*Attention all current and Future Mod Downloaders*
The Mod is now updated to Patch 1.5.1, however the progression module has fallen behind, don't worry I am working on it and it will be out ASAP. Good Hunting STALKERs


*WHY YOU TAKE SO LONG?*
This Mod aims to be a more vanilla friendly yet immersive overhaul of the games gun balance and difficulty. Many files have been edited even in just the main file, this includes edits to projectiles velocity, drop, damage, penetration, magazine capacities (Some uniques have inaccurate magazine capacities due to caliber changes or upgrades), and rate of fire. While I could say this mod makes everything "Realistic", it does not. I know as many others like that and I don't blame you, I do too. However we have to admit that simply is not possible as ballistics in real life are much more complicated than any game engine can simulate, especially for the janky UE5 Engine and doubly so for the modding capabilities of now (With no announcement of the S2 Dev Kit yet). After 10's of hours nagging, completing all achievements for this game, and being busy with work as of late, I have had some free time to whip up this mod. While not as expansive as my "Guns Redone Overhauled v3.0" Mod for Cyberpunk 2077, with some time, game updates and modded guns we may just get there some day. At the end of the day these mods are a side hobby I have when i am not busy working or with friends, and recently I have the free time and motivation due to a little encouragement from "cortlong50". So here it is the first version of my modded stalker journey.

*Possible FAQs*
+What's compatibility with this mod look like now and in the future?
  -I intend for my mod to be very modular, thus very compatible as all modules are pick and choose at your leisure. When I have spare time I will switch to a
   "ReFurl" type of loading for even better compatibility with others mods. (As with all games complete overhauls will make nearly everything incompatible)
+What is the goal of this mod?
  -The main reason I have made this mod is truthfully to adjust the gameplay variables of base game that I find either annoying or lacking. While I could keep
    this as my own personal edits like I did for Fallout 4 and several other games I figured that others may haps would like to try what I envision as "A better
    version of 'BLANK GAME'"
+Why don't you add your own content like backpacks, sleeping bags, guns, or armor to your mod as well?
  -I wish to keep this mod as Vanilla and "Basic" as possible for those whom wish to have a slightly tweaked "STALKER 2" experience and not one that is akin
   to a "STALKER 2: GAMMA" experience. While GAMMA and all of the previous massive mod-packs/"Soup" mods for the previous STALKER games that came
   before it are cool, especially some of the ones for CoP. To many they can get overwhelming, can verge on jank, be lore breaking, or muddle the balance of
   the game it's based on. 
+Will you be integrating some future mods consumables, weapons and armors as patches for your mods?
 -Yes, however it will depend on the time I have to spare, if it seems to be lore friendly, if it improves the players experience or their gameplay in a meaningful
  way. I will be integrating many nexus released mod weapons, consumable mods, and all future official weapons added post launch by GSCGW to S2:HoC.

*Summary of Latest Files and Modules*
-PH Balanced PIKLE's Hardcore Balanced:
   -New Main File Containing all optional files together as one big package (Less compatible but downloads all files at once)
-Loadout Progression Rebalanced:
   -Experimental Module that refactors weapon and armor distribution of enemies through out your world balanced around the changes from my mod.
     -Examples being:
       *Factions have preferred weapons and have more weapons later in the game (No more, every enemy has an exoskeleton and PKP LMG)
         -Military (IPSF) carries mostly Russian weaponry, however later carries NATO as well
         -Neutrals (Loners) carry both Nato and Russian, such is life in the zone
         -Bandits carries both Nato and Russian but mostly the lower tier weapons
         -Duty carries Russian weapons
         -Freedom carries NATO weapons
         -Varta (The Ward) carries both Russian and NATO
         -Monolith carries both NATO and Russian weapons and spawn with better weapons a bit sooner
         -Mercenaries carry exclusively NATO Weaponry and carries high end weaponry early as well
       *Enemies now spawn with low tier armor even into late game, but this is uncommon, as well exoskeletons show up sooner but in lower quantities than
         late game.
-Mutant Rebalancing:
   -Controllers can deal out crazy amounts of PSY and are a real threat, get close to them and they are complete push overs...if you can. (Aim for the head
     now)
   -Pseudogiants and Chimeras are now no where near as spongey, while having far less health and armor they still do massive amounts of damage, fair is fair.
   -Burers have more uptime on their abilities (More shields, more throwing things..... and yes pulling your guns)
   -Poltergeist are still as annoying as ever but no longer a sponge
   -Bayuns, Blind Dogs, Boars, and Fleshes have nearly no armor and are easy to dispatch however when on higher difficulties inflict massive amounts of bleed
   -Bloodsuckers no longer eat lead for breakfast, still as deadly as ever especially on higher difficulties and in packs (Aim for the head if you can)
-Consumables and PSY Rebalancing:
   -Medkits are expensive, bandages not so much
   -PSY influences are dealing damage sooner, and effects stack quicker 
   -Medications last much longer, especially PSY-block and Hercules (PSY-block is more of a preventative now, however will not prevent powerful PSY-attacks)
   -General Consumables such as water, food, and alcoholic beverages are cheaper, good to buy in a pinch but sells for far less (stopping hording junk) 
-Better Stealth:
   -Bushes, grass and objects are far more concealing, and distance for enemies to alert is no longer 85m, but now a more reasonable 50m
   -Weather such as heavy rain, fog and darkness make enemies nearly as blind as you
   -Sound is harder to detect for certain movements, while others like sprinting and running are louder than even vanilla.
   -Surfaces like objects on the ground or the crunch of glass will alert enemies of your Prescence
   -Enemies actually react to suppression when you hurl a slug past their head or miss and hit near them
   -Enemies Field of view in less narrow to make spotting you easier out of cover
   -Mutants smell range is reduced slightly to make sneaking past chimeras and blind dogs easier, but still difficult (Chimera had an insta-spot radius of 75
     meters 0_0 )
-Expanded Medic Inventories:
   -Medics have chance of carrying meds such as Psy-block and Hercules
   -Increased amount of stock based on your current rank
-Ballistics and Weapons: (Previously Main File):
   -Overhauls to damage and penetration for all weapons based on caliber
   -Changes to ammo pricing and slight weight increase
   -Magazines are more accurate to real life (Especially the S12 and it's unrealistic 8 round mags)
   -Some weapons have had their reload time decreased to be more snappy and responsive 9many animations hung for entirely way too long, like the GP37 and Viper)
   -Many "Unique" weapons have built in caliber conversions to make guns more diverse
     *Spitfire -> 7.62x39 (Uses a AKM Magazine)
     *Gangster -> 9x19
     *Shah's Mate -> 9x18
   -Corrected M860's magazine to now carry an extra +1 Round when tactically reloaded
   -Range of projectile fall off has been increased for some weapons and their speeds
   -Effective damage ranges tweaked to be more fair
   -Standardized spread for shotguns when hip-firing or aiming (no more buckshot slugs) and increased their range to be more "Realistic" ;>
   -Ammo Prices Adjusted some are now more affordable and others more expensive (To make early weapons like SMG's and shotguns more reasonable)
-All Un-Paked Raw Files for each mod will be separate from their respective mod now to reduce confusion (Will be an optional file now)

*Please Read*
I recommend for the best experience play with all the modules especially using the newly added "PIKLE's Mutants AIO" module, as that module makes enemies much less spongey exceeding even Grok's mod. Example being Controllers die in 2 well placed AR headshots, while with base game PSY attacks and it's original Aura makes them a terribly easy enemy. However with the "PIKLE's Consumables and PSY Overhaul" module it's PSY attacks and Aura has much more damage and range making  you scurry quickly to find and wipe him off the face of the earth before you inevitably become a Dementia patient or your Brain Frys like an egg on a Florida sidewalk. While you necessarily don't need them all and they are separated for better customizability, it's just a recommendation.

*Difficulty Recommendations* (With my Optional "PIKLE's Difficulty Tweaks)
-Easy Difficulty: Is for those want to steam roll enemies and have a Base game "Stalker difficulty" like experience. Weapons and armor cost much less than base game (this decreases repair cost as well but not by much and is to make purchasing weapons a thing you may want to do), armor is more durable, ammo and weapons are less expensive than higher difficulties, damage done to you is less than the higher difficulties, weapons and armor are even more durable than base game or with my mod, bleeding is as it is in Base Game, repairs and upgrading are "Base Game" values. However, Quest are less rewarding than higher difficulties.

-Stalker Difficulty: A real difficulty setting, enemies attack faster, hit as hard as Base Game's "Veteran Difficulty", attack faster and more frequently, bleed stacking is more aggressive, repair cost are higher, radiation accumulates slightly faster, anomalies can easily mop you if you aren't careful, and upgrades are more expensive. However the quest are more rewarding, repairs are less needed as my mod tweaks weapons durability to be improved, and cost of weapons and armor are cheaper by ~15%.

-Veteran Difficulty: The "True" experience of S.T.A.L.K.E.R for my mod, enemies do even more damage to you and your weapons, ammo + consumables cost even more, armor durability is reduced, you starve faster, need to sleep more, upgrade cost are nearly doubled, bleeding really can kill you fast if you aren't prepared....or quick enough, anomalies will near certainly insta-kill you, you accumulated radiation faster and easier, mutants attack are much quicker and enemies react much faster to you. However Rewards for quest are greatly increased, enemies health and damage taken is not changed (Yes, this mean no more higher difficulty bullet sponges like in Base Game "Veteran Difficulty")

*Balancing Theory*
Guns are incredibly powerful in real life even small calibers, such as 9x18 or even .22 LR. My MO is simple, make guns scary to enemies and to you. You may 1 shot enemies you couldn't before especially early game but if you get hit your health is going to start plummeting as fast. While the balance isn't perfect I aim to make rifles more powerful and well rounded, smg's tear through low armored enemies; be cheap to run and with slightly less recoil, shotguns be able to reach out further, snipers to penetrate even the thickest of armor but need to place your shots well to be effective, and pistols for when you need to reload. (Switching to your pistol is faster than reloading....sometimes). This Mod may only have one MAIN file however I highly recommend most if not all my optional files to get the full experience of what i am going for here. (Mostly the Consumables Overhaul and Difficulty Tweaks)

*Recommended Mods*
-(Not a Mod) Turn off your Hip-Fire crosshair please (More immersion and I decreased Hip-Fire spread so you can indeed snipe people like KF2 if you tap fire)
-Do not use carry weight nor, "Reduced weight for X" Mods. Being able to carry so damn much ruins most overhaul mods balance (exception for artifact rebalance mods or mods adding backpacks, as you need to sacrifice something or endure a negative for the weight increase)
-O.X.A: Oxide's eXpanded Armory (because attachment limitations are un-immersive) -> https://www.nexusmods.com/stalker2heartofchornobyl/mods/939
-A.R.T: Artifacts Reforged and Transformed (because vanilla ART-ifacts are lame) -> https://www.nexusmods.com/stalker2heartofchornobyl/mods/1071
-HoM Loot Scarcity (or any loot scarcity mod) -> https://www.nexusmods.com/stalker2heartofchornobyl/mods/883
-Axxii's Headshot sound fix (more immersion) -> https://www.nexusmods.com/stalker2heartofchornobyl/mods/59
-Balanced Grenades for NPCs <Main> (Unless you want to be spam concussed) -> https://www.nexusmods.com/stalker2heartofchornobyl/mods/716?tab=files

*HEADS UP TO READER*
My mod edits several variables that other modders utilize like weapon configs, ammo prototypes, and player weapon settings. So it will not be compatible with major ballistic mods like "Better Ballistics" and "FUBAR", however if you use "Modular Hard Mode", do not use their ballistics modules or AIO. This mod will be separated into the main file and optionals as to help with conflicts, and all edited files will be in the description of the files. I do not touch NPC weapons at all in any of my mods for easier balancing via using my difficulty tweaks mod (which you can edit and repak to your liking)

To resolve simple conflicts use: "Simple Mod Merger" -> https://www.nexusmods.com/stalker2heartofchornobyl/mods/369 (A Version Integrated in Vortex/NMM)

*To Install any of the Modules (.Paks) simply put them in your "Mods" folder with your other paks, or as follows*
   -Stalker 2: HoC (Directory) -> Stalker2 -> Content -> Paks -> mods (where other pak file/mods are located)

*FULLY CUSTOMIZABLE FOR BALANCE*
There is now an optional file you may take a gander at that includes all modules for my mod, but unpacked. This allows players without unreal pak or F model to see what my mod contains to avoid conflicts. If you do have those programs you can simply take the extracted files and drop it into your repacker of choices "extracted files" section edit it and repack it for your very own version of my mod. I personally believe that more people should be empowered to do tweak modding for the games they love, not just to increase the wider appeal of the game or flood the market, but really to give a breath of new life in the modding scene. After all some of the best mods are usually "Tweak Modding".

Example being: "RePak Tool by Saymonn" -> https://www.nexusmods.com/stalker2heartofchornobyl/mods/398

*Known Issues & Future Releases*
1. Unique 5.45 Grim "S15" has the same stats as the base variant, this seems to be a vanilla issue. A similar issue was encountered with certain parameters within the Kolac in Cyberpunk 2077 as well. Without Official Modding Tools and/or the knowledge to add a unique stat entry for the S15 it sadly cannot have unique stats from the base Grom. :<
2. Hardcore44 support is planned but will begin development a little later as it did with my G.R.O Mod for Cyberpunk 2077
3. Mutant Rebalancing will be made as optional files, but when I can test them a bit more (Don't need a repeat of my past mistakes with enemy rebalances .-.)