Dangerous Cave? Thread - MISERY mod for S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat

Was the Dangerous Cave by Burnt Farmstead empty for anyone else? Just been in expecting a controller, but all I found was a dead stalker with no loot, and a few supplies on the bench?

The zone is a dangerous place, even for controllers. Some passing Stalker sensed him there and killed him. It happens, less than not, but not uncommon.

I've watched Duty stalkers go in there and purge that Controller. They had an easy time of it because NPCs are immune to psi :p.

The longer a player leaves the cave alone, the more likely it is that some other stalkers will go in there first. In part this is because it's so close to the Skadovsk where most players spend a lot of time, and is well within the active range even at the base 350 setting.

The Controller is quite easy to kill with grenades, so for an investment of about 800 RU for two grenades a stalker should make their money back from the Controller body parts and the gear on the dead stalker in the cave.

The good thing is that the controller or bloodsuckers in the Jupiter Swamp getting killed doesn't trip up the storyline any. You get credit anyway My last play through I caught Flint and Snag both walking into Yanov together smarmy hand-in-hand. It was everything I could do not to just gun them down.

In 2.1.1 I never had any of those 3 bloodsuckers killed by anyone else but me. They don't seem to be visible now even when they are idle. Every playthrough I did in this version I had to gun down all 3 myself. Did that change in 2.1.2?

Sometimes the zone helps, sometimes it laughs ... More activity from more stalkers and higher switch_distances mean more interaction. The bloodsuckers, controller, bandits in both locations in Jupiter, mercs are all just as at risk as you are to the zones hazards. The visibility of the bloodsuckers hasn't changed. If they feel in danger from you or anything else, they cloak. They appear intermittently as they chase things. They still growl too just not incessantly.

ToothlessShark wrote: In 2.1.1 I never had any of those 3 bloodsuckers killed by anyone else but me. They don't seem to be visible now even when they are idle. Every playthrough I did in this version I had to gun down all 3 myself. Did that change in 2.1.2?

Playing 2.1.1 last week, I was doing the Scientist line of missions where you have to guard Topol and his team as they take measurements. I hadn't got the bloodsucker mission from Trapper yet. The Bloodsuckers were right nearby to where Topol's team were taking measurements so they became aggressive and attacked. Topol and his buddies took them out for me. Things were crazy, fending off mutants from all sides, so I actually didn't realize the bloodsuckers had been killed until the mission update suddenly came up on-screen.

They are visible when they are idle however you need to sneak up on them, so you need plenty of cover like bushes, slow walk, as their hearing is uncanny good. With a scope you can sometimes spot them at spots they spawn from, especially in freeplay those become very clear.

Fully invisible for me on these 3. I have yet to catch them out of cloak regardless they are idle or moving. They are however very easy to track with mission active, the dot on the map is pin point accurate, so grenade launcher works wonders.

M209 from Cement Tower

jasper34 wrote: M209 from Cement Tower

Amen

DesertEagleV wrote:

jasper34 wrote: M209 from Cement Tower

Amen

I recently wasted a load of rounds and buckshot trying to take out 2x psuedogiants, before I remembered I had the Vog25 mounted and loaded with a VOG25... oops.

I never used them that much before because the reload seems like it takes forever when something is trying to crush you. Now I love to take out whole clusters of Zombies and especially the Chimera/Gigants. Nothing like whistling a tune as you back pedal while leisurely popping another grenade in the tube ... it would be sweet if more ammo was available earlier in game.

Yeah I had M209s, VOG25s, and hand grenades quite early on, but I never needed them as I didn't dare go anywhere near an armed enemy until I had more than a leather jacket. I just sold anything I knew I wouldn't need except for ammo, especially AP stuff. Now I really try to only stock up on 556, 545 and 762 ammo so I can switch between my G36, AEK971, SVD and AKM depending on which has the most ammo. So far, the AEK971 is the best weapon I've found, especially when upgraded. It just seems very well balanced between the 4 attributes and is very rewarding. Ammo is a little more costly, but it's worth it. It's funny, as the AEK971 was always my weapon of choice when I enjoyed BF3 CQC. I typically carry a shotgun with ~50 buckshot and an AR with ~60 ammo. I like the SVD if I want to be sneak and head shot bandits from afar and I only take ~25 rounds to save weight.

Am I strange/playing the game wrong if I'm barely thinking about artifacts? I have a shell, couple of sparklers and mama's beads - everything I just sell for cash pretty much straight away. I have ~9 LLAC which usually just sit in my stash

Edited by: harrymarshalluk

40 mm grenades are my main weapons against chimera/giants as well. Actually, it seems that both quest chimeras in Jupiter and Zaton get one shotted by them. Ever since I realized how effective they are, I started packing at least one gun with 40mm launchers and a couple of grenades for them whenever I go out, just in case.
To my surprise, I had found another quite effective thing vs Pesudogiants - .375 incendiary ammo. On this last playthrough I have installed TAZ addon (and loving it so far) and was packing a revolver using that .375 ammo. It took about 7-8 shots to put that giant on crawl mode and a few more to finish him. I was WTF when I saw it. Definitely good if you still don't have access to 40mm grenades. I wouldn't recommend using normal grenades vs Giants as they tend to strike the ground and send them back to you. I actually died once that way on my first Misery playthrough (2.1 version). I was laughing so hard when it happened.
I also tried using normal grenades vs 3 Burers once, just to see what will happen. I was thinking that they will get those grenades mid air and hit me with them few times before they explode in my face. However, it seems they were just deflecting them high up in the air where they would explode.

harrymarshalluk wrote:
Am I strange/playing the game wrong if I'm barely thinking about artifacts? I have a shell, couple of sparklers and mama's beads - everything I just sell for cash pretty much straight away. I have ~9 LLAC which usually just sit in my stash

I don't often use artifacts either. The Gravi gives good protection from bullets, better than a kevlar plate but not as good as a carbon steel plate, and it also offsets its own weight, so if I'm lucky enough to find one of those I'll keep it. Sometimes I'll use a Fireball combined with a SEVA or Ecologist suit, just to raise the thermal resistance a little (actually a flesh hide also adds a healthy +25% thermal resist). Mostly though I find that artifacts plus their containers are too heavy for general use. Drugs and suit upgrades are much more convenient.

That said, maybe we're missing a trick. I suppose if you wear three Moonlights and a good psi-upgraded helmet and then drop some pysblock, you might be able to get close enough to a poltergeist to kill it with a switchblade.

Lomlom wrote:
That said, maybe we're missing a trick. I suppose if you wear three Moonlights and a good psi-upgraded helmet and then drop some pysblock, you might be able to get close enough to a poltergeist to kill it with a switchblade.

I have never even considered it. These floaters offers no loots whatsoever I have always walk around them.
My mode of operation is simple. Room in inventory + Someone/something with loots walks in front of me = open fire. No loots = no action.

Well, in X8 base I went with fully psi upgraded helmet, 3 artifacts that give psi block and used marihuana. I had very high pys protections. However, as soon as the poltergeist in that ceiling room got close to me, I'd die. Still had to use grenade on him. Similar thing in Kindergarden. If they get close enough, you die. Someone may try this with 4 or 5 artifacts for max psi protection use marihuana and pills and see if they fare better but I doubt it.

You're not supposed to let any mutants get close Even if you kill them in close quarters the impact will kill you. You need to be outside their blast radius when they explode. I never figured out how NPC's use rifle stock to butt whip bloodsuckers, but it's nice trick.

do pills/smokes etc stack? Ie, if you take vodka, that say does -10 rad per sec, then smoke a ciggy that does -6rad, do you get -16, or whichever one you take last?

I am pretty sure most of the drug effects in game stack.

I'd like to learn how to butt whip some bandit with AK stock.

Yes, they stack. Except maybe the coke/epinephrine/Hercules. With those take the best you have only when you really need to carry more. @DesertEagle I know think of all the ammo you could save just pistol whipping them into submission

jasper34 wrote: Yes, they stack. Except maybe the coke/epinephrine/Hercules. With those take the best you have only when you really need to carry more. @DesertEagle I know think of all the ammo you could save just pistol whipping them into submission

Yeah they're the reason I asked. I made the mistake once of taking Epinephrine then Hercules, and I noticed my stamina bar decrease

I sell off all the coke and Hercules and just use epinephrine.

I don't know about you but wouldn't these drugs makes our Major a drug addict when he actually survive long enough? He would die from liver failure within 2 weeks with all that cocain and vodka mix, plus sleeping pills, smokes, weed, epinephrine, morphine and god knows what's in the medkit. The major has to be very tough to survive this kind of cocktail of drug mix and still able to function in gun fights.