Stay Out is not easy. You've probably figured this out already.
If you've made it to Lubech, but still don't have good gear, this might help.

Use the Russian wiki[so-wiki.ru], because that has the most detailed information about
everything and it has a built in translator. The automated translations are not perfect.

Don't expect to buy weapons from traders unless you want to grind personal credit.
Instead try to grind for money and buy what you need from the board. (community market)
Check it often and get a feel for the prices, you will get used to what the actual value of things
are, so you will be able to sell and buy stuff at an effective price.
If the weapon/gear you've been saving up for is currently listed at a higher price than normal,
than wait and check again later, maybe the next day. It will go back to it's normal price eventually.

Try to put points into skills that will actually help you.
Depending on what your goal is, extra speed, stamina, carry weight, butcher speed,
butcher loot chance, reload and equip speed for the weapon classes you use, these
can all be really useful.

If you want to make money by hunting, than you need to put points into the butchering
skills to make it faster and to get more stuff out of it. Buy a hunting knife when you can afford it.
You won't be able to get it through a quest.

I've heard that there's a lot of PvP going on in US1, but I don't know much about that.
In EU1, PvP is really rare from what I've seen outside of clan battles.
If you see someone, don't shoot. If you see a stalker in trouble, help him out if you can.
I've been helped by people and helped some people my self, be that picking off some mutants
that are biting someones ankles or reviving a random guy.
I've also got some help by a Russian and a Czech stalker, they gave me the old guns
they no longer needed, which was a huge help in the beginning.

You never know, the next guy you meet might put a bullet in your head or might
see the struggle of a rookie in you and help you out.

Either way, we are all stalkers here, trying to survive.
People that attack each other get killed by mutants.
People that kill the mutants instead, survive another day.

To equip a weapon you press:
1: Left Shoulder Primary
2: Right Shoulder Primary
3: Handgun

If you have 2 primary weapons and want to interact with something, than you need to
make sure that at least one of them is on your back, otherwise you have one
hanging in front and one in your hands, which stops you from doing what you want.

Now here's the stuff that took me 60 (I think ?) hours to realize!

To unequip any weapon, you press the key they are bind to. easy
To put primary weapons on your back, you HOLD the key they are bind to.
You can also put your primary on your back and select another weapon by
HOLDING the key of the weapon you want to select.



Shooting can be weird sometimes, but you can get good at it if you understand what's happening.
Water stops bullets immediately. This is realistic, but a problem if you are hunting in the swamps.

You can enter FPS mode by typing /firstperson into the chat.
This mode is a little weird, but can be really fun and effective.
You should be able to shoot better and aim quicker, because you aren't jumping
between the TPS and FPS modes all the time.
FPS mode handles similar to Operation Flashpoint.
It's nice if you are already used to that feel.

Some weapons are not lined up properly when hip firing.
I've only tested the following:

• PM Makarov - shoots to the right
  
• AK74SU - centered
  
• AKM - centered

Check where your weapon shoots. FPS mode makes this easier to see.
Knowing this makes you able to hit your targets without aiming down sights.

Quick tips:

• Remember! The more magazines you have, the better.
  
• Switch your select-fire weapons to semi-auto! Save your ammo and hit your targets.
  (Just like Operation Flashpoint)
  
• Switching weapons is faster than reloading.
  
• Use the right ammo for the job! AP for war, Hollow Point for hunting.
  
• If you have multiple pistols, you can put them on your hot bar, to change between them.
  
• You can select a specific magazine if you are holding the weapon by doing right click/attach on them in the inventory.
  
• If you run out of loose rounds, than try to move all your leftover ammo in your almost
  empty mags into one, so you can use them!
  
• If you are topping up mags on the go, then start with the ones that are the closest to being full!
  This way you will have more full mags if you get jumped.

You can sell 10 rat tails to the guy in the park in Lubech.
He gives you 3000 which means 300/tail and the quest is
repeatable with no cool down.

Rats are easy to kill, so this should be easy to grind with only a pistol.
Try going to the tunnels at the Theater. There are a lot of rats.


After getting some better weapons, you can go to the swamp in the East
of Surroundings of Lubech and hunt Verliocks. The Scientists pay the best
price for their legs out of the NPCs, but on the board you can sell them for a lot more.

This is more dangerous, but pays well.


You can hunt some Young Boars and make good money.
You are looking for the rare parts, skin and lard.
Gourmet buys the skin at a good price.
Traders in clan bases might pay more, but they are further away.
You can sell the lard on the board at a high price.
You can also try selling the legs and fangs on the board.