What is the Strongest Faction in STALKER?

[@HonestObserver]

The ironic thing about Monolith being so powerful is that they are probably the one faction that all other factions would be willing to unite against, if they got too powerful and threatened the others.

[@exile2721]

I mean... fidel castro and cuba is an excellent example. The mob literally teaming up with police to assassinate him with the CIA... like the bruh.

[@ivory231]

@Local_funniguy for the monolith

[@Quantum1244]

@@local_funniguy8192CAUSE THEY ALL WEAR NOSOROGS, THEYRE MADE OF URANIUM

[@t1czer]

Just take away the psy field connecting them to Monolith and they will cry for it's attention *Notice me Monolith-senpai*

[@alexccc8982]

​@@t1czer nein

[@simonaspalovis1204]

Clear Sky to me is the most compelling faction out of all in the Zone, as in their prime, they just seemed to have the best aspects of all other factions - highly trained soldiers, high-end equipment, former scientists of The Group with in-depth knowledge of the Zone, and a clear chain of command with impeccable logistics, and coordination. Their core beliefs also seemed generally sound - to study the Zone, understand it and learn whether humanity can actually co-exist with her or not. They have the determination of Duty but the open-mindedness of Freedom. What I find the most impressive is how little the faction is even known around the Zone - none of the stalkers from Loner, Freedom or Duty factions even mention being aware of Clear Sky. Which means that, when Clear Sky mobilized their assault force from the Swamps all the way to the CNPP, they did it so covertly that no other faction even caught wind of it. Imagine leading a whole company through the Zone without arousing suspicion from the other stalkers. That is a level of covertness that even the Mercenaries would be jealous of.

[@unkon129]

never thought of that and it is indeed a great detail

[@0pt1m1sm]

they are a really cool faction

[@tobecontinued8120]

I'm playing this mission and I saw they being help by the mercs to lead the assault on the bridge.

[@0pt1m1sm]

@@tobecontinued8120 mercs are one of the factions they are neutral with

[@Nickyreaper2008]

Idk, to me their suicide mission to CNPP was kinda stupid

[@Manfred_Danfred]

Just remember to anyone that thinks it's the monolith: SoC - wiped out by a single guy CS - Wiped out by a single guy CoP - Wiped out by a single guy

[@jackharris8661]

Strelok is the strongest faction

[@Manfred_Danfred]

@@jackharris8661 main protagonists are the strongest faction

[@IntoTheZone]

Plot armor is the strongest artifact.

[@FD_Stalker]

C-Consciousness is like the Very large Database, good on predict trending, failed to notice single man. They can't even find out who is the strelok...

[@unkon129]

Take into consideration plot armor and games' needs In some gameplay and lore, even the one outside the games like novels, monolith is indeed the strongest faction

[@stuglife5514]

I’m surprised you didn’t mention the logistical issues of the bandits. Bandits are almost always starving, cold, wet, and tired. They constantly talk of how hungry they are, which also explains why they’re willing to do such awful things as the drop of the hat. I digress, it doesn’t matter how fortified you are, how trained your forces are, how armed or how many of you there are. If your soliders are all tired, hungry, wet and cold, theyre gonna have heavily diminished combat effectiveness. Also, the combat styles of the factions should be taken into account. For example, while free stalkers aren’t going to organize like other factions, in an all our war theyre probably going to act a lot more like VC. Small, highly independent cells. The bandits would probably fight a similar way, but be on the back foot because they can’t survive on their own as well as loners because of lack of experience living off the land.

[@blackknightz5036]

The bandits are weaker than loners because they can't survive the zone like loners can therefor they turn to crimes. Every place bandits go they aren't welcomed because unlike loners who will run errands,kill mutants,hunt artifacts for the local, the bandits will only bring trouble to the area.

[@huntclanhunt9697]

@@blackknightz5036 exactly!

[@koba503]

also bandit artifact usage even stho they steal and have slave labour camp wouldnt be so high compared to other stalkers

[@RomanvonUngernSternbergnrmfvus]

The fact that a vast majority of the people in the zone are former military or trained by former military needs to be remembered, Every type of military to some extent as well. The fact that everyone in the zone are survivors should be remembered, even a survivor in the zones moderate region for 6 moths must be considered extremely dangerous.

[@HirineN]

@@RomanvonUngernSternbergnrmfvus makes a lot of sense

[@anomalousdugout9557]

Nice analysis! I would personally say that at their peak, the military was the strongest faction because they could go anywhere in the Zone with their helicopters, but of course that didn't last long.

[@IntoTheZone]

Oh for sure, theyd be unstoppable if it wasnt for the c-con completley countering their operations.

[@withda.45]

but i think monolith is the best faction because of their equipment who cares about heli if you can take him down

[@MJ-gx2gx]

I gotta agree with you they have btr's and tanks aswell that are seen on the map shame you can't drive any of them

[@ineverexist666]

@@IntoTheZone even without the c-con military would have a hard time the now constant emissions and the fact after a emission anomalys can change places, like we learn from call of pripyat, secure areas can become dangerous to operate in and dangereus areas more safe. Making a large scale invasion in the zone would be a death sentence, also mutants can be a danger especially Psydogs, Controllers or Burers, which can cause chaos when soldiers try to shoot illusions of the psydog and hitting comrades, burers which can manipulate the eweight of the gear (and the average soldiers carry some heavy equippment, Controllers dont need number only few victims and one controller is capable to controll or zombefiy multiple victims, the gear of military is outdate but heavy equippment the Hinds and BTRs may enough but can be easy targets themself. Also there is the possiblity that persoanal lost in the zone can become snorks, which are probaly the more common human mutant after the zombefied.

[@rdg665]

@@ineverexist666 The " constant emissions and anomaly changing places " Is basically the work of the c con lol

[@marklevine3940]

Loners: 225 [Command]: 25 [Manpower]: 50 [Equipment]: 40 [Artifact]: 65 [T&R]: 45 Bandits: 200 [Command]: 50 [Manpower]: 50 [Equipment]: 20 [Artifact]: 50 [T&R]: 30 Duty: 390 [Command]: 90 [Manpower]: 80 [Equipment]: 85 [Artifact]: 40 [T&R]: 95 Freedom: 375 [Command]: 60 [Manpower]: 75 [Equipment]: 85 [Artifact]: 75 [T&R]: 80 Military: 300-400~ [Command]: N/A [Manpower]: N/A [Equipment]: N/A [Artifact]: N/A [T&R]: N/A Monolith: 490 [Command]: 100 [Manpower]: 90 [Equipment]: 100 [Artifact]: 100 [T&R]: 100 Clear Sky: 410 [Command]: 70 [Manpower]: 80 [Equipment]: 90 [Artifact]: 90 [T&R]: 80 Ecologists: 180 [Command]: 40 [Manpower]: 20 [Equipment]: 30 [Artifact]: 70 [T&R]: 20 Mercenaries: 305 [Command]: 60 [Manpower]: 50 [Equipment]: 75 [Artifact]: 40 [T&R]: 80

[@BlyatifulButter]

How about Renegade?

[@huntclanhunt9697]

Bandits need a nerf due to always complaining how cold, tired, hungry, and wet they are. Their moral is low, and they're often half starved and exhausted, turning to crime as a result. This would weaken their capabilities considerably.

[@tomciok8563]

@@BlyatifulButter how about who?

[@katlicks]

@@BlyatifulButter Renegades are basically just splinter bandits.

[@NoobieToob]

@@katlicks are they hostile to bandits? what caused the splinting? Why don't the Renegade appear on the stalkers PDAs' factions relations menu?

[@CharcharoExplorer]

Regarding Duty, they for some reason have access to Russian Abakans and Groza or AS Val rifles - not standard Warsaw pact weapons, more like Elite Russian special forces stuff. Also some of their recruits can be seen with NATO weapons like the SA80. So I suspect that if the recruit came with a NATO rifle or they have nothing else to give to him - it will be accepted. I suspect the only reason they dont use more is simply due to lack of ammo, not any actual hate on the Western rifles. One other thing to mention - Duty soldiers do not really go much for artifacts, but their armour generally has top end or experimental military upgrades some of which are derived from Zone research (other general research). So in a roundabout way - they do get some boosts due to artifacts, just not from them directly. For Freedom - they use lots of AKs and Eastern block Sniper rifles as well. And have access to ex-Speznaz equipment. Which means some military units agreed with Freedom over Duty, even if the minority. Personally, I would NOT give Clear Sky such a high score. The reason is simple. At the end of the game, the few groups of Clear Sky Veterans and Masters we help are really almost everything the faction has, in terms of decent equipment and quality. While they have some decent tech too, they never field anything better than a SPAS 12 or an upgrade AKS-74. So in a sense they are under Freedom and Duty, what they do manage to do is have some nice suits and a few experiment weapons alongside very elite soldiers. Not weak, but under the power of Duty and Freedom for sure. The Mercs often use AKs and some of them (Raven from CoP I think) have Abakans (RU Special Forces weapon). They do strongly lean Western but not only. One thing I recommend you check is how good the factions can fight the Zone's horrors like mutants. For example we know that the Average Merc is very good against human enemies, but not quite as good against mutants. Not his fault, he hasnt faced most of those horrors before. While the average experienced loner has. So that too should play a part in my opinion. Good video.

[@IntoTheZone]

Those are good points for sure my dude.

[@mantassimonis415]

@_____ In clear sky freedom takes over army warehouses from the military when they were crippled when wiped most of them out, but equipment left behind would be quite a bit of ammo and guns.

[@dalegribble7939]

Give me the duty I would also imagine that the main reason that they use Warsaw pack equipment most of the time it's because that's a majority of what the Ukrainian army used so they use it both because they can get ammo for easier and they're more familiar with it although I would imagine that they probably get those guns made me modern day Russia that they cannot find in Ukraine from international arms dealers if not if I could open up an entire different possibility

[@CharcharoExplorer]

@@mantassimonis415 The thing is, Freedom had the AKs and Berill suits even before storming the military warehous.

[@huntclanhunt9697]

Bandits also are always complaining about being tired, cold, and hungry. This suggests they likely are not doing well logistically. Loners even complain less. My theory is most bandits are loners who lacked the skills to survive, and thus turned to crime instead.

[@Karina-winsmore]

Ecologists is my favorite faction to play as in Anomaly. They are peaceful with most factions and so i can focus on a thing i love the most - exploring and searching for artifacts. To immerse and challenge myself i also try to limit body armor to enviromental suits and weaponry to self defense tools like shotguns, pistols and submachine guns. I get by in combat by using powerful artifacts, high quality equipment modules and expensive medicine and combat drugs.

[@xTEMPLARIOx]

In anomaly I love to play as a solitaire since I can explore the area and still be able to slaughter other stalkers, but when I advance enough I become a member of duty since these are the ones that I identify with in idiology.

[@kam2894]

@@xTEMPLARIOx solitaire?

[@Researcher_Jim]

@@kam2894 loner I would assume

[@t1czer]

​@@xTEMPLARIOx damn man, i'm sure you have a duty flag and picture of fuhrer somewhere in your home base!

[@madjack1748]

Ecologist is for nerds and people who want to explore the zone and its lore without getting harassed too much.

[@DveTriEbole]

Obviously it is the monolith, The monolith will guide its children to victory

[@entity_1208]

Unfortunately we are a puppet for the c consciousness 🗿

[@sharpen102]

Ok junkee

[@zhorazavodskoy6622]

За Монолит!

[@Assassino275]

"For the Monolith!"

[@MonolithPreachr]

Indeed brother!

[@geigermulleryoutubescience1973]

Dude, you deserve waaaaay more subs. Anomalous Dougout needs more subs too. 40 minute videos are hard to make.

[@IntoTheZone]

Thanks man! It did take a while to make, but its certainly worth it.

[@TheNateness123]

@@IntoTheZone just let S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2 come out and have the same following as metro & you'll be perfectly positioned to harvest those fresh new faces to the zone.

[@bolan4185]

Total scores: #1 Monolith 490 #2 Clear Sky 410 #3 Duty 390 #4 Freedom 375 #5 Military 300-400 (i would personally rate them 360, maybe even more) #6 Mercenaries 305 #7 Loners 225 #8 Bandits 200 #9 Ecologists 180 Made this list before i noticed that all of this is shown at the end, but fuck it made it so i'll post it

[@huntclanhunt9697]

But... Clear Sky almost lost to renegades?

[@bolan4185]

@@huntclanhunt9697 the guy rated the factions at their peak so there are no misconceptions and shit

[@underrated7312]

@@bolan4185 I'm black 🙂

[@Totallynotagengar]

​@@underrated7312 get back to work

[@southernbrain691]

​@@underrated7312to the cottonfields,now!

[@sethleoric2598]

The more i play and think about Stalker and it's lore, the more it reminds me of some sort of D&D style fantast setting (but yknow mixed with that sort of wartorn mercenaries everywhere sort of setting) I mean, you got lone freelance adventurers going on quests for magic rocks, the obligatory oorah we are the guard type faction, state troops, mercenary companies, basically a cult that worships a strange eldritch entity, it's all there except with guns and Adidas.

[@homecoversx]

Its hard being a military personnel when almost everything that moves in the zone tries to kill you....except for those rare ecologist and dutyers

[@jaxthedisintegrator8096]

Playing warfare mode in stalker anomaly as a military member tho 🤩

[@Blackstar-yd3yf]

​@@jaxthedisintegrator8096taking military warehouse and Holding it against waves of monolith

[@Korben-c5x]

@@jaxthedisintegrator8096belonged to the military in the first place

[@ASlickNamedPimpback]

Renegades is the answer. So bone-chillingly powerful that stalkers fear to even mention them in ShoC, and barely even remember their greatest enemy, Clear Sky

[@dominykaszakrys3373]

There is nothing worse than to face a gang of monolith exoskeleton experts with VLA's and rocket launchers

[@Zefenaro]

12:30 need to remember that duty have at least one operational attack helicopter

[@atomatolike5754]

I think they did, but it was shot down

[@huntclanhunt9697]

Monolith I think. They have the advantage of being based in a very hard to reach, irradiated zone, and are very well armed with large numbers. Also things like the brain scorcher, the miracle machine, and any other such device. They have the best base in the zone from which to launch attacks, and they seem to be allied to the zombies. Besides them, Duty and Freedom are clearly tied as one cannot beat the other outright. Mercs seem pretty up there, with impressive equipment and training, and clearly someone backing them with resources. UNISIG if you count them into this from Anomaly are the best equipped, and most other factions don't know they exist. That means nobody can just strike at them, allowing them to hit as they please and pull out to disappear. Bandits are low on the list. They can barely even hold their own in the garbage and are literally seen as a mild inconvenience by the major factions. Renegades appear to be a bandit group that split from the bandits. They're literally just a weaker bandit group. Ecologists don't have much of a military, but they can lock down their bunkers and pay mercs to fight for them. They could probably weather an attack, but not win a war. Clear Sky is wiped out and not a factor. At their height they weren't that impressive equipment or skills, and numbers seem iffy. Only advantages were Scar and their base being hidden. Military: hard to say. Obviously they pack insane firepower, and air power, and even BTRs. However... They also seem to have the least understanding of how the zone works. I think if they were able to, they would have already wiped out most other factions. I think their inability to adapt to and understand the zone is a MASSIVE handicap, and they would be crippled against any other faction deep in the zone. Sin, if you count it from the Anomaly mod, is a joke. They're edgy morons with few numbers and bad gear. They have no advantages besides monolith being friendly with them, and honestly would lose to anyone except Renegades. Loners are a total wild card. When united under folds like Valerian, they are easily the strongest faction. Their knowledge of the zone, how to navigate it, and how to use it to their advantage, combined with their huge numbers and the fact almost every legendary stalker is a Loner, this means that they could easily crush opposition if united and lead by a veteran. However, when scattered and not united, they are easy pickings piecemeal. So it depends... Can they unite? If so they're a huge factor. If not... They're basically a recruitment pool for the others.

[@rdg665]

UNISIG is a joke tho There are like 5 of them in total on the entire zone and they don't even have a base

[@huntclanhunt9697]

@@rdg665 But nobody else knows they exist and they use disguises a lot. Also, at least in the lore, they're a hand picked elite group that's been funded and equipped with state of the art gear. Small, but dangerous. Especially since nobody else knows where they are or what they are.

[@MasterNemya]

When we meet SIN it is still a young faction that is actively recruiting, we cannot compare them to the older faction. And the UNISG has the resources of the United Nations but in Anomaly they are just starting their first clandestine operation in the area which consists mainly of scouting and preparation missions (probably what the MERCS did before them).

[@huntclanhunt9697]

@@MasterNemya With how depressing and psychotic they are, I doubt SIN will find many willing recruits. Ex Monolith would provably be their biggest pool to recruit from since the C-Consciousness died, but even that is very small. I don't think SIN has shown itself possessing enough skills to make up for its small size, and I doubt it'll be growing soon. Biggest advantage is that other stalkers seem scared of them, but in an all out fight I'd rank them very low.

[@mclarenf1gtr99]

I think it is hard to beat Monolith without some alliance. Most fanatics are reputable stalkers with high-end gear who get caught deep in the Zone, that is why most of the top stalkers are Monolith. Their faith and fanatic nature makes them fearless, which is the strongest weapon against the enemy. Also, they own the Generators and know the center of the Zone far better than anyone else.

[@theworldafter3686]

I love these faction and lore videos! Keep it up. I learned a lot about STALKER from you, and you inspired me to start my post-apo channel.

[@IntoTheZone]

Very cool dude. Just subbed! Come on over to the discord and you can share your stuff around.

[@SMILEY.45]

I liked the Ecologist path. Took on more of a Gordon Freeman role rather than just trying to survive and make some money. Gaining more understanding of the Zone was more rewarding than a bigger gun. Offered plenty of opportunities to relieve high end equipment from dead factions while simply doing some hot action research

[@sebs-shenanigans]

410? FOUR TEN? Come on man, we were on the verge of greatness, we were THIS close?

[@tama7026]

Objectively The Monolith ( source the Monolith told me in a dream), im Monolith's strongest soldier

[@Eatadick420]

За монолит

[@Blackstar-yd3yf]

Had the same dream of the monolith

[@Abuhan47]

We are all children of the Monolith there is no "I". Only the Monolith brother.

[@limbodomundo5671]

Me (Monolith's strongest child) vs Loner (Sinner)

[@tex5538]

Love the channel man, keep this effort up

[@IntoTheZone]

Thanks, will do!

[@InThaSwayne]

I'm personally a fan of the Military faction. I have a major goodwill with them in Anomaly. I love their skat9 armoured suits and their military exoskeleton.

[@raimundopilotto2675]

Well, i just watched 40 minutes just to came to the same conclusion as always... ALL HAIL THE MONOLITH!!! Jokes aside, it was a really nice analisys!!! Well I know that the books aren't considered cannon, i do belive that they could give us even a more bigger scope of analisys for this subjets. Keep up the good work!!! Now, get out of here, Stalker

[@IntoTheZone]

I do really want to dig into the books. I've found a couple PDF's of them and have ran a translator app over them. Its certainly not perfect english by any means, but I think its readable and I'd understand enough to maybe do a video on.

[@raimundopilotto2675]

@@IntoTheZone PLEASE, DO!!!

[@shadowstorm7548]

i hate monoliths

[@dinoluka11]

Based Monolith enjoyer

[@princekyros]

@@IntoTheZone do it!

[@mitchcampbell4197]

In my mind the Mercenary manpower fluctuates due to them being Mercenaries. The S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series takes place from the late 1990's to the 2010's so this was at a time when wars in the Middle East and Africa were starting to take place and gain much attention. So in my mind the Mercenary Faction could be a much larger international company (like Executive Outcomes and Blackwater PMC) so the contracts of private individuals or companies wanting stuff in this illegal and supposed Government controlled area would be considered lesser and more difficult when compared to contracts from Governments. Giving reason as to why in some games there are a large number of Mercenaries in the Zone and while others there are only select amounts in certain area's. Unless the Ukrainian government is also utilizing the forces of the Mercenaries in the Zone, not wanting to risk the lives of their own soldiers.

[@underrated7312]

I'm black 🙂

[@JustAnOrdinaryDemon]

Into the Zone: it unlikely to find stalker like them [Strelok and Scar] any time soon Skiff: am I a joke to you?

[@unkon129]

Tarkov Raid flashbacks lol

[@Kasper-T]

It's content creators like you, that really breaths new life into the stalker community. I hope you never stop doing what you do:)

[@Opr8rKaz]

"No stalkers like scar or strelok will be found anytime soon in the zone" Me playing with Debug mode on: *are you sure about that?*

[@Desh681]

How monolith manages to do what they do is beyond me. They have the most exoskeletons and high end weapons (usually because they’re the end game guys you face) despite being cut off from the rest of the world and no factories around. They have seemingly unlimited gear without any sort of equipment shipments unlike every other faction and military, which has shipments from Sidorvich, or the government

[@underrated7312]

I'm black 🙂

[@iWintertide]

I've heard the theory that monolith have agents that they send to infiltrate companies, governments, and other organizations. They then gain a position of power that they can abuse to send supplies to the monolith

[@underrated7312]

@Messerschmitt BF 109G 10 thank you I would also call you a king but I don't know any specific words for a king of I'm assuming European descent so I will just call you a king 👑

[@matthewjones39]

@@underrated7312 N

[@Veldazandtea]

Kill enemy. Loot armor/weapons. Brainwash the living to serve. It's the oldest trick in the book.

[@davidmcquoid9438]

Great video. Your channel made me finally pick up the games again after years. And it's been a blast!

[@IntoTheZone]

Glad to hear it!

[@siwygrigory1821]

Have you given Anomaly a go yet?

[@aksent769]

U forgot one key thing, teritoy or strongholds, which wud matter very much in all out war... great vid

[@Motivation_snack6668]

I feel bad for Duty in some way. Even though they can be cold, or sometimes a little too triggerhappy, their reasoning and actual goal is probably one of the few that I actually respect in the zone. I always try to ally with them, of course because of how STACKED they are, but also because I can actually stand behind the reason they're here in the first place. Sucks that they tend to get dunked on the most~

[@Skikopl]

Duty is the best comrade

[@aoki6332]

i mean if you look in the game there a reason why in SoC they have so much importance Duty is pretty much the stalker military branch and are funnily enough the only one that managed to create order and yeah people hated them for that they represent order where the idea behind most other faction is survival

[@Uaene]

The Duty was based on World War 2 Ukranian Nazis

[@Veldazandtea]

Sure, you could send 100000 soldiers into the zone. ... To be turned into monolith from the brain scorcher. You're basically giving the enemy troops at that point. It might even be why Monolith is a faction in the first place.

[@NewVergas]

I literally started playing the game again because of this channel, knowing the lore as you play it from the start is the best

[@Sleeper-vs9oq]

Wow, great video. It was quite insightful and helps to understand the factions overall. One can clearly see the passion you´ve put into this video. Thank you for your effort and keep up the good work!

[@S.T.A.L.K.E.R_fan]

"Told you monolith would be on top for the ranking" "But monolith recently destroyed by a one man army-" *gunshots*

[@marinsoljan9983]

I have both liked and subscribed, because you deserve it.

[@IntoTheZone]

thanks bud, glad you enjoyed

[@Quack1945]

I thought for sure duty and monolith would be the two top factions of the zone, Considering Duty is the most fanatic faction apart from the monolith and their connections in the military.

[@SirLynX93]

Cheer's for the video! Helped me alot to understand the different factions in the game without crazy spoiler!

[@kowboykalebb]

Happy I found this channel, S.T.A.L.K.E.R is one of, if not my favorite series

[@Mitch18121]

We thank you, oh Monolith, for revealing the cunning plans of your enemies to us. May your light shine down on the souls of the brave soldiers who gave their lives in service to your will. Onward warriors of the Monolith, avenge your fallen brothers, blessed as they are in their eternal union with the Monolith. Bring death to those who spurned the holy power of the Monolith.

[@MrBatboss]

No even gonna watch this, because strongest faction is Duty. Why? Because deadly anomalies, dangerous mutants, anarchists and bandits... None of them will stop Duty on its triumphant march towards saving the planet!

[@Soupcan6233]

Duty may be the strongest but the mercenaries have more manpower and a better skillset

[@RratRemi]

Late to the party but: there is a reason monolith is feared by most stalkers and taken seriously by even freedom

[@lmao.3661]

the canonical ending of the zone will be the military fighting monolith to the death at the CNPP after every other faction has either been assimilated or wiped out.

[@vedran8592]

Wooooo I was waiting :D Thank you for the content man, I'm sure you put a smile on a lot of people's faces when you upload ^^

[@IntoTheZone]

Glad to hear you enjoy it my dude.

[@Zelousmarineinspace]

“The News-sphere” Lmao

[@isaiahdees2309]

(Note that this is just a little joke) "There is no friendship in the zone, there is no friends, only factions, your team is your biggest enemies as you know nothing about them or what they are going to do. Never trust anybody. All hail the monolith and it's eternal glory, onward the monolith, may your light shine down on the souls of the brave who gave their lives to you, onward the monolith." - A wise Monolith preacher

[@yers7638]

And gets killed by a single guy with some physics BS and F5 and F9 key sacred artefact

[@dalegribble7939]

25:21 from what I understand they can tell stories but these are often changed with their worldview

[@Cube930]

Military is the strongest if were including protags, they have both degtyarev and strelok on their team after CoP

[@redinmolator]

Given the fact the Monolith can lobotomize whoever gets to the Heart of the Zone, it's not surprising they're well armed and powerfully geared. Everyone that manages to get that far has to have a lot of brains, brawn and gear.

[@Korben-c5x]

The Military should equip their grunts better and use their large firepower quantity to their advantage, until that friggin emission comes around

[@nikolaynikolov9450]

Great video, Man!!!I'Great analisys. I'm VETERAN of this games from loong time ago. My favourite faction always be a Freedom-Good soldiers with not military way of thinking, but good in fights against humans and mutants. In Clear sky LOOVE unique yellow Exzoskeleton wining from them! New subscriber!!!Sorry for my bad english!

[@uncle-bin1750]

Really great analyses! The one faction I really don't agree with: Clear Sky. I think their manpower has been rated too high. They seem to be a rather small faction of elite Stalkers. They couldn't even manage to fight off the bandits in their swamps. So they got beaten on their own turf!

[@ades-raptors-_-2569]

They still formed one of the most powerful armies ever seen in the zone to attack the CNPP and saved everyone and they managed to repel the monolith it's a huge feat after I don't blame you since the faction almost disappeared after the blowout during the CNPP assault

[@uncle-bin1750]

@@ades-raptors-_-2569 But they used all their forces to spearhead into the center of the zone. Monolith had their forces spread out and wasn't expecting the attack. It's one thing to manage an attack like this, but it's completely different to defend a large territory. That's what I was trying to say: they lack the numbers to successfully defend anything.

[@ades-raptors-_-2569]

@@uncle-bin1750 maybe but if you play to the game you know why they don't have time for this and they need to rush the CNPP

[@uncle-bin1750]

@@ades-raptors-_-2569 Dude, they couldn't even defend the swamps against bandits. It's not about having enough time. It's that clear sky is a group of very few elite stalkers.

[@underrated7312]

@@uncle-bin1750 I'm black 🙂

[@Moth_of_Yuggoth]

oh yes. What an interesting video. keep making videos man, that algorithm will reach you one day. you're videos are brilliant and can tell you try hard.

[@IntoTheZone]

Thanks my dude. When you love what you do its easy to put effort into it!

[@Moth_of_Yuggoth]

@@IntoTheZone Yes. How often do you play stalker and what mods, if so are you currently playing?

[@vurhn2009]

6:22 **Cheeki Breeki intensifies**

[@-whiskey-4134]

Tbh my first experience with STALKER was the anomaly mod, mainly because I figured if I’m gonna play the game, I want to see the world as a whole. From there I played the actual games. They were on sale on Steam a while back as like a $10 bundle lol I played the mod to get a feel for the game and really just treated it as a sandbox. Didn’t really pay much attention to quests or anything until I played the real games and took those seriously. “Beat” them, then pretty much modded fallout 4 to make a mix of STALKER and Metro in an open world. Doesn’t have the same feel, I’ll admit, but it’s a nice middle ground where i get to experience the best parts of each game all at once lol Anyway, my point that got lost somehow is that Duty is my favorite faction. Why? Tbh I really dont know, I just like playing with them more than anyone else. Maybe it’s because I’m an AK/AK variant aficionado in real life and I saw AK’s when looking through the Factions and decided “oh, I can start with an AK? Sounds good.” I’m a simple man.

[@waah5901]

HAHAH "then modded fallout 4 to make a mix of Stalker and Metro" didnt we all bro, didnt we all 😂😂

[@lmao.3661]

RARE anomaly fan actually playing the games

[@underrated7312]

@@lmao.3661 I'm black 🙂

[@matthewjones39]

@@underrated7312 Did anybody ask?

[@seantaylor8114]

If anything, I'd be interested in a category dedicated to resiliency, specifically in relation to a shakeup of command. For instance, monolith is very organized with the c-consciousness active but disorganized and weak without it. Meanwhile, more loosely organized groups like freedom or the bandits could more readily survive the loss of their primary leader with significantly less pain. Duty presumably has a pretty well established plan of succession in the case of a lost general so they would not be too badly inconvenienced either.

[@Dominique9325]

Just a few things you might've missed/overlooked: 1. Despite their supposed inventory logging, a Duty officer called Morgan was able to steal equipment under their noses and trade it with bandits in exchange for artefacts in Call of Pripyat, which means that the system isn't flawless, and if something like that already happened, it means that it could happen again. 2. If I recall correctly, the only Duty member in the 3 original games we see armed with something worse than a Warsaw pact assault rifle is Warrant Officer (the guy in charge of the Duty checkpoint in Garbage on the road to Rostok who is armed with a double-barreled sawn off), whilst others are all armed with at least an AKS-74U, most of them having AK-74s and even AN-94s, as well as AKM variants (Anomaly only since the AKM doesn't exist in the original games). 3. It might be insignificant but Duty does occasionally use artefacts to aid in their ability to combat the zone, one finds this out from Gen. Krylov in Clear Sky. 4. Joining Freedom might be appealing to free stalkers who seek security from bandits that being in a faction provides (freedom and bandits don't really have any interaction in the first or the last game, even though they are technically hostile towards bandits in clear sky, they won't shoot you - the player if you join bandits, also in Anomaly they are mutually neutral) but want to be able to do mostly whatever they want which joining Duty would disallow. Regarding left-out / skipped factions: Military would most likely be somewhat close to Duty in strength, however they could have less or more manpower depending on the number of soldiers stationed in the zone at the time. Most soldiers freshly rotated into the zone would have good training in combat but would not be ready for the zone's dangers (they would know very little about anomalies, emissions, evidenced by the failure of operation Fairway - the helicopters crashed because the Military didn't know that anomalies change locations after emissions and tried to use an outdated map of sky anomalies to traverse the zone). Morale would be at an all-time low because of massive casualties and the failure of the operations mentioned in the video (among them operation "Monolith" at the end of SoC, as well as operation Fairway), it seems that most soldiers in the zone were stationed there against their will and are afraid of its dangers. They feel as if command has ditched them there are forgotten about them, due to desperation and inadequate pay they often turn to cooperating with stalkers to make ends meet, as well as bandits. Corruption in the Military is rampant as evidenced by Major Khaletskiy and Major Kuznetsov. Renegades are a faction just introduced for tutorial purposes, for teaching the player the basics of the faction wars in Clear Sky. They don't have much of a story, though, according to the wiki they are bandits who split off from the parent faction, because they refused to follow Yoga's orders because they disagreed with him. They took the opportunity, and when the big emission occured they moved into the swamps and got into a war with the Clear Sky faction. Some people theorize that they were actually kicked out of the bandits faction, that they are the biggest scum in the zone, the lowest of the low. That's the way they explain why every single faction except for bandits is hostile towards them in Anomaly, who only tolerate them because they were once bandits too. It's quite apparent that there is no leadership structure in the Renegades, as there is no Renegade leader in Clear Sky nor anomaly, it's more like they are rejects, people who seek safety in numbers because they are shunned by every faction in the zone pretty much, which is the only reason why they stick together. It's plausible that they might even turn on eachother in some cases. Their equipment seems similar to the Bandits' equipment, except it's even worse, it becomes better later on in the game when the player encounters expert renegades in the red forest wielding powerful 9x39mm weaponry who have managed to capture the Limansk bridge.

[@antondavidovic3996]

Personally I think the Military is the strongest faction "pound for pound". For example: in SoC, the Spetznaz/Military Stalkers always gave me more trouble than the Monolith's best equipped soldiers. If you had to fight those Military Stalkers in the same number as the Monolith, it would be a much tougher time imo

[@JohnPeacekeeper]

I'm pretty sure it's more or less gonna be "whichever faction Strelok is fighting with"

[@pustota7254]

Monolith is one of three fractions that DO NOT use artefacts at all! The other two are zombies and military.

[@unkon129]

they did and they do

[@pustota7254]

@@unkon129 wow 1 year later.

[@unkon129]

@@pustota7254 didnt even realize your comment was 1 year old lol

[@Otarioloko123]

@@pustota7254 wow 1 year later

[@pustota7254]

@@Otarioloko123 I swear to God if this starts a chain

[@FTH295]

I find it funny that freedom has taken rostok in stalker 2 trailer or newest stream or video

[@GhenTuongHB]

Protect the world from The Zone. Join Duty.

[@hippsla5459]

Let us take a minute brothers, a minute to apretiate the might and beauty of the great Monolith

[@creamnxt]

anyone else laugh a little when he said "duty" like that instead of hearing it in a hard Russian accent ingame

[@gabeluke4643]

The loner faction is more or less civilians pretty much

[@BLCKPPRMN]

But who has plot armor? that's where the real points come in

[@netunooog]

They do say Loners do seek to join mercenaries but they dont seek to recruit but also they are know to not be very friendly to loners so they do probably recruit just not many but even with that they do say they train all recruits. They help bulk up there numbers but like you said they arent activity seeking recruits. Also this is kinda odd but they are also known to hunt rare artifacts if they are wanted, like actually go out and hunt for it not kill pickup or just deliver it and they do take those jobs. Also depending on what game you play but the last one of the 3, mercenaries also seek gear through duty to keep there new recruits geared. They worked directly with Morgan to get supplies for there groups

[@Ahki061]

dude i got that exact same chest rig 15:26 first time I've ever seen it in video games or in irl

[@davidnewton2377]

Everything looks great I think mercs could’ve been alittle higher and clear sky maybe Alittle lower

[@unknowy_0]

Ok let's consider that game called CoP. In there, monolith falls apart after c-con met strelok. Monolith didn't get any new members, it even gets soldiers to leave as strider. We can also say, that monolith lost a crap lot of people after military tried to steam roll the zone for second time. Last monolith gauss gun was captured by major degtaryov as we can see in the end of CoP.

[@Dugauntlet]

Hopefully now that Stalker 2 is out we can get another one of these videos with the new factions and the returning factions adjusted accordingly.

[@Ricky-ce3jo]

Great analysis as usual man, and congrats on 6k!

[@Cultist_Mono]

I would like to see part 2 of this, maybe looking at some factions who aren't cannon or just very small and or relevant, like Zombies, Sin, The Clear sky NATO Secret agency ripoff, the bootleg bandits, you know em.

[@deadpixel9032]

We thank you, oh Monolith, for revealing the cunning plans of your enemies to us. May your light shine down on the souls of the brave soldiers who gave their lives in service to your will. Onward warriors of the Monolith, avenge your fallen brothers, blessed as they are in their eternal union with the Monolith.

[@Bathrobedwane]

great videos man, i hope everything goes well and you become the "stalker dude" of youtube for the english audience.

[@polakrodak8538]

Military is the best because they're literally a military of a country

[@Dreadnought358]

I know these two factions aren’t officially cannon but I would of liked to of heard Sins and The United Nations International Scientific Group factions as well. But I know their not official so no hard feelings.

[@thermostatlord2205]

I'm new to the stalker games, I'm playing shadow of Chernobyl at the moment and your channel came just in time.

[@christianmontanari1725]

Well, what kinda psychologically touched* before me, was the Monolith praying

[@sadge0]

The strongest faction is the main character, one man army at it's best

[@sholandosmiguelito6508]

Helding quicksave artefact

[@underrated7312]

@@sholandosmiguelito6508 I'm black 🙂

[@masterzoroark6664]

And on Ecologists- if a major war for the Zone started they would either be absorbed into other faction/factions or pledge neutrality (like Zone's version of Switzerland)

[@bossgirl6986]

If you turn them on. The military has gunships. No other faction has anything like it and no way of combating them apart from unguided RPG's and maybe EM1's

[@novabox7745]

I think you gave the loners a fair score, but I also think they have massive potential. With a steady stream of stalkers starting as loners larger manpower is possible. Experienced loners are extremely good at what they do as they do what other factions do with less resources. They also usually have some sort of trader backing so increased funding and equipment is possible. Also while their power structure needs improvement, it has a certain flexibility that would allow for groups to stay active even when the structure is lost or damaged

[@felixcaskey4193]

Monolith is literally the combine from half-life. Down to the last detail almost.

[@treasurefriend2151]

such a good video man

[@VenatariHendarian]

I’m surprised Monolith wins, but they do have the zombified at their disposal.

[@French_officer_of_1e_Regiment]

The strongest faction in the games is the bandit with cheeki breeki on loop Reject Monolith Embrace Cheeki Breeki

[@DatBoyDevin1]

Discovered this game two weeks ago and I am so invested and it's awesome mod selection, also for clear sky to rank so high makes me smile....That being the first faction I join and still currently playing through.

[@underrated7312]

I'm black 🙂

[@matthewjones39]

@@underrated7312 I’m white.

[@getminty2749]

"I'll see you in the zone." Yeah... no I like running water and internet.

[@EulenProduktion99]

These where some awesome pictures of people LARPing the Stalker content.

[@dot.2985]

as a loner stalker, i usually hunt alone, but sometimes i attract unwanted attention towards other fellow stalkers for help

[@kristapsrutkovskis5561]

The renegades were so powerfull he didnt even mention them since they would have easily wpied everyone elde combined out

[@histhoryk2648]

Bandits should receive +200 for Cheeki Breeki

[@primusIIV]

I love this guy's content.

[@IntoTheZone]

Thanks fren.

[@primusIIV]

@@IntoTheZone You're welcome!

[@VenatariHendarian]

And the Monolith have their overlords, the C-Consciousness, so if all the factions were to gang on Monolith, C-Consciousness, although not wanting to be there, would instantly turn the tide of the battle in the Monolith’s favor. I may be incorrect on the C-Consciousness being the lords of the Monolith, but I just watch the video, I don’t play Stalker. (Cause 20 dollars for a 2007 game is kinda stupid, but you do get what you paid for. I am back, and about me slandering stalker for 20 dollars, I have purchased the Stalker Trilogy on Xbox 1 for double the price.)

[@lewylewy2483]

In my opinion, loners are a bit like mercenaries, but they operate more in neutral conditions

[@MarkerMarker27]

You deserve more, this was great.

[@samehedi]

I've seen what a single Sin from lost alpha can do... they may just be a handful, but they scare the shit out of me

[@mr.cauliflower3536]

Remember that freedom (at least claims that) they need to follow orders when on missions when you get the former monolith members.

[@ryandavies1702]

The strongest faction? Me, after I've spent my time in the zone laying waste to any and all that I see 😂