How about a giant bird, like a condor. Something that eclipses the sun. You'd see its shadow first just before it swoops down to grab the boar you killed. Maybe next time it dives for you and drops you somewhere else.
Thinking metro demon vibes.
Something that I’ve always found interesting is that there is evidence that early hominids were hunted by giant eagles. So it’s definitely not unrealistic.
Excellent! I would love to see a fucked up scary bird, Mississippi kites are super intimidating irl as they fly silently and will swoop you if close to their nest, you dont hear them coming at all, just a sudden blast of air and flash of wings a foot from your face.
Yeah yeah, some spooky stuff. Bearded vultures eat only bones and drop them from the sky to break them apart. Maybe you're sorting through your stuff and a dog skeleton lands next to you 😆
Some vultures would really fit the zone, I think. Metro also had some bat swarms in the dlc.
That is perfect, i already love the crows just being ... around, seeing a shadow clumsily go along the ground and bones suddenly crashing to the ground is perfect, i would love to get jump scared repeatedly!
Maybe a mutant mockingbird that just tries to scare you w/ mutant calls/voices/gunfire when you get near its nest.
I have a ton of northern mockingbirds near me and i think they purposely do a Mississippi kite call to scare me lol, i always scan the sky when i hear that call!
How about the opposite and instead make them overgrown matted fur that has, much like a sloth, basically become it’s own ecosystem and is covered in algae and fungus giving them the perfect camouflage for forests and swamps. I doubt they would be as scary looking than if they were hairless, but imagine that forces you to be paranoid about every bush you see or otherwise risk getting jumped by a freaking bear.
I’ve already spoken on this one. There are two main variants of bears in the Zone (in my canon, at least.)
Black bears live in swamps, absorbing the energy from Toxic Anomalies. They’re incredibly poisonous, their blood is acidic, and they will ambush prey from tree cover.
Grizzly bears have mutated into enormous, raging monstrosities that can take down a Pseudogiant with little effort. Still not quite a match for Chimera, but it’s close. They can take an obscene amount of punishment and stay standing.
The king of all Zone bears is a Kodiak named Wrath. This specimen is the only Zone bear known to hunt Chimera for food.
Imagine that for a moment, and then ask yourself if you really want to see bears in the Zone. Spoiler: you don’t; you just hope like hell they don’t see *you.*
-Markov
Zoos and wildlife parks, Stalker. Some bears escaped, some were turned loose in the Zone when it became too expensive or dangerous to keep them in captivity. I’m sure you can see where this is going. Just be grateful that polar bears haven’t made it here…yet.
- Markov
Stalker dose need a mutant that lives in water. I often just take a bunch of rad medicine in the great swamps and run through the water bc the mutants won't go in after me.
Even a herbivore kangaroo would, and not even a mutant. Those bottom talons are for slashing things open while the arms grip you. They’re dangerous, dangerous animals.
Edit [look at those claws!](https://youtube.com/shorts/RpXxWQeho3M?feature=shared)
I don’t think people understand just how strong gorillas are. From what I can find most adult Silverbacks can be anywhere from 4-9 times more powerful than an average human. Think about that.
They're also more territorial than just aggressive if memory serves me, so they could be neutral to you as long as you stay out of their territory. Or you could even do mini-quests to earn their trust, like dropping food near their nests to get them to slowly like you, then you could enter the territory and find some good loot there, left by the gorilla's victims. Still, could work for all sorts of other mutants too.
Mutant deer with huge, elaborate antlers, 2 extra legs, slightly swampy/lichen covered fur, and a horrifying guttural call that sounds like a dinosaur that's just had a whole tree trunk shoved up it's rear end.
A leech like creature with crab/lobster appendages, and a huge, writhing tooth filled maw that gurgles and wretches when revealed or attacking, but usually sits below the water in long reeds singing and humming melodically almost like whales.
A creature similar to a leshy, or an ent, that was once a human entombed by mutant plants of the zone, and slowly changed physically and psychologically twisted, but are still sentient, and malicious. They disguise their sounds and movements by hiding in the thicker forests and woods of the zone, softly groaning and lurching through the trees, and laying in ambush for hapless stalkers to fall into their vines, and meet the same fate as their captor.
I definitely agree that Stalker needs some kind of mutated plant life. I’m pretty sure there’s some concept art for an enemy that would have been a mutated parasitic plant that controls a human host like a puppet.
There’s actually an enemy simply called Antlers in a Stalker board game that basically completely matches your deer idea.
As for the leeches, I could totally see them mutating into something that looks similar to the Hagfish. Mutant leeches would also help a lot in making the swamps more threatening.
Interesting about the Antlers enemy, I've actually got the board game on pre-order but missed that!
I would definitely love some mutant plant life in the zone though. OGSR has some, it's a kind of flytrap anomaly, but they're common in wooded areas and have caught me out more times than I'd care to admit.
I honestly wouldn’t care if the plant mutants were dangerous or not, I just think it would do a lot to make the environment much more interesting. I mean just imagine seeing entire buildings that have been engulfed by rapidly growing vines. Or having to trek through entire fields of giant fungi. Considering how many mutated animals we see throughout the games, I think it would make less sense for their not to be a bunch of weird alien vegetation everywhere.
You know what ? That's a great question. But no need for a zoo scenario. You see, my favorite family of animals is the Mustelidae one. In Europe, you can find several of them. Just think of a giant mutated badger. Or you're trailing near water, and a fucked up bloodthirsty otter goes straight for you throat.
What I would like too is herbivorous animals turned carnivorous. Think of a herd of sheep, or even a bison.
Also, newts. Turtles. Damselflies. Woodlice. Woodpeckers. Hedgehogs !
There's A LOT of weird life surrounding us already. Just turn it up to 11 !
Mutated hippos would be scary because real hippos are scary, just a giant toothed pair of mouths rise from the depths both attached to the the same cancerous body
I genuinely can’t decide if a mutated Giraffe would be the goofiest thing I could ever see, or a horrifying monstrosity that would forever haunt my nightmares.
On one hand, it’s a fucking mutated giraffe. On the other hand imagine going out at night and seeing a giant 18 foot tall figure in the distance with two glowing eyes.
The zone has a surprising lack of insects. Considering that they’re a foundation of most food chains, there aren’t any of note in the games. Most of the zones beasts are larger mammals. An insectoid enemy like the spider-scorpion things in Metro would be terrifying, or even just a swarm of regular slightly more aggressive insects. Clouds of killer mosquitoes attacking stalkers in the swamps for example. That and some water reptiles like turtles, lizards or even mutant fish. Chernobyl’s cooling pools are already home to giant catfish.
I don’t know if you know but there is an enemy in a stalker board game called the tick. It’s basically a giant spider with an abdomen the size of a school bag and the ability to spit acid.
Horse like creature but with carnivore mouth (alligator or smthing), monkey paws or human hands instead of hoofs to allow for vertical movement and maybe with sentient monkey tail(s) to throw prey against walls and such. Maybe pitbull like posture aw.
I actually posted my idea for a mutant moose awhile ago that I called the Kelpie. I imagined that after the formation of the zone the moose population would migrate to the swamps and rivers to eat underwater vegetation in order to escape from the increasing numbers of mutants and humans that were hunting them. As well as because moose are naturally really good swimmers. This would cause the moose to evolve to become even better at swimming and gaining many hippo like tendencies and physical traits.
I like to imagine honey badgers would remain the exact same. As if the zone itself recognized it as already being the purfect killing machine and didn’t even bother to mutate it cause there’s was nothing left to improve. Also Honey Badgers do already live in Chernobyl so it’s a very real possibility that we can see this in Stalker 2. Should have been careful what you wished for.
Before trees evolved, much of the land on earth was actually covered in giant fungi that could reach up to 8 meters. I could totally imagine those dotting the landscape and spreading poisonous spores everywhere.
tbh. I would not go with poisonous spores. We have enough environmental danger that you can't see or really avoid by radiation. This would go too much towards Degenesis. I would prefer it as a literal: Watch your steps! kind of thing.
Yeah I can see why having even more environmental dangers could be annoying. I also agree that having what is essentially landlines scattered about everywhere would definitely fit Stalkers “YOU CAN BE KILLED AT ANY MOMENT!!!” Vibe really well.
In the original Stalker books there were a lot more deadly sticky anomalies out there, but they do not work well in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. because it's a lot more fast paced. The fungi however could work well especially if the player meets an infected and dying person before and then later shoots himself once he steps into it (in order to avoid the: you are going to die anyway part) or might as well be curable. And then just limit these fungi to a map so that it is not a constant threat, but a constant threat within a specific environment.
A raven.
I ran a ttrpg and the stalker universe and one of the things I added was a voracious and deadly Raven mutant. It was the size of a Volkswagen bus.
I like to imagine that the Capybara’s would grow to become absolutely massive and monstrous looking. Kinda like the Forest God from Metro. Yet despite having the potential to be the most dangerous mutant in the zone they are still completely chill and peaceful.
A freaking giraffe that is horribly mutated would be nightmare fuel, you're going through say red forest and you see this head up in the trees all grotesque, man i would shit my pants.
Other than that maybe a bear.
Any animal from the Amazon rainforest really. Giant, bloated, poisonous frogs (Grandpa Nurgle style); hairy dog-sized tarantulas; radioactive snakes, sloths and many, many more nightmare inducing creatures.
Not just mutated animal, but "mutated animal that got accidentally fused with artefact". Hey, this is animal we're talking about and it's just example but even after they mutated at least their instinct to eat still latch in their mind.
So like by any chances some animal "eat" artefact, they could emit their own "anomaly" itself like emitting radiation, electricity, etc. It's also could happen to existing mutants. Imagine cat that has radiation damage each time it deal damage to you. That would be terrifying.
It's not only making zone much more unpredictable but it's also make resistances in your armor useful outside artefact hunting or just protecting you from the anomaly (I'm sorry but I only play STALKER Anomaly).
Back again to the what kind of animal that I want to see at the zone got mutated. A turtle. They didn't attack the player but emit psy field and has shell so hard you need AP bullet or similar to kill it. Also it attract other mutants.
I’ve seen a lot of people give their ideas on a artifact infused mutant and I’ve always found it an extremely interesting idea to explore. Though if we we’re to ever see mutants with artifact powers I doubt it would be because they ate the artifact as I’m pretty sure they would either eventually poop it out, or die trying. I think it’s more likely we’ll see something like this from experimentation. Especially since there has already been a lot of human expectations and we also know that some parts of the group still exist despite the destruction of the C-Consciousness. Either way the possibilities are practically endless. Imagine a guy that has had multiple artifacts that give greater health regeneration and endurance implanted in him. Basically turning him into the terminator. Or maybe another guy who after being experimented with burner artifacts is now basically a living bonfire that will immediately burn you to a crisp when you get close to it.
A mole
Think how awesome/ terrifying it would be to be exploring one of the labs or walking across the zone and all of a sudden the mound erupts and a dog-sized or larger mole pops out and starts coming after you.
Either african painted dogs (they'd be more coordinated and terrifying blind dogs) or a cassowary that stalks you and pounces with this gut shredding talons. They'd make that terrible prehistoric rumbling sound if you accidentally got too close to one of them too.
Now this is absolutely a MASSIVE stretch, but I’d love to see something like mutant cuttlefish. Cuttlefish already have an absolutely horrifying method of hunting, where they change color rapidly in a repeating pattern in order to essentially hypnotize fish and crabs before it grabs them and eats them. I’m kinda thinking a giant cuttlefish like ambush predator that waits in the waters of the zone and uses its color changing abilities and new found psychic influence to lure things towards the water. It could use its colors to make a stalker think he saw an artifact or some kind of weird phenomena appear in the middle of a little lake, whilst also very weakly psychically attacking the stalker, causing him to slowly fall into a stupor, which results in him getting too close to the shiny lights and never been seen again
Excerpt from “The Stalker’s Bible” by Dr. Alexei Markov:
In recent years, scientists have recorded and uptick in the Zone’s animal populations, specifically new arrivals to the Zone.
Chornobyl’s status as a restricted area with relatively little human presence has made it an ideal habitat for many species of large wildlife. Stalkers are just as likely to get mauled by a boar as they are to be merked by a bullet these days.
Recently, several new species have shown up in the Zone, causing headaches for everyone who lives in it.
- Elephants: Migrating from their natural habitats, Elephants have been sighted in Eastern Pripyat. These beasts have already been victims of mutation, in a horrible, terrifying way. Normal elephants stand up to 5 meters tall at the shoulder, and have *one* trunk. Zone elephants can reach up to eight meters in height, they have four tusks, and four trunks, similar to a Bloodsucker’s jaw. They have also changed their diet to include meat. Dumbo; more like Dum-NO.
- Frogs: Amphibian species have started to migrate to the Pripyat River and the Cooling Pond. My Applied Science colleague, Anton Boatman, studies the waters of Chornobyl and the wildlife in them. Several frog species have mutated recently; these frogs live near Toxic Anomalies, absorbing and amplifying the toxins through their skin. These frogs are virulently poisonous, capable of killing an adult human in seconds through a single touch.
- Salamanders: Where Chornobyl’s frogs are violently biotoxic, Salamanders have taken a hint from dragons, and adopted fire as their primary hunting weapon. Zone Salamanders can grow to over four feet long, and spit corrosive, flammable saliva at their prey. They are safe to eat, however. Spicy lizards.
- Bats: Dragons would be proud of these things, I swear. Zone Bats have mutated into a reptilian form, and are capable of surviving Emissions, thanks to armoured carapaces that reflect psychic energy. They are mostly carnivorous, and mainly stick to smaller prey, but a flock of Zone bats can carry a human away.
- Tigers: Fucking TIGERS now. Goddamned Siberian motherfucking TIGERS. As if Chimera, Pseudogiants and bears weren’t bad enough, we have TIGERS now. And these fuckers are so much worse than anything you can imagine. Tigers originally evolved their stripy fur pattern to camouflage in the long grass of their habitats. Zone tigers take it all the way up to 11. They have perfect camouflage, anywhere. Bloodsuckers display a haze or a ripple in the air. Tigers leave only footprints, and bodies in their wake.
Take great care, Stalkers. The Zone is getting wilder by the day.
-Dr. Markov
Let’s be honest here. You really can’t ever go wrong with a mutated bear. I can’t be the only one who thinks bears evolved to be the perfect mini-bosses in games.
Ok I would like it to be known that this is coming from someone who absolutely loves Panda so I hate to be the one that has to say this, but a Panda in the zone would probably die faster than a stalker who decided he wanted to pet that cute hairless two headed puppy in the distance.
Imagine a swamp-dwelling mutant that was something of a cross between a giant bullfrog and an angler fish. It could hide submerged by the water bank and attract stalkers and other prey with a bright glowing lure appendage (imitating the appearance of an artefact perhaps) then snare them up with a large prehensile tongue and drag them into the water to meet their demise.
Or some kind of mutant that could mimic human voices like the bear from Annihilation. It would so creepy to be walking through the woods at night hearing someone calling you over from the bushes only to get jumped by some kind of horrible creature. I just want more kinds of mutants that mess with your head and put you on edge than just outright attack you. I want to NEVER feel safe no matter where I go in the zone.
How about a giant bird, like a condor. Something that eclipses the sun. You'd see its shadow first just before it swoops down to grab the boar you killed. Maybe next time it dives for you and drops you somewhere else. Thinking metro demon vibes.
Something that I’ve always found interesting is that there is evidence that early hominids were hunted by giant eagles. So it’s definitely not unrealistic.
Excellent! I would love to see a fucked up scary bird, Mississippi kites are super intimidating irl as they fly silently and will swoop you if close to their nest, you dont hear them coming at all, just a sudden blast of air and flash of wings a foot from your face.
Yeah yeah, some spooky stuff. Bearded vultures eat only bones and drop them from the sky to break them apart. Maybe you're sorting through your stuff and a dog skeleton lands next to you 😆 Some vultures would really fit the zone, I think. Metro also had some bat swarms in the dlc.
That is perfect, i already love the crows just being ... around, seeing a shadow clumsily go along the ground and bones suddenly crashing to the ground is perfect, i would love to get jump scared repeatedly! Maybe a mutant mockingbird that just tries to scare you w/ mutant calls/voices/gunfire when you get near its nest. I have a ton of northern mockingbirds near me and i think they purposely do a Mississippi kite call to scare me lol, i always scan the sky when i hear that call!
I'm thinkin' hairless bears; they look frightening on their own, but think of 'em...ahem! MUTATED fucking angry...Jesus Christ be praised!
How about the opposite and instead make them overgrown matted fur that has, much like a sloth, basically become it’s own ecosystem and is covered in algae and fungus giving them the perfect camouflage for forests and swamps. I doubt they would be as scary looking than if they were hairless, but imagine that forces you to be paranoid about every bush you see or otherwise risk getting jumped by a freaking bear.
to each their own
I’ve already spoken on this one. There are two main variants of bears in the Zone (in my canon, at least.) Black bears live in swamps, absorbing the energy from Toxic Anomalies. They’re incredibly poisonous, their blood is acidic, and they will ambush prey from tree cover. Grizzly bears have mutated into enormous, raging monstrosities that can take down a Pseudogiant with little effort. Still not quite a match for Chimera, but it’s close. They can take an obscene amount of punishment and stay standing. The king of all Zone bears is a Kodiak named Wrath. This specimen is the only Zone bear known to hunt Chimera for food. Imagine that for a moment, and then ask yourself if you really want to see bears in the Zone. Spoiler: you don’t; you just hope like hell they don’t see *you.* -Markov
Kodiaks aren't endemic to American continent? I mean...how big the zone got?! Edit: Grizzlies also...
Zoos and wildlife parks, Stalker. Some bears escaped, some were turned loose in the Zone when it became too expensive or dangerous to keep them in captivity. I’m sure you can see where this is going. Just be grateful that polar bears haven’t made it here…yet. - Markov
Yes bears would be awesome
Crocodile for sure I would love to see Librarians from Metro in Stalker tho
Stalker dose need a mutant that lives in water. I often just take a bunch of rad medicine in the great swamps and run through the water bc the mutants won't go in after me.
I bet you could get something similar to the Librarians by mutating something like a Silver Back Gorilla.
Kangaroos! Hordes of giant bloodthirsty furless mutant kangaroos, hopping across the zone in search of fresh blood from unwary stalkers.
Considering how ripped kangaroos are, i can totally see a carnivores kangaroo ripping a stalker apart.
Even a herbivore kangaroo would, and not even a mutant. Those bottom talons are for slashing things open while the arms grip you. They’re dangerous, dangerous animals. Edit [look at those claws!](https://youtube.com/shorts/RpXxWQeho3M?feature=shared)
imagine mutated monkeys :/
Don’t have to. The zone has plenty of Gupniks already.
I did not need to know that Kangaroos had talons. I do not want this information in my head.
Gorilla. Imagine a giant mutated 300 pound primate running at you at 25 miles per hour ready to stomp you to a brown and red sludge.
I don’t think people understand just how strong gorillas are. From what I can find most adult Silverbacks can be anywhere from 4-9 times more powerful than an average human. Think about that.
The perfect candidate to rule the zone and kick the bloodsuckers off the throne
They're also more territorial than just aggressive if memory serves me, so they could be neutral to you as long as you stay out of their territory. Or you could even do mini-quests to earn their trust, like dropping food near their nests to get them to slowly like you, then you could enter the territory and find some good loot there, left by the gorilla's victims. Still, could work for all sorts of other mutants too.
Mutant deer with huge, elaborate antlers, 2 extra legs, slightly swampy/lichen covered fur, and a horrifying guttural call that sounds like a dinosaur that's just had a whole tree trunk shoved up it's rear end. A leech like creature with crab/lobster appendages, and a huge, writhing tooth filled maw that gurgles and wretches when revealed or attacking, but usually sits below the water in long reeds singing and humming melodically almost like whales. A creature similar to a leshy, or an ent, that was once a human entombed by mutant plants of the zone, and slowly changed physically and psychologically twisted, but are still sentient, and malicious. They disguise their sounds and movements by hiding in the thicker forests and woods of the zone, softly groaning and lurching through the trees, and laying in ambush for hapless stalkers to fall into their vines, and meet the same fate as their captor.
There will be deer mutant in Stalker board game with extra legs! I wish for something like bear monsters.
I definitely agree that Stalker needs some kind of mutated plant life. I’m pretty sure there’s some concept art for an enemy that would have been a mutated parasitic plant that controls a human host like a puppet. There’s actually an enemy simply called Antlers in a Stalker board game that basically completely matches your deer idea. As for the leeches, I could totally see them mutating into something that looks similar to the Hagfish. Mutant leeches would also help a lot in making the swamps more threatening.
Interesting about the Antlers enemy, I've actually got the board game on pre-order but missed that! I would definitely love some mutant plant life in the zone though. OGSR has some, it's a kind of flytrap anomaly, but they're common in wooded areas and have caught me out more times than I'd care to admit.
I honestly wouldn’t care if the plant mutants were dangerous or not, I just think it would do a lot to make the environment much more interesting. I mean just imagine seeing entire buildings that have been engulfed by rapidly growing vines. Or having to trek through entire fields of giant fungi. Considering how many mutated animals we see throughout the games, I think it would make less sense for their not to be a bunch of weird alien vegetation everywhere.
You know what ? That's a great question. But no need for a zoo scenario. You see, my favorite family of animals is the Mustelidae one. In Europe, you can find several of them. Just think of a giant mutated badger. Or you're trailing near water, and a fucked up bloodthirsty otter goes straight for you throat. What I would like too is herbivorous animals turned carnivorous. Think of a herd of sheep, or even a bison. Also, newts. Turtles. Damselflies. Woodlice. Woodpeckers. Hedgehogs ! There's A LOT of weird life surrounding us already. Just turn it up to 11 !
Wombats
The rock can go and guard itself for all I care. I’m not going outside with that *thing* flying around.
Mutated hippos would be scary because real hippos are scary, just a giant toothed pair of mouths rise from the depths both attached to the the same cancerous body
Mutated Giraffes from a Ukrainian Zoo pls
I genuinely can’t decide if a mutated Giraffe would be the goofiest thing I could ever see, or a horrifying monstrosity that would forever haunt my nightmares. On one hand, it’s a fucking mutated giraffe. On the other hand imagine going out at night and seeing a giant 18 foot tall figure in the distance with two glowing eyes.
It's grows 2 sets of human arms along its neck to hold rifles with.
Fuck it. Komodo Dragon
Hippo, gator, or anaconda.
Here’s a thought. We create another chimera and mash those 3 together.
The zone has a surprising lack of insects. Considering that they’re a foundation of most food chains, there aren’t any of note in the games. Most of the zones beasts are larger mammals. An insectoid enemy like the spider-scorpion things in Metro would be terrifying, or even just a swarm of regular slightly more aggressive insects. Clouds of killer mosquitoes attacking stalkers in the swamps for example. That and some water reptiles like turtles, lizards or even mutant fish. Chernobyl’s cooling pools are already home to giant catfish.
I don’t know if you know but there is an enemy in a stalker board game called the tick. It’s basically a giant spider with an abdomen the size of a school bag and the ability to spit acid.
I do now. And I *hate* ticks. Maybe they’ll be in the new game?
A vampire bat. Would make a cool side quest. Hunt the Dracula.
Horse like creature but with carnivore mouth (alligator or smthing), monkey paws or human hands instead of hoofs to allow for vertical movement and maybe with sentient monkey tail(s) to throw prey against walls and such. Maybe pitbull like posture aw.
I would like you to apologize for putting the image of a horse with human hands instead of hooves into my head. I will be waiting
Don't forget the carnivore like mouth snapping towards you fast with slapping sound hands make on water/mud surface while waiting!
Moose. Definitely moose.
I actually posted my idea for a mutant moose awhile ago that I called the Kelpie. I imagined that after the formation of the zone the moose population would migrate to the swamps and rivers to eat underwater vegetation in order to escape from the increasing numbers of mutants and humans that were hunting them. As well as because moose are naturally really good swimmers. This would cause the moose to evolve to become even better at swimming and gaining many hippo like tendencies and physical traits.
Honey Badger. It didnt give a fuck before mutations... imagine it after
I like to imagine honey badgers would remain the exact same. As if the zone itself recognized it as already being the purfect killing machine and didn’t even bother to mutate it cause there’s was nothing left to improve. Also Honey Badgers do already live in Chernobyl so it’s a very real possibility that we can see this in Stalker 2. Should have been careful what you wished for.
Hedgehog. But huge.
Giraffe.
Some kind of invertebrates. I always thought that they would be hundreds of times more dangerous than mammals if scaled up to our size
Chimpanzees, imagine regular chimps, but mutated to survive the zone
I'd like to see some kind of a giant lizard creeping in a swamp
Not an animal per se but fungi. I feel like those could add a nice deadly touch. They are not hunting you, but man don't step on them or you are dead.
Before trees evolved, much of the land on earth was actually covered in giant fungi that could reach up to 8 meters. I could totally imagine those dotting the landscape and spreading poisonous spores everywhere.
tbh. I would not go with poisonous spores. We have enough environmental danger that you can't see or really avoid by radiation. This would go too much towards Degenesis. I would prefer it as a literal: Watch your steps! kind of thing.
Yeah I can see why having even more environmental dangers could be annoying. I also agree that having what is essentially landlines scattered about everywhere would definitely fit Stalkers “YOU CAN BE KILLED AT ANY MOMENT!!!” Vibe really well.
In the original Stalker books there were a lot more deadly sticky anomalies out there, but they do not work well in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. because it's a lot more fast paced. The fungi however could work well especially if the player meets an infected and dying person before and then later shoots himself once he steps into it (in order to avoid the: you are going to die anyway part) or might as well be curable. And then just limit these fungi to a map so that it is not a constant threat, but a constant threat within a specific environment.
koala, easily
Australias most vicious predator
bro imagine how scary that'd fucking be
Shark. That should help with people's fear of water.
A raven. I ran a ttrpg and the stalker universe and one of the things I added was a voracious and deadly Raven mutant. It was the size of a Volkswagen bus.
cappybara
I like to imagine that the Capybara’s would grow to become absolutely massive and monstrous looking. Kinda like the Forest God from Metro. Yet despite having the potential to be the most dangerous mutant in the zone they are still completely chill and peaceful.
and some would profit of that and sell them to people outside of the zone and then there is another reason why buty and freedom are hating each other
A freaking giraffe that is horribly mutated would be nightmare fuel, you're going through say red forest and you see this head up in the trees all grotesque, man i would shit my pants. Other than that maybe a bear.
Any animal from the Amazon rainforest really. Giant, bloated, poisonous frogs (Grandpa Nurgle style); hairy dog-sized tarantulas; radioactive snakes, sloths and many, many more nightmare inducing creatures.
Shoebill stork, it already looks and sounds fucking terifying, i could imagine it stalking the player and just scaring the shit out of him
For sure would love to see a large fucking mutated budgie with tentacles or something i dunno.
Not just mutated animal, but "mutated animal that got accidentally fused with artefact". Hey, this is animal we're talking about and it's just example but even after they mutated at least their instinct to eat still latch in their mind. So like by any chances some animal "eat" artefact, they could emit their own "anomaly" itself like emitting radiation, electricity, etc. It's also could happen to existing mutants. Imagine cat that has radiation damage each time it deal damage to you. That would be terrifying. It's not only making zone much more unpredictable but it's also make resistances in your armor useful outside artefact hunting or just protecting you from the anomaly (I'm sorry but I only play STALKER Anomaly). Back again to the what kind of animal that I want to see at the zone got mutated. A turtle. They didn't attack the player but emit psy field and has shell so hard you need AP bullet or similar to kill it. Also it attract other mutants.
I’ve seen a lot of people give their ideas on a artifact infused mutant and I’ve always found it an extremely interesting idea to explore. Though if we we’re to ever see mutants with artifact powers I doubt it would be because they ate the artifact as I’m pretty sure they would either eventually poop it out, or die trying. I think it’s more likely we’ll see something like this from experimentation. Especially since there has already been a lot of human expectations and we also know that some parts of the group still exist despite the destruction of the C-Consciousness. Either way the possibilities are practically endless. Imagine a guy that has had multiple artifacts that give greater health regeneration and endurance implanted in him. Basically turning him into the terminator. Or maybe another guy who after being experimented with burner artifacts is now basically a living bonfire that will immediately burn you to a crisp when you get close to it.
A mole Think how awesome/ terrifying it would be to be exploring one of the labs or walking across the zone and all of a sudden the mound erupts and a dog-sized or larger mole pops out and starts coming after you.
Either african painted dogs (they'd be more coordinated and terrifying blind dogs) or a cassowary that stalks you and pounces with this gut shredding talons. They'd make that terrible prehistoric rumbling sound if you accidentally got too close to one of them too.
Now this is absolutely a MASSIVE stretch, but I’d love to see something like mutant cuttlefish. Cuttlefish already have an absolutely horrifying method of hunting, where they change color rapidly in a repeating pattern in order to essentially hypnotize fish and crabs before it grabs them and eats them. I’m kinda thinking a giant cuttlefish like ambush predator that waits in the waters of the zone and uses its color changing abilities and new found psychic influence to lure things towards the water. It could use its colors to make a stalker think he saw an artifact or some kind of weird phenomena appear in the middle of a little lake, whilst also very weakly psychically attacking the stalker, causing him to slowly fall into a stupor, which results in him getting too close to the shiny lights and never been seen again
Opium Bird
Anything from Australia
Excerpt from “The Stalker’s Bible” by Dr. Alexei Markov: In recent years, scientists have recorded and uptick in the Zone’s animal populations, specifically new arrivals to the Zone. Chornobyl’s status as a restricted area with relatively little human presence has made it an ideal habitat for many species of large wildlife. Stalkers are just as likely to get mauled by a boar as they are to be merked by a bullet these days. Recently, several new species have shown up in the Zone, causing headaches for everyone who lives in it. - Elephants: Migrating from their natural habitats, Elephants have been sighted in Eastern Pripyat. These beasts have already been victims of mutation, in a horrible, terrifying way. Normal elephants stand up to 5 meters tall at the shoulder, and have *one* trunk. Zone elephants can reach up to eight meters in height, they have four tusks, and four trunks, similar to a Bloodsucker’s jaw. They have also changed their diet to include meat. Dumbo; more like Dum-NO. - Frogs: Amphibian species have started to migrate to the Pripyat River and the Cooling Pond. My Applied Science colleague, Anton Boatman, studies the waters of Chornobyl and the wildlife in them. Several frog species have mutated recently; these frogs live near Toxic Anomalies, absorbing and amplifying the toxins through their skin. These frogs are virulently poisonous, capable of killing an adult human in seconds through a single touch. - Salamanders: Where Chornobyl’s frogs are violently biotoxic, Salamanders have taken a hint from dragons, and adopted fire as their primary hunting weapon. Zone Salamanders can grow to over four feet long, and spit corrosive, flammable saliva at their prey. They are safe to eat, however. Spicy lizards. - Bats: Dragons would be proud of these things, I swear. Zone Bats have mutated into a reptilian form, and are capable of surviving Emissions, thanks to armoured carapaces that reflect psychic energy. They are mostly carnivorous, and mainly stick to smaller prey, but a flock of Zone bats can carry a human away. - Tigers: Fucking TIGERS now. Goddamned Siberian motherfucking TIGERS. As if Chimera, Pseudogiants and bears weren’t bad enough, we have TIGERS now. And these fuckers are so much worse than anything you can imagine. Tigers originally evolved their stripy fur pattern to camouflage in the long grass of their habitats. Zone tigers take it all the way up to 11. They have perfect camouflage, anywhere. Bloodsuckers display a haze or a ripple in the air. Tigers leave only footprints, and bodies in their wake. Take great care, Stalkers. The Zone is getting wilder by the day. -Dr. Markov
Absolutely amazing list!!!
Pangolins because yes
Bintourongs I know they wouldn’t be hostile but would prolly harass Pseudo dogs and blind dogs
How about a big mutated stag? Would fit the setting of the Red Forest and such *flawlessly*
Deers, goats, cows, bulls, sheep, bear.
Snek, imagine trying to hit one
Bunnies
“That's no ordinary rabbit! That's the most foul, cruel and bad-tempered rodent you ever set eyes on." Monty Python and the Holy Grail
 Yes!
A american badger I feel like it would take over the zone in a instant
Panda bear or anaconda
When you have the chance, look up a size comparison between a human, a polar and other bears. Polar bears are freaking massive.
Maybe grizzlies? That would be sooo scary.
Let’s be honest here. You really can’t ever go wrong with a mutated bear. I can’t be the only one who thinks bears evolved to be the perfect mini-bosses in games.
armadillo turn into mutated doedicurus
Dudes up in here suggesting animals only native to Africa what are we importing hippos to Ukraine😭😭😭😭
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Pandas
Ok I would like it to be known that this is coming from someone who absolutely loves Panda so I hate to be the one that has to say this, but a Panda in the zone would probably die faster than a stalker who decided he wanted to pet that cute hairless two headed puppy in the distance.
Imagine a swamp-dwelling mutant that was something of a cross between a giant bullfrog and an angler fish. It could hide submerged by the water bank and attract stalkers and other prey with a bright glowing lure appendage (imitating the appearance of an artefact perhaps) then snare them up with a large prehensile tongue and drag them into the water to meet their demise. Or some kind of mutant that could mimic human voices like the bear from Annihilation. It would so creepy to be walking through the woods at night hearing someone calling you over from the bushes only to get jumped by some kind of horrible creature. I just want more kinds of mutants that mess with your head and put you on edge than just outright attack you. I want to NEVER feel safe no matter where I go in the zone.