STALCRAFT – Beginners Guide (with Useful Tips)

Ultimate Beginners Guide

STALCRAFT – is a time-tested MMO shooter set in the open world of the Chernobyl exclusion zone. Play for free. Read more. Story and quests.

The Zone

The world of Stalcraft is called the Zone and is heavily inspired by the original STALKER trilogy. The map is divided into large zones with each zone being a separate instance and features 16 diverse locations. Among these locations players can see reimagined areas from STALKER games but retaining the beloved atmosphere as well as find themselves in completely new and original parts of the Zone. These zones are designed in two main ways: either make people from different factions compete between each other or be dominated by one the factions.

List of the zones and their faction alignment:

  1. Swamps – mixed
  2. Cordon – mixed
  3. Dark valley – stalkers
  4. Agroprom – bandits
  5. Dumpyard – mixed
  6. Rostok – mixed
  7. Forest – stalkers
  8. Pit – bandits
  9. Graveyard – stalkers
  10. Dead city – bandits
  11. Army Warehouses (+underground tunnels) – stalkers (mostly)
  12. Fool’s Path (+underground tunnels) – bandits
  13. Limansk – mixed
  14. Radar station – bandit subfactions
  15. Yanov – stalker subfactions
  16. Backwater – free-for-all, only clan members friendly.

The zones are divided into 3 regions that represent early, mid and endgame: South (from Swamps up to Rostok), Center (From Rostok up to AW/FP) and North a.k.a the gachi club (Limansk, Radar station, Yanov and Backwater).

The latter features Dangerous and Wild territories. Limansk, Radar station and Yanov are classified as Dangerous territories and in these zones only members of your subfaction are friendly to you and if you’re just a regular Stalker/Bandit then every player will be your enemy. Backwater is currently the only Wild territory and in there only members of your clan will be friendly. What is more, Limansk and Backwater have additional special mechanics.

Limansk can only be accessed by teleport bubbles in AW, FP, Radar station and Yanov. Some of these teleporters work only at certain times of day. To get out of Limansk you first need to obtain a fake ID card that can drop from the bosses in Limansk and then proceed to one of the teleport bubbles in Limansk, many of which work only at certain times.

Backwater works similarly to Limansk as you need to jump into a teleport bubble to get in and get out however both entrance and exit teleporters are shown on the map with entrance ones located at the top of Radar station and Yanov and all teleporters work all the time. Additionally, unlike Limansk Backwater doesn’t have its own set of barter resources.

Backpacks

After defeating an enemy, you can pick up his backpack, but it is not possible to get items from it. Although many players don’t like this solution, it is designed to prevent experienced players who have acquired a strong arsenal of weapons from intentionally killing newcomers (or vice versa) and giving them their weapons. However, backpacks can be sold to their owners, which is a good way to make money.

Bartering

Tips to help you learn how bartering works.

Click to enlarge…

Infectious Disease

In the game we find places where it is possible to get infected. There are four types of infections:

  • Biological.
  • Radiation.
  • Dogs exposure.
  • Thermal.

Each of these is divided into three levels of intensity. If you find yourself in such a contaminated area, it pays to ensure that your equipment is adequately protected.

Playing Alone vs. Playing in a Group

Stalcraft can be successfully played alone, but you need to be wary because this virtual world is full of danger. It is definitely safer to play in a group. To add someone as a friend, enter your PDA and select “Friends”. There you will find a “+” icon, click on it and you can enter the player’s nickname to add them to your friends. You can then add a friend to your team.

Matchmaking

I tell you about 2 important mm values and servers work.

Gear influence into your rating:

  • Only important things – weapon and armor HIDDEN lvls, artifacts and tiers of all of this.
  • Much more influence makes +5, +10 and +15 tiers than +4 or +7 for example.
  • Gear score, knifes and containers doesn’t give any influence.

Open-world activity:

  • Very important thing – KD/Value from open ratio. Value from open is: money from fence, barter, artifacts and other loot. That means – 4 KD and no any value is worse than 2 KD and good value and other like that.
  • Open-world activity resets after all base entrance, BUT u need to stay some time or this will not count.

Sending and Receiving Emails

You can send emails to other players, but you need a courier to do so. Couriers are available on bases that allow you to send and receive emails. To send an email, simply enter the name of the player you want to send the email to and then select who you want to send it to.

Collecting Items

As you play, you’ll come across a variety of items, from low-value junk to real treasures. Almost anything is worth collecting at the start of an adventure, as you never know what you’ll find useful, plus you can sell your gear and you’ll always have money to spare.

Signals

Alpha Data Trackers

In zone here is 7 locations for alpha farm: swamps, cordon, agroprom, dark valley, dump, pit and forest. Under post there will be some paths for signals farm.

  • Swamps: Low spawnrate, big location itself and lowest money&details reward. Don’t farm here.
  • Cordon: Good location, it have place for charging your SAK and candle (under post), no obstacles that can stop you from looting.
  • Dump: Second good location, also have place for charging in diggers base, but can spawn signals in black holes so sometimes it will be hard to loot
  • Agroprom/Dark Valley: Just well locations, you can scan almost all signals in one point.
  • Forest: Worse location ingame for trackers farm, because of big therma in the middle of location.
  • Pit: Sometimes need to swim for signals

Tips for Alpha:

  • Master servers is still very good for farming
  • For big amount alpha farm you need 3 or 4 SAKs
  • Stop scanning is better on 6.

Beta Data Trackers

  • Dead City: 3 stashes, 2 main zones of signals spawn (left and right near with army warehouses). All screnshots under post. (signals can spawn solo on other zones too)
  • Graveyard: Small location, signals spawn rate is always 4 minutes. Also 3 stashes, but now you can scan all graveyard from middle of location.

Gamma Data Trackers:

  • Same for both locations. You can find signals just laying under duty/mercs base, best way of saving them – faction friend (be careful of scammers)

Digamma Data Trackers:

  • Same for yanov and RF. Stash in future faction base, signal, then looting and stashing again until 9 trackers. Also you can try looting one signal on backwater and immediately leaving back, but this one is risky because of high amount of PVP at backwater.

In the end, I want to say that signals is chilly and good variant of money farming, and probably the best for newbies. I would like if newbies start farming this, really underrated.

Routes for Farming Alpha

Click to enlarge…

Place for Recharge on Cordon

Bad Zones

Dead City Map

Graveyard Map

FP / AW Maps

NPC

In the game, you will encounter a large number of NPCs that perform important functions. You can meet the following characters:

  • Equipment dealer – sells and buys weapons.
  • Merchant – buys artifacts and unnecessary items.
  • Supply Trader – sells ammunition, first aid kits, etc.
  • Mechanic – repairs and upgrades equipment.
  • Auctioneer – allows you to participate in auctions.
  • Courier – allows you to send and receive letters.
  • Explorer – upgrades your artifacts.
  • Contract Broker – Orders daily tasks.

Gameplay Tips

  • If you hold down the spacebar, you can jump a little higher, making it easier to reach the hills.
  • The stamina is divided into three parts: red, yellow and green. If the section is red, you can run, but you can’t jump. If the bar is yellow, you can jump to standard height. A higher jump is only possible if the bar is green.
  • If you hold down the C key, you get quick access to 9 slots. For example, you can place weapons there and change them without having to go to the inventory.
  • You don’t have to play alone. Even if none of your friends have Stalkraft, you can make new friends directly in the game.
  • There’s no such thing as a quick move, but if you don’t have any valuable items on you, you can type /suicide in chat to kill your character and revive yourself at the last base you visited. This command is also useful if you get stuck somewhere.
  • If you have valuable equipment that you don’t want to carry with you, you can store it in the storage box found in the base.
  • Make AS VAL , M4A1 and SIG SG. You may need these under certain circumstances. But AS VAL is needed for VSS, M4A1/SIG SG is needed for FN 2000.
  • Or you can make a vintorez, it has been “nerfed” but it’s still a great weapon for mid range (take these with a grain of salt, we have new weapons and they are still being tested).
  • If your sniper skills are really good. Bolt Action Snipers are recommended. With 2x Headshot damage, it can destroy most players. AP or SBP shells are recommended.
  • You do high damage to enemies. But DMRs are recommended if you’re looking for something quick. Make SVD. not a bad weapon
  • Electric Res needs to be high to reduce the damage of lightning bolts exploding in Proto-Cluster (or Electro-Cluster) events.
  • Before buying a skin, check which weapons it is compatible with.

If you want to dominate in CQC. Make a ash-12 or the groza, beasts of a weapon (if you are really good make a revolver too, best pve/pvp secondary with a 2. Shot HS on +5 centurions with pvp artifact builds).

Don’t bother with the Sg and M16 lines for now:

  • Snipers are good only on certain maps and can’t 1 hs kill and long range fights are very uncommon in stalcraft (the new master sniper might 1 shot hs, if that will be the case go ham).
  • If you want high damage yes, grab a DMR. No, don’t use the SVD, go directly for an avalanche (pricey as fuck but totally a beast of a weapon above the SVD), craft an SVD if you have spare resources OR you have BP for the avalanche and you want to cut down some costs.
  • Just get good and avoid those orbs, it’s easy. Look at your feet if you struggle with dodging
  • Yes, do this 100% or you will regret it.
  • Signals always happen in roughly the same zone, once you detect one keep a mark on your minimap for an easy money + Bp + arti + signal farm.
  • None expects impact grandes, carry some in pvp or pickle farm / limanks.
  • A good rule is to never transform x20 purple resources, sell them for a lot of quick rubles.
  • You can farm atoms and spirals only in stasis, keep their locations on your minimap and check them after an emission.
  • Factions: don’t join one unless you are over with the main storyline AND you have finished farming for what you want in the army warehouse (otherwise have fun battling the other faction too alongside other bandits / stalkers).

Limansk Map

Click to enlarge…

Egor Opleuha
About Egor Opleuha 4460 Articles
Egor Opleuha, also known as Juzzzie, is the Editor-in-Chief of Gameplay Tips. He is a writer with more than 12 years of experience in writing and editing online content. His favorite game was and still is the third part of the legendary Heroes of Might and Magic saga. He prefers to spend all his free time playing retro games and new indie games.

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