Best guns and armor in Gamma? Been getting messed up.

Hey, I’ve been recently thinking about what guns I should be using as I’ve been getting owned by stalkers with basic starter weapons.

My go-to build is usually a sniper and a shotgun, or an assault rifle and a shotgun. My main questions is which snipers, assault rifles, and pistols are the best for early-mid-late game. I’m not really into smgs or machine pistols.

Anything I should be looking out for? I’m kind of new to stalker gamma so any tips are appreciated.