Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl's story direction depends on the decisions players will make throughout the main missions. You'll be making one of these narrative decisions towards the end of Subtle Matter main mission, where Skif is confronted by Scar in X11 Lab. During the conversation and a few minor dialog choices later, players will need to either agree with Scar's ideals or speak against them, which will decide which Stalker 2 ending you'll be getting.

How To Find a Sniper Suppressor in Stalker 2
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Snipers are one of the best long-range weapons in Stalker 2, and adding a suppressor to it makes it a great weapon to take out enemies quietly.

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Should You Choose Eternal Spring or Life is for the Living in Stalker 2?

Players will encounter the Eternal Spring or Life is for the Living choice during the Subtle Matter main mission of Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl. It occurs towards the end of the mission when Skif steps into one of the pods and talks to Strider's soul in the Noosphere.

The conversation with Strider will go differently depending on who you side with, i.e. Dubny or the Ward, during the Wishful Thinking mission in Stalker 2.

Here, players can choose to lie to Strider and tell him that they successfully thwarted Dalin's experiment and avoided Monolith reactivation. Or, you can choose to lie to Strider and hide the fact he was under the Monolith's control when he died. The decision here doesn't impact that story, but choosing to hide the fact from Strider feels like a better decision so he can rest in peace, but it's totally up to the players.

Regardless, after the meeting with our late companion, Scar will pull you out of the pod and start his speech about the Shinning Zone once again. At the end of the speech, players will need to decide whether to agree with Scar's idea of the Shining Zone or reject it. Here are the differences between the choices at the end of the Subtle Matter quest.

Choosing the "Eternal Spring" Dialog Option with Scar

If players choose the Eternal Spring option with Scar, they'll agree to his ideals and permanently side with the Spark Faction. This means you'll be getting the Spark ending of Stalker 2 and will be locked out of all the other endings except the Ward ending.

Choosing the "Life is for the Living" Dialog Option with Scar

If players choose the Life is for the Living option, they'll be permanently against the Spark faction and will be treated as hostile. This also means that achieving the Spark ending will be out of the question, but players will be able to pursue any other ending in the game.

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S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl Tag Page Cover Art

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl
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First-Person Shooter
Open-World
Post-Apocalyptic
Survival
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Systems
PlayStation-1 Xbox-1 PC-1
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Top Critic Avg: 75 /100 Critics Rec: 64%
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Released
November 20, 2024
ESRB
Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco
Developer(s)
GSC Game World
Publisher(s)
GSC Game World
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stalker-2_hunting-the-zone
7 Images
stalker-2_hunting-the-zone
stalker 2 heart of chornobyl players spots shadow of chernobyl easter egg
Boozer Bartender Trader In the Garbage Region of Stalker 2-1
stalker 2 heart of chornobyl player discovers glitch that lets you fly across the map
Journalist Stash With M860 Monolith Inside Blue Bus Stalker 2
Loot Nightingale's Dead Body Stalker 2
Confronting Zakhar during Deceive the Deceiver Side Quest in Stalker 2
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WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
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Engine
Unreal Engine 5
Franchise
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
Div
Genre(s)
First-Person Shooter, Open-World, Post-Apocalyptic, Survival
How Long To Beat
36 hours
X|S Optimized
Yes
File Size Xbox Series
144.75 GB