Armor is another important bit of gear inStalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl. You will likely find that while weapons of varying qualities are widely available, finding a new piece of armor is much harder. While there areseveral you can find in the Lesser Zone, it feels like they are a little more scarce as you move into other areas. It is also quite expensive to keep your armor repaired if you ignore it, so you will want tokeep that in mind with the scarcity of this itemin the game.
One of thefeatures inStalker 2that you can take advantage of is the ability to repair your gear. However, it has proven to be avery expensive process, and keeping your gear in shape may prove quite difficult. Additionally, ranking armor might be harder as they are made for different scenarios, andsomething that protects you from one might not from the others. Still, here are some of the better gear pieces available inStalker 2.
7Debut Suit
Easily Found Early Game Armor
Getting the Debut Suitarmor is possible in a few different ways from the start of the game. It is afair improvement over your default armor, and something you will likely want to get quickly.
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The Mercenary Suit is also availablebefore you enter The Sphere in the Lesser Zone, but they are fairly similar in stats, although the Mercenary Suit can equip more artifacts.
0.3
0.2
0.5
0
Physical
1.1
While it will not likely hold up against armor you can find upon leaving the Lesser Zone, it is good enough for the opening hours of the game andable to find fully repaired and for free. This is a big deal that early, so keeping it on and repaired should last you until you reach Garbage.
6Exoskeleton
General All-Around Armor
You can find this one innorthwest Cordon duringLegends of the Zone, a main mission. This may not rest in the high tiers of the armor available, but it can do a fair amount of work for you and you do not have to pay for it. This is always abig bonus in a game where Coupons are so hard to keep around.
Some armor can only be upgraded by certain Techs, and this one is one of those. You canuse Harpy or Bolero to upgrade this one.
It has4 Artifact slots, which you may use to get Artifacts with high power that cause Radiation damage while protecting against them with other Artifacts.
1.7
3.4
4
It has afairly even spread of stats, making it useful in almost every situation. There are better options, but you might be able to find this one first, and it is at leastdecent at everything an armor needs to do.
5Ruby Exosuit
Sturdy But Quite Heavy
You will not be able to find this oneuntil you get to Pripyat, which you may really only enter until you have reached the right point in the main story mission. That being said, once you do get your hands on it,you will have a lot of protection against Radiation.
1.3
1.8
3.7
While it may be less good at the other options, having such ahigh base Radiation protection will keep you safein places where there’s a lot of lingering Radiation. Unfortunately for the Ruby Skeleton, thereare a couple of better options found in Pripyat, which means you will likely not have it equipped long.
The other downside of this armor is that it has awhopping 20 kg weight to it, making any effort you make to hoard gear a lot harder. As someone who does, in fact, hoard gear, this might mean you want to find something else when possible. That being said,be sure to sell it when you do find the better armorto make somemoney inStalker 2to keep the rest of your gear in tip-top shape.
4Brummbar Exoskeleton
Good All-Around Endgame Gear
If you want something lighter but nearly asgood at Radiation protection and better at Physical protection, this is the armor for you. You can find it for free on the6th floor of the White House in Pripyat, or you can find it for purchase at Duty HQ. It has great stats and is a solid choice to get you to the end of the game if you can keep it repaired.
You cannot enter Pripyat without facing near immediate death until the main missionThe Boundary.
It is heavy, so keep that in mind. However,it is nowhere near as heavy as the Ruby Exosuit, and that makes it a significant upgrade. You will also be able to tank more hits from both active radiation poisoning and human enemies.
1.55
3
ThePhysical Protection stat is the highest in the game, which makes it look quite desirable.
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Unfortunately, it feels like armor availability is highest at the beginning and end of the game,making it feel a bit like there’s a drought in the middle. However, there are middling quality armors available scattered throughout the Zone. Finding the right balance to what stats you like best on your armor is important, andnot every piece will be useful in the same situations.
3X7 Suit
Best Armor In The Game With A Caveat
This is a very late-game suit that you willnot be able to acquire until you have passed the point of no return in theDown Belowmain mission. That means this will not likely be your main piece of armor throughout the game, but it is one of the best ones you may find. It is unfortunate thatyou will only have this one for the endgame missions, but it is worth equipping anyway.
There is technically a point where you return to Pripyatwhere you can travel away and keep playing with your new gear. However, it is not recommended as the game has no intention for you to do so, and it can result in a very buggy save.
It is alsoone of the lightest suits available in this tier, which means you can hoard more weapons in the endgame. This is good because you will need all the gear, resources, ammo, and healing items you can find for the final missions. It will not be easy, even with some of the best gear in the game available to you. There is also aDnipro weapon in the same missionthat you likewise will only be able to use for a little while.
2.3
Due to the low weight and the fact that it has some of the highest statsin the game, it is the best armor in the game hands-down in my opinion. However, until they announce a New Game+ mode forStalker 2, you are unlikely to get the full use you want out of this suit. It is quite likely that thedevelopers release this mode eventually, so keep that in mind if only having it for a little while makes you sad.
2SEVA-D
Staying Well Protected In The Mid-Game
This one is a significant downgrade from the last two suits mentioned. However, theSEVA-Dis toward the top of this list because it is one of the few pieces of armor you cangrab for free and without trouble as soon as you leave the Lesser Zone. It has the potential to carry you through the end of the game if you want it to, but you may find something you like better.
If you have theJournalist’s Stash missionbecause you bought theUltimate Editionof the game, there are other pieces of armor you will find in those stashes earlier than the endgame suits that you may find work a lot better for you, so check those stashes out as soon as you’re able to if you want something a little better than this.
Additionally, keep in mind thatthese are the stats before any upgrades. You could make this your main piece of armor and keep it around until you canreach the better ones in Pripyattoward the end of the game with a full set of upgrades.
1.45
1.4
2.5
So while it’s stats are lacking compared to the others, it has thebenefit of being the best long-term armor. You can find it in theCement Factory in the Cagesimply by walking up there.
1Liberty Exoskeleton
For Completing The Endgame In Style
Arguably the second-best armor in the game, theLiberty Exoskeleton is quite expensiveif you want to sell it for cash, but that would be a mistake. It also has some of the highest stats in the game, and it is available a little before the X7 Suit. The main downside is that itweighs over 2x more than the X7.
1.5
2.1
4.3
At 10.5 kg, you will find it a littleharder to keep an inventory full of stuff, but the downside is fairly well negated on the whole by the stats and the fact that you can find it as soon as you have access to Pripyat. It is on the second floor of a bookstore, and knowing that will likely make you not as willing to find the Brummbar Exoskeleton. However, that armor does weigh less, so keep that in mind. As a bonus, you can equip 5 Artifacts in this armor inStalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl.
