There's one Helen in the Zone. But this time it's not so simple…

Helen is the name given to the reactor's upper biological shield — scheme "H". Before the incident, it was a massive metal structure about 17 meters in diameter, through which fuel and control cables passed. A kind of head of the reactor, except weighing close to two thousand tons.

During the explosion, it was torn from its regular position, thrown upward, and left standing almost on its edge inside the reactor shaft. And dozens of bent pipes now hang from it; they came to be called "Helen's hair." In reality, these are the remains of the technological channels. They say some of the fuel may have stayed behind among them.

After the incident, people could only approach it remotely: drilling holes, sending in photo-probes, installing sensors. Too dangerous of a place for a stroll.

And Helen herself stands as if she still hasn't decided: whether to fall, or wait a little longer.

The Cuirass should have a sprint mod and better stats (similar to Liberty). It's unfair to Duty players. Freedom has some of the best armor in the game, while Duty's best armor is shit that probably no one uses. This is important to me because I want to start the DLC on the Duty side, but I'll have to do it in the Monolith "Diamond" because Duty doesn't have any good armor. XD The PSZ-9D only has 4 artifact slots, the Shield of Duty exoskeleton is unfindable in the game (who cares since there's no sprint mod anyway), and the cuirass had to become shit because someone had the stupid idea of ​​putting Duty's best armor in an early location in the game....

Duty has no connection with the graffiti found near the Bar.

We do not leave threats on the walls.

We do not hide behind paint.

We do not confuse duty with night-time oopsie-daisy on concrete.

D4 remains in force, and Duty adheres to its terms.

We make no claim to the Bar and this message has nothing to do with us.

If anyone wants to spout slogans - go ahead.

Just remember: loud words don’t hold the Perimeter.

It is held by those who don’t run away when the Zone bares its teeth. Don’t drag us into this, because next time the conversation will be very different.

— Duty.

I bought S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 on day one, and it took me this long to finish it. I played it, took breaks, came back to it, and then got completely hooked again. After 234 hours, I finally reached the end.

I collected every artifact, explored every area as thoroughly as I could, and tried to obtain every weapon and suit in the game.

It was an intense experience, although after a year and a half of stopping and starting, I found it hard to keep track of the story as a whole

I chose to side with Strelok and defend the Zone, but the final act was a real pain in the ass. Fighting Korshunov first and then Scar were two missions I genuinely hated, although thankfully I came well prepared with my gear.

I'm not sure I'll ever replay it—at least not anytime soon. It was a long journey, a true survival experience, and despite the bugs, it was both fun and challenging. By the end, though, I just wanted the game to be over. Mentally, it had started to wear me down.

Compared to SoC, CS, and CoP, I enjoyed the open world much more. That said, there were moments when it felt a bit empty, and some of the main story missions felt tedious or unnecessary.

I'm not even sure why I'm writing this. Maybe because I'm going to miss playing it. But after a first playthrough that lasted from November 2024 until today, I really need a break.

Did anyone else feel the same way?

EDIT: People are missing the point in the comments. I'm talking about real situations like a firefight where enemies are at a distance, behind cover and you're getting shot at, not to mention potential weather conditions or time of day making visibility even worse. I don't think most players can tell which specific armor a NPC is using at a glance, at best they can tell apart from armor categories like an Exo or the ones with "capes" or hoods. When enemies are dead on the ground of course it's easy to distinguish such details, it just won't save you from friendly firing a Corpsman and turning the whole Yanov station against you or making Gaffer hate you for killing a loner while defending Zalissya.

This never felt like a problem in the older games. We got visual fidelity at the cost of readability. UE being super weird and almost an impressionistic painting at range doesn't help, especially for lower end PCs like mine that have to run the game on low and get extra blurry. Granted, the OG games had much simpler environments, so less visual noise and the models were simpler, making distinction easier. Even Military and Freedom being both "green" they were distinct enough for me not to mix them up. Freedom and ISPF now look much more alike. I don't expect nor want S2 to be "more like Gamma", but that modpack shows you can have more visual fidelity and keep factions visually distinct. The identification it provides when aiming at a NPC also works as an accessibility feature for people like me that don't have perfect vision nor run the game at 8k in a monitor as big as a window at a million fps.

Left is a Corps soldier, right is a Monolithian. That firefight outside Yanov station when the Monolith attack it is a nightmare for knowing who the fuck I can shoot. Out in the woods good luck telling an IPSF soldier from a Freedomer. Even Loners and Bandits are too alike. Makes me wish I could see NPC names and factions like in the older games, because often I have to wait for them to shoot me so I don't kill friendlies by accident.

Created by https://gamebanana.com/mods/505310

Mutant parts are one of the best ways of making money in S2, but how much more profit do you get by turning them in instead of just selling them? That's what the spreadsheet shows. The values are at Stalker difficulty: the rewards don't change, but the selling value does.

Some quick facts: the lowest extra money you make by doing the quests instead of selling the parts are for Flesh/Rodents at $4,775; the highest is for Hornheads at $87,520. If you like percentages, the lowest profit [(reward/sell value) - 1] you can get is for Snorks (273% more than sell value) and the highest is for Bloodsuckers/Controllers (371%).

Why Viktoria (Malachite) and not Honta? He always gives less money for the same number of mutant parts. The lowest difference is for Rodents/Flesh at -2,100 and the highest is for Hornheads at -44,000. In percentages, it varies from -32% (Rodents/Flesh) to -47% (Bloodsuckers/Controllers).

While STC Malachite becomes occupied by Ward at a point and you might have to fight to get inside, you can always fast travel to/from there and still make a lot of money. Honta is in the middle of nowhere.

So you should always turn the mutants to Viktoria at STC Malachite. You might get an abundance of parts or need faster money, so the part you should not sell because you'll lose the most are: Bloodsucker, Burer, Chimera, Controller and Hornhead.

This guy... died from a grenade, but it blew him up in the air and he's hovering about 4 foot off the ground. I have no way of getting him down to get his collar for the collar mission. are there tricks to get him down or me up to loot his collar? He looks so smug, like he knows he beat me.

I guess a tiger stripe camo? XD

Mono Akbar, Monou akbar

rock movie 1996 Not gonna lie I was luving the camo clad in an Urban-variant of the M81 reminds me either of Hecu for half life or Monolith 🤤, thinking about monolith patterns used by various police and tactical teams backthen not sure :/. Maybe to OMOH blue and white :/

Here you will find every event classified in the base game as an "Encounter Quest", which may appear on the map as a blue flag or... it may not. A small description is provided with different endings, unique rewards, and special dialogues.

Encounters with a (PM) at the end occur Post-Monolith attack, which is to say, after the SIRCAA events. The amount of quests that fail or disappear after this point is innumerable, so as a rule of thumb you should do anything not marked as (PM) before you finish the Extreme Simplicity main quest. Other encounters need certain conditions, like siding with the Ward or Noon at certain points of the story, and they will be marked accordingly.

With newer updates, things may break. Notes disappear, bodies never spawn and some events fail to trigger. Keep that in mind if some activity doesn't appear for you. Sometimes reloading a save or restarting the game might do the trick. I sometimes only managed to trigger an encounter by fast traveling to another base and back.

ANCQ are quests that have no player interaction. Skif approaches and something or someone spawns, interacts with something else and the event ends.

ANCQ02- A bandit surrounded by tripwires will ambush you in a warehouse east of Northern Checkpoint in Lesser Zone.

03- An IPSF soldier coerces a loner west of the Northern Checkpoint in Lesser Zone. The soldiers will attack you if you loiter. The loner will thank you if you kill them.

E_EQ are encounter quests that only appear during or after certain main quests. The timing is narrow and you'll only be able to do them during that particular main quest, except the collared mutant encounters.

E05EQ01- There is a Warden checkpoint northwest of Icarus in Zaton. They will get attacked by blind dogs right after talking to you.

02- Wardens ask for help with some fleshes at the southern entrance of Icarus in Zaton. Will give you some money. (Only after getting the Scanner from the Swamps and only if the Emitter under the base was destroyed. Need Korshunov's Badge)

03- A loner southwest of the Fishing Pier in Zaton will ask you information about the Swamps and will give you money or an artifact in return. (After the Swamps)

04- Bandits will attack you at the bridge south of the Hydrodinamics Lab in Zaton (After the Swamps)

E07EQ01- A crazed loner will engage Monolithians and attack you at the Eastern Checkpoint in Lesser Zone (PM)

02- A loner captured by Monolithians will be begging for his life at the Outer Checkpoint in Cordon (PM)

E08EQ01- Duty soldiers need help with a collared bayun at the Boat House in Wild Island. Do it without casualties and they will give you some credits.

E08EQ03- You can buy the collar from the collared bloodsucker from some mercenaries at the Brain Scorcher in Malachite (PM)

E09EQ01- Two Wardens discuss what to do with an injured Warden-turned-Monolithian next to the Comms Center in Duga. He's brainwashed and will attack you if you help him. Even so, his friend will give you some coupons. (Right after the Duga assault, Side with Ward at SIRCAA)

02- A Sparker will offer you a bag of loot out of two next to the Comms Center in Duga. The right one has a bunch of broken weapons and ammo, the left one has some food and meds. (Right after the Duga assault, Side with Noon at SIRCAA)

EQ are basic encounter quests, which often appear on the map as blue flag "side activities". This is the bread and butter of Stalker's side content, and you can see for yourself how packed Lesser Zone, Garbage, Zaton and the Chemical Plant are compared to everywhere else. Amusingly, there is literally only ONE encounter quest anywhere north of Rostok. You can also see how many quests were cut considering all the jumps in the numerical order.

EQ04- Bandits try to shake you down on the eastern side of the Plant in Garbage. You can pay them off or kill them.

05- A loner sets a trap at the western part of the Choppers Field in Yantar. He will appear if you kill the fleshes and attack you if you loot the corpse.

08- There is a bread queue in Rostok. You can get a unique food item.

10- There is a dying loner at Lisovyi in Yaniv. He'll give you a tip to his stash and ask you to kill his partner. The stash is trapped and his partner will attack you if he sees you.

101- Bandits are looting corpses west of the Repair Quay in Zaton. They'll eventually get attacked by zombies and you may help them.

109- Bandit ambush at the Swinery in Burnt Forest. They will appear once you enter the main building.

11- There is a wounded mercenary near the Scientist Helicopter in Rostok. Kill the bloodsucker and save him to get some money. You may loot a PDA from a nearby Freedom member and inquire about it to get extra credits from him. You can also get some extra dialogue from Sidorovich.

111- You'll be contacted by a dying Freedom member at Krug Antenna Complex in Burnt Forest. In the basement, you'll find his corpse with a tip to his stash.

13- A Freedom member and a loner are arguing northeast of the Restock Depot in Rostok. They will eventually shoot each other. If the loner survives, you may speak to him and he will give you some coupons if the bandits from the The Key To Freedom side quest are dead.

139- A scientist and some Wardens are researching an arch-anomaly at Weather Station in Zaton. They will only appear during daytime and die if you meet them again at night. The scientist will recognize you if you have done the All That Is Left side quest.

14- Some bandits will try to sell you a broken car at Buryakivka in Rostok. You can interact with the car's wheel, roof, side door and hood. You can pay for it (it's a scam, you're getting scammed) or tell them to piss off and be attacked.

140- A loner asks for a detector west of the Distribution Substation in Burnt Forest. He will give you some money and information about nearby points of interest. His corpse can be found west of Perun's Hill if you didn't sell him anything.

141- There is a dying loner in a helicopter north of the Perimeter Dam in Burnt Forest. In fact, the voice comes from a bayun. You can get a stash tip from his corpse.

145- Sparker scout west of the Infirmary in Duga. He'll attack you, tell you to leave or give you information on IPSF patrols depending on your relationship with Spark.

146- Monolith gathering at the Infirmary in Duga. They'll attack you when they see you. (PM)

148- Crazed IPSF soldier at the School in Duga. He'll attack you after dealing with the zombies and talking to you. (PM)

152- Warden at the Pontoon Bridge in Lesser Zone. Give him some vodka and he'll tell you about the dead loners. (PM)

154- There is a loner at the bridge near the Transformer on the Island in Chemical Plant. Kill the Monolithians and talk with him in the guard post. (PM)

156- Sparker hunting a bloodsucker at the Mire in Chemical Plant. Part of the Black Sheep side quest. If he dies, you'll have to take a crate off his body to continue the quest.

16- There is a loner north of the Bulba arch-anomaly in Lesser Zone. Agree with him and he'll give you some food.

161- Spark ambush at Ahroprom in Chemical Plant. Part of the main quest. (Need Korshunov's Badge, PM)

162- Monolith ambush at Ahroprom in Chemical Plant. Part of the main quest. (PM)

163- A Warden defends a grave from some fleshes west of the Slag Heap in Garbage (The loner needs to return to his friends in Budmo!, PM)

164- A loner asks for help at Bloodsucker Village in Chemical Plant. Kill the pseudogiant to get a tip to his stash.

165- A scientist needs help at the Vehicle Station in Malachite. Part of the Black Sheep side quest. You can resolve things peacefully if you have Korshunov's Badge, but will need to kill the Wardens or give them the data otherwise.

166- A loner fights some zombies north of the Fire Whirl arch-anomaly in Cooling Towers. You'll earn some money if you help him.

198- After leaving the Lesser Zone, you'll receive a PDA message telling you traders want to buy mutant parts.

26- Dying Sparker at the Drainage in Yantar. Part of the Black Sheep side quest. They will be zombified by the time you get there. You'll need to grab the data off the device nearby.

32- A couple of bandits are in a container east of the Pol Depot in Lesser Zone. They will attack you if they see you. You can interact with the radio inside.

35- There is a scammer loner at the Flea Market in Garbage. You can pay him in return for some comical misinformation. He can be called out and be given a tip to his stash. He will reappear at the Swamp Tram in Zaton. He will attack you after talking to you.

36- A loner will be fighting some fleshes at the Cemetery in Burnt Forest. Help him and you'll get some coupons.

37- There's a Duty member at the Cage in Cement Factory. Talk to him and he'll tell you about the mass grave there.

38- Some loners will chat about the Poppy Field's energy drink stash at Zalyssia in Lesser Zone You need to interact first with it on a truck south of the field. Dialogue changes depending on whether you everything in the stash, take all of the drinks, take some of the drinks or leave food and booze inside instead. In the latter cases, a new note will then spawn in the stash.

43- A Freedom member needs help southeast of Rostok. Give him vodka or antirads and he'll give you a Scientist Medkit after a couple of days at the underground bar.

50- Duty soldiers ask for help in Cement Factory. They will raid the Reloading Point nearby and you'll earn some money. The raid won't happen if you've already killed the bandits, but you'll get paid regardless.

51- A Duty soldier needs saving at Kopachi in Cement Factory. Kill all of the snorks and he'll reward you with some money. You can tell him about his dead partner if you found him in the Eastern Tunnel.

52- A loner asks you to retrieve a body from the Deaf Meadow in Lesser Zone. You can drink to his friend if you have vodka. Rewards differ on whether you loot the body or not.

54- A Freedom member, a Duty soldier and a bandit gather in a campfire northeast of Rookie Village in Cordon. Listen to their stories and you'll get a tip to a stash.

55- A loner asks for help with telling a joke at Rookie Village in Cordon. Don't leave him hanging and he'll give you some money.

57- There is a drunk Duty soldier west of the Plant in Garbage. Part of the main quest. Help him kill some fleshes, then avoid him for a minute and he'll give you information about the Commissary and some coupons.

58- There is a unique zombie underground at Rozsokha Station in Yantar. He protects some loot.

60- There is a dying loner accosted by bandits at Hlynka in Garbage. You can kill the bandits directly or go inside the building and look for his stash. The bandits will attack you anyway. Save the loner and you'll get a tip to his stash if you haven't found it yet.

62- Two bandit gangs are making a deal northeast of the Maze in Garbage. They will eventually shoot each other if you don't approach. If you do, you can leave or help one side. Neither gang is friendly and will attack you afterwards regardless. The only reward is the stash nearby you can loot.

65- There is a dying loner at the Mill in Cordon. Save him for a tip to his stash or leave him to die for a unique weapon.

66- There is a loner in a small tunnel northeast of the Levitating Silo in Lesser Zone. He will attack you if you approach. There is a stash inside.

67- There is a dying Freedom member at a campfire northwest of Volkhov SAM in Rostok. Heal him and you'll get some coupons. (PM)

68- Two Wardens want you to kill some fleshes south east of the Central Elevator in Chemical Plant. Help them for some money.

70- A loner is being attacked by fleshes southeast of the Poppy Field in Lesser Zone. You may help him, but he'll attack you if you're too judgmental.

71- A loner is being attacked by a bloodsucker at Dire Thicket in Lesser Zone. Save him for some money.

73- A radio call will happen inside a house full of corpses northeast of the Hydroelectric Station in Garbage. The call won't trigger if you already accepted the No Honor Among Thieves side quest from the Garbage trader.

74- A scientist is being attacked by a poltergeist at the Maze in Garbage. Save him and you'll earn some money. (Only after the Garbage main quests)

75- A loner needs help retrieving a gun from a radioactive pond at the Slag Heap in Garbage. You may help him or keep the gun.

76- A loner sees you up on the crane at the top of the Slag Heap in Garbage. He has unique dialogue.

77- A Freedom member is trying to get to his stash northwest of the Canning Factory in Zaton. Get to it yourself and he'll ask you to divide its contents 50/50. He'll attack if you refuse. There's some meds and food inside.

82- A loner is being attacked by fleshes west of Bloodsucker Village in Chemical Plant. Help him and give him some ammo in return for a bunch of coupons. He'll get attacked again by fleshes right after you leave. His body has a unique food item.

93- Two loners discuss about factions south of the Maintenance Yard in Chemical Plant. They'll give you information about Duty, Freedom and the Ward.

97- A loner needs help killing a "Chimera" southwest of the Flea Market in Garbage. Help him kill the fleshes and he will send you to the Flea Market, where his teacher is.

98- A loner asks to be rescued from an anomaly field at the Electric Field in Garbage. Help him out and he'll give you either money or an artifact. He will send you to the Flea Market, where his teacher is.

118- There is an interactable radio at Bridge to Lymansk in Red Forest

E_SQ are side quests that only appear during the progression of main quests. Most of them are exclusive to certain paths and not always actually optional. They all appear automatically and are shown on the map.

E02SQ01- Dangerous Visitors in Lesser Zone. Help a loner stave off some bandits at the Post Office, then rescue his friend at the Boiler House. He'll reward you with an Echo detector, or a tip to his stash if you decline it.

02- Stalker Wisdom in Lesser Zone. A loner right outside the bar will teach you about traders and technicians.

E03SQ01- The Road to Salvation in Garbage. Not optional. (Give the Ward's Sensors to Richter)

E04SQ01- A Heavy Burden in Wild Island. Not optional. (Do not show the Unusual PDA to the Ward)

02- A Sign of Hope in Wild Island. A scientist sends you to turn off an antenna and deal with a zombified Noontider. He gives you a Bear detector. You get extra money from the technician if you don't kill the zombie.

E05SQ01- Shock Therapy in Zaton. The medic in Icarus will task you with finding and injuring three zombified Wardens. A chest next to him has a note with their patrol routes. You can also pay Beard in the Shevchenko for the information. They're in the Canning Factory. Shoot them in the legs until they're down but not dead. Your reward is reduced depending on how many you've killed. (Show the PDA to the Ward)

03- The Side Hustle in Zaton. The technician in Icarus sends you to the Railway Maintenance Facility to get a crate with spare parts. The door to the hangar will short circuit and you'll have to flip the breakers to open it. Inside there's a burer. You can also get the crate by shooting the explosive container behind it, through the window. He will later sell you a SSP-99 Ecologist suit for 40k right before you head for the Swamps. (Show the PDA to the Ward)

04- In the Shadow of Icarus in Zaton. The leader of Icarus has doubts about the trader's underdealings. Talk to him and accept his deal with the bandits. Afterwards, you can snitch on him or return his stuff. Snitching on him earns you some money, but you lose access to the trader forever. Keeping things under wraps makes you even more money and you don't lose access to him. (After dealing with Shterev, show the PDA to the Ward)

E07SQ01- On the Edge in Lesser Zone. Defend Zalyssia from Monolithians upon reaching it. You'll be asked to help with several optional tasks. These include getting some tools from one of three nearby stashes (the correct one is near the Bouba arch-anomaly), salvaging the bartender's rifle protected by a pseudodog, killing three Monolithian scouts and dealing with the trader. The trader can be killed or you can pay off his guard for both of them to join you. Each completed task earns you extra money. After you kill the guide and speak to the leader, Monolithians will attack a second time right after you leave. Defend them again and you'll have saved the village. If at any point you leave the Lesser Zone or ignore their calls for help, Zalyssia will fall and you'll lose access to their tech, trader, bartender and medic forever. (PM)

E08SQ01- In the Name of Science in Chemical Plant. After collecting all of the collars, you'll be sent to the Storage on the Hill. You can either destroy or recalibrate the jammer. Recalibrating the jammer will earn you some money and end the mission right there. Destroying it will give you a similar reward and return you to the scientist's lab where you'll have to kill three bloodsuckers. You may let the scientist live or kill him. In any case, you will earn a Gauss Gun. (PM)

E010SQ01- Gray's Last Hunt in Red Forest. The loners at the Pile Driver will send you to kill a hornhead west of your position. You'll get money for this. (PM)

E011SQ01- Taking Back What's Mine in Chemical Plant. Give the Sparker the key to the cells and go get your stuff back. (Escape from the Ward, PM)

02- Busting Myths in Cordon. After exploring X3, talk with Sidorovich for some coupons. (PM)

E_MQ_C are side objectives that appear as blue signs on the map because they are conditionally optional, even though they are part of the main quest. These are objectives you can fail, and still be able to complete the main quest through some other way.

E02MQ02C01- Invisible Nets in Lesser Zone. There is an interactable radio next to the first antenna. (Ask Richter about the sensors)

02- Piece of Cake in Lesser Zone. If you keep the artifact, the loner will attack you. (Agree to help Squint)

E02MQ03C01- A Race Against Death. (Hide where the game tells you)

RQ are repeatable quests you can get from traders. These always follow the same pattern: finding an artifact, mutant extermination, package delivery and NPC liquidation, with a one-time special quest per trader.

RQ01- Warlock in Lesser Zone (Special quest: Find the missing stalker, three unique PDAs, you may repeat this quest three times)

02- Boozer in Garbage (Kill the lucky kingpin, one PDA)

03- Owl in Zaton (Find out what happened to Owl's informer, four PDAs)

04- Sidorovich in Cordon (Find a VS Vintar)

05- Hera in Cement Factory (Intercept the valuable shipment, PM, Currently bugged and doesn't appear)

06- Barkeep in Rostok (Kill the Duty officer, PM)

07- Needle in Malachite (Reboot the equipment)

08- Harpy in Yaniv (Kill the trespassers, PM)

SQ are Side Quests, AKA The Content. These appear on the map as blue flags and you shouldn't have trouble finding them. No one knows how many of these were cut from release, but the numbers go up to 93. Special shoutout to the Duga quest that disappears after SIRCAA and nobody ever does on their first playthrough.

SQ01- Warlock's Debtor in Lesser Zone. Help a loner being accosted by some bandits. They will always attack you. You'll get some money and a unique weapon as a reward.

02- The Poppy Field in Lesser Zone. Help a loner getting an icon back for him for some money. You may give it instead to a loner in the Poppy Field in return for a unique weapon. You may also do the trade, kill him and then bring the icon back to the original quest giver.

03- The Lost Boys in Lesser Zone. The tech asks you to find a group of loners. You will next need to rescue a loner from the clutches of a Noontider. You may side with the bandits and get some money, or with the Noontider and get a blueprint. The rescued loner will appear at the technician's a couple of days later.

04- Dogfight in Lesser Zone. Kill some blind dogs and get a collar and some money. You can sell the collar to the trader. (Deluxe and Ultimate edition exclusive)

041- Nightingale's Hunt in Lesser Zone. Kill some blind dogs and later on a bloodsucker. You can sell the collars to the trader. (Deluxe and Ultimate edition exclusive)

13- All that is left in Chemical Plant. A Warden asks you to get an artifact from the Chemical Tanks. You can give him the artifact or tell him the truth if you found his buddy's PDA for a bigger reward. Before that, you can give the artifact to the scientist or, if you found the PDA, tell him the truth and throw the corpse into an anomaly for some extra money. This way you can keep the artifact and get both coupon rewards.

92- For Science! in Chemical Plant. A Sparker will ask of you to set up a device. It will lure in some bloodsuckers you'll have to kill. If you spare him, the Sparker will give you some money and a Malachite Pass.

05- No Honor Among Thieves in Garbage. The trader will ask you to get a crate from a bandit base. You can eliminate the bandits or sneak inside the leader's room. Accept his deal to get a tip to a stash with a unique weapon.

25- Budmo! in Garbage. Some drunk loners will ask you to place vodka inside three stashes. You can also put antirad in them. The mission fails if you loot the stashes. Once you get to the third one, you can give the loner vodka or antirads. You'll get paid either way, but if the loner returns to his friends instead of leaving, he'll reappear later in a unique encounter. To do this, either give him vodka or say it was his friends' idea to give him antirads.

47- A Big Score in Garbage. A bandit's deal turns into an ambush. You can part with some money or kill them all. If you do, you can help a captured loner get his revenge or help the bandit escape the Slag Heap. You can kill him right after getting the coupons and also get paid by the loner.

06- A Light in the End of the Tunnel in Wild Island. The Noontider trader needs help getting an Emitter. You can find the loner who gives you the code to the door by paying some coupons to the trader or talking with the medic. The Emitter may be recovered damaged or undamaged, which will affect the reward. To get it undamaged, kill the poltergeist wandering around it.

10- Shift Change in Wild Island. Part of the main quest. Kill a controller inside the WPS for a stash tip. Kill the mercenaries afterwards. If the Noontiders are still alive, show them the stash's note for some money.

89- Unhealthy Competition in Cordon. The trader wants you to deal with some loners. You can kill them all for a large payout, side with them until the end for a similar reward or side with them and then betray them after the mercenaries show up for a reduced amount of money.

18- Bullseye in Zaton. You will be sent to rescue some loners kidnapped by bandits. The reward depends on how many loners you save. You can play the game and save all of them and then kill the bandits for an extra reward.

50- The Mysterious Case in Zaton. The leader needs you to take a crate from the Lviv. You'll be jumped by bandits and you can give it to them or kill them. If you give it away, you'll learn the crate is empty, get attacked regardless and you may inquire about it later.

81- Three Captains in Zaton. You'll be sent to kill the Zaton bosses. You may do so or instead kill the mercenaries sent to assist you. The leadership of the Sultansk will change depending on who you side with, but you'll get paid regardless.

87- The Key to Freedom in Zaton. Upon reaching the Fish Farm, you'll encounter two bandit gangs shooting each other. Once they're all dead, get the key and rescue the loners for some coupons.

94- A School of Life in Zaton. Choose to first kill blind dogs or fleshes (the dogs spawn a corpse with a unique PDA), then snorks. Talk with the loner and be supportive to unlock an ending. After killing the burer, you can snitch on the loner or cover for him. If you snitch on him, you'll kill a chimera with the help of some loners. If you cover for him, you'll kill the chimera with him. If he survives, you'll get some money. In both cases, return to the Hunter's Hut some days later to get a unique weapon and some coupons.

20- The Freedom Colosseum in Rostok. Advance through five rounds of battles. If your partner survives the first round, you'll see him again in the third. Shoot him in the legs and save him to spare his life. If you do, he'll give you an RPG for the fourth round. The champion is always armed with his assault rife, regardless of what you pick. The reward is money and a unique weapon.

90- Just Business in Rostok. You'll be tasked with eliminating a bandit base. You can sneak through the tunnels and inside the containers to let the collared pseudogiant loose and let it kill everyone inside. The reward is money and a Sphere M20 Helmet. Loot the bandit boss' PDA and show it to the Cement Factory's bartender to get extra coupons.

86- Uninvited Guests in Cement Factory. Get inside a sewer in the Concrete Forest to recover a unique gun. Find a corpse nearby with a PDA on it. You can inquire about the PDA and keep the gun or return it anyway for some coupons.

88- The Sound of Music in Duga. A loner will send you to investigate the School. Talk with the bandit there and either kill him or accept his deal. If you kill him, take his PDA. At the Fire Depot, you can either frame the loner or defend him. If you defend him without the PDA, the IPSF soldiers will attack you. You get paid regardless.

93- Black Sheep in Malachite. The trader will send you to check up on two Sparkers. Return for your rewards and another task will pop up. Return with the data still in the scientist's hands for your reward.

91- A Matter of Honor in Cooling Towers. Defend a Duty squad at the Material Assets Storage from a wave of Monolithians. Save every soldier for an extra reward. (PM)

95- Dark as a Dungeon in Red Forest. Rescue a technician from some bandits. You can kill some of them by electrocuting them or just shoot them all.

96- Banzai's Tools in Burnt Forest. You'll get this quest thrice to get increasingly better tools for the Kazkovyi Camp's technician at a barge north of the Roofed Warehouse, the Vehicle Graveyard and the City Boiler House.

97- Once Upon a Time at Kazkovyi in Burnt Forest. Explore the camp building and stage. You can use the key you find in the stage to open a vent in the main building's roof.

98- NK-5 Group in Burnt Forest. Find the trader and medic. You can rescue the trader without blood by paying 15k coupons, saying Skull sent you and claiming he works with Pickaxe. You'll get a tip for his stash. Rescue the medic by giving him any kind of loner's suit and kill the mercenaries. You'll get another tip for his stash.

100- Radio Silence in Burnt Forest. Head to Volkhov SAM to get an amplifier. You'll get ambushed and may choose to give your partners up for free, for money or fight your way out.

101- The Rat Catcher in Burnt Forest. Ascertain the loyalty of everyone involved. Trusting the technician or not doesn't change the outcome.

102- White Noise in Burnt Forest. Choose where to fortify and kill everyone. You get a unique weapon from the mercenary boss and some money.

103- Unfinished Business in Garbage. The technician will send you to the lab below the Factory. You may kill the scientist or let him have the Emitter. You can also inquire about the PDA his zombified assistant had on him. If you keep the Emitter, he'll attack you. Loot his body for a map with two locations. The first location has the code for a safe in the second. You may place the Emitter in the safe for coupons and a weapon, or return it to the technician for some money.

It's just better now!

Scary as fuck too.

That's all.

"Greetings Stalkers, from your favorite foreign photographer! Last time we spoke, I was actually around the Rostok area and I am still here. It has been very stormy these past couple days, apparently we're lucky to even get a decent connecting to upload these images to the internet, at least if the bartender is to be believed. I was tasked with something interesting earlier, investigating an odd rumor. Apparently there had been some sort of ghost roaming in the Western side of Rostok, and it had been killing people. At first I thought maybe it was a bloodsucker, but nope. I actually got a picture of it in this bundle! Found a way up where it's at, and it was this big ball of fire that growled at me. It threw an old cardboard box at me as I was using my revolver on it, managed to get it down. Weird thing was, while I didnt get a good look at its face and didnt have the strength to roll it over, I did notice it had no legs. Asked some Freedom guys I passed by, they called it a Poltergeist. Also found this weird ball by a downed helicopter. I know it's some sort of artifact but not exactly sure what it does, if anyone knows, please let me know! Im kinda short on coupons and gotta fix my ak. Last thing, and this actually happened on my way back to the bar, but there was this guy messing with a strange device. Got a pic of it as it let off this weird energy field. Guy got killed by a bloodsucker immediately after he turned the device on. Nobody really knows anything about it, even after I mention the artifact I found in it. Maybe it's something Freedom setup? But the guy was a loner, I could tell. So weird. Maybe some of you guys can help me figure out this puzzle. Anyways, hope these pics shed light on some more oddities of the Zone!"

every time i come back to get me gear fixed, he gets further and further from the couch should i be worried.

Decided to do a enhanced edition run to see how it is, with iron man for the sport. Here i am going through the rail tunnel and see a dead body inside.

"Hey i dont remember there being a body in it ever"

Turns out its a Vampire. The dude that should be in Dark Valley selling gauss rifles. He even had his silenced viper 5. Barkeep gives a contract to kill him.

How in the world he is dead in the tunnel in Cordon?? This game... Always something new, even after thousands of hours :D

What are you waiting for the most?

Personally, I'd much rather have a working game with better performance, adding up promised missing functionality. That on it's own would be enough to make every playthrough unique.

All the focus seems to be on DLC and not just from GSC marketing though...

Your thoughts?

I finally got through to playing the Ward storyline and I take back everything I previously said about Faust having the biggest bag of bollocks boss fight in the entire franchise.

In true STALKER tradition, this was utterly infuriating, pointless, added nothing intrinsic to the storyline and served only to annoy and demotivate.

I can't wait to see what rampant nonsense awaits me now.