Since the launch of the DLC, many players have wondered the origin of the newest addition to the Zone bestiary. While the game doesn't give a direct answer, I decided to collect as much evidence as I could to try to answer this new mistery.

But first, we need to know a very important concept:

Universal Soldier Programm

This referrs to the project aimed to create "perfect soldiers" that would be used for warfare porpouses. This was one of the main objectives of Project X when it was under the supervision of the Regulatory Board and what later inspired the Controller Project of the MDST. The game and the Almanac recognizes mainly the Bloodsuckers, Chimeras, Pseudogiants, Burers and Controllers as the results of this programm. Logically, the Amok should be one of them too.

Now, we can really dive in how exactly he was made, and the first clue is right in X-16.

X-16 and its investigation

As said by Suslov, the lab was equipped with the infamous Brain in the Flask, a biological psi-emitter initially created to penetrate the Noosphere before they came up with other solutions like the Variometer.

Then, they started studying the effects of the Brain in living beings. This was made in a very large scale, with them having multiples cells to expose their subjects to the energy and a rapid disposal system (if Skif follows Mavka during the assault at X-16, he can activate a system to shock multiple cells at the same time).

You can see with great detail how they ran things in the lab with the slides in the projector.

However, what exactly are the effects of the Brain in humans, if the Amok doesn't have any visible mutations and the corpses at X-16 are completely normal? Well, we had the answer months before in Untold Stories quest.

Zombie FM

The Frecuency, as you discover in the climax of the quest, is generated by X-16 Brain. While listening to the Frecuency ends up with the zombification of whoever listens to it, it is said it also has a psychological impact in those who just listened to it for a few moments, with a sudden burst of violent tendencies. Banzai and Scoutmaster tells you about it:

Scoutmaster was the one who killed NK-4 in Yantar because of the Frecuency.

What he says after Skif's ask him if he would do the same if he hears the Frecuency again:

This could indicate the source of the Amok constant rage and wild behaviour could have its origin in the prolongued exposure to the Brain in X16, as it made them way more susceptible to violent tendencies (even for the Zone standards), what made them perfect for the Universal Soldier Programm.

However, besides its erratic behaviour, the other thing that stands out from the mutant its his equipment, a clear modified Exoesqueleton created to make him invulnerable to frontal attacks. Then, where they armed them? X-16 is unequipped to perform such things and X-19, the usual suspect, main scope was the incubation of the Embryos and the study of the impact of living psi-emitters on the Noosphere; well, I believe we already visited the place in the base game...

X-5 and Controller Project

While I'm aware there's the chance of the lab were they made the Amoks could be a completely new one that could be revealed later (which is theorized to be X-12 cut lab in the Cooling Towers), there's already a lab in the current game which main porpouse fits perfectly with the nature of the mutant.

Many people have the idea X-5 was only focused in the creation of the perfect controller, but its main goal was to "develop specimens with both biological and technological enhancements" so they could serve as C-Con bodyguards for those who wanted to make their way to the Center.

All of this makes me believe they made the assembly of their armor directly in there, perhaps in other part of the lab, as the Amoks is rn the only mutant that fits exactly with the description of the the place.

My theory in how it worked:

X-16 provided the human specimens after the exposure to the Brain, and X-5 (or other unknown lab) was in charge of putting them in their armor. Into why they didn't deployed them in a larger scale, well, I think they were simply unpredictable or only a few of them could survive the process.

And, well, that's all I had to say. If anyone wants to share their thoughts or discoveries, I'm happy to read them.

This huge open world feels empty because of lack of side quests (we dont count repeated quests kill-someone-and-bring-something).

Random fights with npcs doesnt give deep immersion. If every camp will have some sort of fun/deep side quests to explore it will be huge win

So as a first time Stalker player, i’m on the way to unlocking the new game +. Well, upon doing the new DLC, i’m at the part where you run into Lukash. I’ve made my way down through the tunnels and found this pile of goop after killing a pseudo giant, can anyone tell me what i’ve stumbled upon and if it’s important?

Inspired by the AK-9 assault rifle.

In-game description: Small-batch AKM-74 variation for 9x39 caliber. This version is a cheap but effective alternative to a Lavina or a Vintar.

Most late game weapon discussions focus on Kharod vs. Dnipro (to a lesser extent, Grom), but what about the AKM-9B from DLC?

Excluding the unique variants such as Grom-S15 (same weapon with caliber conversion and less drop off) and DLC rewards.

During my last session, I was exploring around the Iron Forest to discover remaining locations after the Pact of D4, which should have been ended for a long time ago anyway, since General Voronin describes the whole situation with Myklukha as "circus". One of the locations grants the AKM-9B after solving it's environmental puzzle and safe code.

AKM-9B turned out to be a quite premium hardware at this stage, because it comes with all upgrades pre-installed, as well as a red dot sight, suppressor and most importantly a grenade launcher. On top of all features, it can be further modified with dual mag / extended mag which are also compatible with regular AK-74.

AKM-9B can perform pretty much anything except long range combat, where it's bullet drop is quite noticeable. It's 9x39 mm consumption is also a trade off, but you can just buy more ammunition, and you gain a massive penetration bonus over the regular AK-74.

Overall, I find this weapon incredibly satisfying to use, especially considering that you get such a well equipped package without having to spend a fortune on mods and upgrades.

After finishing the game, I keep thinking about Richter.

I feel like he could have been a much stronger character if the writers had kept him politically and philosophically neutral.

Not a supporter of Spark. Not a follower of someone else's vision of what the Zone should be. Not another person trying to convince Skif what the Zone is supposed to become.

Just... a fellow traveler. Someone Skif happens to cross paths with several times throughout his journey.

Richter already has the perfect foundation for this: he's the one who helps Skif at the beginning of the game. From there, he could simply reappear naturally from time to time — sitting by a campfire, taking shelter during an emission, somewhere along the road, near an abandoned building, or simply because their paths happen to cross again for a while.

Instead of explaining the "right" way to understand the Zone, he could tell Skif about the things he has personally seen.

How certain places changed after emissions.
People he knew who disappeared.
Routes that used to be safe.
Strange things even he cannot explain.
Stories from his own life.
How the Zone gradually changes people.

And most importantly, he would never ask Skif to choose his side.

If Skif sides with the Ward, Richter doesn't become his enemy.

If Skif supports Spark, Richter doesn't automatically become his ideological ally.

If Skif chooses another path, Richter still remains Richter.

I think a character like that would feel much more human.

It would be comforting to know that somewhere amid all the chaos of the Zone, there is this random person who saved you at the beginning and simply stayed in your memory as someone you were glad to have met.

It would be like meeting a stranger on a long train journey. You start talking and share pieces of your lives, knowing that you'll probably never see each other again. And somehow, years later, that brief conversation is still something you remember.

I think this version of Richter could have become one of the most memorable characters in the entire game.

Barrel was a paid actor

I just finished the Limansk section of the DLC and its, hand down, the best thing that I have played so far this year, the game oozes atmosphere in this whole section, I was on the edge of my seat at all times and all the encounters felt as dangerous as they felt weird, I can see why some people may thing that it dragged a bit or that it was too long but to me I enjoyed it so much that it feel SHORT, I seriously hope that the rest of the DLC is this peak because this was amazing

Lone IPSF Leeroy Jenkins motherfucker tries to kill everyone, promptly gets fragged by bandits and stalkers from the upper deck of the Sultansk, 2 Duty members manage to wipe out half a dozen bandits (and later die). What was the IPSF guy doing there?! In Zaton?! 😂

(Tried posting a clip of this same skirmish earlier but the video was glitched so I reloaded the save and got a new one)

After trying the Vector and GP37, now it's time for Justice. I really like the wooden furniture, but I miss the laser pointer. :(

Are you team Justice or basic SIC?

Idk what TheZoneArt means, I'm assuming its for fanart, idk I've never posted in this sub before 😭

I want to play co op anomaly with a friend, but his storage and pc maybe can't handle megamodpacks like gamma, but im looking for a modpack that integrates all the necessary mods of anomaly, like food drinks animation, or any addon that adds nice animations to the guns, but all those necessary addons without changing to much the game, I tried to download anomaly redux but I don't know if it has support for xrazom, and I don't speak russian and all the server is in russian or a similar language. (There's a photo of him)

Thank you u/Morzho for the idea))

Legitimately felt bad for the guy.

Was it a deliberate offing by his friends?

Were they under the influence of the zone and heard not his wailing screams?

Tried to see if it would even let me medpack them. No dice.

RIP David Sensor.

No clue how to get this stash. google (stupid ai) gave me 2 different answers. 1 was that its accessed via "In the Name of Science" side quest, which did bring me to an underground location slightly east of storage on the hill, the location here on the left of the screenshot. However, in that underground area the closest I could get to the stash was about 100m. The other answer google gave me the 2nd time i searched for the solution was that the concrete cover that the stash is in can be blown up with a grenade... i've thrown 7 grenades at it in various spots and not a thing happens. So what am I missing?

Im playing stalker stalker and really enjoying myself. But I continously find myself getting absolutely torched by mutant, which i guess is common. What's the right approach to some of these tanks mutants that just pounce on you or are just way faster than you and kill you in a few hits?

What's been working for me is getting the high ground and cheesing them from there. But on even ground, im completely toast.

Any tips friends?

It feels weird sharing my stuff here but why not ig

Edit: Problem gelöst - auf 50-100 Metern Entfernung speichen, neu laden und Zombies erneut töten.

Hallo zusammen, ich habe ein Problem mit der
Mission „Weißes Rauschen“: Ich kann den letzten Zombie nicht töten, weil ich weder durch die Tür im Erdgeschoss noch durch den Lüftungsschacht auf dem Dach komme – beides ist blockiert. Mache ich etwas falsch, oder hätte ich vorher etwas anderes tun sollen? Ich wäre für jede Hilfe dankbar! Viele Grüße.

Day 5: road: Pan/Skovoridka(one of my characters). A really young woman whom life had battered since childhood. She finally fled, fled from those who made her suffer, and finally, she found her place.

" I was running... and running... far away from THEM... and found the road to the new life... to the Zone..."

Day 7: glass. Here is Faust, Dubny and Foma

Foma:"NOOO!!! Who did this?!?!"

Dubny:"I don't even know how it happened, but it definitely wasn't me!"

Foma:"Faust, why you?!?! WHYYYYYYY-"

Happy Ending

Day 10: redemption. Bombardyr, a former monolithian, a noontider(my character) saved a loner. This guy definitely will remember this for the rest of his life

"STAY AWAY, STAY AWAY I SAY" *gunshots* "TAKE THIS" *gunshots, even more gunshots* "hey.. HEY! Stay alive dude! You won't die, I promise! I'll carry you through, no matter what! You will live!"

Bomb:"Will he survive?"

medic:"Yes.. now, go away"

Bomb:"I wanna wait till-"

medic:"GET OUT"

loner:"Where..am I?.."

Bomb:"Oh!? You awake! Now I can rest.. I hope I didn't scare you with my colours.."

medic:"but you scared the others, so get out of here.."

loner:"Did you bring me here?.."

Bomb:"And you don't even look scared! That pleases me though you're definitely shocked.. Well, they'll take care of you here, but it's time for me to go, some folks here are getting as pissed off as mutants at Iron Forest.."

medic:"I'm still here.."

Bomb:"He-he, ok-ok, I'm out, G'bye and take care!"

loner's thoughts:*"I didn't think they're so...human.. more human than so-called 'normal' ones.. People say there's no 'former' monolithian, but I don't believe it, especially after this.."*

Day 17: fire. Our beloved Wolf in his favorite spot.

"Pheeew... It's so hot here..."

Day 19: ration. Pan/Skovoridka and Trader(Haggler)/Torgash. Pan is pretty decent cooker, out of Zone's wildlife will make a tasty and filling dish which won't make you sick!(why she looks... different? Well, the Zone did a bad joke with her and she's "half-mutated" let's say).

Haggler:"Heh, will there be something new tonight?"

Pan:"Well, let's say a lil wild boar was running along and decided to take a hot bath. He stayed a bit too long and volia- we've got a fine dinner!"

Hagger:"Ha! You're getting better at making jokes! But still, what exactly is going to be?"

Pan:"Try it and you'll find out!"

Stalker 2. The Duga Complex

Artifact "Compass" found.

So yeah, I recently finished cop and im thinking about getting stalker 2 but I'm unsure how well it will run on my pc.

I have a Ryzen 5 5600x, a RTX 3060 12GB and 16 GB of DDR4 Ram. I play at 1080. Thanks!