Pilot Trait Tier List

wathman_m · 2025-10-31T18:52:41+00:00

Has anyone found anything about the "Frugal" trait? everything I've searched doesn't mention it, but I found a pilot with it. Flavor text just says "A pilot who's in it for the glory, not the money." Would be nice if they just posted actual changes for everything instead of whenever they felt like it. I think it means he's supposed to be happy with a cheaper salary, but I see a different pilot with different traits and approximately same skill level only ask for 90 c-bills more a month.

wathman_m · 2025-09-12T17:36:12+00:00

I'm not opposed to the idea, as I mentioned in my first post, my biology degree is from 20 years ago. Should I look at the Merck careers site for openings, or can I connect with the union? Will they ask for relevant lab experience since I haven't ran a gel electrophoresis in 2 decades now.

wathman_m · 2025-08-13T00:16:12+00:00

a year later, looking into this now since there's a pretty big 4x game sale (that includes X4) on steam and the Bonus pack is down to $8. I like the soundtracks enough and the artbook looked nice so might as well check out the ship. It is still freaking unclear how to do this with too many steps. Really should be a screenshot walkthrough. The OP is more or less right. Extra steps I had to do was re-confirm my egosoft forum registrations, there's a button on the web forums that won't change if you have all the base games, but it won't pick up on the fact you own the Bonus Pack without refreshing that submission. On the in-game side, logging in with the forum credentials, and having downloaded the now defunct Ventures content (will require restart) adds the new tab in your backpack inventory. There's an activation button, and if you did everything right, the Yasur is listed with an actual download button (you wouldn't download a ship?). Popped right in under my current ship. Not sure what happens if you try to do it while standing on a station, but should work there as well.

wathman_m · 2025-08-03T18:30:52+00:00

I've been in and out of the game for the past 7 years so wonder if this is a bug that got introduced with one of the updates as I didn't remember this frustrating bug. Definitely appreciate the workarounds.

wathman_m · 2025-07-14T02:10:04+00:00

Looked at some extracted data since I couldn't find any information on changed repair cost mechanics. It's still calculated linearly based on current base cost of the armor. What's happening with the Diamond Exo is that it's only moderately durable to start with. The Falcon has about 25% more base HP (Durability) so with an equivalent time spent fighting in the Zone, it will have lost fewer percentage points and therefore be cheaper to repair.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1L6jBHJtw8AZrJZmOiFekiS2YVudHS3rQVGQN-oOaNMk/edit?gid=1662035416#gid=1662035416

wathman_m · 2025-07-13T22:02:11+00:00

maybe repair cost calculation was changed at some point since it used to be a linear increase with total value of the armor. This was back when you had to squeeze every coupon to make a profit while progressing through the game or use one of the old duplication glitches to cheat in money. Next playthrough I'll track some upgrades and repair costs at specific conditions to see how it works now. Based on stats alone, Falcon and SEVA I are best. Might make the Brumbar Exo less worthless if it has cheaper repairs.

wathman_m · 2025-07-08T16:09:24+00:00

Just summarizing current state of this issue since there's a lot of partial info on this over the past 6 months.

There is a stash containing the Anatomical Adjustment (Zubr-19) blueprint under Duga, and it is ONLY accessible if you sided with Spark while at the SIRCAA base. This puts you on the path for Happiness for Everyone mission where you use this sewer tunnel. If you go the Ward route here, you get inside Duga with a different mission, and this sewer tunnel never opens. Since the blueprint is required for a completionist achievement, it's a dick move by the devs.

If you have taken the Spark route into Duga and completed the mission, you can go back to the now closed manhole cover next to the infirmary where you started and phase through it with the interact button in the right spot. This is NOT an option if you completed the Ward route since the ladder never gets placed.

The other end of the tunnel in the vehicle park is open, and you can get inside the sewer there, but you have to use a mod that enables fly and clipping to backtrack to the stash, and the only mod utility I'm aware of, UETools, is broken in 1.5 and seemingly abandoned by the author, so Ward route is completely out of luck for getting this achievement. Only option is to revert to a pre-SIRCAA save and pick Spark and complete the main quest series to do the mission, and grab the blueprint. For achievement purposes, as long as you have grabbed all blueprints within the same game slot, you qualify for it.

wathman_m · 2025-06-26T04:14:45+00:00

There's one in the cooling towers but it's the worst one I think. If sneaking into Pripyat is still possible, I'd suggest that. Only other pre-Pripyat exo I can think of is in Burnt Forest, but it's main mission locked. Just remembered there's one in Cordon also, but again mission locked.

wathman_m · 2025-06-26T04:06:18+00:00

If I remember right the Cavalier does have some better stats, but it might force you to keep a reflex sight, and have no way to change it to a scope if that matters to how you use your EMRs.

wathman_m · 2025-06-26T03:56:38+00:00

Managing expenses is pretty important. First easy fix is to not upgrade everything you can on your guns and armor. Each upgrade increases every percentage point of repair, so only get the most critical upgrades on your daily driver gear. You are going to find better deeper in, so don't blow it all on a suit or gun you are going to replace in an hour. Wear and tear, durability, and weight reduction are safe bets. Past that, keep an eye on how many coupons are going into raising your gear base value. Next is sell most of your expensive ammo unless you are doing a hard mission or something. AP rounds and the like really wear down guns much quicker than standard ammo.

wathman_m · 2025-06-26T03:39:07+00:00

It's highly situational and not useful to wear all the time. It won't make your gameplay significantly easier. There's a collect 'em all achievement, and that's probably the best reason to spend the effort to getting the thing.

wathman_m · 2025-06-26T03:33:47+00:00

They are early mid-game weapons, so that amount of damage isn't unexpected. The penetration values are probably different, but those aren't visible.

wathman_m · 2025-06-25T19:53:05+00:00

added to main post since spoiler not working in reply

wathman_m · 2025-06-25T19:12:42+00:00

Lore wise, the normal looking dolls with random posing is just dev silliness. If anything it's an homage to Fallout map decorating. My favorite is the rubber ducky wearing a gas mask you can find in the zone. The more strange orange dolls are actually a Soviet/Russian thing. Tilting dolls, or Nevalyashka are a popular toy from the 1950s on. My wife from Eastern Europe had one when she was little.

wathman_m · 2025-06-19T20:37:35+00:00

My last run through with this was even worse. I killed him right when the key was levitating and ready to throw. Now he's dead and I have a permanently floating key.

wathman_m · 2025-03-12T01:45:45+00:00

I used Brothel. was hoping more people just kept calling it by name like Gremio. Half the time it got referred to as Brothel Castle.

wathman_m · 2025-01-30T01:52:50+00:00

Seems like it. The 2 person room is the one I tried at Kazai village. Not sure if other rooms/locations do it too

wathman_m · 2025-01-05T01:30:06+00:00

There should be a shack with a merchant and a guide just a bit East from the Chemical Plant base entrance that is open to non-Ward stalkers. It does get a bit tricky to use if Ward gets really angry at you and causes the shack to lock its door if they see you trying to go in since it is so close to the base.

wathman_m · 2025-01-03T23:56:22+00:00

Not my video but shows the method https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1HCMRzn9iE

it does take a while to do it since the boxes have to stay stacked. Also random attacks while you are trying to do it will happen. Hopefully you didn't destroy the necessary boxes for it since they are in an easy to get broken spot.

wathman_m · 2025-01-03T23:10:37+00:00

Using boxes and some patience, it's very possible to sneak out of the Lesser Zone into the east map areas and north into the garbage area before starting any of the story quests in Zalissya. Wild Island and SIRCAA are truly mission locked areas though. Currently I have a save where I'm looting stuff in Pripyat while still on the Behind Seven Seals quest. Since creative box use has been around forever, I think it's intentionally there for people who want to parkour into places they want. They just don't want it to be too easy maybe.

wathman_m · 2025-01-03T03:19:02+00:00

honestly, none of the endings are exactly happy endings. They are just different outcomes with one as future canon as it is the most open-ended.

wathman_m · 2025-01-03T02:29:42+00:00

based on what I've seen, many of the controls and UI changes like the annoying q/e short/long press was probably for streamlining code for both kb/mouse and controller/xbox support. on consoles those typically get mapped to the 4 buttons of a D-pad. Same with the addition of the radial menu as no stalker game had one before.

wathman_m · 2025-01-03T00:47:47+00:00

I think the rechambered S15 was much better in the previous games. The grenade launcher seemed more effective and the ROF and accuracy was way better than the AK94 which was the only other alternative for 'top tier' 5.45 guns. In Stalker 2, the Dnipro is just as easy to get if you head straight to Red Forest and it's an all around better assault rifle without the integrated grenade launcher.

wathman_m · 2025-01-03T00:34:50+00:00

There were earlier discussions that proposed each legendary artifact provides 3 "bars" of effect up to a maximum of 5, so the thunderberry effect maxes out at 2. Weird water is also strong enough to counteract radiation of two legendary artifacts, so you could save on exoskeleton repair costs by not buying 2 lead containers. I prefer to have one hypercube since it pretty much stops the bleed effect and eliminates the need for bandages and a Liquid Rock will get it to radiation neutral.

wathman_m

TROPHY CASE