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About this mod
The same weapons from Heart of Chornobyl, but now better, more lethal and realistic against the Zone’s faunas.
Say no to tanky mutants with this mod - just don’t forget what Gaffer told you about fellow stalkers in the Zone…
- Requirements
- Permissions and credits
- Changelogs
- Donations
Better Ballistics is a weapon overhaul mod that rebalances Stalker 2’s gunplay to a more realistic/hardcore flavor. By adjusting weapon ballistics, handling, and NPC-related configs, this mod aims to create a more authentic gunplay experience, without sacrificing the game's core balancing and mechanics.
Please read the description in detail, before asking any questions here - thank you!
Stalker 2’s vanilla gunplay is, in my opinion, pretty bad – the core weapon system is very good and allows for a vastly more detailed weapon simulation compared to what was available in the original trios, yet what we saw at launch was at best underwhelming, and at worst, or what I’d always like to call – a literal travesty.
Hence - the creation of this mod. My aim is to not only fix baseline stats such as weapon damage and penetration, but also revamp other aspects of the weapon system in order to deliver a vastly improved gunplay experience, compared to what’s present in the vanilla game.
I hope you enjoy your journey in the Zone with this mod, as much as I do - any suggestions, bug reports, or constructive criticism are greatly appreciated, and your feedback will help make this mod better for everyone.
Complete overhaul of weapon ballistics:
• Each ammo type now feels properly distinct from each other - intermediate cartridges now delivers more damage and penetration compared to pistol rounds, full-power cartridges like 7.62x54mmR now hits as hard as they should, and everything in between feels just right.
• Full emulation of damage/armor piercing dropoff, muzzle velocity and bullet drop up to 2000m – no longer will weapons have an arbitrary damage dropoff beyond 25m!
• Shotguns have been rebalanced and now are more effective beyond point-blank: slugs will reach out to medium distances, while buckshots stay reasonably effective instead of turning into airsoft after 10 meters.
Major improvements to individual weapons:
• Reworked weapon handling for most weapon types in game: pistols will now have actual muzzle flip compared to vanilla, SMGs stand out with lower recoil kick and fast ADS speed, and assault rifles now have their characteristic recoil patterns for each type in game.
• Overhauled fire rate values for all automatic weapons - now each weapon platform acts distinctly in full-auto fire, offering a more diversified experience.
• Magazine capacities now match their real-world counterparts: everything from tiny PM magazines to drum-fed LMGs hold the right amount of rounds, and extended magazine upgrades provide realistic alternatives.
• New features for certain weapons such as extra firing modes, caliber conversion or buffs for unique weapons.
Greatly enhanced enemy manpower:
• Enemy NPCs now use weapons with increased lethality, featuring improved damage/penetration and accuracy values, for a more deadly combat experience. Tread lightly, beware of enemy ambushes and made every move count, for every single one could be your last in the Zone…
• Check the included readme file for more detailed info!
Open the “1 - Main installation” folder, and extract the "Stalker2" folder into the main Stalker 2 installation, and where the Stalker2.exe executable is.
A list of mods compatible and recommended alongside Better Ballistics:
• Modular Hard Mode: Total conversion mod for Stalker 2, highly recommended for the best hardcore experience.
- Regarding compatibility with Modular Hard Mode:
+ Remove BetterBallistics_BodyHitboxTweaks_99_P.pak and BetterBallistics_CoreVariableTweaks_99_P.pak in your modlist, if you have this overhaul installed.
+ Make sure you have Core Module, Loot Module FULL and Ballistics Module installed as a minimum, AIO is recommended.
+ No conflict checking, load order adjustment or merging is required: Better Ballistics already has a built-in patch for MHM.
• Maklane's Better Gunfights: Adjustes dispersion parameters of NPC bullets at long and medium distances, soft requirement for BB. Also NOT compatible with Modular Hard Mode.
• Oxide’s eXpanded Armory: Adds additional tacticool gear to your loadout, including: Night vision goggles, an overhauled repair system, universal scope compatibility, interchangeable muzzles, grips and laser sights.
• Linxz's NPC Attachments: Adds weapon attachments to NPCs, highly recommended alongside OXA.
• Weapon Reposition Project: Modifies hip firing position - great for when you're tired of the excessive zoom-in look.
• Any weapon texture mod: Should work fine.
DO NOT INSTALL the following mods:
• Other weapon ballistics mods: Sorry, you can only choose one to use here.
• Mods that increase reload speed/ADS: Better Ballistics already has its own ADS speed implementation, making such mods redundant.
This mod is built in a semi-modular fashion, using multiple .pak files making it possible to choose what to be included, or removed in case of conflicts. All the .pak files used in this mod include:
- BetterBallistics_Main_97_P.pak: The primary .pak file, responsible for most of the weapon changes in this mod. Modifies the following files:
- BetterBallistics_BotWeap_99_P.pak includes new weapon stats for friendly and hostile NPCs in game, and modifies:
• NPCWeaponSettingsPrototypes.cfg
- BetterBallistics_BodyHitboxTweaks_99_P modifies body damage multiplier, and contains the following:
• GeneralNPCObjPrototypes.cfg
- BetterBallistics_CoreVariables_99_P modifies the weapon UI card + miscellaneous tweaks, and contains the following:
• CoreVariables.cfg
- Andrew Spearin, Fontaine: for being the main inspirations behind this mod
- Furo Cindras, Silent Assassin2, and many other awesome people on the GAMMA Discord server: for pioneering on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 weapon modding as well as giving constructive feedbacks on weapon balancing
- Oxide: for the assistance on Stalker 2 modding, and getting refurl loading method to work with this mod
- inf_solov: for the data on weapon ballistics regarding the ammo types present in this game
- Ani_HVX: for tolerating my attempt on butchering Modular Hard Mode's damage model :P
- whynexusmodswhy1231, for giving the permission to merge his mod – Proper Realistic Magazine Capacities, into Better Ballistics
Please read the description in detail, before asking any questions here - thank you!
Idea
Stalker 2’s vanilla gunplay is, in my opinion, pretty bad – the core weapon system is very good and allows for a vastly more detailed weapon simulation compared to what was available in the original trios, yet what we saw at launch was at best underwhelming, and at worst, or what I’d always like to call – a literal travesty.
Hence - the creation of this mod. My aim is to not only fix baseline stats such as weapon damage and penetration, but also revamp other aspects of the weapon system in order to deliver a vastly improved gunplay experience, compared to what’s present in the vanilla game.
I hope you enjoy your journey in the Zone with this mod, as much as I do - any suggestions, bug reports, or constructive criticism are greatly appreciated, and your feedback will help make this mod better for everyone.
Main features
Complete overhaul of weapon ballistics:
• Each ammo type now feels properly distinct from each other - intermediate cartridges now delivers more damage and penetration compared to pistol rounds, full-power cartridges like 7.62x54mmR now hits as hard as they should, and everything in between feels just right.
• Full emulation of damage/armor piercing dropoff, muzzle velocity and bullet drop up to 2000m – no longer will weapons have an arbitrary damage dropoff beyond 25m!
• Shotguns have been rebalanced and now are more effective beyond point-blank: slugs will reach out to medium distances, while buckshots stay reasonably effective instead of turning into airsoft after 10 meters.
Major improvements to individual weapons:
• Reworked weapon handling for most weapon types in game: pistols will now have actual muzzle flip compared to vanilla, SMGs stand out with lower recoil kick and fast ADS speed, and assault rifles now have their characteristic recoil patterns for each type in game.
• Overhauled fire rate values for all automatic weapons - now each weapon platform acts distinctly in full-auto fire, offering a more diversified experience.
• Magazine capacities now match their real-world counterparts: everything from tiny PM magazines to drum-fed LMGs hold the right amount of rounds, and extended magazine upgrades provide realistic alternatives.
• New features for certain weapons such as extra firing modes, caliber conversion or buffs for unique weapons.
Greatly enhanced enemy manpower:
• Enemy NPCs now use weapons with increased lethality, featuring improved damage/penetration and accuracy values, for a more deadly combat experience. Tread lightly, beware of enemy ambushes and made every move count, for every single one could be your last in the Zone…
• Check the included readme file for more detailed info!
Installation
Open the “1 - Main installation” folder, and extract the "Stalker2" folder into the main Stalker 2 installation, and where the Stalker2.exe executable is.
Compatibility
This mod directly edits weapon/ammunition config files, and as such any similar mod that aims to change such stats will be incompatible. For any mods not listed below, I highly recommend using tools available on Nexus to check for conflicts and merge changes as needed, due to the high chance of file conflicts that can happen with other mods.A list of mods compatible and recommended alongside Better Ballistics:
• Modular Hard Mode: Total conversion mod for Stalker 2, highly recommended for the best hardcore experience.
- Regarding compatibility with Modular Hard Mode:
+ Remove BetterBallistics_BodyHitboxTweaks_99_P.pak and BetterBallistics_CoreVariableTweaks_99_P.pak in your modlist, if you have this overhaul installed.
+ Make sure you have Core Module, Loot Module FULL and Ballistics Module installed as a minimum, AIO is recommended.
+ No conflict checking, load order adjustment or merging is required: Better Ballistics already has a built-in patch for MHM.
• Maklane's Better Gunfights: Adjustes dispersion parameters of NPC bullets at long and medium distances, soft requirement for BB. Also NOT compatible with Modular Hard Mode.
• Oxide’s eXpanded Armory: Adds additional tacticool gear to your loadout, including: Night vision goggles, an overhauled repair system, universal scope compatibility, interchangeable muzzles, grips and laser sights.
• Linxz's NPC Attachments: Adds weapon attachments to NPCs, highly recommended alongside OXA.
• Weapon Reposition Project: Modifies hip firing position - great for when you're tired of the excessive zoom-in look.
• Any weapon texture mod: Should work fine.
DO NOT INSTALL the following mods:
• Other weapon ballistics mods: Sorry, you can only choose one to use here.
• Mods that increase reload speed/ADS: Better Ballistics already has its own ADS speed implementation, making such mods redundant.
Modified files
This mod is built in a semi-modular fashion, using multiple .pak files making it possible to choose what to be included, or removed in case of conflicts. All the .pak files used in this mod include:
- BetterBallistics_Main_97_P.pak: The primary .pak file, responsible for most of the weapon changes in this mod. Modifies the following files:
- AmmoPrototypes.cfg
- AttachPrototypes.cfg
- CharacterWeaponSettingsPrototypes.cfg
- PlayerWeaponSettingsPrototypes.cfg
- ProjectilePrototypes.cfg
- WeaponGeneralSetupPrototypes.cfg
- WeaponPrototypes.cfg
- BetterBallistics_BotWeap_99_P.pak includes new weapon stats for friendly and hostile NPCs in game, and modifies:
• NPCWeaponSettingsPrototypes.cfg
- BetterBallistics_BodyHitboxTweaks_99_P modifies body damage multiplier, and contains the following:
• GeneralNPCObjPrototypes.cfg
- BetterBallistics_CoreVariables_99_P modifies the weapon UI card + miscellaneous tweaks, and contains the following:
• CoreVariables.cfg
Known Issues/Notes
- UI weapon stats are now fake from 1.4 onwards, due to the usage of arbitrary variables and removal of stats calculation system by GSC.
- For Modular Hard Mode: Ammo stats description are not updated for BB since they're baked into LocalizationDB, won't fix since maintaining that is a pain.
- This mod is primarily built, tested and intended to be played with vanilla difficulty options, therefore using any other mod that directly edits in-game difficulty may lead to unwanted issues.
- Detailed changelog for every update is located at changelog.docx, in the compressed installation file.
- A rough Excel chart for every base ammunition type's damage and penetration is provided in the Files tab.
- Balancing is always an on-going process.
This will require you to have a Discord account and join the official GAMMA server
Credits
- GSC Games World: for working tirelessly on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 in spite of all the odds- Andrew Spearin, Fontaine: for being the main inspirations behind this mod
- Furo Cindras, Silent Assassin2, and many other awesome people on the GAMMA Discord server: for pioneering on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 weapon modding as well as giving constructive feedbacks on weapon balancing
- Oxide: for the assistance on Stalker 2 modding, and getting refurl loading method to work with this mod
- inf_solov: for the data on weapon ballistics regarding the ammo types present in this game
- Ani_HVX: for tolerating my attempt on butchering Modular Hard Mode's damage model :P
- whynexusmodswhy1231, for giving the permission to merge his mod – Proper Realistic Magazine Capacities, into Better Ballistics