Lore
'First Sergey thought they were common stalkers sticking in group. Then, however, something alerted him in their behavior only to
A zombified stalker.
make him instantly lie down holding the gun in front of him. A shout didn’t have any effect – these two failed to react in any way. When they came up closer, he had no single doubts remaining – the non-coordinated movements, rambling murmur, dragging feet. He faced zombied stalkers.
Sergey didn’t want to approach them fearing to recognize someone out of his friends missing in the Zone. He fired several times preventing the zombie from opening fire in response...
General information
Zombies are made by the "Psy Field" emitted by the emitters such as the Brain Scorcher and the Miracle Machine, when unprotected stalkers are exposed to Psy emissions long enough they start to loose their mind. This is results to irreversible damage to the higher functions of the brain then the stalker becomes a zombie, relying on whatever remains of it's purely animal instinct. Stalkers approaching the Emitter "Miracle Machine" in the factory complex in Yantar, reported that once they get close to the gate they start hearing voices and start hallucinating things, then they feel their brain literally boiling and melting inside, then they would feel weak and it would be a lucky break if they are able to get away from the Psy field with their brain intact, some stalkers reported that they even temporarily forgot their name after he managed to get away from the factory in time.
Although zombied stalkers can still use their weapons and even reload them as , they are rather stupid. they'll charge right in the middle of a firefight without cover. Encountering them you can hear them murmuring bits of phrases which, though, are fully meaningless. In time zombfied stalkers completely lose most of their previous skills and turn into zombies.
Sometimes you may spot them around a campfire, sticking their hands out to the fire. This may be a nod, that they still hold some humanity, as they seek warmth.
As a rule, they are very aggressive and pose serious threat when in masses.
In combat
Although they may be zombies, they are actually quite capable with weapons and can pose a threat, even when you're just facing a couple of them. They also seem to be tougher than their normal , human counterparts probably because of their brain being destroyed they no longer feel pain, can take quite a number of bullets before going down but will go down easily with a headshot. Furthermore, they haven't forgotten the dangers of grenades, and if you toss one in their direction they may sprint away as if they were still sane - I personally consider this behaviour a bug.
Locations
Zombified Stalkers can be found in the Wild Territory, Yantar, Red Forest along with the X16 lab and the tunnels below; you may even run across a few in Pripyat.