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Maintaining your weapons in STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl is crucial—you definitely don’t want to be stranded in the hazardous wasteland with damaged equipment.
This guide will help you understand the ins and outs of repairing weapons and what steps to take when your gear gets damaged.
### How to Keep Your Weapons and Gear in Top Shape in STALKER 2
As you traverse the wasteland, your gear will naturally wear and tear. You’ll start noticing a yellow icon, signaling that it’s time to either repair or sell these items. Ignoring this warning only leads to further breakdown, resulting in completely unusable equipment.
To avoid this, head over to a technician. Look for a wrench icon on your map in any major town—this is where you’ll find them. The first technician you’ll encounter is Lens, located in the village of Zalissya, which is also the starting point for “The Poppy Field” side quest. Lens will guide you on how technicians can help keep your gear in working order.
When interacting with Lens, follow the prompt at the bottom right of your screen to access his upgrade menu. Not only can you upgrade your gear here, but you can also pay for repairs. Remember, the cost of fixing items grows as they become more damaged, so make regular visits to the technician to prevent any single item from becoming prohibitively expensive.
### Dealing with Broken Gear in STALKER 2
Ideally, you should avoid letting your gear break at all costs. When an item sports a red shield icon, it means its durability has plummeted, rendering it broken or nearly so. At this point, vendors won’t purchase it from you, and getting it repaired can be quite costly, often demanding thousands of Coupons for just one piece.
If you stumble upon a broken item in the wild or have one break during use, it’s best to unload any remaining ammo—there’s an option for this in your menu—and leave it behind.
For those rare pieces of equipment that hold special value to you, stash them away until you can afford the repairs. Given how costly broken items are to fix, be very selective about what you consider worth the effort and resources.
