The Zone Survival Guide - Call of Pripyat

Modified: 18/8/2010 20:20:05 CET

This page presents the same information as on the interactive HUD description but in a more traditional fashion. You can click different areas in the image below to go directly to the sections describing them.

Hazard: Chemical

Location

Hazard: Chemical

This icon indicates an intense concentration of chemical particles and possibly the presence of Gas anomalies. Without proper protection, this will damage your health and may also affect the condition of any armor and/or headgear that you are wearing.

A good suit and possibly a gas mask, or other headgear with built-in air filtration, can provide good protection from chemical hazards; certain artifacts will also be helpful. The severity is indicated by the color of the icon, ranging from green to red. You can see your protection against chemical hazards in the Inventory screen.

Hazard: Psy-emissions

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Hazard: Psy-emissions

This icon indicates that you are being affected by psy-emissions, a threat that will severely stress your brain and consume your health if you are not adequately protected. While under such an effect, the screen will get a blue tint and is thus easy to spot.

You can protect yourself by wearing proper headgear, or a suit that comes with a built-in helmet or mask. Certain artifacts also protect against psy-emissions. The severity of the emissions is indicated by the color of the icon, ranging from green to red. Certain anomalies may be the source of psy-emissions, but there are also mutants who cause this - the Controller and the Poltergeist being the most common ones. You can see your protection against psy-emissions in the Inventory screen.

Hazard: Radiation

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Hazard: Radiation

This icon indicates that you are in an area contaminated by radiation. Unless you are adequately protected, you may begin to suffer from radiation poisoning that will constantly drain your health if not properly treated.

You can guard yourself from radiation by wearing an appropriate armor or suit, a gas mask, or similar protective gear, and wear artifacts that reduce radiation. The color of the icon indicates how badly you are affected by the contamination, ranging from green to red. You can see your protection against radiation in the Inventory screen.

Hazard: Thermal

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Hazard: Thermal

This icon indicates that you are in an area of extreme heat or thermal activity. Without the proper protection, you health will start to deteriorate and the condition of any armor and/or headgear you wear may also suffer.

You can guard yourself from severe heat by wearing an appropriate armor or suit, and wear artifacts that absorb heat. The color of the icon indicates badly you are affected by the heat, ranging from green to red. You can see your protection against thermal hazards in the Inventory screen.

Ammunition

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Ammunition

This area indicates the amount of ammunition you have for the weapon you're currently using. The large number at the top shows the number of rounds left in the weapon (ie. in the clip); when this reaches zero, it's time to reload your weapon or change to a different one. The two numbers at the bottom show the amount of ammunition you have left, not counting the ammunition in your current weapon, or other weapons you may be carrying. Most weapons allow for two types of ammunition (such as 5.45x39 mm rounds and the armor-piercing equivalent, 5.45x39 mm AP rounds), and the two numbers at the bottom shows you the amount of each type.

Ammunition type

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Ammunition type

This is the ammunition type currently loaded in your active weapon, and it also indicates the ammunition type used by the weapon in general.

Energy

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Energy

Running and jumping will drain your energy, and when you have almost depleted your energy you can no longer run. This can be countered by quaffing an energy drink and/or wearing artifacts that increases your energy recovery rate; eating food will also improve your energy recovery, but only up to a certain limit. Finally, some armors and headgear may be modified to increase your energy recovery rate. If you have exceeded your weight limit, running will drain your energy very fast until the point where you cannot run anymore; if your energy is drained even further, you may find yourself completely immobilized, gasping for your breath. The Burer is the only mutant who can also drain your endurance. You can see your energy recovery rate in the Inventory screen.

Firing mode

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Firing mode

Certain weapons have several firing modes; these include single-shot, three-round burst, or full automatic fire. Some weapons can also be modified to allow for a wider range of firing modes.

Grenades

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Grenades

If your current weapon has an underbarrel (or built-in) grenade launcher, the amount of applicable grenades you have will be shown here. There are two different types of grenades, the VOG-25 and the M203, and they each require a specific grenade launcher - the GP-25 Koster and the M203 grenade launcher respectively; weapons with a built-in grenade launcher, such as the Tunder S14, can also only utilize one of these types of grenades - refer to the Weapons to see which ones.

Health

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Health

This is your health - take care of it, and it will take care of you, so to speak. When your health is completely depleted, it's: "game over, man, game over!". You can replenish your health by using various medkits, and eating food will also recover small portions of your health. While you will automatically restore health over time, this takes a long time - you can, however, speed up the process by wearing artifacts that improve your health regeneration. There are alot of hazards that cause you to lose health - anomalies, gunshot wounds, radiation, and dog bites are just some examples. When you are shot, bitten or otherwise physically attacked you may suffer bleeding; if not treated, bleeding will drain your health, the rate of which depends on the severity of the wound. If you are very low on health, you'll start to gasp - a possible sign that you need immediate medical attention.

Compass

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Compass

The compass indicates the direction of north and south relative to your current point of view; the blue arrow is north, and the red is south.

Mini-map

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Mini-map

The mini-map shows you a small portion of the surrounding area, as well as any neutral or friendly humans around. Hostile humans, including zombies, are shown only if you have spotted them or you are wearing a tactical helmet with the infrared scanner modification. Mutants, anomalies and other threats are not visible on the mini-map. If you are getting shot, you'll see a red triangular shape on the map hinting in what direction the shots came from.

PDAs in vicinity

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PDAs in vicinity

Your PDA is able to pick up other PDAs, carried by other humans, in the vicinity, and the number of PDAs is displayed here. The number includes both friendly, neutral and enemy PDAs, and may even include PDAs of zombies. If you don't have any yellow (neutral) or green (friendly) dots on the mini-map, but you still pick up one or more PDAs, there is a good chance that enemies are about; however, please notice that you pick up nearby PDAs a bit before they are within the visible range of your mini-map.

Sound indicator

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Sound indicator

This indicator shows you the loudness of any sound you are making. Running, firing a weapon, moving through a bush, gasping, etc. all make noises that have varying levels of loudness; enemies may become alert to your presence simply by the noise you make; they may not know your exact location, but will often investigate the source of the sound.

Time of day

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Time of day

This is the time of day; ten in-game minutes takes about 60 seconds meaning that a full day in Call of Pripyat lasts approximately 144 minutes, or two hours and 24 minutes. If you wish to pass time in the game you can utilize the sleeping quarters on the Skadovsk, in the basement of Yanov Station or inside the Laundromat in Pripyat.

Visibility indicator

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Visibility indicator

This meter indicates whether you are visible to an enemy or not. If the meter is full, you are in clear sight of other hostile humans or mutants. If someone is approaching you from a distance, you may see the meter go up slowly, indicating that they have not fully spotted you yet; it may also be partially full if you are obscured by bushes or similar soft cover. There is a bug in the game that means that the meter sometimes won't reset itself; usually, however, when you're faced with another enemy the meter will start to work again.

Health recovery

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Health recovery

This indicates that your health is temporarily being restored; this is achieved by using different types of medkits, and eating food may also recover small portions of your health.

Improved energy recovery

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Improved energy recovery

By drinking Stalker energy drinks you can temporarily improve your energy recovery enabling you to run for longer stretches without pause.

Increase in weight limit

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Increase in weight limit

This icon indicates that your weight limit has been temporarily increased by the hercules drug, allowing you to carry more equipment without suffering a penalty to your energy recovery.

Protection against radiation

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Protection against radiation

This icon indicates that you are under the influence of radioprotectant, a drug that protects against radiation.

Protection against chemical

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Protection against chemical

This icon indicates that you are under the influence of an antidote, a drug that protects against chemical particles and Gas anomalies.

Psy-protection

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Psy-protection

This icon indicates that you are under the influence of psy-block, a drug that protects against psy-emissions.

Radiation reduction

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Radiation reduction

Indicating reduction in radiation poisoning, this is achieved by drinking vodka or even better, using antirad drugs.

Wound healing (bleeding)

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Wound healing (bleeding)

This indicates treatment of wounds, stopping any bleeding that you may suffer from; this is achieved by using bandages or the vinca drug.

Quick slot

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Quick slot

This is one of four quick slots that is currently assigned to medkits. Each slot has a unique hot-key (default keys F1 through F4), and they allow you to quickly use certain items such as medical supplies, drugs, food and drink, with just the press of a key - instead of having to open your Inventory and double-clicking an item there. You can assign items to the quick slots in your Inventory. For each quick slot you can see the number of items you have left in the upper left corner of the item icon.

Hunger

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Hunger

This icon indicates that you have become hungry. While hunger will not kill you, as far as I know, it will severely reduce your energy recovery rate and thus have a direct impact on for how long you'll be able to run. Not surprisingly, eating food will reduce or completely remove any hunger you have, and there is even one artifact that counters your need for food.

Bleeding

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Bleeding

This icon indicates that you have a bleeding wound, causing you to continously lose health if not treated. The most common treatment to bleeding is using bandages, while the more expensive vinca drug is also the most effective. The severity of the bleeding is indicated by the color of the icon, green being a light bleeding (which may often stop by itself), and red being critical in need of immediate attention.

Poor armor/suit condition

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Poor armor/suit condition

If you are wearing body armor that is in bad condition, this icon will appear. The condition of armor is negatively affected by various hazards such as heat and chemical substances, and being physcially attacked will also damage any armor you are wearing. Armor in poor condition will have all its protective characteristics reduced, meaning that a damaged armor will provide less protection. You can see a more precise indication of the condition by looking in your inventory. Both armor and headgear can be repaired by a technician, who usually demands a fee for doing so. Some technicians can also apply modifications that improve the durability of armor.

Poor headgear condition

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Poor headgear condition

If you are wearing headgear it may be in poor condition, and this icon will appear if that is the case. The condition of headgear and armor is negatively affected by various hazards such as heat and chemical substances, and being shot in the head will also damage any headgear you are wearing. Damaged headgear will provide less protection than headgear in mint condition. You can see a more precise indication of the condition by looking in your inventory. Both armor and headgear can be repaired by a technician, who usually demands a fee for doing so. Some technicians can also apply modifications that improve the durability of headgear.

Poor weapon condition

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Poor weapon condition

If you are using a weapon in poor condition this icon will appear. Firing a weapon is the most common way for a weapon to deteriorate in condition, although a weapon that is lying in a hazardous environment (such as in a Gas Anomaly) may also suffer considerably. A weapon in poor condition is prone to jamming; if your weapon jams, it means that you'll have to reload it before it can be fired again - which obviously can be unfortunate if you're in the middle of a firefight. You can see a more precise indication of the condition by looking in your inventory. Weapons won't break or stop functioning, even when in the worst possible condition - they will however jam extremely frequently and their other characteristics, such as accuracy, will also be greatly reduced; shotguns are alot less likely to jam though, and especially the Chaser and the SPSA seem to never jam at all. Technicians can repair weapons, although this is usually at a price. Certain technicians can also perform modifications on your weapons, some of which can increase the durability.

Radiation

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Radiation

This icon indicates that you are suffering from radiation poisoning. There are to main sources of radiation; first off you'll find plenty of pockets full of radiation when you are exploring, and many objects - especially those made of metal - have also accumulated hazardous amounts of radiation. The other source is from artifacts; while most artifacts have positive side effects, they almost always have a negative one as well, namely radiation. While body armor and headgear can protect you from the first radiation source, only artifacts that negate radiation can protect you against the radiation that is emitted by other artifacts.

If you are suffering from radiation poisoning you can cure yourself by drinking some vodka, which is a cheap alternative to using antiradiation drugs, though the latter is much more effective.

Weight limit

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Weight limit

In the Inventory screen you can see you carrying capacity or weight limit - how many kilograms of equipment you can carry without being severely encumbered. If you exceed this limit, this icon will appear; if you have exceeded the limit by less than 10 kilos, the icon will be yellow - running in this state will drain your energy extremely fast, usually allowing you to run for only a few meters before rest is needed. If the icon appears red then you are completely immobilized until you either increase your carrying capacity or decrease the weight you are carrying by dropping some items. You can increase your capacity in different ways; using the hercules drug will temporarily allow you to carry an extra 20 kilos of equipment. More permanent ways include the use of certain artifacts and armor modifications that allow you to carry more; wearing an Exoskeleton also increases your capacity by 30 kilograms. Certain modifications to armor and weapons can also reduce their weight, freeing up some kilos you can then use on other equipment.

- @dawnrazor73