Stalker 2 gets its “first major patch”, patch 1.1, featuring a mammoth list of more than 1,800 fixes that includes the first batch of A-Life tweaks

Stalker 2 developer GSC Game World has been gradually working to fix as many of the bugs and issues that plagued the game at launch, and today it’s relased a pretty huge swing at solving a heap of stuff. This latest patch comes with over 1,800 fixes, making it worth of being dubbed the game’s “first major patch”.

While modders have been busy putting out plenty of their own fixes and tweaks for the game since literally the moment it dropped, it’s been nice to see GSC doing all it can to make Stalker a thing that folks can try without habing to worry about running into the kinds of pesky problems our own Connor and Kelsey did while reviewing and guiding the game.

“Just before Christmas and New Year’s, we are ready to present Patch 1.1,” GSC wrote in this new patch’s notes, “It is the first major patch for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, and it will address over 1,800 issues, including the first iteration of the A-Life fixes.

“We understand that the size of the patch is huge and the process of downloading will take some time. We would like to thank you for your understanding, and we will work on this aspect as well.”

So, what’s in this beefy boi? Well, I’m not going to go through all of it because we’d be here all day, but here are all the fixes specifically aimed at A-Life specifically – that being the system governing AI behaviour that’s behind a lot of Stalker’s unique gameplay appeal.

• Fixed the issue with spawning NPCs behind the player’s back.

• Players can now encounter roaming NPCs across the Zone more often.

• Greatly extended the distance at which A-Life NPCs are visible to the player.

• Fixed the aggressive optimization issue that prevented A-Life NPCs to exist in Offline (out of player’s visualization range). In Offline mode, A-Life will continue to advance towards their goals over time. Players may now have opportunities to encounter A-Life NPCs they’ve previously met by following in the same direction as the NPCs.

• Improved A-Life NPCs navigation in Offline using GameGraph (global AI navigation map): Fixed multiple issues where NPCs would fail to follow or find a path to their designated goals. Fixed several issues with NPC being stuck in Online-Offline transition state.

• Enhanced A-Life NPCs’ motivation to expand territory and actively attack enemies and mutants.

• Fixed issues that could result in fewer A-life NPCs encountered than intended.

• Further contextual actions improvement to ensure seamless transitions between Offline and Online states for NPCs engaged in these actions.

• The groups exploring the Zone are now more diverse regarding possible factions and group sizes.

• Fixed issue that while roaming over the Zone, Human NPCs didn’t satisfy their communication needs and talks.

Beyond this, there are a whole bunch of changes to everything from main line missions and story progression, side missions and open world encounters, and cutscenes. GSC has also made some “balancing adjustments” that include “increasing rewards for several missions”, and tweaked some stuff around the player’s gear, state, and how they’re guided around the map.

If you’re still unsure whether to give Stalker 2 a go, make sure to check out our review. We’ve also got an array of guides that can help you survive by doing stuff like efficiently looking after your gear and learning about anomalies.