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As expected,Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobylhas many branching paths and decision-making that can drastically change your route through the game’s main story. These allow you to side with specific factions and fight against others, making your playthrough feel unique and responsive to your choices.
And these choices come fast and loose right from the jump, allowing you to get started down the route you want to, so be prepared to make tough choices early on, as you will want to make the most out of each encounter if you want a specific outcome or want to join a particular faction.
How To Start Needle In A Haystack In Stalker 2: Heart Of Chornobyl
Needle in a Haystackis a main mission in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, which has youfind Squint to retrieve the Trackers he stole from the Ward.This missionwill be substantially easierif you complete theInvisible Netsside mission, as that willgive you the exact locationof where Squint is hiding after activating an ARMS Antenna.
If you didn’t tackle this side quest, you will have tofind his location through other means,but it shouldn’t be too complex overall. Once youpinpoint Squint’s location,you will discover he’sholed up inside a Windmilljust east of Zalissya. So make your way there when you’re ready.
Finding Squint
WithSquint’s location discovered,follow theorange waypointuntil you see awindmill in the distance,then make your way to it. Once outside of the windmill,walk around it until you see the staircasethat leads inside, and follow them into thebooby-trapped interior.
Crouch and begin slowly creeping your way up the winding staircaseinside the windmill,looking for tripwires and shotguns to disarm.There will also be cans on some of the stairs that are nearly impossible to avoid without making noise, so deal with them however you see fit. Oncearriving at the top, Squint will greet you with a shotgunpointed at your face.
Talk To Squint
Encountering Squintwon’t give you the best first impression, but you canhandle this situation in several ways.If you’rejust after the Ward’s Sensors,you caninstantly attack him and kill him on the spot,allowing you toloot his body and retrieve the Sensors.If you’d like to help him out, however, you must make specific choices.
Picking"Easy, I’m a friend"will have himlower his guard and give you information on wanting to leave the Lesser Zone.From here, selecting"What’s your escape plan?“will have him mentionneeding a specific Artifactin order to do so, ultimately allowing you tooffer to get it for him.
Throughout the conversation, you will have an opportunity to attack him,so if you decide you don’t want to help him out, you can choose that option if you wish.If you’re going to help him,you will unlock the side mission’Piece of Cake,‘which you can learn how to complete below.
How To Complete A Piece Of Cake In Stalker 2: Heart Of Chornobyl
Exit the windmill,follow the blue waypoint on your compassinto thehouse to the right,and look for thelarge hole in the ground.Jump down into the hole to discover anentrance to a cave and follow it further inside.Don’t push in too far just yet, as a body will be on the ground near the entrance.
Search the body to acquire some ammunition, food, and medical supplies,then ensure you’re ready for battle, as you’re going to need to be prepared for the next part.
Defeat The Mutant
Pushing up just beyond the body will have aMutant let out a screechin the distance before having itcharge toward youin the blink of an eye. You must be ready for this, asit can deal substantial damageif you aren’t prepared.It will be invisible until it attacks,so keep an eye out for asubtle shimmeras it approaches.
For this encounter, we strongly suggestbacking up to the cave entrance and watching in front of you, leaving no room for the Mutant to get around you or attack from your sides. Themoment you see its shimmersprinting toward you,begin unloadingonto it.
It willtake several swipes at you, run away, and then repeat this loopuntil either it dies or you do. Again, the moment you see its outline approach you, begin firing at it, and it will eventually die.When it runs away, be sure to heal up if it hits you,as it will only take a few slashes from it to end you.
Pushing Further In The Cave
Now that the Mutant is taken care ofcontinue pushing forward through the cave and stick to the left-hand side.You will eventually see along tunnel leading into a new cavearea. Once here, lookto the right to find a stashed bagtucked into the cave wall andloot it to receive some ammo, healing items, and food.
Continue down the left pathafter looting the bag to stumble upon aroom filled with Gas Anomalies.This section of the cave iswhere you will obtain the Artifactfor Squint, sopull out your Scannerand begin looking for it while avoiding the toxic gases with yourScrew.
Obtaining The Artifact
YourScanner will beep progressively faster and louderthe closer you are to the Artifact, allowing you totoss your Screw at the Anomalies to walk through them,making the Artifact appear. Thefirst time you stumble upon it,the Artifact willjump out of the Anomalyand directly into another one nearby.
Repeat the processuntil youfind the Artifact again;this time, it willremain stationary,allowing you topick it up.From here, you cansafely exit the cave by following the tunnelin front of you, thenhead back to Squintinside of the windmill.
Give The Mold Artifact To Squint
Return to Squintwith theMold Artifactin your possession and speak with him,giving you one more chance to attack himif you change your mind.Giving him the Artifactwill have him give you theWard’s Sensorsas he doesn’t have anything else to give you, allowing you to thengive it to Richter or Captain Zotovback in Zalissya.
Choosing to attack Squint herewill allow you tokeep the Mold Artifact and loot the Ward’s Sensorsfrom his body, but itcan potentially impact future quests down the roadthat we’re not aware of just yet. Nonetheless, this is the final opportunity you have to make that call, so choose wisely!
Who Should You Give The Sensors To In Stalker 2: Heart Of Chornobyl?
Make your way back to Zalissyaandgive the Ward Sensorsback toCaptain Zotov or Richter.This is essentially theturning point of the main storyin the game,substantially changing future missions.Giving the Sensors back to the Ward viaCaptain Zotovwill have you begin following theWard’s Route,whereas giving them toRichterwill have you follow the path of theFree Stalkers Route.
Westrongly recommend making a save here,making it easier for you tofollow the opposite path if you want to see what that’s like.Thiswon’t impact the Behind Seven Sealsquestline, but itwill alter many things that follow it,changing your trajectory quite a bit going forward!
