Stalker 2 guides and walkthroughs to help you survive in the Zone

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 screenshot — (Image credit: GSC Game World)

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Beginner guides
Gear and weapons
Missions and puzzles
Choices
Review

We've got all our STALKER 2 guides, walkthroughs and other coverage here to help you navigate the game and survive, right from the very start. We’ve covered everything from the best stuff you need find, how to keep your gear working, the choices you might need to make and basic survival tips

STALKER 2 Heart of Chornobyl is an intense survival game set in an incredibly harsh open world and for new players it can feel overwhelming, and brutal. There’s a lot to consider almost immediately if you want to survive, with dangers everywhere from invisible mutant to bandits, wild dogs, and lethal radiation.

The game also features an array of NPC conversations that more often than not will pose you with a choice, letting you decide how you’ll respond to a situation that’ll change the Zone. You might even get different rewards depending on how you act so we've covered all the crucial ones as well if you want to see how things can play out. Obviously clicking through and reading those guides could lead to spoilers.

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Stalker 2 beginner guides

STALKER 2 tips — (Image credit: GSC Game World)

STALKER 2 is a merciless game that throws all kinds of threats at you, from hostile mutants to blinding anomalies and invisible tornados. It’s not the most beginner-friendly experience, so this early-game advice should help:

These STALKER 2 Tips and tricks are essential to bear in mind, offering help that will help you stay alive.
For PC players, the STALKER 2 Compiling shaders message can get in the way of your experience with the game. We’ve explained why this happens.
STALKER 2 starts with a brief prologue tutorial to set up the story and introduces the basics, but it involves navigating dark sewer pipes and an open area filled with dangerous bandits. It’s a bit of a trial by fire, so this STALKER 2 opening walkthrough should help you.
Early on you’ll find yourself trapped by strange energy and need to escape by throwing bolts. Knowing how to escape this STALKER 2 anomalous field not only lets you get to the rest of the game, but also trains you for other anomalies you’ll encounter!
Traveling on foot in Heart of Chornobyl can be quite slow, but when you reach most major settlements you'll find guides who can help you use STALKER 2 fast travel for a fee.

Stalker 2 gear and weapons

STALKER 2 guns — (Image credit: GSC Game World)

Finding powerful and, more importantly, functional guns is crucial to staying alive. So our STALKER 2 weapon guides should be able to help you out:

Get some of the best STALKER 2 guns for the early game and beyond.
Maintaining weapons is vital, otherwise they’ll jam and cause problems. Use our guide to learn How to repair guns in STALKER 2.

Missions and puzzles in Stalker 2

Stalker 2 Heart of Chornobyl Diode workshop keycard panel lpcked — (Image credit: GSC Gameworld)

STALKER 2 has a lot of missions, stashes and other activities to do alongside the main quest. Some of these can be tough to find, let alone complete. Often requiring you to solve puzzles or find alternate paths. Below, we’ve got guides for some of the sticking points you’re likely to run into early on:

Getting the STALKER 2 Journalist's Stash in the roof is one of the earliest loot crates you can get and, while it's a pain, it’s well worth picking up early.
If you’ve been helping Nightingale you might need some help finding the STALKER 2 Bulba dog collar near the imploding anomaly.
Once you’ve reached the Garbage region of the Zone in the main questline, you’ll be sent to get a STALKER 2 workshop keycard.
The STALKER 2 No Honor Among Thieves door is a bit of trick as you need parkour to get inside.

Choices in Stalker 2

Stalker 2 Heart of Chornobyl Choices — (Image credit: GSC Game World)

Many individuals and factions are competing in the Zone, and there are a lot of choices to be made in STALKER 2’s missions and side activities. Here are some of the most notable ones in the early game, covering important quest decisions as well as the outcomes for side missions:

You’ll have to retrieve some sensors and decide whether you’ll help or kill Squint in STALKER 2 along the way.
However you deal with Squint, you then need to choose if you’ll give the sensors to Richter or Zotov in STALKER 2.
Rounding off the first part of the game’s main quest, you’ll infiltrate a base to shoot or knock out Solder in STALKER 2.
If you’ve started a side mission to look for a missing squad, you’ll have to make the STALKER 2 Lost Boys Ninth or Dew choice.
For the STALKER 2 Poppy Field Religious Icon choice there’s a creative solution to get the maximum rewards.

STALKER 2 review

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl protagonist Skif holding an assault rifle while looking out on a poppy field that can put visitors to sleep — (Image credit: GSC Game World)

Our reviewer thinks STALKER 2’s atmosphere is incomparable, but it’s let down by “bugs and technical issues shatter that immersion at every turn, making this the best but most broken game I've played all year.” If you’re after a bit more nuance, be sure to read the full STALKER 2 review.

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