Best Assault Rifles in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl

Discover the best Assault Rifles in STALKER 2 Heart of Chornobyl along with their properties and how to get them.

Best Assault Rifles in STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl
Best Assault Rifles in STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl

STALKER 2 Heart of Chornobyl offers various Assault Rifles that play a crucial role as a primary weapon at medium to long range. All the regions of the Zone include relentless enemies and mutants that you will encounter throughout the journey. Using a weapon with high damage with a good penetrating rating and range will let you eliminate the enemies easily from a safe distance. However, not all weapons and Assault Rifles have perfect stats so you must equip the best ones in the gear or put in your inventory while exploring the Zone. In this guide, we will tell you about the best Assault Rifles in STALKER 2 Heart of Chornobyl.

Assault Rifles Overview in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl

The Chornobyl Anomalous Zone is a dangerous area, where stalkers need to arm themselves in order to survive. Therefore, the members of the various factions have access to a large selection of equipment and weapons. Assault Rifles play a crucial role in the game as they are the primary weapon for most fights. You can find various kinds of Assault Rifles in the hands of enemies, making these weapons more common in the game. Moreover, their common availability also makes these weapons’ ammunition economy greater, allowing you to get ammo easily.

You can purchase Assault Rifles from Traders in the game, loot from stashes and dead enemies, or find them randomly in the Zone depending on their rarity. One of the best advantages of Assault Rifles is that you can equip them with all kinds of Attachments. Attach a Sight or a 2x/4x Scope to increase the range, add an Extended Magazine for more bullets, put on an Underbarrel Grenade Launcher to shoot Grenades at enemies, attach a Flash Suppressor to hide the flash of the weapon, and more. So, there are many ways you can enhance the capabilities of Assault Rifles.

Assault Rifles have a high rate of fire allowing you to eliminate the threats easily compared to other types of weapons like Shotguns and Sniper Rifles. It is best to use Assault Rifles in almost all encounters, but you can switch to a different weapon type if you want to handle a situation differently. We will discuss the best six Assault Rifles to use in Stalker 2 depending on their overall stats and what makes them unique in combat.

Six Best Assault Rifles in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl That You Must Use

Assault Rifles will always be your first priority in any encounter as they are most reliable with their high rate of fire. However, you still want to hold on to the best ones and upgrade them at the Technician for further enhancements.

NOTE: The following list of Assault Rifles includes the base Assault Rifles, not Unique Assault Rifles. However, the best Unique Assault Rifle that you get is Drowned as it has the highest damage output than any other Assault Rifle. You can easily run that weapon from the early game to the end game.

Here are the six best Assault Rifles in STALKER 2 Heart of Chornobyl that you should use in your journey through the Zone.

  1. Dnipro: It has the highest damage output among all other Assault Rifles except Drowned, the Unique Assault Rifle. Moreover, its Penetration Rating and accuracy are high which allows you to melt Armored enemies.
  2. AS Lavina: It has good damage with one of the highest accuracy and rate of fire. The bullet sway is less than most of the other Assault Rifles, allowing you to be consistent with your hit marks.
  3. AKM-74S: The second Assault Rifle with the highest damage output with decent accuracy. The Penetration Rating is not great, but it is the best weapon that you can have right from the beginning of the game to the very end of the journey.
  4. Grom S-14: It is one of the most unique base Assault Rifles in the game as it comes with its own Grenade Launcher. Moreover, it has a decent Penetration Rating with almost the same accuracy as AS Lavina.
  5. Kharod: Kharod has the same damage as Grom S-14, but has a higher Penetration Rating and accuracy. It is one of the best Advanced Assault Rifles in the game.
  6. AKM-74U: The weapon damage is the same as most of the Assault Rifles, but it is better than most of the other ARs that you will find in mid/end-game. Moreover, it is a go-to weapon in the game’s early hours.

1. Dnipro

  • Caliber: 5.45×39
  • Supported Ammo Types
    • 5.45x39mm PS (Regular)
    • 5.45x39mm PP (Armor-piercing)
    • 5.45X39mm MZHV-13 (Expansive)
  • Magazine: 30
  • Weight: 3.73 kg
  • Inventory Size: 5×2
  • Value: 32,927 K

Designed to replace the Soviet AKM-74 in special force units, this Ukrainian assault rifle is utilized not just by military special forces, but also by seasoned stalkers. This Assault Rifle has the 5.45×39 Caliber and uses both Regular and Armor-piercing rounds. Upon getting this weapon, it is best that you get its initial upgrades and get the Rail Module to equip any Optic Attachment. Holographic and Open Collimator Sights both work perfectly with this weapon, allowing you to take fights confidently at both close range and distance.

Stat NameStat Value
Damage1.2
Penetration3
Rate of Fire4.91
Range1.9
Accuracy3
Stats of Dnipro weapon

How to Get Dnipro Assault Rifle

You can purchase Dnipro from the Weapon Merchant, Wreck at the Yaniv Station base in the Yaniv region. To upgrade the Dnipro weapon, you will have to go to Harpy Technician at theYaniv Station.

2. AS Lavina

How to access DLC content in Stalker 2
  • Caliber: 9×39
  • Supported Ammo Types
    • 9x39mm PA (Regular)
    • 9x39mm SP-6 (Armor-piercing)
    • 9x39mm PPE (Expansive)
    • 9x39mm SP-5 (Flat)
  • Magazine: 20
  • Weight: 2.78 kg
  • Inventory Size: 5×2
  • Value: 25,764 K

Derived from the Vintar sniper rifle, this silenced assault rifle enables effective firing without exposing the shooter’s position. AS Lavina is a great Assault Rifle that lets you deal decent damage with a good penetration rating. Moreover, if you use the Armor-piercing ammunition with it, you can melt enemies with its high rate of fire.

Stat NameStat Value
Damage1.1
Penetration2.6
Rate of Fire4.92
Range1.4
Accuracy3.65
Stats of AS Lavina weapon

How to Get AS Lavina Assault Rifle

You can purchase AS Lavina from the Weapon Merchant, Wreck at the Yaniv Station base in the Yaniv region. Moreover, you can also find it in the Death Cave in the Cordon region. To upgrade the AS Lavina weapon, you can go to the Screw Technician in the Rostok region.

3. AKM-74S

AKM-74S Assault Rifle - Stalker 2 Heart of Chornobyl
AKM-74S Assault Rifle
  • Caliber: 5.45×39
  • Supported Ammo Types
    • 5.45X39mm PS (Regular)
    • 5.45X39mm PP (Armor-piercing)
    • 5.45X39mm MZHV-13 (Expansive)
  • Magazine: 30
  • Weight: 3.63 kg
  • Inventory Size: 5×2
  • Value: 10,660 K

A modernized version of the iconic assault rifle. Exceptionally reliable in harsh conditions, it has become the weapon of choice for many factions in the Zone. AKM-74S is probably the best type of AKM Assault Rifle in the game as it has the highest damage among all of them. Fortunately, you can find this weapon early in the game and we recommend upgrading this weapon at the Technician to enhance its capabilities. Moreover, equip the best attachments to it for further enhancement.

However, it has a medium to low durability which causes it to jam as you use it frequently. If you face jamming, do the Reload action to unjam the weapon.

Stat NameStat Value
Damage1.2
Penetration1.1
Rate of Fire4.9
Range1.9
Accuracy2.7
Stats of AKM-74S weapon

How to Get AKM-74S Assault Rifle

You can get AKM-74S from the guard at the top of the tower near the ISPF building near the Sphere in the Lesser Zone. Moreover, most of the ISPF guards have a chance to drop AKM-74S. To upgrade the AKM-74S, you can bring it to Lens in the Lesser Zone region.

4. Grom S-14

  • Caliber: 9×39
  • Supported Ammo Types
    • 9x39mm PA (Regular)
    • 9x39mm SP-6 (Armor-piercing)
    • 9x39mm PPE (Expansive)
    • 9x39mm SP-5 (Flat)
  • Magazine: 20
  • Weight: 3.98 kg
  • Inventory Size: 5×2
  • Value: 24,814 K

Automatic rifle and grenade launcher system – an assault rifle configuration that can come in quite handy in the Zone. A good fit for lovers of ultimate firepower at short and medium distances. Grom S-14 is a great Assault Rifle that comes with its own Grenade Launcher. It is both great at close and medium range allowing you to take fights confidently. Moreover, if you have grenade ammo, you can use the grenade launcher to blow up enemies. With its good penetration rating, using the armor-piercing ammunition will let you deal potential damage.

Stat NameStat Value
Damage1
Penetration2.4
Rate of Fire4.93
Range1.6
Accuracy3.5
Stats of Grom S-14 weapon

How to Get Grom S-14 Assault Rifle

You can purchase Grom S-14 from the Weapon Merchant, Wreck at the Yaniv Station base in the Yaniv region. To upgrade the Grom S-14 weapon, you will have to go to Harpy Technician at theYaniv Station.

5. Kharod

  • Caliber: 5.56×45
  • Supported Ammo Types
    • 5.56x45mm M885 (Regular)
    • 5.56x45mm M995 (Armor-piercing)
    • 5.56x45mm HP (Expansive)
    • 5.56x45mm MK 262 (Flat)
  • Magazine: 30
  • Weight: 4.16 kg
  • Inventory Size: 5×2
  • Value: 27,597 K

A rare advanced assault weapon system treasured by stalkers for its remarkable efficiency even in the most challenging conditions. Kharod is a decent Assault Rifle that you can choose easily over other Assault Rifles like Fora-221 and AR416 because it has more damage than them. Moreover, it has a good penetration rating of 3 that lets you take down armored enemies easily while using the armor-piercing ammunition. Its range is also good and you can put on a 4x Optic on it to further increase the range and take out enemies from a distance.

Stat NameStat Value
Damage1
Penetration3
Rate of Fire4.93
Range2.3
Accuracy4.2
Stats of Kharod weapon

How to Get Kharod Assault Rifle

You can purchase Kharod from the Weapon Merchant, Wreck at the Yaniv Station base in the Yaniv region. To upgrade the Kharod weapon, you will have to go to Harpy Technician at theYaniv Station.

6. AKM-74U

AKM-74U Assault Rifle
AKM-74U Assault Rifle
  • Caliber: 5.45×39
  • Supported Ammo Types
    • 5.45X39mm PS (Regular)
    • 5.45X39mm PP (Armor-piercing)
    • 5.45X39mm MZHV-13 (Expansive)
  • Magazine: 30
  • Weight: 2.72
  • Inventory Size: 4×2
  • Value: 5,657 K

A shortened variant of the renowned assault rifle. this weapon combines the firepower of its larger counterpart with the compact frame of a submachine gun. It proves particularly valuable when venturing deep inside the Zone. AKM-74U is another great Assault Rifle that players get early in the game. It does not have high damage like other Assault Rifles we discussed above but you can make the most out of it in the early hours of your gameplay. However, we recommend you not to invest a lot of money in it, just put attachments on it to increase its capabilities to some extent.

Stat NameStat Value
Damage1
Penetration1.1
Rate of Fire4.92
Range1.2
Accuracy2.5
Stats of AKM-74U weapon

How to Get AKM-74U Assault Rifle

You can get this weapon from most of the human enemies, especially the ISPF Soldiers. Moreover, you can purchase it from Hamster (Weapon Merchant) at Zalissya base in the Lesser Zone region. To upgrade this weapon, you can bring it to Lens Technician at Zalissya in the Lesser Zone.

FAQs about the best Assault Rifles in Stalker 2

1. Question: What is the best overall Assault Rifle in the game?

Answer: Dnipro is the overall best Assault Rifle in STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl due to high damage, Penetration Rating, and Accuracy. Using the armor-piercing ammunition on this weapon can let you easily eliminate all enemies.

2. Question: What is the best Assault Rifle for beginners?

 Answer: AKM-74S is the best Assault Rifle for beginners due to its high damage and decent accuracy. Moreover, players can attach attachments like scope and grenade launcher to further enhance its capabilities.

3. Question: Are Assault Rifle good weapons?

Answer: Yes, Assault Rifles are best for winning encounters in medium and long range. With their high rate of fire and penetration rating, you can eliminate any threat easily.

4. Question: What attachments can be used with Assault Rifle?

Answer: Assault Rifles can use Attachments like Scope, Magazine, Grenade Launcher, etc. Attach a Sight or a 2x/4x Scope to increase the range, add an Extended Magazine for more bullets, put on an Underbarrel Grenade Launcher to shoot Grenades at enemies, attach a Flash Suppressor to hide the flash of the weapon, and more.


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