Near the end of STALKER 2: Heart of ChornobylIn the first main questline, Skif is allowed to decide the ultimate fate of Squint, a local Stalker who went rogue after stealing a sensor suite from the Ward. An introduction to STALKER 2Between the main Stalker factions, it is a political conflict at its core: the Ward has invaded independent Stalker territory and wants to make an example of Squint. Richter, in turn, cares about Squint, but makes it clear that he doesn’t really care if he dies, as long as Skif brings back the sensors and saves that part of him. STALKER 2map.
Skif, for his part, has his own goals: he wants to know where Solder, the man who betrayed him in STALKER 2the prologue, over, and what could he want. However, no one in Zalissya will tell you anything until the situation with the Wing is resolved. After tracking Squint to an abandoned farm area and cornering him inside a heavily trapped windmill, Skif has the opportunity to help Squint escape or to kill him outright.. Their choice affects both the outcome of this quest and, eventually, the fate of the independent settlement of Zalissya.
What happens if you help squint?
Pros and cons of helping strabismus
If Skif agrees to help Squint and demonstrates that he is a friend by invoking Richter’s name, Squint will immediately back off and offer the basics of what he knows. However, he’s effectively trapped in this windmill in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by deadly anomalies and bloodthirsty mutants. He needs Skif to find an artifact for him, which he hopes will be enough to grant him safe passage out of the area.
And he’s right, but First, Skif needs to use his own artifact-given powers to descend into a nearby cave and retrieve one for Squint.. It’s fairly easy to find: explore the nearby farm buildings, looking for one that has a hole instead of a floor. The hole will be filled with a glowing yellow-green goo.
Descend carefully, being aware of the risk of damage from falling and keeping an eye on the bloodsucker that hides there. These enemies can camouflage themselves, appearing only as small clouds or ripples in the air, and then sneak up behind Skif and deal massive damage in a matter of seconds. Skif will probably have to face him, as the next phase of this quest requires delicate work and the cave passages are too narrow to escape from.
Leeches are fast and hard to hit, but they are extremely vulnerable while invisible. Try to deal as much damage as possible while they are cloaked and run away as soon as they appear again.
Proceed deeper into the cave to find a room bubbling with pools of acid. The anomaly detector starts beeping here, warning the player to stay away. Take out the detector and look around the roomalways heading towards the areas where the detector starts to beep more quickly. Eventually, Skif will triangulate the artifact’s position, and when it’s close enough, it will appear out of nowhere, a small, spiky green clump.
The position of the artifact in this room appears to be slightly random; appeared at different points during various playthroughs of this mission. One of STALKER 2Among the game’s most important features, the detector is Skif’s best friend here and, with a little persistence, will lead the player to the artifact in no time. Figuring this out might require them to wade through some pools of acidhowever, hopefully they have already defeated the bloodsucker and have some healing items on hand.
Eventually, Skif will find the artifact and can bring it back to Squint, who has luckily made it halfway to the windmill. Swap it for the sensors and Skif and Squint can happily go on their way. However, don’t expect much recognition for taking the peaceful path, or any extra rewards for doing so. Squint doesn’t seem to play a big role in the later story, so don’t expect to see him again later on. Skif will get the information he needs to proceed to the next main quest, along with some coupons, but not much else.
What happens if you kill Squint?
Pros and cons of attacking strabismus
Of course, It is always an option to attack Squint directly and take the sensors by force. It’s not a difficult fight: Squint wields a broken hunting rifle and is practically at the end of his rope. There isn’t much room to run or take cover in the cramped Windmill, which can be an advantage or a disadvantage, but as long as the player is quick on the draw, they should have no problem eliminating Squint.
When he drops, just loot the body and get the scanners. Bring them back to Richter or Zotov and finish the mission. Again, there should be almost no mention of Squint’s fate – they’ll just be grateful for Skif returning the scanners and sending him on his next mission. There don’t seem to be any consequences for killing Squint in the later story; it seems that everyone in Zalissya has already accepted the inevitability of her death.
You should help strabismus
The cool thing to do
Yet, better help Squint. It might be a little complicated to get the artifact back for him, but it seems like the right thing to do. Squint represents a faction (or rather, a mindset) of independent Stalkers who value their own freedom. He opposes Ward’s attempt to bring the Zone under his control and directly cuts off its information monopoly by stealing its sensors. He is a kind of friend of Richter and Warlock, who are great allies throughout the game. It seems fair to help him and support his rapidly disappearing ideology.
That being said, all of the NPCs in Zalissya make it very clear that they don’t really care what happens to Squint. Richter would like to know he’s alive and Zotov would rather he die, but they’d both rather just have the sensors back. It’s a perfectly viable option to simply attack Squint and take them back by force, even if it’s not the coolest thing to do. Players should choose what makes the most sense for their STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl plays.