STALKER 2 Coupons: What They Buy and What They Do Not

Where they come from

Selling loot. Artifacts are the big ticket; guns and armour are the volume. Traders pay different rates, so a route that ends near a well-stocked trader is worth more than one that ends anywhere else. Jobs. Side work pays coupons directly and often pays better per hour than looting, because it comes with a destination and a reason to be there. Stashes and containers. Small, steady, and only worth it when they are on your route — see the stash page.

Where they leak

Repairs. The single largest recurring cost. Repair price scales with the value of the item, so expensive kit bleeds coupons faster than cheap kit — the armor repair page covers when it is worth it and when it is not. Ammunition you do not use. Buying four calibers for four guns means four times the supply cost and three guns you never fire. Upgrades on gear you will replace. Upgrades are permanent and follow the item, which makes them a good investment on the thing you keep and a pure loss on anything else. Over-repair. Fixing a suit to full every time you take a scratch. Repair before dangerous trips, not after every fight.

The spending order that works

1. Ammunition for the gun you actually carry.
2. Medical supplies, especially anti-radiation and healing.
3. Repairs on the kit you are keeping.
4. Upgrades on that same kit — see the technician page for why some are blocked.
5. Everything else. Notice what is not on the list: new weapons. In the early and middle game you find better guns than you can afford to buy, and a purchased rifle is a rifle you cannot afford to feed.

The income habit

One artifact run per session funds the rest of the session. Clear two or three known anomaly fields, sell the output, and the ammunition problem disappears — the artifact page covers detection and the money page covers the routes.