Should you kill or eliminate solder?

In the first chapters of STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobylprotagonist Skif suffers a devastating betrayal from a contact he knows only as Solder, and must seek him out to find answers. This is one of several important decisions players must make throughout the game. Player choices have a huge impact on the world of STALKER 2and this seems to be no exception. The search for Solder forms the first major narrative thrust, and the way players choose to resolve it determines how the next chapter unfolds.

After choosing to help or kill Squint, they will return their sensors to Richter or Zotov and gain important information about Solder's location (along with a way in). They will need to sneak to his headquarters in the heart of the Sphere and interrogate him about his involvement in the previous encounter. Finally with Solder weakened and contained Skif can decide between killing him or knocking him outbefore escaping the Sphere and moving on to the next region of the map. Here's what this decision affects, both immediately and in the long term.

What happens if you kill solder?

Pros and cons of killing solder

If the player decides to kill Solder during "Behind the Seven Seals"it will be over in a moment; there is no need for a struggle or prolonged fight. Skif already has Solder restrained and at his mercy, so he offers no further resistance and just collapses to the ground. The most immediate effect of killing Solda is that the player will be able to loot itBut don't expect to find anything good. All Solder carries is a broken gun, a handful of ammunition and a PDA.

Players can, however, take Solder's PDA to unlock a secret message between him and Nestor. All it says is: "We have an emergency here, Nestor. Ward knows about the scanners."This confirms that Solder was involved in some shady dealings with Nestor, involving a set of scanners that they wanted to keep secret from the militant and authoritarian Ward. This isn't surprising at this point, considering what the player already knows about Nestor and the Ward , but it's another piece of the puzzle.

Therefore, Skif is free to leave The Sphere - well, not exactly free. If he is caught anywhere between Solder's office and his preferred exit, the rest of the NPCs will become hostile, which can make escape difficult. Frankly, it's better to pick a route and just run. Don't worry about fighting here as there isn't much room to run. It's likely that Skif is seriously outmatched at this point, probably having used up most of his resources just to get in the door. There is little value in sticking around.

Don't expect Solder or his allies to show up later in the game to avenge you. Although Solder's faction, the International Perimeter Security Force, appears again from time to time, there is no apparent effect on the player's interactions with them after killing him. There is a sort of faction reputation system in STALKER 2but it's unclear how individual story-focused acts like this affect him. It seems like Skif is more likely to draw the ire of the IPSF by killing many of them on his way to the Sphere (basically an inevitability) than by killing Solder.

What happens if you eliminate solder?

Pros and Cons of Keeping Solder Live

If the player decides to knock out Solder, the rest of the mission will proceed in the same manner: Solder will fall, Skif will escape the Sphere, and depending on whether they sided with Richter or Zotov earlier, they will receive their next instructions over the phone and move on to the next phase. of the main mission. The only immediate difference is that Skif will not be able to loot Solder herebut then again, he's not missing much. The PDA is not necessary for the following missions, the weapon is functionally useless and the ammunition, although good, is not worth the other consequences.

Much later in the story, The solder will reappear during the mission"The waspChild"if Skif decided to keep him alive. During this mission, he will make good use of his unique abilities, making the combat sequence significantly easier with Skif's help. Solder's participation isn't strictly necessary, but it makes a particularly difficult part of a difficult game much easier. Players should at least take this into consideration when deciding what to do with the solder at the end of "Behind the Seven Seals."

You must eliminate the solder

I scratch your back, you scratch mine

Ultimately, it makes more sense to knock out Solder and keep him alive long enough to participate in "The hornet's nest." Again, while not mandatory, having Solder as an ally during this mission is invaluable. In comparison, the loot available on Solder after killing him is basically useless. The gun barely works, the PDA barely reveals anything new, and ammo is plentiful elsewhere.

And if nothing else, Solder is not to blame for betraying Skif. At worst, he's a scapegoat, a pawn in a larger scheme that will take Skif much longer to unravel. He would be pitiful if he wasn't so dishonest, but either way, he hardly deserves to die for it. Keeping him alive is not only the best and most practical choice, but also the moral thing to do.

But in reality, players are free to choose whatever they want when dealing with Solder. This appears to only affect a single quest afterwards - it doesn't appear to change any faction reputation mechanics or change the story immutably. Although it would be significantly more difficult without Solder's involvement,"The hornet's nest" is still surmountable. There is no wrong decision at this time STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl.