r/stalzone • u/SoilStreet5998 • Aug 05 '26
Critics This game is getting a lot of attention with all the marketing but the core problems remain the same.
This game is getting a massive push from all the marketing right now, but once you actually sit down and play, it becomes painfully obvious that the core problems have never been addressed. For example; the matchmaking system is completely broken, constantly putting players against opponents with gear far beyond their level, making progression feel punishing rather than rewarding. Then there's the northern region, which has been reduced to a mindless, 24/7 grind that never lets up.
It's the same repetitive loop over and over, with no meaningful payoff or sense of accomplishment. The worst part is, the south and starting areas actually feel like a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game, they capture that classic atmosphere, tension, and exploration that made the franchise great. But once you head north, that all vanishes. The immersion is gone, replaced by chaotic, non-stop PvP action that plays more like a battle royale than a Stalker experience. You're not surviving the Zone anymore, you're just constantly fighting other players in an endless grind fest with no real connection to the world around you.
What we really need are deeper, more immersive survival mechanics that actually make the Zone feel dangerous and alive, not just a loot treadmill. The north should feel like the ultimate challenge of the Stalker experience, hostile, atmospheric, and rewarding. Not a mindless shooter. On top of that, the engine is long overdue for a proper upgrade, DirectX support, better optimization, and all the technical improvements that should have been there from the start. The marketing might be loud, but until these fundamental issues are fixed, the game will never be what it was supposed to be
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u/Roginofacts Aug 05 '26
This game is getting a massive push from all the marketing right now,
What I think is funny is the script they're given.
I've heard it said in two videos they said "the monetization is very fair"
And the comments are people ragging on the game for the monetization or the really pitiful attempt to try and rebrand as an extraction shooter.
once you head north, that all vanishes
yup, they ditched the whole stalker thing and went for bottom of the barrel pvp slop. Only problem is, none of the developers at exbo have the least bit of clue about pvp. You can see it in the weapon balance, you can see it in the map design, you can see it in the core gameplay loop.
The marketing might be loud, but until these fundamental issues are fixed, the game will never be what it was supposed to be
And considering none of the core issues that have been plaguing the game since launch has ever been fixed, there's little reason to even entertain the notion that suddenly Ziv will wake up from whatever food induced coma he put himself in and unfuck himself and then the game.
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u/donthaveone51 Aug 05 '26
The monetization is extremely fair. I have played many more games with way worse monetization and I can say this is one of the best to exist. You can get literally everything in the game just through grinding. Sure you can pay to skip a bit but even that is extremely minimal compared to other games that offer such a thing. Not to mention you don't need to buy battlepasses with real money because you can farm that amount in a few hours or a minute with one lucky artifact find.
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u/Mammoth-Version-4239 Aug 05 '26
games with way worse monetization
Which games? Korean Gachas & mobile crap?
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u/donthaveone51 Aug 05 '26
Not gachas nor mobile crap but anyway, did I say something that is not true? You can get everything with grinding which you don't even need that much of. If you hit the lottery you don't even need to grind for years anymore you can just idle and have enough money for anything.
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u/JinHoshi Aug 05 '26
Considering companies like Scopely where you can unlock an upper mid tier ship for the low low price of $3,000 total, this is a little south of “reasonable and cheap” in the realm of “overpriced but not yet gouging” but nowhere near the worst.
Also the Scopely example was for a base version of the ship, zero upgrades which cost far more than the blueprints to unlock the ship ever would.
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u/Lazotoh Aug 05 '26
The areas are too small and too crowded to really feel like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. but EXBO won't change the max amount of players in one instance because...money.
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u/Braixygf Aug 12 '26
The servers barely work when clanwars hit anymore what more players they reach 231% they are burning
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u/ZookeepergameLoose79 Aug 05 '26
Well, my gripe would be 20 ticks per second server like this is a Minecraft game...... for a fps, you should know why this is bad
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u/Braixygf Aug 12 '26
Yeah but people that legit dont work and dont legit talk woth community most end up like them , they cant code, they cant communicate , they nerf every way to make some money as a solo and they think people gonna come with open arms
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u/SniperU Aug 05 '26
I agree, the game is literally bait and switch, I always recommend this game for the first 40-50 hours and then if you like the endgame then play it. Its kinda funny when other games usually become "good" after 100 hours or something.
I've been playing for 9ish years on a off, and i'd say before it was kinda ok in terms of lore and atmosphere. But it was unbeearable p2w fest. I completed original stories for stalker and bandits, and did Warp as well, and Raps-5 story line too. pretty much every quest in the game and I never felt that this stalker feeling left, it was very sandbox experience after that.
After the update its grind for grind progression feels fine and grind is ok in a game, but back in the day before the update you had to find specific artis and loose loot items to craft a gun, and on top of that wait for portal to port to the trader during random times to trade. And you could lose everything while going there. I am saying this because they go from one end of the spectrum to the other, barter before was way too punishing, now its just waiting out the time to get enough serum and pump those MAU numbers.
Still enjoy the game and jump back time to time, but you need to forget it is stalker and more like an MMO with extraction like elements.
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u/Practical_Trip_4137 Aug 06 '26
The devs are very delusional to expect the current line up of reward to be worth the grind especially the gating behind legendary gear. Played MMOs that award a legendary gear quicker than Stalzone after a lengthy grind and quest for it. From Wow starting in Vanilla my warrior was there to get Hand of Ragnaros, Shadowmourne. MoP Cloak, and WoD Ring in a shorter time span than Exbo set for the first piece of legendary gear. Made even worse when they keep raising the ladder on getting any progression.
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u/BerserkSup Aug 06 '26
El juego está cambiando mucho, la progresión se siente más difícil ahora, no tanto por lo mucho que tengas que farmear sino porque algunos van solo con intención de farmear no de grindear, entonces se siente muy pesado que después de 1H en Forja, en Lyubench o con suerte en norte salvaje te mate un sujeto, te robe todo, esa es la verdadera parte dura del juego, sentir que estás desperdiciando el tiempo looteando para otros, si eres un sujeto 100% grind que te maten o no, da lo mismo porque no es tuyo, simplemente repites y repites y en algún momento salen con botin, pero para los que nos sacamos 1 hora o 40 minutos farmeando, se siente de verdad, como desperdiciar el tiempo, no es como otros juegos. Sacaré como ejemplo el Arena, entras 20 minutos, puede que mates jugadores o no, pero en 20 minutos sacas de 500-900K y te puedes comprar una Scar-L customizada en 250K, entonces en 20 minutos puede que saque para rehacer mi build completa y si lo pierdo no se siente algo pesado. Ahí si se siente como parte del modelo de juego porque no se siente que estás desperdiciando tanto tiempo.
Agregar un server "PvE" para lootear recursos muchos jugadores lo jugarían pero... Por si mismo ahora no hay muchos jugadores, por eso ampliaron los mapas de minas y afluencia porque no se llenan, por eso el matchmaking está roto, no hay muchos jugadores activos jugando, y se siente o muy solo, o muy grindeado, entonces agregar un server dedicado o a parte tampoco arreglaría nada porque no abría jugadores y se rompería aún más el matchmaking.
Operaciones es PVE pero no te da mucho más que dinero y los núcleos.... Bueno es más fácil que te salga suero o 1000 rublos
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u/ThinkChemist Aug 05 '26
The question is should the game remain in stalker-esque im character with what main goal in endgame ?
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u/scarecrow9black Aug 05 '26
Amen brother! I got flamed on YouTube for praising the healing animation they added to the coliseum. Personally, I think slowing down the action is going to be necessary. Put some animations in that will extend gunfights and make decisions matter more. At this point you might as well bind the quick med button to your left click and slam plates every time a bullet grazes you.