The first major choice players will make in STALKER 2 protagonist Skif gets between them entirely by accident: he's looking for Solder, the man who he believes sold him out to the Ward during an earlier excursion, and both the Zalissya Stalkers and the Ward appear to have some idea of where he went.
Skif should already be somewhat familiar with both sides: Richter, representing the Zalissya independents, is a recurring ally and quest giver throughout the game. Zotov, the man in charge of the Ward's presence in Zalissya, seems to know of Skif's previous failed excursion, which was interrupted by Ward troops. Either way, both promise him the same reward, as long as he's willing to complete a task for them: either Richter or Zotov will point Skif towards Solder once he returns a cache of sensors, stolen by Zalissya civilian Squint, to one of the NPCs. Here's how either choice plays out.
What Happens If You Give The Sensors To Richter?
Pros & Cons Of Siding With Zalissya
Once Skif has tracked the thief down to an abandoned farm north of Zalissya, he'll be able to either help or kill Squint in order to get the Sensors back. Head back to Zalissya, and follow the quest markers to hand them over to Richter, who will be grateful for their safe return. He's not so concerned with what's on them, per se - he just doesn't want the Ward to have them, or they'll use them to manufacture false charges against independent Stalkers, thereby justifying their takeover of the Zone. Richter then provides a slightly better monetary reward than Zotov: 2,024 coupons.
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Richter will then go on to explain that Solder works for the International Perimeter Security Force, an organization in charge of controlling the Zone's borders, keeping interlopers out and dangerous artifacts in. If he wants a meeting with Solder, Skif will have to sneak into IPSF's HQ in the Zone, a heavily-guarded building known as The Sphere. Don't worry, though: Richter knows the code for a secret tunnel that'll get Skif in through a back door. However, he'll have to navigate a room full of anomalies - specifically, he'll be skirting around pools of acid.
Still, Skif will find his way into IPSF, and talk to Solder, ultimately learning a little more about his motivations and choosing how to deal with him. After he leaves, he'll get a radio message from Richter asking how things went, and Skif will explain that Solder pointed him in the direction of Nestor, another mystery figure. Apparently well-connected, Richter knows people who can help out there, too, and sends Skif onward to the Detention Center for further help.
Zalissya is a real village in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone. Aspects of the village, like the Palace of Culture at its center, are faithfully recreated here.
Completing that next quest, "Answers Come at a Price," will unofficially induct Skif into the Spark faction, as he's charged with finding its leader, Scar. From there, the main quest will be almost identical either way until "Back to the Slag Heap," when the Ward and Spark butt heads. If Skif chose Richter, then Scar will trust him more during the initial negotiation, but his further choices during this mission can change that.
Finally, Skif will receive a radio message announcing that the Ward has cleared out of Zalissya, and if he enters their former headquarters in the Palace of Culture, he'll find that to be true. The people of Zalissya quietly rejoice as their unsung hero moves on to the next region of STALKER 2's map.
What Happens If You Give The Sensors To Zotov?
Pros & Cons Of Siding With The Ward
If the player decides instead to bring the sensors back to Zotov, they'll be sent on a similar goose chase, but along a different path. They'll still need to get in touch with Solder at The Sphere, but instead of taking the back route, Zotov will put them in touch with an IPSF agent, who will simply open the gate for them. (Their colleagues, though, might not be so friendly.)
The mission with Solder will proceed in much the same manner, but instead, Skif will receive a radio message from Zotov afterwards. Zotov will tell him to head to the Pontoon Bridge Checkpoint instead of the Detention Center, but doing so will take him to the same place: either way, Skif will end up in the Garbage region, and will move on with the main quest.
The Ward will move out of Zalissya (albeit under different circumstances), and the story will continue to hurtle forwards. "Answers Come at a Price will take a different form, with Skif meeting Colonel Korshunov, leader of the Ward, instead. Later, during "Back to the Slag Heap," Skif will have the benefit of Korshunov's trust during the initial negotiations.
You Should Give The Sensors To Richter
An Independent Zalissya
For basically every conceivable reason, it's best to give the sensors to Richter instead of Zotov. For one thing, Richter and the independent Stalkers of Zalissya are clearly the good guys in this situation. They take a definitive stand against the violence and authoritarianism of the Ward, and they're the only ones who indicate they care whether Squint lives or dies. Richter has been consistently kind to Skif throughout the game, taking a sort of paternal view of him as a less experienced Stalker, while Zotov gives the sense that he'd happily sell Skif out as soon as he stood to benefit.
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Besides that, Richter's monetary reward is better, and his solution to getting into The Sphere is significantly easier than Zotov's. Even taking the side entrance, the yard out in front of the Sphere is absolutely crawling with hostile IPSF forces, many of whom look down on the scene from high vantage points. Stealth will get Skif pretty far here, but slip up once, and it'll likely mean instant death as scores of heavily armed and armored soldiers come crashing down. There are no special rewards for taking one route over the other, so players might as well go the easy way.
Richter's approach still requires some stealth once Skif gets inside, but it's much easier to sidestep a few pools of acid, then rely on the twisted corridors of The Sphere to play hide and seek with the IPSF. That said, this decision doesn't seem to have much impact on the related mission, or the one immediately after it. The consequences during "Back to the Slag Heap" cancel each other out. The player is basically deciding which faction they'd rather work with here.
Ultimately, the right choice is whatever makes the most sense to the player. Like Richter, and want to make life easier for Skif? Give him the sensors. Think Zotov has a point, and love a challenge? Send them his way instead. It all depends on the way they prefer to play STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl
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- Top Critic Avg: 75/100 Critics Rec: 63%
- Released
- November 20, 2024
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Intense Violence, Blood, Use Of Drugs And Alcohol, Language, Crude Humor
- Developer(s)
- GSC Game World
- Publisher(s)
- GSC Game World
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Franchise
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is a survival horror FPS game that picks up in the world where the first game's expansion, Call of Pripyat, left off. Players will head deep into the heart of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone as they meet new allies, foes, and terrifying mutated creatures carving out their tale in a world ravaged by nuclear disaster years prior.
- Platform(s)
- PC, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
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