After speaking to the C-Consciousness Representative during the Visions of Truth main mission, players will get a call from Dr. Shcherba asking Skif for a favor in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl. Accepting the request to help the assistant will start the side mission "In The Name of Science," in which players will need to find electronic collars from various mutants.

In the Name of Science is a somewhat long side mission, which also requires players to make choices on multiple points, altering the outcome of the ordeal. Let's discuss the complete side mission and every choice you must make.

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How to Find All the Electronic Collars for Dr. Shcherba

Collecting All Collars for Shcherba during In the Name of Science Stalker 2

The first part of the In The Name of Science quest is finding all five electronic collars from the designated locations marked on the map in Stalker 2. If you don't see five locations, chances are you've already collected the collars during another mission or while free-roaming The Zone. Here are the locations and details regarding each collar you'll find in this mission.

Region

Collar Location

Mutant

Garbage

The Brood

Snork

Wild Island

Boathouse

Psy Bayun

Zaton

Hydrodynamics Lab

Controller

Malachite

Brain Scorcher

Kill or Buy Collar from Yevhen Mamay

Red Forest

Containers

Pseudogiant

Once you've retrieved all the collars, return back to Shcherba in the Roofed Warehouse in the Chemical Plant region.

In the Name of Science can get bugged if you've collected the collars previously and traded them to a merchant. If you can't collect one of the collars in an area, simply press the tilde (~) key and use the console command "XEndQuestNodeBySID E08_SQ01_S2_SetJournal_WaitForSherbaCall_Finish_Pin_0" to progress the quest.

Should You Disable or Recalibrate the Jamming Device?

Disable or Recalibrate Jammer In the Name of Science Stalker 2

Once you hand over all the collars to Shcherba, he'll check them out and tell you there's a strange signal jamming the collar's functionality. Shcherba will task Skif to investigate this signal's origin and disable the device responsible for the collars to work properly.

You'll need to head to the Storage on the Hill location west of Roofed Warehouse to find the device producing the jamming signal. Skif will head into the warehouse and encounter various types of poltergeists, zombified soldiers, and rodent mutants before finally coming across the device.

Here, players have the choice to destroy the jammer, which will ultimately disable the jamming signal, activating the collars for Shcherba. Or, you can change the frequency on the jammer, recalibrate the jamming device, and deactivate the collars once and for all. Here's a quick analysis of both of the choices.

Destroy/Disable the Jammer (Recommended)

In the Name of Science mission will progress further and players will receive coupons as a reward from Shcherba. It'll also lead to an encounter will multiple bloodsuckers and a second choice in the mission.

Recalibrate the Jammer

Dvupalov will send some coupons as a reward to Skif for his troubles and the quest will conclude.

Should You Kill or Let Shcherba Go During the "In The Name of Science" Quest?

If you choose to disable/destroy the jamming device in the previous strand of the side mission, Shcherba will contact Skif and inform him that the collars are now operational. He'll also send over some coupons to Skif and assure him that he'll call him once he needs Skif's help again. After that, the "In the Name of Science" mission objective will become "Wait for your reward from Shcherba."

Players can either undertake other missions or simply rest on a bed to pass the time for Shcherba to call Skif again to progress the side mission towards its conclusion. If Shcherba doesn't call Skif, you can use the console command "XStartQuestNodeBySID E08_SQ01_S3_Technical_SherbaInvitedToLab" to progress the mission.

Once Shcherba calls Skif back to his lab, players will be handed two bottles of Magic Vodka from Dr. Dvupalov for unknown reasons. After that, players will enter the lower floor of the warehouse where Shcherba will be waiting for Skif with three Bloodsuckers at his side.

Shcherba will send Skif to a room to retrieve his reward, but it'll turn out to be a trap. Skif will be exposed to PSI-Radiation by Shcherba to awaken Faust-like abilities in him. However, drinking the Magic Vodka given by Dvupalov will help players negate the PSI-radiation effects.

Now players must escape the room, kill three Bloodsuckers on their way to the main office to confront an armed Shcherba aiming his gun at Dvupalov. After a brief conversation, players will be given a choice to either kill Shcherba or let him go. Either choice will lead to the same rewards, but it's recommended to let Shcherba go to maintain good relations with scientists and Dvupalov.

Once the confrontation is over, players will be rewarded with a Gauss Gun from Dvupalov and unlock the On a Leash trophy for Stalker 2.

Rating block community and brand ratings Image
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl Tag Page Cover Art
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First-Person Shooter
Open-World
Post-Apocalyptic
Survival
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Systems
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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
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WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

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