That early theater run is absolutely worth it, considering what youre getting. Getting through the door needs some grenade finesse, but once you figure out the throw angle its pretty straightforward. The guns basically endgame gear that you can snag super early, and its actually wild how much it changes things. Interesting thing, you can one-shot most things you'll encounter which is huge for survival, just keep in mind ammo's gonna be real scarce at first. The theater itself is in northern pripyat, and while the radiation's nasty up there, the payoff is worth dealing with it.

Getting those special cartridges is tricky early on but bison will hook you up later. The reload animation takes forever though, so maybe good to know you should really make those shots count. Definitely easier to grab it and bail than try fighting everything, and once you're out you've basically got the best sniper in the game right from the start. Some folks sell it for quick cash but honestly, that's probably not the smartest move considering how strong it is against those late-game mutants and armored enemies