Silencer

A silencer.

A Silencer is a weapon add-on that would conceal the muzzle flash and loud noise made the weapon when it was fired, though alters the round fired by the weapon as it affects it's flight path and velocity.

General characteristics

Groza with silencer — An OTs-14 Groza with a mounted silencer.

Unlike other attachments such as scopes or grenade launchers, it is important to note that attaching a silencer often has negative effects on the weapon's overall accuracy, and more importantly on damage - in most weapons it can reduce the damage anywhere from 20 to 40%, and the range and velocity by a corresponding amount. The most noticeably hit are the NATO calibre rifles - specifically, the G36 and SiG 550 drop from 37 to 30 damage apiece, weaker than an unmodified AK-74. Thus, the stealth comes at a steep trade-off, and spraying in hopes of scoring a headshot is heavily discouraged - if you get into a heated gunfight, the silencer will put you at a disadvantage due to your reduced damage output.

In all of the games, attaching a silencer has the following effects:

20% Damage Reduction
20% Bullet Velocity Reduction
20% Spread Increase
20% Less Recoil

Compatibility

The silencer can be mounted to a large variety of different weapons due to its set of adapters, though note not every gun can mount one. However, in Call of Pripyat upgrades might be necessary in order to use the silencer.

Shadow of Chernobyl

The following are unique weapons that come mounted with a silencer.

Clear Sky

Call of Pripyat

Appearances

Silencers were only widely used in Clear Sky and Call of Pripyat as during Shadow of Chernobyl, weapons usually had ones that could not be removed. Silencers are found from a variety of locations be it from certain vendors, stashes and down to certain stalkers possessing this item, most dominantly mercenaries. Although in real life, a silencer could only work for a specific caliber it was designed for, in Clear sky and Call of Pripyat it came with a set of adapters that allowed it to be outfitted to a wide variety of calibers. Meaning that the silencer could be attached to a UDP compact then to a TRs-301 without any complications. Note that not all weapons can mount a silencer. In the game, the silencer had some effect as some stalkers would not notice if they are fired upon until they are hit.

Acquisition in Shadow of Chernobyl

Possible locations for silencers include:

1 Army Warehouses area, south of the bloodsucker village and west of the Freedom base where the Duty squad is camped out, attached to a rifle on the top floor of a broken house. This is not a stash, just items lying around behind some crates.

2 One location you can find a silencer is left of the bridge in Cordon. You will see a truck, jump on the front of it and try to go on top. After that you will find a roof, level with the truck. Jump across it, and you will see a little metal box, to your right. Stab it with the knife, after that you will have to go inside the building to get the Silencer and some ammo, right were you stapped the box. The ammo that it comes with is 5.45x39mm FMJ bullets to, there is around 150 rounds.
3 In a truck at Garbage, next to the helicopter.
4 Obtained from Barkeep at the 100 Rads Bar in Rostok. If you agree to find a Meat Chunk, Flash, Crystal Thorn or Night Star for him, you will get the Berill 5-M Suit as a reward. But if you ask the Barkeep for an other job right after that (depending on version you may NOT close the dialog), he will ask to find a Goldfish, for which the reward is a Silencer, M203 Grenade Launcher and TR 301 rifle in top condition.
5 Found in the Dark Valley in a stash, behind the three large cisterns and the little house where you will sometimes find a wounded stalker who gives you the info on the cheap Gauss rifle. It can vary as to who has this info, most of the time from a body in the Dark Valley or from a bandit at Garbage.
6 In a stash at the Agroprom Facility, not far from he tunnel entrance there is a group of four large cisterns, in the back near the corner of the wall is a cross that has it. Note that there are a few anomalies around.
7 At the Agroprom Base, in a stash not far from where you have to find the Military Documents.
8 In a stash at a rooftop of the Agroprom Facility, you can find its location by killing or searching loners in the Dark Valley or Garbage.
9 Seems to be random in a stash at the Agroprom Base.

The Silencer at the Zone Survival Guide