STALZONE beginner guide — your first days in the Zone

The safest start is simple: choose the server region you will stay on, finish the training, pick Stalkers or Bandits, follow the main story quests, and bank loot in safe zones often. Your character and gear persist — STALZONE has no wipes — so early mistakes are recoverable, but loot you are carrying is not safe until you bring it back.

Choose your region first

Characters, progress and purchases belong to a server region. EXBO states that purchases made in one region do not apply to others. Pick the region with the best connection for you and your friends before you spend time or money. Read the region guide if you are unsure.

Finish the training

Completing the tutorial delivers a starter survival kit to your personal warehouse. Invited players receive their referral gift in the same place, and only after the tutorial. Do not skip it.

Stalker or Bandit?

Every character starts on one side of the southern Zone. Stalkers can later join Rise or Frontier in the North; Bandits can join the Mercenaries or Covenant. The choice decides who is hostile to you and which northern faction you can join, so read the faction guide before committing.

Follow the story

EXBO describes a story campaign of more than 50 hours, designed for solo play and built into the open world. The June 2026 update rebuilt the early game with updated missions and locations. Following the main quests is the most structured way to learn the map, earn equipment and move from the South to the North at a sensible pace.

Understand what you can lose

STALZONE's rule is different from most extraction shooters. Your character, long-term progress and equipment stay with you, but the loot you find on a trip is at risk until you get it back safely. In practice:

• Return to a safe zone before your bag holds more than you are willing to lose.
• Treat every stranger as a possible threat until they prove otherwise.
• Remember that to get instant access to a fallen enemy's loot, you now need to have dealt at least 30% of the damage; anomalies and mutants do not count toward it.

Use proximity voice and chat

Players around you can hear you, and you can hear them. The default chat channel is a 60-metre radius. That makes talking a real tool: you can warn off, negotiate or bluff. It also means careless chatter gives away your position.

Watch the anomalies and radiation

Anomalies, radiation and mutants kill as reliably as players. Use a detector where the game offers one, avoid unknown distortions and keep the right consumables for the area. The Zone's hazards get harsher the further north you go.

Do not spend before you understand the shop

STALZONE is free to play. Stalcoins buy Premium time, Season Pass packs, cases and cosmetics. None of it is needed to start. Learn the loop first, then decide whether anything is worth paying for — and make sure you are in the right region when you do.

First-days checklist

• Pick your permanent region.
• Finish the training and collect the starter kit.
• Choose Stalkers or Bandits with the northern factions in mind.
• Follow the main story.
• Bank loot early and often.
• Use voice to negotiate, not to announce yourself.
• Hold off on purchases until you know the loop.