No More SpongeMobs and NPC's

HOW DOES IT WORK – IN ONE SENTENCE?

It removes the bullet-sponge problem: every gun now packs a punch, and even the biggest mutants and exoskeleton enemies lose their excessive tankiness.

WHAT EXACTLY DOES THIS MOD CHANGE?

The mod tweaks values in difficultyprototype.cfg so you deal higher damage and fights no longer feel like shooting bullet sponges. It doesn’t touch any other parameters, because the goal was to preserve the vanilla experience — for larger changes like ballistics or items, there are already excellent mods made by talented creators.

WHY ARE THERE THREE DIFFERENT VERSIONS?

Because having a choice is always better.

Hardcore – Increased damage for both the player and NPCs/mutants.

Don’t try this if you value your sanity. Combat is faster, more intense, more tactical, and significantly more lethal.

Realistic – Increased player damage, while NPC and mutant damage remains vanilla.

This exists because, for example, on Master difficulty NPCs deal 150% damage while the player only deals 75%.

This preset is the default and aims to rebalance the experience.

Newbie – Increased player damage, but reduced damage from NPCs and mutants.

If you want to be more deadly, but not necessarily more vulnerable.

Simply put, this is an easier mode.

COMPATIBILITY:

Compatible with any mods that don't overwrite the same parameters.

Tested on 1. 8. 0 but I’ll keep it updated if necessary.

INSTALLATION:

Unzip to the S. T. A. L. K. E. R. 2 Heart of Chornobyl\Stalker2\Content\Paks\~mods folder.

If the ~mods folder doesn't exist, create it.

If you have any questions, suggestions, or requests, don’t hesitate to ask.