s main missions and explore new regions of the Zone, you’ll find more Technicians that you can visit when in need of a repair.
Approach the Technician and press ‘E’ on your keyboard while in dialogue with them to open the Upgrades menu. Here, you’ll be able to select the weapon or armor that you wish to repair and spend some Coupons doing just that. You can also upgrade weapons and armor here, too.
How to upgrade weapons and armor in Stalker 2
Upgrading your weapons and armor in Stalker 2 is done in a similar fashion to repairing them, and that’s by visiting your nearest Technician, such as Lens in Zalissya or Diode in Slag Heap.
While in the upgrades menu – where you are able to repair weapons – click the dots shown on the weapon or piece or armor to see what upgrades you can purchase for it. For example, selecting the barrel of Skif’s Pistol will show you two possible upgrades, Tin Coating which increases Bullet Velocity by 10%, and Extra Barrel Rifling which increases Armor-piercing Power by 30%.
Some upgrades will just cost you a wad of Coupons, while others require you to find Blueprints — which appear as blue flash drives — around the Zone. These particular upgrades only become available to purchase after you have found their associated blueprint (the Extra Barrel Rifling for Skif’s Pistol mentioned above needs a blueprint to install, for example). When you’ve settled on an upgrade, simply double-click to purchase and apply it.
Last, but not least, it’s also worth noting that more upgrades appear to become available as you progress with your journey. On top of that, attachments are entirely different to upgrades. When you find an attachment, you can press ‘T’ to attach it, provided you have a corresponding weapon equipped. No Technician needed!
For more on Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, take a look at all artifacts across the Zone, and all the anomalies you ought to try and avoid.