For the STALKER 2 The Lost Boys quest, you need to decide whether you'll support the Ninth, a Monolith soldier, or Dew and his hired guns. At least, that's how this side quest ends, but you've also got to start this side quest off by tracking down a missing gang of diggers who haven't reported back to technician Lens for a while. Tracking down Mastiff, one of the missing men, isn't all that straightforward, and then when you do find him and the Ninth, Dew will show up, convinced that any member of the Monolith cult in STALKER 2 isn't to be trusted.
It's not the clearest of side quests in STALKER 2 Heart of Chornobyl given you don't know very much about anyone involved. But there are rewards to be had and that's what matters, so this STALKER 2 The Lost Boys walkthrough will tell you how to complete the quest, as well as what the best choice is between siding with the Ninth or Dew.
Mastiff's group last location in Stalker 2
Firstly, you need to find where Mastiff and his gang went missing. The blue waypoint will guide you there, but you essentially need to head south of Zalissya for a few hundred meters until you find a concrete bunker-like entrance. Head inside and you'll now need to figure out what happened to the gang.
Loot any bodies you see and keep heading deeper into the facility - watch out as you'll come across plenty of electrical Stalker 2 anomalies - until you find an incapacitated man called Max Saturday. Heal him up then speak to him to learn that a Monolithian took Mastiff. Next, turn on the power using the level behind Max, then use the nearby door to escape the facility.
Find Mastiff in Stalker 2
Now you need to find Mastiff, which means you've got to head southeast of the facility you were just in for several hundred meters, following the blue waypoint. You'll eventually reach a small collection of buildings, one of which is a house which Mastiff is in as you can hear him groaning in pain. However, the door inside is locked and there's no way to open it.
To get inside, head to the smaller shack next to the house (it's to the right of the front door) break the yellow padlock to get inside the shack. You'll notice a large hole in the floor which leads into an underground tunnel that conveniently ends on the other side of that locked door in the house, and you'll also find Mastiff lying on a bed here.
He's babbling about checking the attic, so doing that leads you to finding the Ninth. Speak to him, and you'll eventually be interrupted by Dew and his cronies. At this point, you've now got to choose if you'll help the Ninth fight Dew, or if you'll kill the Ninth now or agree to help Dew do the same.
Choosing the Ninth in Stalker 2 The Lost Boys
If you side with the Ninth and defend him from Dew's forces, you'll have to kill the mercenaries outside, though the Ninth will help you do this. This isn't an easy fight - there are several of them with strong weapons, though if the fight goes inside, the Ninth should help you (though he risks getting killed in the process).
After the shootout, speak with the Ninth again to get a little information about him and his faction, as well as the Rubber Layer blueprint, an upgrade you can apply to improve certain equipment at any Technician (the merchants where you go to repair weapons in STALKER 2).
Once you go back to Lens, he'll still pay you 500 coupons for finding Mastiff, though warn you that the average character in STALKER 2 won't even be as tolerant towards Monolithians as he is (and he gets off some nasty words about them along the way).
Choosing Dew in Stalker 2 The Lost Boys
If you choose Dew, you'll have to fight the Ninth. He's only one man, but he has notably more health than any of Dew's forces, acting as a kind of tank. Still, once you bring him down, you'll see that he doesn't have much in the way of loot.
Instead, the value to this choice comes when you go back to Lens, who will give you 1000 coupons for completing the quest, double what he gives you otherwise. Still, this choice means you don't get the blueprint, so there are pros and cons to doing so.
Can you stop Dew from attacking the Ninth?
Trying to get a non-violent route through the Lost Boys quest where you talk down Dew from attacking the Ninth is impossible, despite the Ninth suggesting that you could try doing so. If you try to tell him the house is empty, he searches it anyway (leading to a firefight where he attacks the Ninth) and if you tell him the Monolithian is telling the truth, he decides you're a traitor and begins combat. It means that going the dialogue route won't save anybody - one way or another, Dew and his team or the Ninth have to die.
Want more choices laid out? See if you should help or kill Squint in STALKER 2, or who should you give the religious icon to in STALKER 2.
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