S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Wiki
Register
Advertisement

'These creatures ceased being human and relies upon whatever remains of their purely animal instinct'
― Professor Sakharov's explanation on the origins of zombies

Lore

'First Sergey thought they were common stalkers sticking in group. Then, however, something alerted him in their behavior only to

Zombie Stalker

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 lose 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 names after they managed to get away from the factory in time. Zombies come from all factions across the zone be it Loners, Mercenaries, Freedom, Duty and even the Military.


Although Zombified Stalkers can still use their weapons and even reload them, they are rather stupid, and they'll charge right in the middle of a firefight without cover. Upon encountering them you can hear them murmuring bits of meaningless phrases. In time, the zombie's mind will eventually decay to a point where he will turn into a Zombie(Though unfortunately this mutant was cut). Sometimes you may spot them around a campfire, sticking their hands out towards the fire. This may be a sign that they still hold some humanity, as they seek warmth. In combat zombies are dangerous when they spot you as with their utter disregard for their safety, they'll never give you time to regroup when overwhelmed as while ordinary stalkers will usually find cover upon shooting at you which will give you some time to get to cover yourself, Zombies will rarely give you this opportunity. Zombies also for some reason have a gray colored shade around their chin area similar to several monolith troops, this might either be an effect of the psy-emissions or simply overgrown facial hair as due to their mindless state they no longer groom themselves.

Ss aeris 08-02-09 17-02-29 (yantar)

A group of zombified stalkers

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 are still capable of aiming, thus making it a bad idea to try and get in close and kill them with a shotgun(quite contrary to your stereotype zombie). They also seem to be tougher than their normal human counterparts, probably because of their brain being destroyed they no longer feel pain, to the extent that they could withstand several close range hits to the torso with a shotgun, 2-3 magazines of most assault rifles, they are sometimes even capable of surviving a shot to the head with a handgun though this most likely incapacitates them and will require 1 final bullet to end their suffering, be warned that if given enough time they will actually rise up again. The best way of dispatching zombies is the still stereotypical "aim for the head", as they will normally go down in a single shot or 2 or lob grenades their way as due to their deteriorated mental state they do not recognize grenades anymore. Using armor piercing rounds will decrease the amounts of bullets needed to kill a zombified stalker.

Locations

Zombified Stalkers can be found dominantly where there is a Psy emitter close by or close to an area having a Psy Emitter such as 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.

Advertisement