The developers of STALKER 2 have released the third patch, version 1.0.3, for the game, which fixes a wide range of technical issues. This time, the update improves AI, saves, missions, and controls.

Warning, the news may contain spoilers!

Key Fixes and Improvements:

One of the main highlights of patch 1.0.3 is a series of fixes aimed at improving game stability. Several ACCESS_VIOLATION_ERROR and LowLevelFatalError bugs have been resolved, along with memory leak issues present in previous versions of the game.

Mouse and Keyboard Control Improvements

Addressing player feedback and complaints, developers have made key adjustments to mouse and keyboard control settings, particularly to reduce input lag and enhance overall sensitivity. The update includes the following changes:

Mouse smoothing is now disabled (default settings).

Mouse acceleration is also disabled (default settings).

Sensitivity settings have been adjusted for a better experience, and the standard values are now:

• Camera sensitivity: 25%
  
  
• Aiming sensitivity: 15%

These changes aim to provide more precise control for players who prefer playing with a mouse and keyboard, making aiming and movements more natural.

Mission and NPC Fixes

Patch 1.0.3 also addresses a number of mission-related bugs that could hinder progress or create unpleasant situations for players. Here are some of the main fixes:

• The Monolith warriors no longer chase the player outside of Laboratory X-5 during the "In Search of Former Glory" mission.
  
  
• Hamster and Ricochet no longer die prematurely during the defense of Zalissia in the "On the Edge" mission.
  
  
• Bayun no longer disappears before the player takes the collar from him in the "In the Name of Science" mission.
  
  
• A number of issues that could block the player from completing missions, including in "Dangerous Connections" and "Kings of the Hill", have been fixed.
  
  
• NPCs that disappeared or became hostile during certain missions, such as Roosevelt in "King of the Hill" and Sava in "Heavy Cargo", have been fixed.
  
  
• The patch also fixes issues with NPCs blocking doors during the "Return to the Heap" mission, and a strange bug where mutant bodies stretched unnaturally after being shot with automatic weapons.

Balance and Vendor Fixes

As part of the ongoing effort to balance the game, the developers fixed an issue where Sidorovich, the known Zone trader, did not sell certain ammunition types. This fix will improve the experience for players relying on specific ammo types during their journeys through the dangerous territories of Chernobyl.

Save Stability Improvements

One of the important fixes in the update addresses the issue of lost saves after unplanned computer and Xbox reboots. Players who faced this problem will no longer lose their progress due to crashes or unexpected shutdowns.

STALKER 2 Community Reaction to Patches

The gaming community and fans of STALKER 2 admire how quickly developers from GSC Game World release new patches for the game to improve its stability and fix most issues.

"Even if they patches aren't successful, it's nice to see the repeated attempts and obvious effort. I hope they can update to UE 5.5+ and gain some performance optimizations from that upgrade as well as general optimizations and put the game in a better place. It has a great framework and just needs more polishing" — wrote one user named SuperSoftSucculent on Reddit.

Some players are still concerned that the changes don't seem very extensive or significant, yet the patch is quite large: "Really big patch for not a whole lot of changes in the release notes. What all did they change and are not telling us?", writes wahman_m.

This is already the third patch for STALKER 2, which fixes numerous mission issues, game technical glitches, balance, and other improvements. However, GSC still has a lot of work ahead since the game's biggest problem remains optimization, resulting in noticeable performance issues even on powerful computers.