The RP-74 is a belt-fed, general purpose machine gun appearing in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat.
Appearances[]
Shadow of Chernobyl[]
|
This article or section is based on S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl cut content and may contain inaccurate information or speculation. |
|---|
The RP-74 (or a similar weapon also based on the PKM) was considered at some point in early development of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. An inventory icon was designed during development but no actual model exists in the assets of the game and its pre-release builds.
Shadow of Chernobyl cut content also includes the mounted variant of the RP-74. Unlike the handheld RP-74, this weapon was actually developed and appeared in multiple pre-release builds, but it was also cut from the final release. The game assets still contain the variant's configuration file and model.
|
|
End of information based on S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl cut content. |
|---|
Clear Sky[]
Despite its weight and low precision, this light machine gun has found admirers in the Zone. Used primarily to fight off superior enemy forces or clear out mutant lairs. Uses 7.62 PP ammo.
― In-game description
The RP-74 was first introduced in Clear Sky.
The RP-74 has interesting downsides, such as:
- The player cannot sprint while wielding the weapon, akin to the Exoskeleton.
- The weapon's iron sights are unusable.
- The player's turning speed is slower. This downside can be countered by increasing mouse sensitivity in the game's options.
The weapon, despite these disadvantages, has a very high damage per shot and a moderate fire rate of 600 RPM, allowing one to take down a foe quickly. Because of the high damage per second, the RP-74 is a good choice against both enemies and mutants.
The RP-74 however has other drawbacks as the recoil is very high, accuracy is average, handling is mediocre and the weapon is relatively heavy. The lack of ability to aim is a severe downside as it makes the weapon overall inaccurate at long range, prompting one to fire in short, controlled bursts at targets at long range. Considering one cannot run with the weapon, it is ineffective if the player needs mobility in a firefight. Should the player fire from a single position, the RP-74 is a very powerful weapon; otherwise considering the lack of mobility it is advised to use another weapon, or at least switch to a pistol should the player need to move. The RP-74 is also quite unreliable and will often suffer from jamming after being used enough.
The RP-74's fire rate can be significantly increased, making the weapon far more powerful - with all fire rate upgrades the RP-74 can fire at a deadly 1200 RPM, and the fire rate +50% upgrade will give a slight increase in accuracy. The magazine capacity can be increased to a whopping 200 rounds with an upgrade, recoil can be decreased by 50%, and an upgrade will improve mobility by decreasing the weapon's weight to 6.5kg, among others.
Acquisition[]
Acquiring the weapon can be very difficult, but this weapon is a standard gun for Duty experts. The player will also receive the weapon for completing the Duty faction war (by destroying the Freedom base), and it will be sold by Mitay once the player has joined Duty and progressed into the faction war, up to the point where they are tasked with capturing the Freedom base.
Two RP-74s are found in Limansk, one is held by the Bandit minigunner and another is used by a Military expert half-way during the level.
Upgrades[]
 Bolt mechanism modification (5000 RU)  Fire rate +15%A technological modification of the bolt mechanism allows for a higher rate of fire.
 Operating rod modification (5000 RU)  Recoil -20%Mounting an operating rod compensator allows recoil to be reduced.
|
 Improved mechanism balance (7500 RU) Fire rate +25%Better balancing of the mechanism's working parts allows the weapon's rate of fire to be significantly increased.
|
Gas system modification (12500 RU) Fire rate +50%A modernized gas system allows for a higher rate of fire.
|
 Barrel modification (5000 RU)  Weight -20%Replaces the standard barrel with a lightweight version.
 Lightweight stock (5000 RU)  Handling +20%Replaces the standard stock with a lightweight version.
|
 Barrel modification (7500 RU) Recoil -30%Installing a muzzle brake allows recoil to be reduced significantly.
| |
 Assault magazine (5000 RU)  Mag. size +100A much larger magazine designed specifically for assault operations.
|
Unique variants[]
- Mounted Weapon - the mounted variant of the weapon, which is operable by NPCs only, and can be found in the Cordon and the Deserted hospital.
- Tank machine gun - a unique RP-74 which can be found in the Red Forest as part of an optional side mission provided by local Loners (Bring back the tank machine gun). Unlike the base model, it can carry up to 2000 rounds at once.
Call of Pripyat[]
This belt-fed machine gun is a portable modification with a complex two-stage feeding system. Despite its weight and low precision, this LMG has found admirers in the Zone. Used primarily to fight off outnumbering enemy forces during faction conflicts and clear out mutant lairs
― Call of Pripyat in-game description
Upgrade view.
The RP-74 returns in Call of Pripyat.
For the most part the RP-74 is reminiscent from its previous counterpart, although damage and fire rate are lower, and the weapon can now fire in semi-automatic in addition of the default fully-automatic fire mode. The RP-74 still suffer from movement penalties, and one can still not aim down the sights of the weapon. It can take up to five seconds for the crosshairs to reach their normal, deceptively accurate spread. Fired on the move, the RP-74 even less accurate than an SVDm-2. As well the RP-74 has low reliability and while it will not jam as much as in Clear Sky, it will quickly degrade. Upgrades will be a massively expensive endeavor – for a gun that one can usually sell for only 8000RU at the most, upgrading just one of the four upgrade trees can cost 12000RU.
The RP-74 has a large amount of upgrades that serve good purpose. With fire rate upgrades the weapon can fire at 925 RPM. The weapon can be modified to use 200-round magazines, and the accuracy can be highly improved. Recoil can also be highly decreased and handling can be improved. These upgrades can severely affect the weapon's performance and make it much more effective.
Acquisition[]
The most common source for the weapon is Zombified Stalkers experts wearing exoskeletons. The RP-74 is one of the four weapon they can spawn with, the others being the SGI-5k, the Tunder S14 and the SPSA-14.
- The first sighting of a vanilla RP-74 will likely be at the last section of the Pripyat 1 underpass as there is a zombified expert near the exit.
- During the mission Anomaly research, while the stalkers study the Ash Heap anomaly, the player will come under constant attack from zombified stalkers. In some cases one may carry an RP-74.
- There is at least one zombified expert in the Testing Workshop when the player goes there to recover the Gauss rifle documentation, that may appear with the weapon.
Exoskeleton-clad Duty experts around Jupiter may sometimes carry this weapon. The RP-74 is also available from Hawaiian after obtaining the achievement A Friend of Duty.
There is one at the top of the Vine in Pripyat, hidden next to a sofa inside an apartment. The climb is difficult and hindered greatly by the heavily damaging moving chemical anomaly running across it. One is in Laboratory X8, right next to the Poltergeist in the top room, loaded with 27 rounds.
Upgrades[]
 Heat absorbing components (2000 RU)  Reliability +10%In absorbing some of the heat, the components reduce weapon temperature changes during firing.
|
 Installation of a special moving parts buffer (2500 RU)  Recoil -20%A moving parts buffer evenly distributes recoil throughout the weapon when it is fired, making it less pronounced.
 Long gas piston movement (2500 RU)  Flatness +20%A longer movement of the gas piston slightly increases weapon length, with a serious improvement in flatness.
|
 Even forced cooling system (3000 RU)  Fire rate +25%Symmetrical force cooling of a part of the barrel happens due to the work of an ejector and prevents weapon overheating.
|
 Addition of an active counter-weight (2000 RU) Recoil -10%An active counter-weight moves from the bolt frame, partially compensating for recoil.
|
 Installation of a blowback roller compensation system (2500 RU) Recoil -20%Installation of additional roller parts reduces recoil.
|
 Installation of a self-regulating counter-weight (3000 RU)  Handling +25%When the weapon is fired, the bolt frame counter-weight moves in the opposite direction to the bolt, which allows for more comfortable firing of the machine gun.
 Open bolt firing systems (3000 RU) Fire rate +25%Replacement of the weapon's bolt mechanism with a more suitable design, which improves the rate of fire.
|
 Addition of thermal regulation jackets (2000 RU) Reliability +10%An important modification that protects the weapon from air temperature effects during firing.
|
 External barrel finning (2500 RU) Reliability +15%A technological improvement, finning requires extreme precision to prevent the formation of overheating points on the barrel.
 High-durability, thermal resistant alloys (2500 RU) Fire rate +15%A change of material reduces barrel damage from uneven heating during firing, which allows the weapon's rate of fire to be increased.
|
 Changing barrel geometry (3000 RU)  Accuracy +30%Replacement of the barrel with a more modern version allows for a considerable increase in accuracy.
|
 Increased rest size (2000 RU) Accuracy +10%A larger rest allows for accurate fire.
|
 Built-in spring-based recoil buffer (2500 RU) Handling +15%An amortization spring recoil buffer partially removes the discomfort experienced when firing a hand-held machine gun.
|
 Additional bolt assembly gas buffer (3000 RU) Recoil -30%A bolt assembly buffer position in the stock takes on and absorbs most of the recoil.
|
 Increased box magazine capacity (5000 RU) Mag. size +100A lighter yet higher-capacity polycarbonate box magazine, which offsets some of the weight increase.
|
Unique variants[]
- Zulu's RP-74 - a unique RP-74 held by Zulu, which features higher magazine capacity and reliability than the base model.
Sounds[]
| Clear Sky | Call of Pripyat | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | |||
| Holster | |||
| Shoot | |||
| Empty | |||
| Reload | |||
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The RP-74, much like the Gauss rifle, features iron sights, meaning they can be enabled by modifying the weapon's config file. However, they are misaligned as the weapon was never invented to have usable iron sights.
- The name "RP-74" sounds in fact very similar to that of the RPK-74, a magazine-fed machine gun variant of the AK-74. The RPK is itself a derivative of the PK series of machine guns which fire the 7.62x54R cartridge, which is most likely what this is based on.
- While weapons that eject spent shell casings in the games tend to eject to the left side of the gun, the RP-74 is the only gun whose real-life counterpart actually does eject spent casings to the left.
- The RP-74 uses the reloading sound of the SGI-5k in Clear Sky, which is not suited to its reload animation. In Call of Pripyat, the RP-74 uses its own reloading sound.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||