Tweaking advice for a new player Thread - MISERY mod for S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat

Hello everyone! I sendt this to the Misery guys for a little while ago to help me with the issue but i figured i may as well place it here as well in hopes of getting some tweaking advice.

Just want it made clear right here and now: If you are simply going to write "Get good" "It's fair" or "Lol u casual" or something along those lines, Please: 1 close the browser. 2 find the nearest toilet. 3 stick your head in it. 4 flush until you stop breathing. 5 win prizes.

With that out of the way:

Hello there, i'm an FPS/fighting game/platform gamer who really has come to enjoy survival games as of late but i want to summarize my feeling here on what i think the problems with this mod are *From my subjective perspective* And i implore you to please help me in tweaking it somehow. - I'd also like to say i've never played the S.T.A.L.K.E.R series at all specifically before but i've played some hardmode modded Fallout 3 & new vegas with AI improvements and that damn vats system turned off so i wouldn't call myself a stranger to the style.
first of all: look i get that this is supposed to be a daunting mod and i completely enjoy that but take these instances: i am having far too great difficulity in zanton and can't do the starter quests even. I died 18 times from the 3 guys trying to get the half-artifact at the start of the game being the first quest which demand it off ya or will kill you. The only solution was to run after the guy who's moving like a speeding truck after you give it for him, be vaguely out of range of his buddies and shoot him in the back with the 12 gauge double-barrel the sniper class starts with *reportedly being the "easiest" class to start with as well* Afterwards taking the artifact & completely avoiding gunfire after multiple tries i still died twice on my way back simply carrying the damn thing. Though that i do not find faulty, i did not have a container and that was dumb on my part.
Secondly the bloodsucker hive mission where you need to get a poisonous barrel, I tried -everything- and those guys can shoot me from halfway across the map with headshot accuracy and some of them even have grenade launchers..there's so many of them it's not even funny and i feel like i'm not being left with a chance, nor does the game give -any- indication as to where i was shot from or who shot me. I'd really enjoy some sort of camera zoom on what exactly shot me so i can at least give it a bash in retrying it when i load up a save without needing to die 4-5 more times just figuring out where the aimbot bastard is hiding. - Exactly at the same spot i also later tried to get at them and managed to get 3 of them down before being continously swarmed - 'naded and instakilled in horrid fashions simply trying to scavenge something to get a slightly better armor (I have only a very damaged overcoat and everything is so expensive i can't afford to get anything else, i just feel massively screwed over) I tried circling them, I tried hiding in the bushes *a feat they manage to do quite well to obscure themselves but it doesn't work for me* tried to lay in wait, tried to run, tried to charge at them, tried to tactically run back and forth and take potshots whenever possible. Nothing works. It punishes me for not having gear i can only dream off due to the prices and gives next to no reward to skill. and just to really rub it in, the corpses of the 3 guys i killed *and couldn't loot cause of the instakill aimbot bollocks i mentioned above a few times* Simply vanished. I got no reward. i wasted a fuckton of time, and i'm even worse off than before.
So my question is: I love the mutants being more powerful. that i find really interesting because i enjoy the weak & frailty of being human. But that said. I absolutely hate the bandit difficulity that as mentioned, Has basically an aimbot, never jams, have eternal ammunition, incredible range on their weapons, outnumber you and just to put the final straw on it, Can survive 4 makarov bullets from 20 feet away to the face with a tiny stagger & retaliate with a spray of magnetic bullets that are attracted to the players flesh. This is not "realistic" - It's not tactical and it's definetly not fun. It's just keyboard breakingly frustrating.So with this all said: How can i tone down the bandit difficulity so they can be as human as i am *i'm fine with them taking a few hits in heavy armor, i mean it gives armor a function* the aim i wish toned down, the eternal bullets when they have none when you loot them is ridicilous and the see through terrain thing needs to be gone completely.
Being fucked over by a bloodsucker, Pseudogiant, psy-dog, controller and all of those. Completely fine! being lesser than common bandits when your supposedly a Major of the russian army is less so. It ruins both immersion and the atmosphere and turns the game from being the switch between prey & hunter from situation to situation to always being the prey.
Please help.

Try the Les Miserables sub-mod. Turn off Hardcore AI Aim in the game options. Turn off NPC infinite ammo in the game options.

Also get good. Serious answer. I sucked at first too, everyone did. To be more specific, give yourself time to get more experienced and learn how to play the game. Misery was made to give experienced CoP players a rough challenge. You're new to the game and haven't even played vanilla yet. You're complaining about things that gave everyone problems at first, but most of us here have learned how to deal with those things. It comes with time and experience, usually learned the hard and bloody way.

Let's roll with your first example with the Altered Wheel artifact. The way I do it is this: The first thing to do after you've grabbed the half artifact is to jump up on the table on the floor below the wheelhouse. Look out of the window, you'll be looking down on one of the three stalkers. Shoot him in the head, then look up to shoot his two friends as they try to escape over the makeshift pontoons. You'll have plenty of cover inside the wheelhouse, but don't keep your head up for too long.

I'll also say that combat against bandits and other humans is highly tactical. In fact many of the tactics you mention do work, I know this because I use them myself, so you just can't have been doing them right. NPCs do have a hard time spotting the player through cover (the swamp reeds and large bushes, but not the wispy grass clumps), but if they see you disappear into cover or you keep shooting from one spot, they'll notice you anyway.

Again, give yourself time to refine your playing style and learn the feel of the game. I know it's frustrating at first, believe me, but it's a blast when you know what you're doing.

Well mate, I thank you for the advice on les miserables though honestly the "Get good" part is a bit myeh, Let me put it this way: I got shit weapons *surprise surprise i'm on the start of the game of course i do* And i'm in a starting zone. I see a guy in a ghillie suit with no helmet and i pop him 4 times in the head with a makarov by sneaking up to him. The response is getting shot in the face. As i said, I don't mind dying or losing, But i do mind being punished when by all standards i should have been at least -somewhat- successfull or at least have a vague hint of what killed me after multiple tries. No matter how you swing it, I just won't accept bandits being -that- powerful. It's just not fun. I don't care that i probably got the crappiest pistol in the game. It's still a damn gunshot from short range to the back of the head & neck and as a person that bought this game for atmosphere & a sense of tactical fun..that really sinks it for me.

that said i'l have a look at Les miserables. Cheers mate!

hmm trying Les miserables now and i noticed two things immediatly: 1 i CTD when trying to reload my old saves, Not too odd seeing how much is changed. What i do find a bit odd though is the question: How do i buy weapons now that Beard & Owl no longer sell them in Skadovsk? is it just no longer avaiable in that area?

LomLom is right though, it takes a little time to get used to misery. first of all the item descriptions, of meds & repair stuff especially. Take the time and read them though, so you especially use the food & antirads effectively.
the hardest things in the begining is no good armor which means you die very fast. to get good armor you need to advance in the game or make fast cash to get the cs-3 suit from nimble.

raid stashes if you need supplies, the vanilla stashes are all changed of course, so sometimes there is nothing good in them especially if the stash is easy to reach. there are a lot of new ones though. Go to the gas station roof first I would suggest.

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Keksfront i'd say that's a bit..odd to say though, i've never played S.T.A.L.K.E.R at all before and simply put: telling me that heading to raid stashes i have no damn knowledge of where are is kinda meh. + with les miserables i tried going assaulter rather than sniper, And there's no longer a stash behind the crate upstairs at the ranger station which does indicate they move randomly between set points.

as i said i installed les miserables now and need help on finding out where in skadovsk i can buy guns.

Feel sorry for you Varg, you actually count how many times you died:D. Most of us already lost count on the first day.
Lom is right, Misery was not designed for generic gamer where they can select novice and expect to see half of the game on the first try. Misery mod was intentionally designed for extreme hardcore and seasoned gamer who needs new challenges. If you haven't played vanilla then you only be able to see the first half min of the mod. All of the players drop like flies at beginning of the game, that's where the fun is for us. Figure out how stay alive is refreshing and challenging. Once figured out we walk like boss in the zone because there is nothing we can not achieve anymore.

oh i agree Desert, the fun does lie in things being unconditionally harsh, but i just personally think that some aspects of it have artificial difficulity on a level that is a bit too much & doesn't make alot of sense in context. As i mentioned above - I love being hunted & instakilled by bloodsuckers cause i fucked up as frustrating as it might be at the time. Being outdone by bandits when you score solid headshots on them before the same guy retaliates with a bullethole in his forehead?..Not so much.

All this said i am not saying "this is the way it should be" as it's after all left to subjective opinion ^^ i cannot say i agree with everything said but it's a subjective opinion and everyone got a right to their own. oh and the only reason i counted was because after a while i needed some sort of paramiter to show just how badly i'm getting fucked in standard misery to illustrate my point for the forum post, It's in no way a common thing i do heh.

Just trying to ask the forumers for a way to enhance the experience in a way i'd find more atmospheric and immersive rather than just be outright difficult all the time, from all types of mobs except zombies. i believe a midway level of mobs so you at least got options is nessescary as it's random generated monsters anyway, Meaning you know you can't go to certain areas as you'l get raped by powerful mutants and their abilities..but you should also have those small moments where you go "hehehe, stupid bandits went the wrong way, couldn't see me up by the trees" to balance it out rather than seeing them litteraly 180 degree spin & headshot you like a CoD 14 year old.

Like i'd say the bandits level of aim is my only real problem with the mod..cause it becomes just inhuman..and they are supposed to be humans..unless i missed something.

And i'm in a starting zone. I see a guy in a ghillie suit with no helmet and i pop him 4 times in the head with a makarov by sneaking up to him.

That'll be a bandit in an overcoat. They're surprisingly well-protected against the Makarov, and I believe that the buyable overcoat works the same way for the player - its armour type reduces damage from the weakest bullets like 9x18mm. If you mouse hover over the bullet resistance bar in your inventory (the set of bars beneath your equipment slots that show how much resistance you currently have to various damage types) you'll see a description of the armour types from I through to V.

A Makarov firing AP bullets would have easily killed that bandit. If you need some headcanon then I always imagine the overcoat to be made of mutant hide leather and treated with Zone chemicals.

as i said i installed les miserables now and need help on finding out where in skadovsk i can buy guns.

Back when I still played Miserables, Owl still sold weapons.

but you should also have those small moments where you go "hehehe, stupid bandits went the wrong way, couldn't see me up by the trees" to balance it out rather than seeing them litteraly 180 degree spin & headshot you like a CoD 14 year old.

A silenced weapon helps here. The only other option is to take a shot and then quickly run to a new spot, and ambush the bandits from there when they come after you. Rinse and repeat.

1 it was AP bullets i used at the time, I may be new but i'm not -that- dumb, Crappiest weapon + regular ammo against armored dudes? Doesn't seem like the best idea in any scenario. that's why i react so strongly against this.

Owl does not sell weapons though it may just be that i just got unlucky when i got there. he only sold armor & ammo, beard of course sells nothing, Nimble sells his specialized weapons and the rest of course just medical supplies & repairs.

And supressed weapon attachments actually have a function in the game? colour me surprised. I have been through so many games where a supressor does jack shit except being easier on the ears & asthetically pleasing that i completely stopped trusting them So used to enemies only reacting to hitboxes/A bullet hitting within a box of vicinity and not to actual sound in a game.

Update: Okay he does sell weapons. I was just unlucky! made a recon character and ran headfirst there and he sold a bunch of different AK's!

Update 2: This is far more what i had in mind thank you very much lomlom & the rest for the quick and helpful replies!

VargMcFirespitter wrote: 1 it was AP bullets i used at the time, I may be new but i'm not -that- dumb, Crappiest weapon + regular ammo against armored dudes? Doesn't seem like the best idea in any scenario. that's why i react so strongly against this.

Owl does not sell weapons though it may just be that i just got unlucky when i got there. he only sold armor & ammo, beard of course sells nothing, Nimble sells his specialized weapons and the rest of course just medical supplies & repairs.

And supressed weapon attachments actually have a function in the game? colour me surprised. I have been through so many games where a supressor does jack shit except being easier on the ears & asthetically pleasing that i completely stopped trusting them So used to enemies only reacting to hitboxes/A bullet hitting within a box of vicinity and not to actual sound in a game.

Update: Okay he does sell weapons. I was just unlucky! made a recon character and ran headfirst there and he sold a bunch of different AK's!

Update 2: This is far more what i had in mind thank you very much lomlom & the rest for the quick and helpful replies!

Stalker game has strange behavior when bullets hits. Depends on the status of the enemy some hits are being completely ignored. In truth, half broken Ak74 firing AP rounds can take out light and heavy armor bandits with just 1 or 2 shots, doesn't even have to be head shots. But ppl also reported them absorb half a clip and still trolling around. Their "flinch" animation kinda give them 2 to 3 secs of invincibility for some bugged reason. A regular pistol with regular fmj ammo can easily go head to head with armour mercs, just have to make the shots connect and wait for half second before next shot. Well placed headshot can do 1 or 2 hit kill pretty easily. PB1s is the pistol of choice for poor beginners, almost no recoil, accurate and head shots work wonders.

Silencer in this Misery is bit strange, sometime it works for me, sometimes don't. I was just playing yesterday with SKS silenced, trolling near sci bunker. Just for the kick I walk near one of the merc guard and hip fired him in the ass, twice. After he died I expected his buddy on roof return fire. But they just kept on patrolling. I shrugged and walk towards station, 20 steps away and roof guys start open fire. Took them out with the same silenced SKS. Last merc patrol still walking around and didn't notice. But in another game I killed a bandit with silenced sniper rifle. The whole base was lit up, didn't work at all.