The most endorsed mods for the popular FPS series
It was ten years ago when the first game in the S.TA.L.K.E.R franchise graced PC gamers with its presence, a first-person shooter which ventures into the depths of Chernobyl - now home to mutant creatures after a nuclear disaster. The trilogy - the latest being S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl in 2015 - has been played by millions of gamers, eager to scavenge dangerous territories and take on enemy factions and monsters that lurk within the radiation zones.
The S.TA.L.K.E.R games have also been popular within the modding community, who have taken the game to new heights with their own enhancements and perks for gamers to boost their gaming sessions and bring the series up to date.
We've selected some of the top endorsed mods for the S.T.A.L.K.E.R series sourced by Nexusmods to check out.
Clear Sky Complete (1.1.2)
The Clear Sky Complete mod, created for S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky, is a part of the Complete mod collection - a series of modifications created by artists dedicated to enhancing the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games. The enhancements include new lighting effects, natural day time and night time transitions, vivid sunsets and sunrises, redesigned emissions, a new high resolution night time constellation map and a full moon, as well as other aesthetic improvements.
Since being added to Nexus in 2016, the mod has been downloaded 2,577 times by gamers.
STALKER Complete 2009 (1.4.4)
Games of the past can often be left behind in terms of graphical detail, but not in this case.
This mod for S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl has proven to be a popular choice with gamers as it enhances the game's graphics whilst keeping the core gameplay intact. The mod is described as 'ideal for first time players or people who finished the game in the past and now are coming back to replay it on newer, more powerful hardware on improved resolution and graphics'.
Developed by a professional art studio, it's no wonder more than 20,000 people have downloaded it.
S.M.R.T.E.R. Pripyat (v0.41)
The S.M.R.T.E.R. Pripyat mod, created for (you've guessed it) S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat, unleashed a vast amount of changes to the game's mechanics and visual effects longer than your arm, heck, probably even longer than that!
Among the modifications were new animations for when your character is on low health and bleeding, increased weight limit (80kg), added silencers and scopes (for arsenal weapons), 24 new outfits and helmets, 12 smart terrains and a selection of new mutants including zombies, Izloms, old strong boars and cats.
Helios (Spawn Menu) Mod (1.3)
The Helios mod provides easier spawning options for players in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky. Players no longer have to run away when something has spawned near you, whilst also granting you the ability to offset monsters and stalkers in-game, in four directions.
The mod also has minor re-balancing of cut-out monsters, which was included as their statistics were unfinished by GSC - leaving modders to improvise.
Atlas (Spawn Menu) Mod (1.1)
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Shadow of Chernobyl's Atlas mod means no more fixed value for ammo, players can simply enter the value of items or ammo you want to spawn. Other modifications include two new spawnable monsters (rat and ghost), 12 new skins, adjustments to some cut-out monsters to remove the 'skating' effect, and minor cut-out monster re-balancing.
