The loot system for S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2 has gone through a massive rework as of Modular Hard Mode 2.0. From solving the notorious issue of the overabundance of world placed static and dynamic consumables and ammo based items, to mod integration with a new intricate item generation system at its core - Over 100,000 lines have been touched or introduced in some form or another for this update alone. There is a lot to unpack. Loot module plays a large part into the overall balance of the economy and is a core element of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R universe. Most importantly, it can potentially be large driving factor for replayability and enjoyment. Filling dopamine to the brim when you get a super rare drop that you haven't seen in a play through before.

Consumables and Effects is a combination of med kits, drugs, food and water while effects are status effects afflicted on the player caused by the environment, anomalies, enemies, mutants, food and drugs! This module covers these types of of items and mechanics, as well supplies changes made to Fatigue, Satiety Rate, Movement Speed, so on and so forth for the Player Character. The base module for Consumables and Effects hasn't changed drastically since MHM 1.3.4 but there are some new additions and re-balances a few base game consumables that will be detailed, Along with the Toxic Cloud Anomaly overhaul. Most of the new additions are included from Loot Module Full with several new Consumables from both Modular Hard Mode, Pill Head, and three that have been implemented from Project Itemization.

Many of the new consumables added by Pill Head and a small handful from Project Itemization that have been re-balanced have fantastic utility cases that play well with each other when combined. This leads to more strategic planning and problem solving while offering a more in depth approach to consumable pros and cons, especially when combined with some of the new suit effects from the Protection module, leading to some interesting builds setups. Always wanted to be a meth addict stalker that utilize battle suit low protection high movement speed armors to evade Chimeras? now you can do that!

Protection in S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2 has some normalization issues, Most Protection Suits end up within 10% of each other for Electric, Chemical, Burn, Radiation and Strike resistances per tier regardless of the vast majority of suits to choose from, with the exception being Science Suits which just have higher normalized environmental protections. Leaving much to be desired from gear diversity and feels like you never need more than a single suit of a single tier, which makes you discard all the others suits you run across because one might slightly have better upgrades in one path that you prefer. By default, Gear also provides the player with more than enough strike protection out of the gate for most situations until you transition Story Progression ranks. Only then does it affect Psi protection, Strike protection, and rarely Radiation protection, Making players feel like they certainly aren't worth upgrading due to them all just feeling.. well, the same.

The Protection module solves these issues as well as others, such as providing solutions that difficulty mods typically don't deal with - end game story protection. If you've played and beaten S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2, you should know depending on choices made, the end game can be a mad house and makes it extremely frustrating with mods that make adjustments to overall difficulty damage outputs from ammo damage, damage multipliers, effective distance, etc. There's a chance they aren't taking into account end game, this includes earlier versions of Modular Hard Mode and while it is very much possible and doable, the difficulty spike can definitely be felt in a unfair and unfun experience for many. While Modular Hard Mode remains at the forefront of pushing challenging encounters and progression, it's important that there are options presented to provide proper protection for these scenarios, while still remaining difficult, but balanced!

      Upgrade diversity is another issue, and still has some improvements in overall diversity between suit types left on that front, but Modular Hard Mode 2 offers unique new upgrades for specific types of suits to where you can even make builds out of them when paired with consumables. There's also the improvement of Exosuits across the board, while still that sprint isn't a thing for them, besides Ruby (default game) They're now absolute units offering upgrades that make them worth going for as they now make solid alternatives to Exoskeletons rather than unworthy of upgrading depending on your playstyle. Let's dive in.

A comprehensive Weapon & Ballistics overhaul that focuses on a tightly tuned, caliber based damage system that has received proper internal testing to ensure the game balance of Modular Hard Mode packs a punch but still offers a rewarding edge in progression and ammo selection that continue to establish a satisfying reward structure for weapons and ammo investment. Ensuring upgrades are kept meaningful and ammo types important through mid and late game content. Loosely based on Infsolv's Ballistic math and calculations for range, dispersion, trajectory and bullet drop off  -. Modular Hard Mode uses a damage model for ammo that encourages Stalkers to seek HP rounds shortly out of the gates due to their benefits immediate benefits over FMJ. While FMJ can still get the job done with appropriate TTK, it falls off faster down the progression pipeline to encourage players to utilize proper ammo types to move through content while ensuring vendors will supply you with enough ammunition to get you through your tasks.

Taking large amounts of inspiration from Grok and his damage models for GAMMA where gun play feels great but also requires proper ammunition for the job is the goal for solid TTK. Modular Hard Mode finds a balance between realism and game play focused progression to offer the best of both worlds. Thanks to Loot Module 2.0 moving several types of HP rounds to early vendors, re balanced and factored for mutant hunting since changes from the Mutant Module are Health based rather than Strike protection, allows for Hollow Point rounds finally shine in full glory with specific types of targets, and allow Armor Piercing rounds to cut through Exoskeleton equipped Stalkers without too much trouble with the appropriate firepower. This was probably the hardest module to solve, but the results are extremely satisfying.

NPC Aimbotting issues have also been toned down, while keeping the mid and close range appropriate and somewhat even improved in some regard so they don't have very apparent issue of stormtrooper aim even at close range. So now NPC's have far less shots that ignore dispersion entirely (this causes laser beams), but their overall dispersion is tighter so its fair, but far from the aim bot issue that was present in the base game. NPC's will also now fire more potential shots depending on weapon types. and range from where they are at if you are caught out in the open they will now take that to their advantage.

This model has been meticulously tested over weeks and has received positive feedback that helps balance out the the loss from ignoring dispersion shots in order to keep fire fights intense, fair, but consequential when you get too cocky with leaving yourself open. It's somewhat similar to Maklanes Better Gunfights, but also improves other elements such as the the pitiful stormtrooper aim at mid and close range proximities. Tighter natural dispersion to counter balance the lack of shots that ignore and results in  NPC's not missing 70% of the time due wacky high dispersion rates when you're at close distance.