Stalker 2 best keybinds and controls

Surviving the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone is tough and isn’t helped by a set of fiddly keybinds that can take a while to get accustomed to. To make matters worse, the game doesn’t let you rebind all actions, limiting your ability to customize how the game plays and feels to your liking. In this guide, we’ll walk you through all the default Stalker 2 keybinds and offer a few choice changes to make life in the Zone a little easier. If you’re short of FPS, make sure you’re using the best graphics settings, too.

Stalker 2 controls and keybinds

Here’s a full list of all the default keybinds in Stalker 2:

Save/Load	Key
Quick Save	F5
Quick Load	F8

Movement	Key
Walk forward	W
Walk backward	S
Strafe right	D
Strafe left	A
Sprint	L. Shift
Crouch	L. Ctrl
Jump	Space
Walk	X
Lean left	Z
Lean right	C

Combat and exploration	Key
Fire	Left mouse click
Reload	R
Change ammo type	N
Change firing mode	B
Aim	Right mouse click
Hold breath	L. Shift
Melee/Stealth kill	Left mouse click
Throw grenade/bolt hard	Left mouse click
Throw grenade/bolt gently	Right mouse click
Standard knife attack/stealth kill	Left mouse click
Heavy knife attack/stealth kill	Right mouse click
Interact	F
Jump off the ladder	Space
Slide down the ladder	L. Shift

Game	Key
Knife	1
Handgun	2
Primary weapon	3
Secondary weapon	4
Grenade	5
Choose next weapon	Mouse scroll wheel
Choose previous weapon	Mouse scroll wheel
Bolt	6
Detector	7

Weapon upgrade menu	Key
Open weapon upgrade menu	T
Move one slot up	1
Move one slot down	3
Move one slot left	2
Move one slot right	4
Remove all weapon upgrades	F

Radial menu	Key
Open radial menu	TAB
Select flashlight	E
Select detector	Q

Inventory	Key
Change ammo/grenade type	N
Open inventory	I
Close inventory	I
Drop item	D
Sort inventory	S
Show/hide item details	Q
Show/hide equipment window	E
Show/hide item comparison	A
Swap compared items	L. Shift
Take all items	R

Interact	Key
Take/put down last used item	H
Quick access slot 1	Q
Quick access slot 2	Hold Q
Quick access slot 3	E
Quick access slot 4	Hold E

Separate stacks of identical items	Key
Confirm separation	E
Cancel separation	Q
Select all items	F
Select fewer items	A
Select more items	D

PDA	Key
Open PDA	P
Open map	M
Open journal	J
Open upgrades	U
Open notes	K
Show target on map	M

Map	Key
Scroll map up	W
Scroll map down	S
Scroll map right	D
Scroll map left	A
Center map on player	V
Player marker menu	TAB
Set custom marker	Right mouse click
Delete last custom marker	R
Hide all custom markers	None

Dialogue	Key
Trade	E
Upgrade weapons	Q

Best keybinds changes

Here are a few rebinds we made in the first few hours of playing Stalker 2 that have served us well ever since. In particular, rebinding the lean buttons to Q and E is a must to avoid stretching down to Z and C when you want to peer around corners in the heat of a tough fight. Unfortunately, melee attack doesn’t even feature in the controls list and can’t be changed. You’re stuck with the inconvenient V key until, hopefully, GSC Game World patches in the option to change the bind.

Action	Key
Lean left	Q
Lean right	E
Change ammo type	Mouse thumb button 1
Change firing mode	Mouse thumb button 2
Quick access slot 1	Z
Quick access slot 2	Hold Z
Quick access slot 3	C
Quick access slot 4	Hold C

How to rebind keys in Stalker 2

To rebind keys, tap Esc to bring up the pause menu, click on Options then on the Controls tab at the top of the screen. Tap on the Keyboard Settings button just below the first four options that cover axes and mouse sensitivity. Find the action you want then click on the symbol of the current keybind. Tap the key you want to use on your keyboard or mouse to rebind. Tap F when you’re done to apply and save any changes.