Should you destroy Kryvenko’s antennas?

During the STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl mission “Like a moth to a flame,” players must scour Camp Icarus to discover the identity of Faust’s mysterious ally. However, to do so, they will have to side with Division Captain Senkevych or SIRCAA scientist Dr. Kryvenko to cross a field full of research antennas is using them to collect data about the area. He asks Skif to collect data from them and return it to him, he promises to give him some valuable information.

Senkevych, however, would prefer Skif to simply destroy the antennas. He has no idea what Kryvenko is up to, and what’s more, his antennas are causing interference that prevents the Wing from carrying out its own scans of the area. Much like the previous choice between Richter and Zotov, This moment determines the player’s approach to this specific mission, their path forward, and, in part, their factional reputation. Therefore, it should not be taken lightly.

What happens if you destroy Kryvenko’s antennas

Pros and cons of siding with Senkevych

Appearing near the middle of STALKER 2“Like a moth to a flame“demands that Skif choose a side between Kryvenko and Senkevych. Taking Senkevych’s side means destroying Kryvenko’s antennaeof which there are three:

• One in the southwest part of the camp, amidst the sandbag bunkers

• One in the northeast part of the camp, on top of the water tower

• One outside the camp to the northeast

He will need to travel to all three locations (which should be marked on the map) and simply break the antennas with his preferred means, ignoring the alternate quest marker that points to Kryvenko. Then return to Senkevych, who is grateful for Skif’s help but demands more; there is still a signal coming from the basement. He will have to travel there to find a psi-beacon, an anomalous device that constantly emits waves of psychic damage. Watch out for the lightning anomaly, break the beacon quickly and head back up.

Senkevych absorbs the new information and decides that it points to Shterev as the spy inside the Wing. This determines the course of the next mission, which will have Skif team up with two Ward patrols to find him. Siding with Senkevych also unlocks a new item from the Camp Icarus merchant: psi pills, which make him immune to psychic damage like that emitted by the psi beacon. However, Senkevych does not pay for his effort here; that is the only reward.

What happens if you don’t break the antennae

Pros and cons of siding with Kryvenko

If the player decides to side with Kryvenko, he will have to visit him before following Senkevych’s instructions. This time, Skif won’t break its antennas – it will collect data instead from them. Otherwise, this mission proceeds the same way: find all three antennas as described above, just interact with them instead of breaking them. Afterwards, he will go to the psi beacon and, again, instead of destroying it, he will take some data.

Then return to Kryvenko for a (much better) reward: 5,668 coupons under the table. Siding with Kryvenko triggers a mission in which Skif must travel to Echo Station, where some of the doctor’s colleagues will inform him of the significance of his research.

You must not break the antennas

Taking Kryvenko’s side leads to a better result

Ultimately, Players better not break Dr. Kryvenko’s antennae in “Like a moth to a flame.” Kryvenko offers a much better reward, and following his path doesn’t affect the quest’s difficulty much.

More, Kryvenko is clearly the good guy here. Although Skif has many opportunities to side with the Ward, his authoritarian opinions are contrary to the independence of free Stalkers. Therefore, siding with the Wing whenever possible will likely lead to a better story outcome.

But ultimately, there are no wrong choices here; choose whichever side the player’s heart desires. All story paths are valid, and following Senkevych’s instructions here can lead to better rewards in the future. Do whatever makes the most sense for you STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl game.