S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Lost Alpha

Storyline Walkthrough

This walkthrough is based on Lost Alpha version 1.4007 Developer's Cut (build 7246) with default setup (at installation), played at Master level, and includes recommendations for optional tasks that can be performed during the main storyline tasks. Each time I play through I find mistakes or a better way, so this is still a work in progress.

Last Revision: July 29, 2019

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Tasks:

Cordon Find the artifact Rescue novice and retrieve the flash drive Find the second contact Save Fox Meet with Seriy Respond to the call for help Kill the Sniper Get control of the hanger Get information about Strelok from Mole Find Strelok's flash drive Help Ratcatcher Find the militaries'(sic) documents Help the Duty checkpoint - Kill the boars Meet Petrenko Meet Petrenko's contact Find and wear a bandit suit Get the bandit's password Meet the Monolith informer Retrieve information about X18 Reach Darkscape Reach the rail tunnel Find the entrance to the mines Go deeper into the mines Find the bandits' documents Get file about experiments Talk with the scientist in Yantar Get the scientists package Get wire for the scientist Meet Doc Find and talk to Ghost Explore nearest village Meet contact Return the artefact(sic) to Sakharov Offer assistance to Duty at the bar Destroy the heli's Go meet Barkeep in Outskirts Meet Ivancov Get the psi helmet Meet the scientist Find the underground tunnels at the waterdam Find another way into the underground Find the scientists Find the emitters You're dreaming, follow your dream Turn on brain power-station

Disable psy-brain power supply Find secret exit from lab Find the exit to the tunnels Find Nomad on Radar task Nomad's belongings Get x10 passcode Reach the bunker Disable security system Disable psy-emitters Meet with Voronin Reach outskirts facility Disable Earthquake Doomsday Device Meet Guide Find the way to Pripyat Find the code to the door Assist the military Meet Lieutenant Vasilev Meet Ecologist contact Help the Ecologist take measurements Meet Ghost in the hotel Find the way into Sarcofagus(sic) Help the military Help the military advance Fortify the gate Destroy the BTR Help fight off the ambush Help eliminate the heli hunters Help eliminate the mutants Meet with the military recon leader Help the recon unit Get generator code from primary terminal in control room Restore power in the control room Get generators lab passcode Reach the generators Follow Ghost to X-2 Lab Distraction tactics Find main power generator switch Restore power Find door switch Find a way to disable the lock down Get to main control room Get access to main control room Deactivate generators Talk to Ghost at the cemetery

Cordon

You start by waking up in Sidorovich's bunker with the traditional task: Kill Strelok. A cut-scene shows Marked One getting out of bed and ends with the Find out information about yourself task. The doorway up to Sidorovich is over your right shoulder. The dresser next to the doorway has all your stuff, so you may want to collect it (except for the sleeping bag) before heading up the stairs. You won't need the sleeping bag for another 24 hours.

NOTE: With Lost Alpha, you must put ammo on your belt in order to load it, which you can do by dragging or double-clicking. When you draw the weapon, the ammo count is weapon/belt, where weapon is the amount of ammo in the weapon and belt is the amount of ammo on your belt. Also, for reasons that I'll explain later, it is best to use a separate suit and head gear outfit instead of a closed-cycle suit. I recommend buying a knife and Vampir night vision gear as soon as you get the funds. I also recommend keeping the night vision gear for later in the game even after you can get a helmet or suit with second generation night vision. As for the sleeping bag, you need to sleep every 24 hours or you will eventually pass out. Energy drinks can buy you some time, but you'll crash hard if you push it too far. Throughout the game there are times when you pass out as part of the storyline, which counts as sleeping. So, take note of the time when you come to so you know when you'll need your sleeping bag again.

As you approach Sidorovich, Marked One starts talking. When the conversation is over, the Find out information about yourself task is complete. Talk to Sidorovich and he gives you the Find the artifact task. You also get an Echo Detector. As you exit the bunker, a character named Proverb waits at the top of the stairs and starts a conversation. When he's done talking, he runs off and returns a little later. At some point he offers you the optional Cleaning task. But wait to accept the task until after you return the artifact to Sidorovich.

Find the artifact

Go northeast to a small swamp and pull out the detector. Take a few steps after Sidorovich warns you about anomalies and head north. It's a Thorn artifact and very hard to see. But the sparks help to locate it. Once you have it, head back to Sidorovich and tell him you think you have what he's looking for. He then gives you the Rescue novice and retrieve the flash drive task.

Rescue novice and retrieve the flash drive

Again, head northeast from the bunker to a trailer where a corpse is holding the flash drive. There's also a PM laying around somewhere that you may want to pick up to sell. Loot the drive from him and head back to the bunker. Sidorovich then sends you to talk to Wolf about another guy that's missing at the factory, which is the Find the second contact task. Ask Sidorovich how many contacts he has and he offers you the optional Locate the contact task, which unlocks several optional tasks.

NOTE: Corpses stay for about 24 hours and can be used as temporary stash boxes. However, other stalkers can loot them once you add items. Some, like the first and second contacts, remain for the entire game. Mutants may move them around, but they stay in the general area. If you know which corpses don't vanish, you can use them as stash boxes where places to stash your loot are hard to come by. Perhaps the most important ones are the two stalkers just inside the gate where you help Mole against the military in Agroprom. One on the right side (facing west) laying on the tracks and the other inside the guard shack. If you're collecting loot, these are ideal since other stalkers tend to stay away from the area around the gate after you save Mole.

Find the second contact

NOTE: During this task, if you come upon the Mail Jacket while looting, this is the item of interest for the Find the double-mail jacket task. Afterward, if you happen to aquire a bandit jacket, you should be aware that one is required for a later mission. However, if you decide to sell it before said task, an opportunity to get another one is presented.

Wolf is located in a root cellar and offers some of his men to help with the bandits occupying the factory. The assault group is in the tunnel under the road just north of the first contact's body. As you approach the factory, a cut-scene plays with a bandit and Mad Dog having a conversation about a package. The conversation ends when they are alerted to the attack and Mad Dog runs east to the Darkscape move point. When the bandits are defeated, one of the assault team members takes a lookout position at the top of the stairs in the northeast corner of the south building. The second contact is in the middle of the building on the second floor. When you collect his belongings you are instructed to report to Wolf, and then to Sidorovich. This completes the task and a new task is given to Save Fox.

Save Fox

Fox is being held on the other side of the train tracks. The soldiers at the bridge will shoot when they see you. At this point in the game, you may not have the equipment to get into a firefight with them. Plus, they respawn even if you do manage to kill them all. Instead, go to the Trade Route Tunnel. If you don't have to heavy of an inventory, you can sprint there and back again:

Sprint past the Fleshes and go northeast to the house where the Sin are holding Fox. Talk to the leader, then head back to Sidorovich who gives you a flash drive. If you plan on following the storyline and don't care to do any optional tasks, grab everything you have stashed. Now back to the Sin to deliver the flash drive and talk to Fox. When Fox leaves, Sidorovich tells you to either return to the bunker for your reward and another (optional) task, which is the Work for the Trader task, or go on to the Garbage. If you go back, don't follow Fox (who goes the long way) but go back through the Trade Route Tunnel. Either way you get the Meet with Seriy task.

Meet with Seriy

For this task I like to travel light; minimal supplies, shotgun, and PM. Take the road north to the Garbage. The soldiers at this checkpoint will not fire if you stay on the road. Although, later in the game when you have a car, you have to drive around the BTR and tree. If you stay close to the tree, they don't seem to mind. After spawning in Garbage and walking up the road a bit, Bes sends out a call for help and you get the Respond to the call for help task.

Respond to the call for help

Bes is marked on your map and talking to him completes the task. Bes tells you of a sniper up the road that won't let you pass and that there is a AK for you to use. You now have the Kill the Sniper task.

Kill the Sniper

From Bes, go northeast up the hill, but not to the road. Stay on the top of the hill and go between the two big trees where the drive to the Flee Market is broken off. Continue north between the big trees on the other side of the drive and down the hill. Stay just east of the garbage piles and then up the hill to the green house. You can jump through the window on the west side, or go around to the door on the north and grab the AK of the doomed one, which triggers a cut-scene showing you where the sniper is. Collect the 5.45x39 rounds on the table and sprint out the door on the north.

NOTE: Even though the condition of this AK of the doomed one is at 100%, no one will buy it and no tech will fix it. You can't even fix it with a repair kit. It starts jamming after only a few clips, so it's best to drop it once you aquire another AK.

Go through the opening in the picket fence and turn northwest to get to the west side if the hill on the other side of the railroad tracks. Then turn northeast until you cross the road and take out your pistol or shotgun. You can actually walk up to the north side of the tracks, even about halfway across the tracks, and give the sniper a single shot to the head. Pick up his rifle but leave the rest for now and go back to Bes for your reward, heading south from the green house. As you do, a fellow stalker asks for help because he's being held up by bandits. It's important to do this now, because bandits often move in on Bes' current position and you won't get your reward if he's dead. Also, the stalker being held up may also be dead if you wait too long.

Go back to the road and use the trees on the west side of the road as cover. Stop at the second to last tree before reaching the bandits. This keeps them from killing the stalker when you open fire. If you get any closer, one of them kills the stalker as soon as you take the first shot. It doesn't matter which one you take out first. However, when you stay back a little, even if you miss with your first shot, they don't kill him. With the bandits down, talk to the stalker to get a Flash artifact. He then runs off leaving the dead bandits for you to loot.

Go back to Bes and collect your reward to complete the task and resume the Meet with Seriy task. You may want to trade with Bes to lighten your load (there's more coming). Move north up the road toward the hangar. If you plan on returning to Cordon, leave the sniper's loot until you come back this way. Otherwise, grab his stuff as you pass by. The sniper's corpse is another that does not vanish. You get a radio transmission from Yurik asking for your help as the hanger comes into sight and gives you the Get control of the hanger task.

NOTE: Bes and his men move north from his location and you are free to enter the doorway he was standing in and collect the loot they leave behind. However, bandits often move in, so proceed with caution.

Get control of the hanger

Meet Yurik, who is standing inside the north opening of a drainage pipe that runs under the drive into the hanger, and talk to him. Then, follow him through the sewer until you get the command to move in. A second wave of bandits may come in from the east entrance after a few minutes. Once the bandits are taken out, you can talk to Seriy, who gives you the Get information about Strelok from Mole task.

NOTE: If Seriy happens to get killed during the attack, you still get the information you need to continue. However, Seriy can't offer you the optional An old friend task unless he survives.

Get information about Strelok from Mole

From the hanger, take the road south past the bridge over the canal and turn west staying on the north side of the bluff. There's a pack of dogs at the west end of the bluff, so when you hear them snarl, sprint up the hill to the fence, then turn south to the move point to Agroprom. When you spawn in Agroprom, you are greeted by a stalker who ask you to help Mole's group. Follow him to the east gate of the Research Institute: North. Don't take the time to loot until you clear the area of military on the east and north side of the buildings. Then, if you want, go back and load up on ammo while searching for better weaponry. By now, Mole has called for help because he's surrounded. Go west along the north between the buildings and railroad dock, then south around the building. Work your way east toward Mole, but don't get too close until you collect all the loot you want (including the three petrol cans) and stash them in the corpse inside the building by the gate. Approaching Mole triggers a second wave of military and you must follow Mole to the west near the access to the underground. Mole starts with an audio, but then you have to talk to him to get the Find Strelok's flash drive task.

NOTE: If you acquire any stash locations in the compound, leave them for now (or deal with the next wave of military). There will be an opportunity to return when the area is safe again.

Find Strelok's flash drive

There are multiple access points to the underground, but to avoid confusion, I'll start with the manhole next to Mole. Go down the spiral steps and then south along the wall. In the next room are civilian Zombies, possibly a Burer or two, military, and rats that don't bite. Hopefully, you can take out the Zombies and then the Burers before the military gets in the way. Make your way south to the doorway on the left and then go north to the next doorway. Turn east and go through the room with two hospital carts (remember this spot) and north again. At the end of the hall are three green lockers with a locked door on the left. This is Strelok's hideout and you get a task update when you approach the door. Continue to the stairs on the left and go down to the bottom level watching for military as you go. Go through the doorway and to the fan on the far wall. Take the key at the bottom of the fan shroud and go back up the stairs to the locked door.

NOTE: Find the key may appear twice on your PDA, and only one will be marked complete. It's a known bug and doesn't prevent the task from being completed.

Unlock the door and help yourself to all that is there. Be sure to close the door while you're in the room to keep anyone from crashing the party. Strelok's book is behind a wooden cabinet on a built-in shelf. There is also a Sheet with notes document that is part of the optional Find the documents (Agroprom) task. Now go back to the room with the two hospital carts, jump up on them and check the duct work for the stash. Grab the flash drive and exit the room through the west doorway. Turn left (south) and follow the hall to the end. Eventually, you'll come to the air shaft and can exit the underground to complete the task and Sidorovich gives you the Help Ratcatcher task. However, the exit is close to the military base, so sprint north down the hill toward Ratcatcher's hiding spot in the Agroprom Swamp, keeping watch for a patrol on the road coming from the left.

Help Ratcatcher

Talking to Ratcatcher completes the task and get the Find the militaries'(sic) documents task.

Find the militaries'(sic) documents

You can go in with guns blazing and kill everyone, or sneak in after dark. I prefer the latter, starting sometime after sundown (23:00). Also, I like to travel light for this task, putting all weapons and ammo in a stash somewhere. Save something for any mutants you may encounter along the way. I have started this at 18:00, but the guards are far more alert to even the slightest foot steps.

NOTE: If, at any time, you hear the warning siren, you might as well load your last save as someone heard or saw you. I've also had instances where the guards got stuck on something (or each other). This may take a few attempts, so be patient and keep trying.

From Ratcatcher's hideout, loop around the factory complex to the north and east and make your way to the southern edge of the map, staying west of the Rostok Factory move point. A good staging area is on the far side of the hill that runs south of the institute building. Approaching from the southeast offers the greatest cover as there are some trees. Watch the guard on the roof as he walks east to west and stops half way to look south. Put your weapon away to avoid any noise and slow-walk to the break in the wall near the east end, behind two structures. Stay to either side of the opening to avoid the Whirlygig anomaly in the center. Low-crouch directly to the near side of the BTR-70, then to the last window on the left before the bump-out for the stairs (inside). Go up to the window, take one step back, stand up and, while pressing the walk key, jump to the window ledge, then low-crouch through the window. The Calculation Journal is laying on the desk to your left. This is part of the Find the documents (Agroprom) optional task. Whether you accept the task or not, it stays in your PDA until you talk with Sidorovich.

At this point it's best to low-crouch until you're out of the building to keep your footsteps as quiet as possible. Wait for the guard to make his east-to-west pass and move to the west side of the large doorway into the hall (opposite the front door), but not too close. Wait for the guard to pass the doorway (don't be too quick or he'll hear you) and move into the hallway and to the west stairway. Get inside the doorway and away from the door so the guard doesn't see you when he comes back around. You might get lucky and he'll have his headlamp on. Otherwise, you have to listen for footsteps as he approaches the doorway, then turns for another west-to-east pass. Move up the stairs to the first landing, where you can save. You should be able to load this save without alerting the guards, provided the first-floor guard is not too close to the stairwell. You can also save when you're in the southwest corner of the landing between floors two and three.

Move up the next set of stairs, staying against the rail, past the second floor and up to the next in-between landing. The third-floor guard moves north and south at about 30-35 second cycles. Go up the stairs, staying against the rail on the left again, and stop under the light above the landing (staying away from the wall). You should be able to hear the guard's footsteps from here. Move east to the wall and north toward the doorway just enough to see if the guard is at the window (fourth window from the right). If he is, move back away from the doorway, wait for the footsteps to stop again, and move back to the wall and up to the doorway just enough to partially see the guard. When he starts toward the windows again, listen for two steps and then, without stopping, crouch along the wall on the right, around the corner and into the room with the case on the right.

NOTE: When you pick up the case, Barkeep radios you to bring the case to the bar. Also, if you haven't received a message from Sidorovich before this point, he gives you the optional Find the documents (Agroprom) optional task. The Groza Nimble is looking for sits on a nightstand near the south wall just east of the document case.

If you are collecting documents, the Note to the director of Research Institute is located on the bottom shelf of the table on the east side of the doorway you just came in. To leave the room, check to see if the guard is at the window again. If not, move into the hall, staying along the south wall and hide behind the pillar (facing west). Lean right to see the guard walk back to the window again, go through the doorway to the stairwell, and to the right to get out of sight before he turns around. Wait a few seconds until moving down the stairs to the second floor and position yourself so you can just see the guard walk by. Move back to the landing between floors one and two, and, unless you can see the first-floor guard's light approaching, continue to the ground floor and move just to the right (east) of the doorway to avoid being seen. If you're not sure where the guard is, stop in the middle of the landing (use the light at the second-floor landing as a guide). You should just be able to see the first-floor guard turn to make his west-to-east pass. If you get too far in line with the doorway, the guard will see you. Then move to the first floor. When the guard turns to go west-to-east, you again have the option of going out the window or front door.

Don't stop even if you hear the warning siren. If you're seen at this point, you can sprint out the back and over the hill, or out the front door and to the underground manhole. Don't forget anything important that you may have stashed, but don't worry about getting it all. Leave the petrol cans for now and head back to the Garbage. There's now a military guard detail at the move point, so use the trees along the road as cover. Alternatively, go north up the embankment just west of the train tunnel opening, then turn east and beware of anomalies and dogs. When you reach the fence, turn south and follow the fence until you start down the hill toward the move point. Then, sprint before the guards start shooting.

Once you spawn in the Garbage, remember to stay along the fence on the left to avoid the dogs. Up the hill until the fence ends and turn east toward the road. Now sprint down the hill into the trees and to the north side of the bluff. Now you should be able to walk to the road, as long as a Controller doesn't show up. Go north on the road and when you get close to the Duty checkpoint, they radio for help with mutants and you get the Help the Duty checkpoint - Kill the boars task.

Help the Duty checkpoint - Kill the boars

The best place I've found for this is the two cement supports on the east side of the road that set at a right angle to each other. Once you shoot at a boar, it changes direction and comes straight for you. When the boars are down, talk to the Duty commander, who is probably in the guardhouse, to complete the task. You can go through the gate to the Great Metal Factory and continue with the Find the militaries'(sic) documents task.

When you spawn in Great Metal Factory, there are mutants all around, so be alert. Follow the road north until you pass the bus stop and save before you pass the cement slabs forming a wall on the left. There's a group of Pseudodogs that attack if you go much further. But if you wait, most of them go next to the crane on the right where you can throw a grenade and take them out. Or, you can probably sprint past them to save ammo. There may be Boars and Fleshes where the road turns west. Follow this road until you pass the Gap sign on the right and turn north. The next Gap sign (on the left) is a bit deceiving as it seems to point to the right (east), but you need to continue north. Pass under two sets of large pipes and through an open gate. Now turn right and follow the road to the Duty checkpoint. Go through the checkpoint and down a few steps on the left. Continue south to the building, but don't go in. Turn left and pass another Gap sign hanging on the wall on the right. Up the stairs and turn right, through the gate and turn left.

NOTE: You may notice that you can put the fuel barrel next to the gate into your backpack. These are good for blowing stuff up, but you can't use them to fuel a car (which comes later).

Go past the two shipping containers and turn right at the sign for the bar. The path is pretty linear at this point, just follow the path to the doorway guarded by two Dutiers and down the steps into the bar. Talk to Barkeep to complete the Find the militaries'(sic) documents task and volunteer to work for him. Barkeep gives you the Meet Petrenko task. If you don't have a repair kit yet, you may want to see if Barkeep has one you can buy.

Meet Petrenko

Go to the end of the bar, through the door, turn left and then turn right at the end of the hallway. Talk to Petrenko to complete the task and he gives you the Meet Petrenko's contact task. If you have any optional task items, it's best to give the item to the task giver. Otherwise, you may loose the item during the next few tasks.

NOTE: If you're a stash hound, be sure to buy all the information you can from Snitch. See this note for more information.

Meet Petrenko's contact

Follow your path back out of the factory complex and back to the Garbage. There are three move points to the Dark Valley along the east. Since the Garbage is far more friendlier than the Dark Valley with regards to mutants, I prefer the southern-most option. So, continue south until the spot where you saved the stalker from bandits, where the trash heap blocks the road, and follow the edge of the heap southeast to the move point. You spawn in the Dark Valley with Whirlygig anomalies all around, so be careful. Turn and walk to the boulder on the right to get out of the danger zone. You may also need to jump up on the rocks if there are mutants nearby. Then continue south to the pig farm. Talk to the contact to complete the task and get two tasks: Find and wear a bandit suit and Get the bandit's password.

Find and wear a bandit suit

If you have a bandit suit, put it on to complete the task and then take the road north to the first gate of the Bandit base. If you don't have a bandit suit, talk to the contact again and say, "I wanted to ask..." then "Where can I find a bandit suit?" The contact will mark a spot on your PDA that is north of the Monolith base and east of the bandit base. If you want to take advantage of all the loot in the Monolith base, use the blue stash box next to the contact in the southeast corner to stash all your stuff except something for dealing with a bloodsucker.

It's safe to use the road until you get past the Monolith base on the right. When you pass the ZIL-131 cargo truck at the intersection just north of the bridge, turn northeast toward the area marked on the map. Look for a green trailer with a white top just off to the right and go in that direction.

The entrance to the cave is north of the trailer, dug into the side of the hill and you won't see it until you're past it. Just look for the picket fence and when you get to it, turn south to find the opening. When you get inside, turn right, down the steps, and turn left to go up the next set of steps. Follow the passageway toward the three dead bandits. The first bandit on the right has the suit, and taking it spawns a bloodsucker whose just waiting for you around the corner. Again, leave the others for later in order to collect the loot inside the Monolith base. With the bloodsucker out of the way, put the bandit suit on to complete the task, go south up the stairs, turn left, and exit the cave.

Get the bandit's password

At the opening of the cave, turn southwest and go to the south gate of the bandit base. Go through the gate and continue west past the BTR-70 to the back wall. Then turn right and find the drunk bandit. Talk to him and get the password to complete the task and get the Meet the Monolith informer task. Leave the Bandit base and head for the Monolith base.

Meet the Monolith informer

The door into the base is located off the drive that goes east and west, where the ZIL-131 cargo truck is that you passed on your way to the cave. If your inventory can hold another 39 kg., go past the door and turn north at the southeast corner of the building to find a Lada Niva that's locked with a key. Turn east and go to the wall, pick up the three petrol cans, and go to the door of the base. otherwise, you'll have to either pick these up during a firefight or come back later.

Go in the door that has the bus in front of it and talk to the guard. Give him the password, go up the stairs to the right, turn right and go up more stairs. To the left is the office where you'll need to come back to. But for now, turn right and take a few steps to get past the wall, then down the hall past the bunks and to the green sofas. Turn left and go down this hall, taking note of the windows as this is where you'll make your escape in a few minutes. You can't see it unless you jump, but the Lada is below. At the end of this hall is a door to the outside. Go down the steps, turn left, and left again into the large open doors. Inside, turn right, then right again at the opening. Go to the other end of the room. Go out the double-door, stop, and turn right. Notice the rusted shed and, behind the bush, you can just see the top of an angled roof. Take note of that roof as you will be coming back to that area in a hurry. Now go back into the building, turn right to find some stairs on the left. Go up the stairs, turn around (facing east) and go through the doorway with the light above. Turn right again and the informer is on the other side of the lathes. Talk to him and he'll agree to give you the information for 10,000 RUzs and to distract his commander so you can get a journal out of the office. This completes the task and gives you the Retreave information about X18 task.

Retrieve information about X18

Go back to the first building where you came up the stairs after giving the guide the password, only go past the stairs and turn right to get to the office with the journal. Help yourself to all that's there, only don't pick up the document from the desk before you save. As soon as you pick up the document, the task is complete, the base comes under attack by the military, and you get the Reach Darkscape task.

Reach Darkscape

Sprint back to the green sofas, then to the windows along the south wall. The second-to-last window is open and you can jump through (low-crouching) to land near the Lada, which you now have the key for. If you haven't picked up the petrol cans yet, you can try putting them in the trunk. Go to either door and press action to open the door. Step inside the door and press action again to sit into the car. A dialog displays with controls, except for breaking, which is the space bar. This triggers an attack by helicopter. Click OK to close the dialog, look at the open door and press action to close it, then press Start (B). Go straight over the curb to the drive and turn right to go past the front door. Follow the drive to the main road and head south. When you hear the helicopter firing on you, start weaving back and forth to avoid taking damage to the car. Don't stop for the gate or to get any items you stashed here, just crash right through the gate to move to Darkscape. When you spawn in Darkscape, the task is completed and you get the Reach the rail tunnel task.

Reach the rail tunnel

Each time you transition from one map to another in a vehicle, you spawn with the engine off. Start the car and get moving before the helicopter starts shooting again. When you pass the bus on the right, you should see some boulders in the road ahead. Stay to the right until you get past the Whirlygig anomaly then move over to the left to get through the boulders. Now follow the road and don't stop for anything. You may want to zig-zag from one side of the road to the other to avoid taking fire from the helicopter and ground troops. Note the soldier in the bus stop shelter with an RPG. If he happens to blow himself up, stop and grab his gear. As you come around a bend in the road to the right, you see the rail bridge above the road. As you near the bridge, turn the car off and stop underneath. Look at the door and press action to open, then action again to exit the car. Sprint up the south side of the bridge and into the tunnel to complete the task. Once the helicopter moves away, go back to the rear of the car, press action, and select Open Trunk. DO NOT refuel yet. Any time you have petrol in your inventory, this option is enabled. It's best to wait until the tank is below half. Stash everything but a flashlight into the trunk and return to the tunnel. Continue into the tunnel to get the Find the entrance to the mines task.

NOTE: If you picked up any damage and sparks are flying from the front of the car, you need a repair kit in your inventory to fix the damage. Go to the back of the car and press action to display the menu and click Repair vehicle. If the car is severely damaged, it may blow up and take anything in the trunk with it.

Find the entrance to the mines

Save and go back to the car to put all the ammo you got at the Monolith base into the trunk. The only thing you need is your headlamp, knife, and an extra battery if necessary. Then go into the tunnel, staying to the left as that's where you'll find the entrance to the mines. The tunnel is safe to explore if you want, but anything you find will be lost in just a minute. When you reach the entrance and go in, the task is complete and the next task, Go deeper into the mines, is given.

Go deeper into the mines

Follow the mine southwest as far as you can. As you pass some stacked sandbags, the task is complete, you lose control, pass out, and wake to be standing in front of Veles, the Sin leader. Talk to him to get the Find the bandits' documents task.

Find the bandits' documents

Anything you had when you came in is now gone (except your headlamp, knife, and Bandit jacket). Veles gives you an AKS-74 with a full clip and just enough supplies to get by for a day. He also gives you a module for downloading to your PDA that you need to double-click to install. Turn toward the fire and walk around it, continuing on to the small lamp giving off a red light. When you get to the lamp, take the fork to the right and continue until you get to the railroad tracks. Turn right (south) and follow the tracks out of the mines. As you exit the mine, you get a transmission from Sidorovich who gives you the Talk with the scientist in Yantar task, which you can ignore for now. The brick house on the left has a Fort-12, ammo, and two F1 grenades inside the wooden crates.

As you exit the house, follow the overhead wire south to get out of the walled-in area. When you clear the area, sprint south to a pile of boulders and jump up on the right side to check for mutants following you. If you see a helicopter, it doesn't fire on you and can be ignored. Directly south of the boulders you'll see a clump of trees near the road. The building surrounded by the trees is a Merc base. There's no need to make contact, but clearing the Mercs out might work to your advantage as it provides a shelter from psy storms. Otherwise, you have to go back to the mine and sprint quite a ways into the mine, almost back to Veles, to be safe from the storm. There's a GP-25 grenade launcher in the attic under the mattress on the south side.

There are two cars you can choose from, a ZAZ-965 Zaporozhets on the south side of the base, or an AZLK-2140 Moskvitch on the north side. The following table shows my evaluation of the three cars currently at your disposal, as well as a UAZ Jeep that comes later. The Zaporozhets gets the best mileage, but top speed is only 35 KPH. The Moskvitch, like the Lada, tops out at about 52 KPH and has a weight limit for the trunk of over 100 kgs. Of these last two, the Moskvitch gets better mileage. Plus, you can probably jump in and drive away without the Mercs noticing. However, you won't get the Zaporozhets without a fight. See General Car Notes for more information.

General Car Notes

Vehicle	Mileage	Top Speed	Max Weight	Tank Capacity
Lada Niva	Low	52-53 KPH	120 Kg	3 cans
Moskvitch*	Medium	52-53 KPH	160 kg	2 cans
Zaporozhets	High	35 KPH	80 Kg	1 can
UAZ Jeep**	Low	45 KPH	200 Kg	3 cans

*The move point from Yantar to The Great Metal Factory has a bug with this car where the back of the car ends up on the rail of the shack just north of the tracks. The Lada doesn't do this and I've never tried the Zaporozhets. The work-around is to use the move point in the southeastern corner of Yantar. Unfortunately, the Bandits re-spawn in their camp each time you re-enter the map and you must fight your way through. If you're starting from the mobile lab, use the tunnel under the Motor Pool where, if you took on the Help the unlucky stalker optional task, you met Oleg Rugov. Continue south to the road that goes to the Swamp move point and turn left. This takes you to the Construction Site move point, but the car might take some damage as you pass through the Bandit village.

**The UAZ Jeep comes later in the game during the Find the underground tunnels at the waterdam task.

• - There are some hills where the incline is too steep to go straight up and you may have to go up at an angle.
• - As previously mentioned in the walkthrough, any time you have a petrol can in your inventory and you access the menu in the back of the car, the refueling option is enabled.
• - Repairs - You must have a Repair kit in your inventory to enable the option. Repair kits are good for three repairs, so it's best to wait until the car is smoking so bad it's hard to see (about 30%). Click on the kit to see Usage: #/3, where # is now many repairs are left in that kit.
• - Weight limits - With this version of Lost Alpha, vehicles now have weight capacities and it's suggested that you limit yourself to on firearms and supplies. Keep ammo under 200 rounds (even less if you're a better shot than me). There is plenty of .44 and .45 caliber ammo, as well as 9x39 for the Vintar you'll acquire later in the game. Assault rifle ammo and buckshot are also in abundance if you loot the fallen. As for supplies, 10 of anything is plenty.

Follow the road east until the large dock cranes come into view. Turn off the road on the right and pull up to the picket fence. Get out of the car, jump the fence, and go through the opening in the wall of the house to find an elite anomaly detector in the oven. Return to the car and get back on the road, using the detector to avoid the anomalies around the intersection. Take the first turn north and follow the road to a dirt road off to the left, which you can identify by the white and black post that mark the road. You can turn and collect some loot or go straight and continue on to the Lada. If you turn, see the optional Pillage the Village section.

Back to Dark Valley and to the Bandit base, stopping at the farm where you met Petrenko's contact to get your stuff. When you start north on the road in the Dark Valley, Petrenko messages you about one of his guys being held at the base and gives you the Free the Dutyer from prison task. At the base, I like to park the car outside the front door next to the BTR facing out and leave the door open for a quick getaway. This is also a good time to return to the mine and loot the place (unless you plan on taking the Find the documents (Forest) task, then wait until you have the task).

Go in the front doorway and turn right, then take the first left across the hallway into the room with a Bandit sitting/sleeping on the floor and to the stairs going down to the cell with the Dutyer. Go talk to him and he tells you the Bandit with the key also has a radio. Go back up to the front door and continue south down the hallway past the gated room and to the counter with the radio (notice the trader leaving as you arrive). You can go into the room and get the key without being noticed, but you have only a few seconds before another Bandit enters. The key lies on the desk between the radio and the wall. You can stand outside the room near the radio and jump to see it instead of entering the room. A Bandit wearing a brown trench coat comes in from the west to man the store.

Now turn west and go up those stairs to the office. Borov the Bandit Leader is inside the office. Talk to him and he'll present you with a riddle, to which the answer is, "I don't know." Borov then gives you the combination to the safe. Press action to enter the combination by clicking on the right side of the dial to spin it clock-wise to the first number, 2. Then click on the left side to spin the dial counter clock-wise to the second number, 9. And clock-wise to 5. Borov doesn't seem to mind if you take his gun and any of the food that's there, so help yourself and leave the office. As you leave the office, Veles radios you with the Get file about experiments task. Now back to the Dutyer. Unlock the cell, go in and talk to him, then hurry up the stairs, take out the sitting/sleeping Bandit (who may now be in the hallway), and get to the car. Otherwise, you'll be taking on the whole base.

Get file about experiments

Once you're a safe distance from the Bandit Base, gear up for some heaving mutant fighting. The .44 you took from Borov is a great Zombie killer, along with your favorite weapon(s) for poltergeists and Snorks. Then head back to the Monolith base. The safest way into the compound is to park the car along the west wall where there's a short section that turns into the building where you met the Monolith informer. It might be good to refresh your memory of the door code before you jump the wall. Jump up on the car and over the wall. You should have a fairly safe route east to sprint the lab door.

Your objective is the exterior basement stairs along the back wall of the north building, near the rusted shed I pointed out during the Meet the Monolith informer task. When you find the covered stairs going down, open the door and close it behind you. Go down the stairs and enter the code for the door. Open the door, go in, then close that door behind you, too. Go down the hall, turn left and go through that door, turn right and walk towards the door to transition to Lab X18.

Lab X18

As you spawn in Lab X18, Petreko radios you to give you the Find X18 secret documents task. Turn right, go down the stairs and open the door. At the reception desk is a green hologram. As you enter the doorway, the light flashes and a Zombie wakes up. Time for that .44 you got from Borov. The Human testing - Dolovan K document is in the desk, one of five documents needed to complete Petreko's task. As you collect them, they are noted in your PDA's Diary Log as LX18 documents. This is the fourth document, but the rest are in order.

Turn left out of the reception area and to the first door on the left, then down the stairs. Go straight to the lockers and turn left to go down a ladder. Follow the hallway and into the room with the bright star. As you get close to the stairs going down into the room, a cut-scene plays. When it's done, a Karlik and two Zombies spawn. When they are down, you can retrieve Vladmire's Walther P99 if you want. Turn east and go through the doorway and up to the hovering light to start another cut-scene. When it's done, two poltergeists and a Snork spawn. You can back out of the room during the cut-scene and take care of the mutants through the doorway.

There's also a Burer in the pit on the left, below the grading. He's stuck down there, so you can ignore him if you want. Go through the doorway on the east and into the first elevator shaft. Climb the ladder to the next floor, step left off the ladder to the planks, and follow the catwalk to the left, over more planks and into the room with the purple puffs of light. Get out your best bloodsucker weapon and sprint into the room with the desk and shelves to trigger another cut-scene.

NOTE: When the cut-scene starts, everything should go black and then the camera should move around the room with the two scientists and subjects. If your vantage point is outside the room and doesn't move, this is a known bug. Try reloading your last save and sprint into the room again. Be sure to quick save as soon as the cut-scene ends.

During the cut-scene, keep your Move Back and Move Right controls pressed (even though you can't tell what you're doing). When the cut-scene is done, a bloodsucker spawns and attacks you. If you stepped back and to the right, you're somewhat protected. When you're done with the bloodsucker, the first document lies on the shelf along the south wall, Wormholes - Karl D.. Go back to the catwalk and up the stairs into the room with the hole in the floor. There's a couple of Zombies to deal with and another one wakes up when you get near the desk in the southwest corner of the room. The shelf next to the desk has the second document, Mutagens on rats - Ivan S..

Go through the door between the desk and the steps on the south wall, around to another door, and into a large room with a bloodsucker running around. With him out of the way, go down the steps and to the southeast corner to find a ladder. Down the ladder, turn west and go to the end. Turn left and find the second ladder on the left (with an open portal). Climb up and grab the third document, Lockdown - Security Chief Adam on the desk. Now back to the big room and out the door you came in through. In the room with the hole in the floor, go around the hole and down the hall you came in through to the catwalk. You can walk off and fall to the next level, then again to the floor where you fought the poltergeists and to the elevator shafts. This time take the far shaft and go up to the third level, where a Zombie sleeps. Cap the Zombie, go around the glass partition and open the door. Ignoring the sleeping Zombies, go up the stairs on the left, around to the northwest corner of the room and jump over the desk. Pick up the fifth document, Bastards, all of you - [REDACTED], and deal with the two Snorks that spawn. Now jump back over the desk and pick up the PDA to learn the access code to the computer, which is noted in your PDA's Diary Log. Stand in front of the screen and press action to get the password dialog, and then click on the Mutants file to download to your PDA. Now go back to the elevator shaft, to the bottom level, switch to the other shaft and go up to the fourth level. Open the door on the right to find the reception area and the stairs out on the right.

When you spawn to the next level, go west and take the first right to the door and stairs into the Monolith base complex. If you haven't killed everyone on the base, go north and take the fire escape on the left to the top level. This is the building where you met the Monolith informer. Make sure your health is at least 60% and go across the room through the doorway onto the flat roof. Jump up on the peaked roof and to the northwest corner. It's a long way down and you're going to lose about 40% - 50% of your health, but it's the quickest way out. Walk off (not jump) the north edge, get in your car and head back to Darkscape. Another option is to go west, staying against the south wall, until you get to the exterior stairs you used to meet the contact. Go up to the top of the stairs, into the building, make your way to the northwest corner of the first building in the Retrieve information about X18 task, and jump out the window facing north to get back to your car.

In Darkscape, go past the bridge this time and continue on the road. When you get just past the large crane on the left, watch the minimap for anomalies as you make a sharp right turn.

Keep an eye on the plateau on the right as you near the place where you found the Moskvitch, but don't go that far. When the plateau ends, turn off the road and go north, checking your map periodically to make sure you head for the boulders and then the generator (which looks like a gray circle on the map) that's outside the mine entrance. Once at the mine, you have to walk in and take the documents to Veles. Follow the tracks to the large room with a green trailer on the right. Turn left (west) and go up to meet with Veles to complete the Find the bandits' documents and Get file about experiments tasks. If you like, you can ask Veles about the Find the documents for Sin task. However, this task takes you completely out of your way from the main storyline.

Find X18 documents

Before you leave Darkscape, you can get the Find the documents (Agroprom) task off your PDA by going southwest out of the mine to the road, then take the road west to the Cordon and talk to Sidorovich about the documents. Either way, head for the Great Metal Factory by way of the Garbage. Driving through the Garbage requires a couple of off-road detours: 1. Just north of the cargo truck the road is blocked and you must turn off the road on the left, up the hill, stay along the top of the hill, and between the two large trees on either side of the drive to the flea market. If the car can't make it up the hill on the other side of the flea market drive, go around the trees to the left and up the hill at an angle. Then go down the hill slowly to avoid damage to the car and stay right of the garbage heap. Once past the cement block ruins, you can turn back onto the road. 2. Just before crossing the canal with the tree blocking the bridge, turn off the road on the right, through the willow trees and canal, then up the other side to get back on the road. The Dutiers at the checkpoint don't move, at least not right away. So you have to go around them on either side. When you get to the factory complex, follow the same route as before. You have to leave your car at the Duty checkpoint. Talk to Petrenko in the bar to complete the task.

At this point the only tasks should be the ubiquitous Kill Strelok and Talk with the scientist in Yantar. I like to take this time to revisit Agroprom and pick up the petrol cans, along with any stashes I couldn't get in the northern complex, as well as the Rostok Factory for the Sin task and some items Nimble's looking for. On my way back I might hit the Construction Site to work for Alex and Milo. Again, this is completely optional. See my Lost Alpha Optional Tasks page for walkthroughs on these optional tasks.

Talk with the scientist in Yantar

Go west on the road that leads into the area formerly known as the Wild Territory. As you pass the tanks on the left, turn left onto a side drive to get around the pipes blocking the way up ahead. Go over the curb, through the bushes, and between the trees until you're past the pipes, then go through the open gate. Directly ahead is a green trailer, several red fuel barrels, an open door to a building, and a yellow trailer. A Controller tends to be in or near the building with the open door. Stay near the blue truck just west of the open gate to snipe from to avoid the Controller's power. If you're lucky, the Controller will be fighting with some Snorks or other mutants and you can put a few rounds into it from a safe distance.

As you pass the green trailer on the right, you can either turn left and go down through the underpass or turn right and over the tracks (which is a rough ride). If you take the underpass, turn right at the top of the ramp and then turn left to line up with the metal ramps onto the platform. If you take the tracks head on, stay south of the last set so that you are directly east of the move point. If you have trouble getting past the Bandits and mutants, see Find the stolen rifle and return it to Hunter for a strategy on dealing with them.

In Yantar, you spawn on a drive that leads into an enclosed area, which is a dead end. Instead, turn left over the curb and go around the south side of the enclosure, staying close to the wall. Cross the road and turn northwest toward the north side of the complex with the circular wall and satellite dish. When you pass the tall grass on the right, turn north toward the pond and follow the south shore of the pond until you get to the next patch of reeds. Turn southwest to go under the bridge and turn slightly to the right so you pass the boat on the south, then follow that line to the gate of the mobile lab complex (just don't run over the large pipe running east and west or you'll get hung up). As you near the gate, the guard warns you, but if you go up and talk to him, he lets you pass. Go into the mobile lab and talk with Sakharov to complete the task. He sends you on an errand to the Dead City, which is the Get the scientists package task.

NOTE: Sometimes Sakharov doesn't come to the window to talk with you and you have to go through the door on the south side to get to him.

Get the scientists package

You don't need any weapons or ammo for this task. Northeast of the complex is a bridge over the canal, and another just before you get to the move point to the Dead City. When you spawn, continue north toward the Mercenaries' base. As you approach you get a warning and the task to meet the guard. When you come to the first intersection (south of the base), stop and get out of the car. If you park too close to the base, the car gets stolen. But as long as you are on the far side of the road, the car is safe. Go into the front door, turn right and talk to the guard, who sends you to Meet the Merc Captain. Turn around, go north to the first door on the right in the hallway, up the stairs, and talk to the captain, who gives you a nice surprise.

After the cut-sceen and Doc's little dialog, the Kill Strelok task is canceled. Talk to Doc about fixing your PDA and then wait for the military to set you free. As you start down the hallway, you get the Find your equipment task. You can take your time and loot the fallen if you want. Just be careful of Monolith survivors and not to step into an anomaly on your way to the car. This is important for looters (like me) because, if you get killed and have to load your last save, many of the bodies are gone. Your equipment is at the north end of the hall way, including the package for the scientists. In the northeast corner of the east room is a safe with your equipment.

To leave, take the main hallway south, the first left, and another left to go up the stairs. There may still be some fighting between the Mercs and military, so be ready to help the military as you make your way back to the car and then the mobile lab. Talk to Sakharov to complete the task and he gives you the Get wire for the scientist task.

NOTE: One of the dead Mercs may have a Reinforced suit which is required for the optional Find mercenaries' improved outfit task. If you sell it and want to do the optional task, there's another suit in the Dark Valley that also completes the task. Also, a Balanced L85A1 is required for an optional task. I usually find one or more on the dead Monoliths east of the base.

Get wire for the scientist

This is a fairly simple task to complete. You have some civilian Zombies and a couple of Snorks to deal with, and you may run into armed Zombies near the entrance to the underground. I like to travel light for this one. As you leave the complex, there's a dead tree southeast with a pit on the near side of it. That pit is the entrance to the underground and is lined with anomalies. So, approach from the north and walk over the cement slab to the ladder. As you approach the pit, you get a message from another stalker asking for help. This is the Help the unlucky stalker optional task. If you accept, I recommend some grenades and a shotgun.

Approach the pit from the north and stay on the cement slab until you get to the hole, where you can drop down or use the ladder. Once you're in the tunnel, move east to an underground train station. You can either go up and over, or around and continue on east. There is an alternate way at the south end of the tunnel, but you'll have to sprint through some radiation along the way. There's a doorway on the right just past the chain-linked fence with an open gate. Follow this passage until it ends at another passageway and turn left. This, too, ends and you turn left again. When you come to a room with shelves, continue north and the spool of wire is on the left. Now head back to the mobile lab, turning right at each intersection marked by a light bulb. Proceed up the ladder out of the underground with caution as there may be armed Zombies nearby. Take the wire to Sakharov to complete the task and get the Meet Doc task.

Meet Doc

NOTE: If you're working for Nimble, the suit in the brick building where you spawn in the Swamps is for the Find Duty hunter PS5 suit task. Pick it up either before the cut-scene or when you return after meeting Doc. The suit is there whether you have the task or not.

Doc is located at the northwest corner of the Swamps and the nearest move point puts you at the southeast corner with a military helicopter shooting at you. Not to mention that driving in the Swamps is a bit of a challenge. So, we'll have to leave the car in Yantar. Also, going by way of the Dead City doesn't seem to be an option as the game stops you at the move point.

When you spawn in the Swamps, there is a pipeline and small brick building (with a Hunter PS5 suit inside) to the left. As you move forward a cut-scene plays with the helicopter shooting Swampbeasts, and subsequently chasing them your way. When the cut-scene is done, you are a few steps northwest of the brick building. Get into the building and stay away from the east wall to avoid damage from the helicopter gun. As soon as the helicopter passes over the building, sprint out the door and to the pipeline. You may need to go the long way around (east) to avoid the Swampbeasts, but the objective is to get to the opening in the rail next to the tree that is just west of the building. Jump on top of the pipeline and sprint west past the third pipeline joint and then jump into the tall grass on the right.

If you make it to the yellow trailer, you should be safe from the helicopter because of the trees, but the Swampbeasts are still a threat. Continue west to the south side of the green house, where you can enter through the door. If you want, collect the goodies in the northwest room. Then, sprint west to the light green trailer that hides you from the chopper, but doesn't protect you from rockets if they happen to see you before you get inside. Also, the Swampbeasts can get at you here and you may need to leave the goodies until you deal with them.

There are three huts on pillars to the northwest of the trailer, two of which have more goodies and offer more cover from the chopper. The northeast hut, which is mostly rubble, has nothing to offer in supplies or protection. From inside the northwest hut, low-crouch to view out the opening in the north wall to the next trailer, northwest of the hut. You should be able to see a bloodsucker on, or near the far end of the dock. Try and get a few shots into it before heading to the trailer. You will probably need to finish it off at close range.

Sometimes, the helicopter hits an anomaly and crashes. Or, it may just fly off. But generally, the chopper stays along the south end of the Swamps and continues to be a threat as you work your way north collecting loot in each of the huts and trailers. Use the tall grass for cover as much as possible, and save often. Usually, when you near the road in the center of the Swamps you can hear a transmission where the guys in the chopper realize you're working for the scientists and stop shooting at you.

As you near Doc's location, stay on the elevated walk to avoid the mines. As you climb the steps to Doc's place, a cut-scene plays with you blacking out again, dreaming, and then waking up. Talk to Doc to complete the task and get the Find and talk to Ghost task. Doc gives you a Textolite circuit board for your PDA repair and doesn't seem to mind if you help yourself to his ammo stash.

Find and talk to Ghost

Ghost is hiding out on the west side of the Bloodsucker Village in Military Warehouses, which you can get to by way of the Dead City. Or you can go back to the car in Yantar. If you're looting, be aware that there's bandits in the building east of Doc's location. If you go back to Yantar for the car, driving to the Military Warehouses requires some care around the anomalies on the bridge between the Dead City and the warehouses. Follow the same path as you did during the Get the scientists package task, but continue east on the road where you parked before. Turn left at the end and take the second right turn to go over the bridge. In Military Warehouses, use the road to get to the southeast move point, which goes to the Great Metal Factory, and turn right just before, about where the car is in the road. Go up the hill and along the fence, but leave the car on top of the hill and walk to the root cellar where Ghost is hanging out. Talk to Ghost to complete the task and get the Explore nearest village task, along with a VSS Vintorez BC sniper rifle, ammo, and a new suit.

Explore nearest village

The village is no more than a single farm with three guys sitting in the L-shaped barn. If you're lucky, a single grenade through the window completes the task. You know when they're all dead when a cut-scene plays with you radioing Ghost, who gives you the Meet contact task. Shortly after the cut-scene is a tremor, and then you black out for a few seconds. I think this is suppose to be a warning of what's coming.

Meet contact

When you get near the contact, another short cut-scene plays, and then the contact is standing in front of you. Go up and talk to him about attacking the Merc base before the blowout. Your job is to take out the snipers in the towers. You don't need to take out all five, but the next bit is easier if you do. Another cut-scene plays with mutants running past you because they can sense the blowout. Instead of following the contact up the hill, follow the arrow on the minimap (southeast) and take out the first sniper in the tower next to the gate. It helps to low-crouch for a steadier aim. Move up near the fence where you can see the western and central towers. Now go west across the road near the gate (you may need to help the Contact take out with the guards) and up the hill until you see the southern tower. You should be able to get a clear shot at the east tower from that hill top. Then save, and make your way into the headquarters before the blowout. A timer starts as you cross the bridge and it's best to sprint to the building and guard the door from inside (just don't shoot the contact). But sometimes that isn't possible and you have to fight your way in. Just keep an eye on the timer, get inside the door, and guard it until you black out.

NOTE: Contact may run off, or not make it to the building in time. I've even seen him get taken out by a grenade. It doesn't matter as he still shows up when you wake.

When you come to, Contact is lying at the door of the building and calls for you to come closer. He tells you to, "Finish the Dog." and then dies. You have time to loot the dead if you can avoid the mutants. Mad Dog is indicated on your map, so find him and kill him. As you approach Mad Dog to get the artifact, the military decides to retake the base, so get the artifact and get out. If the main gate is blocked by mutants or the military, there's a break in the fence at the northeast end of the tracks. Go back to the root cellar and talk to Ghost to complete the task and get the Return the artefact(sic) to Sakharov task.

Return the artefact(sic) to Sakharov

Back to Yantar either the way you came (through the Dead City) or through the Great Metal Factory. Talk to Sakharov to end the task and he tells you to Meet with Kruglov while he works on your PDA. At first, Kruglov blows you off. But if you talk to him a second time, you complete the task and Sakharov messages you that the PDA is fixed. However, at this point, your task list is empty. While you're talking to Sakharov, you get a message from Petreko that the bar is under attack and you now have the Offer assistance to Duty at the bar task.

Offer assistance to Duty at the bar

Getting back to the bar from the mobile lab is a little easier than the other way around. You don't have to go around the enclosed area west of the move point. Instead, drive into the opening on the west side and turn left as you start up the ramp to come off the ramp and on through the east opening. When you get to the bar, there are corpses scattered all through the area. No need to hurry and you can loot them if you want, except the guy on the roof near the tower. You'll get to him in a minute. You don't need a weapon, so you can leave all that in the car to allow you to sprint when you need to. Talk to Petreko, who is in the building southeast of the water tower, to complete the task and he gives you the Destroy the heli's task.

NOTE: If you're driving a Moskvitch, be sure to see the General Car Notes footnote.

Destroy the heli's

Head for the water tower and up the stairs inside. Before you get to the doorway, save. Once you go through to the outside of the tower, the helis start firing on you. In fact, they can get you when you're standing in the doorway. Step through, turn right, up the ladder, and over to the dead Dutyer to get the RPG. Then go back inside for a quick save. Now left and go up the ladder to the next level of the tower. On the south side are more rockets if you need them. Move around the tower to say out of sight until the choppers stop moving, and fire. One hit is all you need for each, then go back and talk to Petreko to complete the task and get the Go meet Barkeep in Outskirts task.

Go meet Barkeep in Outskirts

The minimap sends you back to Yantar, then on to the southeast corner of the Swamps, and finally to the Pripyat outskirts. I hate driving through the Swamps. Plus, Ivancov is going to send you right back to Sakhorov. So, I suggest going Yantar to Dead City and leaving the car at the Swamps move point, which is on the west side of the map, and walk to the outskirts. Driving from the Dead City move point down into the swamp, then back up to the outskirts move point isn't too difficult if you go on the north side of the tower and stay along the east shore. Coming back, you have to go on the south side of the bridge and, at an almost parallel angle to the road, work your way up the embankment and into the bushes (don't even try to get over the curb and onto the road). This can be very frustrating, and if you go back to the southeast corner move point to Yantar, the Swampbeasts beat the life out of the car.

When you spawn in the outskirts, go southeast to the road and follow it south (if you're in a car, follow the markers east to the road). At the intersection with the RAF 33111 truck and bus stop, turn left. Continue to the fallen tree blocking the road and turn right onto a sidewalk going south, past the phone booth, and turn left to follow the walk. This brings you to the west side of the building where Barkeep is. The door is guarded by Liolik, who unlocks the door after you talk to him. Talk to Barkeep to complete the task and he sends you to Voronin, who is on the other side of the door next to (north) Barkeep. Again, no task on your PDA until Voronin gives you the Meet Ivancov task.

Meet Ivancov

Ivancov is northeast of Voronin's location and is easy enough to get to, the building that is. But to get to Ivancov you have to go through the building and out the back, then to the left are some stairs going into the basement. Ivancov gives you a briefing and sends you back to Sakharov in Yantar with the Get the psi helmet task.

Get the psi helmet

In previous versions of Lost Alpha, Sakharov didn't always come to the window at this point. You had to go through the room on the south side of the mobile lab and into the area where Sakharov is in order to complete the task. If you went into the back first, you had the same results and then had to go around to the window. However, it hasn't been an issue so far. Anyway, this completes the task and he sends you to Deedee with the Meet the scientist task. Deedee is at the Concrete factory, so it's time for a drive in the country. But before you leave, arm yourself with an assault rifle and your best sniper rifle.

NOTE: You cannot wear a psi helmet with any other helmet. So, if you're wearing a closed-cycle (e.g., SEVA) suit or exoskeleton suit, you must take the suit off in order to wear the psi helmet. For this reason, it's best to have a good suit without an integrated helmet and a Screen helmet that gives you good night vision, but one you can remove to wear the psi helmet. Also, I recommend having a night vision headset to wear with the psi helmet.

Meet the scientist

You've already been to the Military Warehouses, so see my instructions for Find and talk to Ghost if necessary. When you move from the warehouses to Radar, you must be wearing the psi helmet or a timer starts counting down from 4:35 (then you die). Also, be sure to save before moving to and from the Radar. This first time to Radar requires a grenade launcher (you can try an RPG, but that might be too much bang and you'll take yourself out, not to mention the rate-of-fire might be too slow). Leave the car on the warehouses side and proceed on foot. When you spawn in Radar, there are two guards that fire on you almost immediately. In earlier playthroughs, I could bribe the guards for 5000 RUz. However, during the Find Nomad on Radar task they all turn on you, so I recommend clearing them out now. You can take the two guards out now, go back for the car, and then fight your way to the North Hills move point.

Clearing Radar

From the warehouses move point, go north up the hill into the dump area. Turn east and walk along the fence between the road and the south end of five rows of junk. Ignore the Snorks if you can as they will just re-spawn. When you get to the last row of junk (going west to east), get up on the cement barrier and wait to see if the three guards from the Old Road move point come looking for you. If not, continue east to the east side of the road and use the trees as cover to get close to the move point. With those three down, use the trees on the west side of the road to move towards the North Hills move point. Using either an RPG or sniper rifle, take out the guard with the RPG first. Then, let the rest come to you. When the shooting stops, continue north past the shipping containers and follow the road west to clear out the rest of the Monolith guards until you get to the fallen tree blocking the road. If you're lucky, Bandits may come in from North Hills and clear out the Monolith guards for you. Now go back to get the car and continue on the North Hills.

NOTE: When you spawn in North Hills, the Moskvitch on the hill to the left of where you are is a working vehicle with a full tank.

As you drive through the country side, you come to a point where you can see a tree partially blocking the road and some boars wondering around. About this time there's an earthquake and signs of a psi storm. Stay on the gas as the road bends to the left and stay close to the center of the road. As you approach the bus, there's a cluster of burner anomalies where the road is broken up and by this time the sky is turning red. The car may catch on fire, but keep going and it goes out with no damage to the car. As soon as you're clear of the anomalies, shut the car off and stop before you pass out (I've never done this in a Zaporozhets, which is much slower, so I don't know if you can get this far). This is to prevent the car from running into something and blowing your stash up. You wake up a short time later in Deedee's mobile lab. Talk to Deedee at the window to complete the task and get the Find the underground tunnels at the waterdam task.

Find the underground tunnels at the waterdam

When you leave the mobile lab, head east to the North Hills move point. When you spawn in the North Hills, you are now heading west. Up the road you get a warning from the military which you can ignore and continue until you get stopped by Major Griboyedov who starts a conversation with you. He's a nice guy and offers you some optional tasks. When you finish your conversation, continue west on the road. As you leave the checkpoint, there's a UAZ Jeep on the right that you can help yourself to. Take care pulling onto the road as there are mines on both sides (marked by white sticks). In fact, I suggest backing up a few feet first. This is a good time to go back to the car and get your stuff in the trunk. There's just enough fuel in the jeep to get you to the tunnel.

Just after passing a fuel truck and bus, there's a dirt road going off to the left that shortens the drive to the tunnel. Just be aware of the anomaly at the top of the hill. The bandits have a house on the far side of the tunnel close to where you passed out on the way to Deedee's place. They like to patrol the area around the tunnel. So, when you get close to the tunnel, you may want to stop and save before you pass through to where you left the car.

NOTE: The jeep's mileage is on the low side but has greater ground clearance and has a higher maximum weight (195 Kg). It's also top-heavy and unstable on even slight curves in the road. So, it's really up to you which you prefer driving. Also, the jeep is a little tricky getting out of as you have to look down as far as possible for the action key to cause you to exit. It is sometimes easier to exit from the passenger's side. See General Car Notes for details.

Coming in from the west, left at the fork where the fuel truck and bus are and to the canal. Staying on the west side of the canal, turn left off the road toward the waterdam. You can avoid several anomalies by staying as close to the west canal rail as possible. Park a safe distance from the waterdam and take out your Chimera-killer of choice (I prefer the RPG). There are probably four, but sometimes only three. You should be able to take out any on the west side from a safe distance. If you can't get a good shot, keep moving in until you do, but not close enough that they attack. One or two may be running around on the east side. There's a burner anomaly over there that may take them out for you.

With the chimera guards out of the way, go to the east side where the buildings are and the northeast corner of the platform to find a ladder down to a closed door. Go through the door and follow the passage into a control room with some civilian Zombies and a Controller. Follow the stairs down until a cut-scene starts where you radio Deedee that the way is blocked and he sends you to Hermit in the old church on the other side of the road. This completes the task and you now have the Find another way into the underground task.

Find another way into the underground

Go back out to the car and drive to the road, left onto the road, and then turn right onto a dirt road marked by black and white striped delineators. Park at the north door, go inside to the southeast corner of the church, up the ramp and around to talk to Hermit. Hermit offers to take you to an old access, but it's pretty straight forward to just drive to the cave opening to complete the task and get the Find the scientists task. Turn the car directly north until you're back on the paved road. This takes you around most of the anomalies on the east side of the canal. At the cave opening, arm yourself for Snorks, bloodsuckers, and the usual civilian Zombies. There's a Controller in one part of the underground that you may need to battle, but it usually stays in a section you don't need to go in.

Find the scientists

At the back of the cave is an elevator enclosed by a chain-linked fence. Pull out your Snork-eliminator weapon, move through the opening of the enclosure, but not into the elevator, and turn right to go between the elevator and enclosure to access the ladder down. Continue down the ladders until reaching the last platform and look for any Snorks lurking about. One or two grenades should clear the way. Then, continue down, sprint to the stairs on the right, and up to the platform where there's a control panel moved away from the wall. Get behind it for protection against any Snorks that may have followed you up the stairs. When the platform is clear, move further along the platform to where the railing is open and use this spot to finish off any remaining Snorks, usually eight in all. With them out of the way, move north (the passage west is a dead end) and take a left (west) at the end. Turing right takes you to where the Controller hangs out and this spot is where it may be waiting for you, especially if you took too long with the Snorks. Follow the west passage as it turns north, take the passage that comes in on the right and on into the large room. Turn left (north) and get ready to deal with two bloodsuckers at the next turn. From there, follow the passage around until you come to the corpse, search to get the psi-helmet to complete the task and get the Find the emitters task.

Find the emitters

Go back the way you came, leave the cave, and head back to the Lost Factory near Deedee's mobile lab. There's no need to talk with Deedee, but I tend to leave the car inside the complex and parked out of the way of the scientists walking around. The safest way from the spawn point to the lab is to stay on the road until you're just south of the tunnel opening that goes under the road, between the telephone pole and tree. Turn left off the road and pass on the north side of the yellow trailer. There's a large bush just inside of the gate on the left that you can pull partially into to keep it out of the way.

For this task I recommend an assault rifle with grenade launcher, about six grenades, and a .44, but keep it light with minimal health packs, bandages, etc. Then go north up the hill to the wall and east to the corner. At this point you can either fight your way in or sprint past the Zombies, going through the front gate of the factory complex, west to the back of the complex, then into the Lab X16 entrance and down the stairs to complete the task. When you spawn in the lab, you don't have a weapon or access to your inventory. Your PDA list the You're dreaming, follow your dream task. So, before you get to the move point, have your grenade launcher loaded and ready.

You're dreaming, follow your dream

There's no compass for me to direct you with, but once you move forward to Deedee's doppelganger, Boris Masmonikoff, you won't need any directions. As you approach him, he starts an audio dialog. When he's done, follow him to the observation panel. Inside the observation panel room, there's more dialog, and then you're given the Turn on brain power-station task, which consists of turning on three supply generators and then the main generator on the observation panel. Save and use this time to practice your strategy for turning everything off once the dream is over.

Turn on brain power-station

Facing the Brain Vat, use the door on the right (the opposite door that you came in through) and go around to the first scientist. There's a break in the railing and some sort of metal frame just below on the far right of the opening. Line up with the frame, jump over the rail and onto the frame, and then off to the platform where the switch for supply generator #1. Turn the switch on and side-step to the right to line up with a large wire insulator. Jump over the rail onto the insulator, turn around, walk on the wire until your over the lower level platform and drop down to the next level. The switch for supply generator #2 is directly below #1, and #3 as well. With all three switches on, turn around and take the connector to the outside platform, turn right, go to the stairs, and get back to the observation panel. Throw the switch on the observation panel to complete the task and start a cut-scene. When the cut-scene is over, so is the dream and you now have the Disable psy-brain power supply task.

Disable psy-brain power supply

You wake up in a room behind (north of) the observation panel room with everything taken off of your belt. The dead scientist's PDA has some diary-type entries, but nothing important and you can ignore it if you want. Quickly put some grenades on your belt and head down the stairs, but do not go through the door until you kill the Controller. Going through the door into the observation panel room starts a timer and you want to be sure the Controller is out of the way first. Try not to use a vodka to help with the psi effects of the Controller, that is probably lurking around to the right (southwest). If you're lucky, the Controller comes into the observation panel room and you can use a grenade or two for a quick kill. Keep in mind that an army of Zombies are on their way up to your level, so the longer you take with the Controller, the closer the Zombies are and could add to the difficulty of this task. If the Controller is not in the observation panel room, you may want to reload and try again.

NOTE: Saving during this part may be problematic because reloading can have Zombies change location and you may have one or more standing next to you. Also, when you think there are no more Zombies, don't save until you reclaim your ammo from the dead. If you save and have to load again, the corpses might be gone. Just be sure all Zombies, armed and civilian, are down first, as well as any Pyrogeist or Poltergeists.

With the Controller down, switch to assault rifle, load up your belt, and make your run for the switches as described before. Keep moving and don't stop for the Zombies unless they get in your way. When you throw switch #3, you should have a good four minutes left on the timer. You need this to fight off the Zombies. Remember to finish off the ones that are still moving before they get back up. You may even have time to take out the poltergeist. When the way is clear, get back to the observation panel and throw the last switch to complete the task and get the Find secret exit from lab task. If you simply cannot get to all three switches, you can make your stand at switch #1 and still have time. Just be sure to watch on both sides of the center column for approaching Zombies.

Find secret exit from lab

From the observation panel, go around to the stairs and down two levels. Then, go around to the double-doorway near switch #2 and follow the passage to encounter a Burer. Again, one or two well-placed grenades might be all you need. Use the open doors on either side as cover, staying on the same side as the Burer as it moves from side to side. With the Burer down, go to the last pen on the right (facing west) and drop through the hole in the floor. Now low-crouch and move east to drop through the hole and complete the task. When you spawn to the next level you get the Find the exit to the tunnels task.

Find the exit to the tunnels

Move down the tunnel, eliminating any Zombies you encounter. When you come to an intersection where you must go either north or south, take the south passage as the north one is a dead end. The next intersection has the south passage blocked with boxes and the west passage blocked with wire bars. Take the east passage, and then south again with caution as there is a Burer around the bend, probably in the left (south) passage of the next intersection. Beyond that, there may be a boar or two between you and the ladder out. Climb the ladder to complete the task and get the Find Nomad on Radar task.

NOTE: In some playthroughs I have run into an issue with Bandits and Monolith fighting at the checkpoint where I was coming in from North Hills and I was killed almost instantly (several times). I might add that this occurs after clearing the Monolith checkpoint before moving to North Hills. This caused me to go back a save (always save before you move to another level), leave my stash car, take the extra car back to Deedee, and have the guide take me to Army Warehouses. By the time I get back to the checkpoint, the fighting is over, but there are always survivors (Monolith or Bandits). And going back to North Hills to get your stash car may land you among two or three Bandits, so be ready for that.

Find Nomad on Radar

Head back to the car, then drive through the North Hills, and turn left at the first intersection in Radar. Nomad's place is on the west side of the road just before the next intersection. Talk to Nomad to complete the task and he gives you the Nomad's belongings task.

Nomad's belongings

NOTE: During this task, you pass out for nine hours and, if you don't have a night vision headset to wear with the psi helmet (e.g., Vamper, Blue Moon, North Star), it may be better to start this either before 10:00 or after 18:00.

Now head back up the road (north), go around the barrier and follow the road west until you get to the top of the hill. The wall on the right is a Monolith base, probably with two guards outside. But if you keep driving they don't bother you. Stay against the right wall and stop before the yellow trailer. Get out of the car with your sniper rifle and make your way around the curve. There's a single Monolith near the truck that you can take out with a single headshot. Use the truck as a platform to snipe the Monolith at the bottom of the hill. Guards at the Dead City and Pripyat Outskirts move points are probably alerted and heading your way. Move to the west side of the road all the way up to the fence and sprint to the boulders for cover. The guards at the south move point usually come north along the east fence. When it seems clear, work your way cautiously to the bus in the intersection. Use the bus as cover to take out any more guards still near the west move point. The next battle is with a Controller, so gear up for that. If you want, bring the car to the Pripyat Outskirts move point.

At the Pripyat Outskirts move point, on the north side of the road, go through the gap in the wall heading east, and then north up the hill. Follow the fence on the right (east) that goes along the road you just came down until you see the little shack. Go to the door of the shack, open it, go in and to the electrical box on the right side of the back wall. Search and grab the stash, then sprint as far from the shack as you can before you black out, making sure there's a tree between you and the shack when you do. When you come to, there is a Controller outside the shack that you can choose to deal with if you want. However, if it sees you, there's not much cover to avoid it.

NOTE: After the blowout, the Monolith in the base are dead except for a few survivors near the north end of the base. Also, there's a working Lada near the move point to the Dead City, but it doesn't seem to have a trunk (even though I can see it in the back window).

Head back to the car and drive back to Nomad. Tell him, "I brought something special for you." to complete the task and get the Get x10 passcode task.

Get x10 passcode

The hardest part of this task is avoiding the anomalies and dealing with some heavy radiation. From Nomad's trailer, go west over the south end of the first two mounds. In the valley between the second and third mound, sprint north to the target, i.e., Nomad's safe. Get the contents of the safe and go back the way you came. When you get back to Nomad, talk to him and tell him, "I want to talk about the passkey." to complete the task and get the Reach the bunker task.

Reach the bunker

During this task you face three Burers, a few Snorks, rodents, civilian Zombies, and three Monolith guards.

The X10 lab is at the north end of the road you are on with three Monolith guards at the lab entrance. Go up the road and around the barrier again, then turn right, follow the road up the hill, and park near the trailer. Use the boulders as cover to take out the guards, then move in to the entrance. When you spawn inside the lab, the task is completed and you now have the Disable security system task.

Disable security system

Move forward through the doorway, down the steps and through the next doorway where the hologram of circling lights is. As you enter the room, there's a blinding flash and then the lights are gone. Stay to the left of the large elevator and down the passageway on the far left (west). Then take the doorway on the right, past the steaming tank and up the stairs. In this small room, next to the doorway, turn off Security Lock #1 and return to the room with the large elevator. This is usually when I run into the Snorks.

In the southwest corner of the room, go down the steps until you pass an open doorway. Now continue down slowly until you can see a Burer. It stays in the same area, so a couple of grenades is all you need. Continue on down to the bottom of the stairs and a security door, then type in 1234. You're welcome. Now go back to the open doorway and into the room. At the south end of the room is a large doorway with a ramp going down. There are two Burers in the next room, so sprint to the doorway for cover and start with the grenades, RPGs, or whatever you prefer. In the center of the room is a dead scientist whose PDA gives you the code to the security door. Turn north and go back into the room with the large elevator to the north end. Go through the north doorway and turn left to go up the steps to a catwalk. At the top of the next set of stairs you can find the Security Lock #2 to turn off and complete the task. You are then given the Disable psy-emitters task.

Disable psy-emitters

Back, again, to the elevator, through the south doorway again, down the metal ramp, and turn left down the passageway going east. At the far corner of the room on the north wall is a security door that takes the code you got from the dead scientist, 3823. Entering the code opens the door. Push the hospital gurney, one of the barrels, or one of the nearby boxes into the doorway to prevent the door from closing. This is why the Burer in the stairwell had to be put down, so that whatever you use to block the door doesn't float off out of position.

There is another dead scientist in the northeast corner of the room. From there, go up the stairs and turn left to walk over the teleport. At either end of the east/west catwalk is a small panel with two switches each. The task is to turn all four switches off. When you complete the task, you black out, have a dream, and come to with a new task to Meet with Voronin. Also, a pyrogeist has spawned in the room and you may want to jump over the rail and get down the hall to where you blocked the door as quick as you can. You can take the psi helmet off while you're still in the lab if you like. Just be sure to save before you leave. For some reason (bug?), you may die without the psi helmet on when you leave the lab.

Meet with Voronin

Go west from the security door and turn right at the first doorway, right again at the next doorway and into the stairwell. Go to the top of the stairs and turn left after exiting the stairwell. Continue south until you reach the move point. Take the road south to the intersection and turn right (west). Continue on the road taking the same route as you did before to the Pripyat outskirts move point. Go back to the new bar and meet with Voronin to complete the task and get the Reach outskirts facility task.

Reach outskirts facility

From the new bar, go west to the main road going north and turn right at the intersection near the bottom of the hill. Continue on around the barrier and park in front of the green dump truck with the electro anomaly under it. There are about a dozen Monolith guards behind the closed gate ahead (numbers vary). Be aware of a hole in the wall near the northeast corner where they can flank you on the left. Usually, there's one in the guardhouse that you can get with a sniper rifle from the roof of the truck, and maybe one or two more will come out after you. For the rest, you'll have to go inside the compound. My strategy is to clear as many as I can using the guardhouse as cover and then moving to the building in the center as cover for the ones in the barracks. When you get rid of them, you can go back to the car and empty your inventory except for one weapon as you need to do lots of sprinting. Then go into the tunnel where the move point is to end the task and receive the Disable Earthquake Doomsday Device task.

Disable Earthquake Doomsday Device

Down the hall (east) and on the left is a hologram which is the security system for this lab. As long as you're moving away from it, you're safe. So, sprint down the hall and take the first left, which is just before some steps going up. Follow that hall to the end, going through the flooded room and continuing on, then turn right. This hall has a slight jog to the left about half way down, then back to the right. Continue east until you come to a partially open door. Go through the door, turn right, and go to the end. Turn left and follow the passage up the stairs heading south and back down the other side. You may need to jump forward to go up the stairs (they must be a little too high to step up). At the bottom of the stairs, go into the next passageway, turn right (west), go to where the dirt is piled up and turn left, then right, through three doors, and finally a left (south) at the top of the stairs to go up more stairs and into a large room with the device at the far end. The hologram does not attack you if you are within the enclosure of the Doomsday Device. However, the switch is there on the east side and you should be able to sprint up and throw it. With the device off, the hologram is gone.

Retrace your path, going down the steps and turn right (east) where there's steps going both directions. Through the three doors and to the left until the passageway ends at the dirt pile. Turn right and go down until you find the stairs on the left. There's a hanging anomaly on the right if you go too far. Up and down these steps, follow the passageway into the long hall and go down until you see light shining through the partially open door on the left (west). Go down this passageway past the part where it jogs. When you get to the partially open door, turn left, go to the end and turn right into the passageway that takes you out. Proceed with caution when leaving the complex as reenforcements sometimes arrive and might be waiting for you. Go back to the new bar and talk to Voronin to complete the task and get the Meet Guide task.

Meet Guide

Guide is located in another old church, this one being just north of the new bar. Before you meet with him, load up for lots of Zombies, Snorks, two bloodsuckers, and some radiated zones. There are plenty of batteries and water bottles, along with a few antirad packs, so you can go light on those. Ammo-wise, there's some 5.45x39 mm and buckshot along the way. So, if you have a tweaked-out AK that's good at 100 yards, I recommend that as your primary.

The front door of the church is guarded by land mines, so watch your step. On the north side of the center room is a ladder to the loft where Guide is waiting. Talk to Guide to complete the task and ask him all the questions. When the conversation is done, Guide is ready to take you to the underground and you have three choices:

1. I'm ready to go now.
2. Okay, give me a little more time to prepare.
3. Let me get there alone, meet you there.

At this point, there are no tasks on your PDA. If you pick option 1, you are transported to just outside the hospital, facing the wrong way. Option 2, Guide waits at the church for you to return, and then you get transported to the hospital. Option 3, you have to go to the move point north of the Monolith base in Radar. You spawn in a ravine south of the hospital and must work your way past a few anomalies. There's what's left of a window to go through, then down a ladder, turn south and stay left of the anomaly. Guide is at the top of the stairs on the right. Talk to him to get the Find the way to Pripyat task.

Find the way to Pripyat

After your conversation, Guide walks through the hospital, very slowly. As you leave the hole in the wall that leads into the next section of the hospital, Guide starts sprinting. There's a bloodsucker around the next corner, and another at the southwest end of the section. Guide then goes down a ladder, down some stairs, and continues south through some doorways and into a section full of dirt piles. There are three civilian Zombies here and when you kill them, Guide puts is gun away. That's his way of telling you it's time to talk. He tells you he's gone as far as he cares to and you're on your own.

Continue south and then east, following the tunnel until you come to a large tunnel and head south. As you move around a bend, there are some large pipes on the right. Stay between the pipes and the wall for cover from the Snorks ahead. Across from the pipes is a ladder that you need to go up, with possibly more Snorks at the top. There's also a stash of batteries, water bottles, ammo, and a stalker suit when you get up there. Then go south to the intersection and take the left (southeast) tunnel, through the doorway and down the dirt ramp. There's a couple more Snorks ahead where the tunnel curves left and then right. At the end, there's a square-cut hole in the floor and beyond, to the south, a closed door. There is a nest of Snorks ahead and you can either deal with them now, or when you come back during the Find the code to the door task.

Snork Nest

Go in that door and close it. The case in the southeast corner of the room has two shotguns and some ammo. Leave something in the case if you have to, but grab one of the guns. Both guns are loaded, so there's two more shells for you in each gun. Even if you may have brought a shotgun, you can save some wear on it with one of these (rate-of-fire is not important). Lighten your load as much as possible for sprinting and jumping, but keep a shotgun and something for a Zombie patrol from further down (south) the tunnel that might decide to join the party.

Get to the front of the large truck and jump to the bumper, then turn and jump at an angle to the top of the cab, then to the trailer. The idea is to lure the Snorks into either one of the two burner anomalies ahead, or to the back of the large truck, where you can stand on top and pick them off at your leisure. Most of the Snorks are in a room off to the left as you pass by the first truck south of the yellow trailer, but some may come down from above, so keep an eye out for them. If you kill one or two, but the rest don't follow, walk off the truck and go to the doorway of the room on the left and lure them back again. Stay on the west side of the tunnel to get them into one of the anomalies, but don't wait to see if they survive the anomaly or not, because they often do and you may not make it to the front of the truck.

You're not going to get them all as they don't always come into where you are. You can use the truck in front of the doorway to clear the way, but they can still jump to get you. When there's a lull in the action, carefully walk through the doorway and into then next large tunnel, looking northeast for more. When you have cleared the way to the next intersection, go back to the area with the large truck. Don't forget anything you may have stashed in the little room before all the fun started. If you've already climbed the pillars, skip down to the Find the code to the door task.

South of the large truck are two pillars that go through the ceiling and both have rungs for climbing. Go up either one and side-step/strafe either way to dismount. Continue south and go in the last doorway on the right (west). Climb down the ladder to a lower-level tunnel, work your way around the anomalies, and then sprint through the radiated area to the opening in the chain-link fence. Don't stop here and take some antirad, but continue on through the next radiated area and then stop before the fence to take the antirad. Going through this second fence partition triggers six Zombies coming out of the passage on the east wall. Get to where the steps meet the wall on the near side to deal with the first few Zombies as this gives you the most cover.

As you work your way along the passage, take the right turn at the next two intersections. If you haven't gotten all six Zombies, they're waiting along the way. At the circular intersection with the floor busted out, climb down the ladder on the left and take the passage south, this time taking the the passage on the left at the next two forks. This brings you to a dirt floor and a hole with a ladder going down, and then a second hole with a ladder. Stop before going down the second ladder as there is a special kind of Burer, a Karlito, at the bottom. Peek over the edge of the hole to see if it's near the ladder and drop a grenade if it is. To the west of the ladder is a small platform with equipment that you can use to hide from the Karlito's blast. If you're lucky, it steps into the nearby anomaly. If not, you should be able to get in a few headshots from the platform to finish it off. Moving south again, through another radiated area, take a right and notice the security door. As you approach you get the Find the code to the door task. Now you have to backtrack to the place where the large truck, room with the shotguns, and pillars are. When you climb the ladder in the circular intersection, side-step/strafe right to dismount. If you didn't do it before, you now have to take out the Snork Nest.

Find the code to the door

Starting from the little locker room between the two large tunnels where you fought off the Snorks (and don't forget to search the lockers), go east and then north down the large tunnel to the next intersection, and then take the left tunnel. Stay on the right side of the tunnel until you get on top of the large broken pipe, jump to the two small pipes, then turn north again and jump up on the ledge. Make your way around to the ramp going up, and then into the cave northwest of the ramp. At the back of the cave, pick up the documents with the code for the door. Now go back to the pillars and make your way back to the security door and enter the code to complete the task and resume the Find the way to Pripyat task.

NOTE: In the last few playthroughs I've ran into the issue where Zombies try to come through the door and you can't open it. Some of them might even get through the door and be waiting for you when you return. I haven't found an ideal solution to this yet other than unlocking the door, stepping down the short passageway to the southeast, and waiting. Usually, two or three civilian Zombies come through the door and walk right into an anomaly. That's when I check the door and it's usually open.

Before you step into the next tunnel, which leads to a huge underground mining operation, you want your favorite sniper rifle as the place is full of armed Zombies. Step through the door and start down the tracks just far enough to get a shot at one of the armed Zombies standing next to a railroad tanker. This is like ringing the dinner bell and many of them start your way. So, retreat back to use the door as cover and pick them off as they come into the clear. When no more have come for a few seconds, be sure to save and then carefully make your way to the stack of bodies to reclaim some ammo. As you get near the opening of the passage that you're in, more Zombies, and maybe a Snork or two, will show themselves. Once you think you have the way relatively clear, head for the lit doorway southeast of the tunnel you just came out of. Go up the stairs and onto the catwalk through the doorway on the right.

Continue north on the catwalk until you come to a ladder. Go up to the next level and continue the same direction (now west), using the ledge where the catwalk is missing. Take the next ladder up and reverse your direction (northeast), staying on top of the boxes where the catwalk has sunken, and turn left at the end. Go through the open doorway and turn right. Follow the curved hallway to the orange doors, turn right, down some steps, and make a hard left. Go through the opening on the right, around the rubble to the southeast corner of the room, and turn right to go down a short hallway, left down another short hallway, up some steps and back out onto the catwalk. Follow the catwalk to the left (southwest), into the next room, and to the move point. When you spawn in Pripyat, the task is complete and you get the Assist the military task.

Assist the military

Turn left (east) and left again around the corner, then north up the steps and through the door. The fight is directly north of your position, but I prefer to flank right and hit Monolith from the east. Either way, once the attack is put down, the task is complete and you get the Meet Lieutenant Vasilev task.

Meet Lieutenant Vasilev

The lieutenant is in a building southeast of the fight, north wing, second floor, second door on the left. Talking to him completes the task and he gives you the Meet Ecologist contact task that takes you to the southwest side of the map.

NOTE: I like to take this opportunity to find an empty stash box and put all extras in for now. Then, depending on if you left the car at the church or in Radar, use these move points to retrieve the car:

• Radar: Southeast of the lieutenant's position puts you at the west checkpoint of the Radar that you use to go to Outskirts. Down the road where the bus and car are in the middle of the intersection, there is another Lada Niva to the south that works, but gets terrible mileage. Use it to get your stash car and save yourself some walking. On the way back, this move point still takes you to the Outskirts. Use it, then go to the move point at the north end of the Outskirts to get back to Pripyat.
• Church: At the south end of the boulevard, which runs north and south, is a move point that takes you to the north end of the Outskirts. Along the way are some Monolith snipers using Gauss rifles and a few infantry, so stay close to the buildings and keep your guard up. When you move to the Outskirts, you'll encounter some mutants where you turned to go to disable Earthquake Doomsday Device and a bloodsucker near the road to the Swamps.

Meet Ecologist contact

The contact is also on the second floor, only in the southwest corner of two buildings connected by a breezeway in the southwest corner of Pripyat. If you use the east entrance, use the door on the right to access the breezeway and turn left as you enter the west building to get to the stairs. Talking to the contact completes the task and he gives you the Help the Ecologist take measurements task.

Help the Ecologist take measurements

During this task you face a Burer and three-four Zombies. You may also encounter some Monolith and, possibly, a bloodsucker. But the main task is to take out the Burer and Zombies. The field agent is just down the street to the north, but proceed with caution as Monolith are likely to cross the street (west-to-east) to go into the buildings along the boulevard and snipe from the balconies. The field agent is on the first floor. Go in the south door on the west side, up the first set of stairs, turn right, and go through the door on the south wall. Turn right to stay in the hallway and left at the first door, where you are greeted warmly by the Ecologist. Talk to him and then follow him to the back of the bus station. Be ready as you cross the tennis courts because the Burer will sometimes come out the back door and attack. This is also the are where you may encounter a Monolith or two.

When the agent gets to the southwest corner of the building, he stops to take some readings. Unless there's a mutant around, don't wait for him. Go north up the steps and turn right to find the Burer. You should be able to get a shot off with an RPG, grenade launcher, etc. before the Zombies come in from the right (south). When it's safe, the agent continues taking measurements, first on the mezzanine and then on the ground floor. However, this guy is afraid of his own shadow and draws his pistol at every rodent that wonders by. So, you may need to knife a few critters before he finally finishes. Also, there's a Controller nearby that could cause the Ecologist to freeze. If he stops without drawing his gun or meter, go up to him to trigger him to continue. He tells you when he's done and goes back to the building where you met the first Ecologist. Talk to him again to complete the task and get the Meet Ghost in the hotel task.

Meet Ghost in the hotel

The hotel is northeast of the building where you helped the military fight off the Monolith attack. This is the last task in Pripyat, so you might want to bring the car even though it's a short walk. The biggest challenge is navigating the anomalies in a car. The minimap doesn't give you a target for Ghost, but he does appear as a friendly once you get close to the hotel. I prefer to go in the far-east building, up one level, and out the window onto the roof (the boxes are empty, so save one to use as a step to get back through the window from the roof), then climb in a window of the building where Ghost is. Room 26 is just down the hall on the left. Talk to Ghost to complete the task and he gives you the Find the way into Sarcofagus(sic) task.

Find the way into Sarcofagus(sic)

From room 26, go back out the way you came in to the roof where you have three options: push a box over to the window and leave the way you came, go off the roof in the front of the building, or go to the northeast corner of the roof, jump on the top of the wall, and run-jump to the walkway that runs along the back of the east building. When you get back to the car, go north on the drive east of the hotel to the white truck near an electrical anomaly (keeping watch for Monolith patrols), get out of the car, and jump up on the cab of the truck. This may lure a couple of bloodsuckers in from the east that can easily be dealt with. When the way is clear, walk east up the road and turn north toward the green trailer. You should see one or more bloodsuckers near the trailer (usually three in all). Wait for them to come at you and then jump over the wall that runs along the west side of the road. This is a good spot to blast them from, but be aware that they can get around the wall where it ends north of the trailer. With the bloodsuckers out of the way, go back to the car and drive north past the green trailer, bus, and down the hill. Turn left (west) before the yellow trailer so that you're driving on the sidewalk. Continue west until you get to the white pavers and trees near a fuel truck. Turn back onto the road at the fuel truck, continue west until you react the intersection directly south of the move point and turn north. The move point is on the walkway running in the center of the boulevard, so you must jump the curb to get to it. When you spawn in CNPP and move east you are given the Help the military task.

Help the military

The raid leader, Max, is just ahead (east) of where you spawn. But first, equip yourself with an assault rifle, maybe a sniper rifle, and if you have any, RPG rounds, Max will give you a launcher during the raid. Just make sure to stay 12.3kg under your weight capacity. Talk to Max and agree to help the military "take the high ground" to complete the task and get the Help the military advance task.

Help the military advance

The raiders then move north along the train tracks toward a closed gate with four Monolith guards. When you clear the guards out and get up to the gate, talk to the raid leader and he tells you to open it. Be sure to stand on the east side of the opening to avoid damage and be close to the raid leader. Opening the gate completes the task and when a BTR opens up on the raiders, they all retreat back outside the gate and you are given the Fortify the gate task.

Fortify the gate

Ask the raid leader what to do to trigger a cut-scene with helicopters making a gun run that doesn't take the BTR out. When the cut-scene ends the task is complete and you are given the Destroy the BTR task.

Destroy the BTR

Talk to the raid leader and he gives you an RPG launcher and four grenades to finish the job. This takes three direct hits to complete the task. If you take too much damage on the east side of the gate, try going into the reservoir and using the tunnel to get to the other side. As the military enter the gate you are given the Help fight off the ambush task.

Help fight off the ambush

Eight Monolith fighters are on either side of the tracks. I like to move to the right (east) behind a small brick building and up to the storage tanks, aiming north as the enemy moves between the tanks. Once the ambush is surpressed, the task is complete and you get the Help eliminate the heli hunters task.

Help eliminate the heli hunters

This is where a sniper rifle might be useful. The heli hunters are in an open area northwest of the storage tanks. To the south of this area is an elevated paved drive on the east side of a building and a good place to snipe from. There may be a mutant or two, so be ready for a Snork or swamp beast to be lurking around. Stay low and use the northeast corner of the building as cover to clear out any targets working from east to west. When the east side is clear, hop over the wall to protect yourself from fire coming from around the train cars. Once the heli hunters are down you get a task update, but there may still be some support troops to deal with on the other side of the train cars. Watch the soldiers to know when the area is clear as they have their weapons raised if there is even a wounded Monolith in the area.

NOTE: When the area is safe, you can loot if you want and bring the car up to stash some ammo. At this point in the game, you probably only need ammo for your favorite assault rifle and definitely RPG rounds.

Take an RPG-7v launcher and as many OG-7V grenades as you can carry up to the rendezvous point (but save a few grenades for later). In fact, it may be a good idea to drive your stash-car up there. As you approach the raid leader, the task is complete and you get the Help eliminate the mutants task.

Help eliminate the mutants

There's a machine gun set up at the north end of the tracks if you're low on RPG ammo. A herd of mutants comes out of the west and you basically stand there with your RPG and take them out. Try not to shoot too close to the military unit set up near the tracks. If you take one of them out, the raid leader turns on you and the storyline is broken. Concentrate on the chimeras as they are the hardest for the military to take down. When the mutants are surpressed, there is a tremor and another wave comes in from the same direction. Once they are taken care of, there's a second tremor and a group of armed Zombies staggers in. Make sure to finish off any wounded Zombies. When the last Zombie is gone, talk to the raid leader, who is somehow transported from standing next to you to halfway down the road, to complete the task. The raid leader offers to keep his promise to introduce you to his superior and you get the Meet with the military recon leader task.

Meet with the military recon leader

Follow the raid leader down the road and through the gate. Wait for the captain to finish talking to the raid leader, talk to him and agree to help. This completes the task and gives you the Help the recon unit task. This is also a good place to save.

Help the recon unit

Go around to the west side of the nearby BTR and press action to climb in. Start the engine (same as the car) and put the view in Third Person Camera mode (default F3) or there's no way you're going to see where you're shooting. There's more Monolith north of your position, some with RPGs. The gun on the BTR has very little vertical movement, so you can't shoot at an elevated target. My strategy is to pull out ahead of the military, move to the right in front of the ramp, back up, and then forward to the right to get on the same level as Monolith. You can try going forward and making a sharp S curve, but it takes about the same amount of time.

What makes this task difficult is avoiding the soldiers who love to get in the way. Kill one and you don't get the code to the Sarcophagus door. Once you're pointed north again, and without going past the northwest corner of the building, start with the enemy in front (north) and work to the right, only moving forward when you need to. Otherwise, you get an RPG in the ear. Eventually, you have to move out and clear the ones behind all the stuff on the right, as well as some up on the hill. You may get an update to talk to the recon leader, but that doesn't mean the area is clear. Make sure to scan the area before exiting the vehicle. Exit the BTR and talk to the captain to get the code for the security door, complete the task, and resume the Find the way into Sarcofagus(sic) task.

The entrance to the CNPP is on the north wall near the west corner where you first engaged the Monolith while helping the recon unit. For this task, you encounter one Controller, a whole lot of civilian Zombies, some Karliks, and possibly a chimera or two. If you want to go exploring, there's also a Burer. Enter the code you got from the captain and jump to the next level to complete the task. When you spawn you have the Get generator code from primary terminal in control room task.

Get generator code from primary terminal in control room

Move north and then turn the corner to trigger a brief cut-scene (or something) where you holster your weapon, but can still move. Then continue on around to the next corner where it happens again. Move south to the open door and make a right-hand u-turn to go north down another passageway. At the end, turn right and go to the door of the control room, open it, and go in. The room is full of civilian Zombies, so toss a few grenades in and take cover behind a cabinet. Then, go to the computer along the south wall marked on your map to complete the task and get the Restore power in the control room task. Before you leave, prepare for a Controller in the next hallway.

NOTE: The code for the security door you pass between the first two cut-scenes is obtained after buying information from Snitch back at the original bar (before the attack).

Restore power in the control room

Leave the control room by the east door and start down the hallway (south) to trigger a cut-scene. As it plays out, move back and to the right to take cover behind the corner of the wall. When the cut-scene is done, a Controller stands at the other end of the hallway and you get the Follow monolith call task (which you can ignore). Take the Controller out to continue south, turn right and continue up the stairs to the open doorway. There's a Burer to the south that is most likely around the corner. But proceed through the doorway with caution and look left. If the way is clear, go right and just around the corner is a doorway that is mostly filled with dirt. However, you can low-crouch through and make your way west to the end where there's another doorway going south. Make your way to the target on the minimap to find a white case. Search the case to find a battery pack that you can use to fix the control room power issue. Now go back to the control room the same way you came in.

As you enter the control room again, another (perhaps the longest) cut-scene plays showing someone's version of the 1986 accident. At the end of the cut-scene, the head scientist (who looks a lot like Doc) turns to you and says it's all your fault. There's a flash of light and the next thing you know you're standing near the computer terminal that you need to access, but you're surrounded by about a dozen Zombies. Move to one end of the room or the other and head-shoot them as they come near, or toss some grenades. When that's done, go over to the smoking component along the north wall on the west side of the room and use action to put the battery in. The on-screen prompt just says, "Powerline" when you look at the left side of the front. This completes the task and gives you the Get generators lab passcode task.

Get generators lab passcode

Move back over to the computer terminal again and press action. Open the Generators document, click Download to PDA, close the window, and click the power icon to close the terminal. Now leave the control room by the west door, go halfway down the passageway and turn left, down to the open door and turn left, then follow the passageway back to the move point. When you spawn outside the plant, the Follow monolith call task fails and you now have the Reach the generators task.

NOTE: It seems like there's always a blowout at this point and you have to wait it out just inside the security door.

Reach the generators

There is a move point to the Generators directly north of your position. Before you start out, you need to have some heavy firepower for a couple of chimeras. Other than that, an assault rifle and pistol are all you need. When you spawn at the Generators, the task is complete and Ghost is waiting there beside the road. Talk to him and get the Follow Ghost to X-2 Lab task.

NOTES: To prepare for free-play, take all your shooters and as much ammo as you can carry. You won't be able to come back to the car until you finish the game and are in free-play mode. Also, not following Ghost's instructions during the Distraction tactics task by attacking the guards another may cause Ghost to behave strangely and get stuck outside the compound.

Follow Ghost to X-2 Lab

Follow Ghost to the top of the hill and get ready for two chimeras. When you get near a large scraggly bush, you get woozy and then black out. A cut-scene plays with Ghost helping you up, and he's off again. As soon as you can, turn southwest were the holograms are next to a generator. At the base of the generator, a chimera spawns, then another northeast of your position. If you get the first one with one shot, you have time to move left and avoid hitting Ghost when the second chimera spawns. After that, Ghost sometimes seems like he's lost, running back and forth, aiming his gun, etc. This is because there are two poltergeists that are preventing him from moving on. Once he does, you may notice a corpse on the right that may be worth looting. When Ghost comes to some large trees, he stops and turns to you. Talk to him to complete the task and get the Distraction tactics task.

Distraction tactics

Sprint north to a drainage pipe outlet (at which point Ghost tells you to hurry), follow the drainage pipe to a ladder up, and climb out to attack the five guards. There have been times when a guard was standing right next to the top of the ladder. I suspect this is because my timing was off and he just happened to be there as he made his rounds. If that happens, just try to get there sooner (lighted your load as you go) or take a few seconds longer (sorry Ghost). Another option is hitting the three towers with an RPG, then going through the drainage pipe for the last two. If you take them all out without going through the drainage pipe, Ghost just stays outside the enclosure with his hands up. When the guards are down, Ghost runs to the door of the lab and waits for you. Talk to him and then go down the steps to jump to the next level. When you spawn in the lab, the task is complete and you now have the Find main power generator switch task.

Find main power generator switch

When you spawn inside the lab, go past the desk and open the door to a stairway. Go through the door, down the steps to the bottom and through the next door into what I will refer to as the main room. Turn left (east) and walk along the left (north) side of the room through an open doorway on the left. Open the door on the right, go down the hall (taking note of the hallway on the right that goes east) and into the room with empty shelves. Turn left (west) and left again, then right into the room with the long control panel that has the generator switch. Throw the switch to complete the task and get the Restore power task.

NOTE: If a door won't open and you can see a Zombie's head from the other side, shoot it and the door will open. Sometimes there may be several Zombies and you have to shoot them all before the door will open.

Restore power

Retrace your steps back to the hallway I mentioned before that goes east. Go down this hallway, open the door, and get the canister of liquid fuel in the northeast corner of the room. Leave the room through the same door, turn left at the end of the hallway, and go back into the main room. Turn around and go through the open doorway on the left this time, into the room with white tile walls. Turn left again to go through another doorway into the room, find the value that displays the on-screen message, "Generator's pipe", and press action. Now go back to the control panel and try the generator switch again to complete the task and get the Find door switch task.

Find door switch

Go back to the main room again and go across the room (south) to the closed door. Open the door and go down the steps to the switch on the wall next to a closed door that displays the on-screen message, "Use the scanner". Turn left (north) to go through the open doorway and left again to go down the hallway with the wooden crates. Turn left in the first room, and left again in the next room. Then, go straight toward the small control panel next to a support pillar that has a switch. Attempt to throw the switch, which is locked down, and get the Find a way to disable the lock down task.

Find a way to disable the lock down

Turn west and go to the other side of the room, into the room with the hanging corpse, and make a u-turn to the left to find a computer terminal. Press action to start the terminal, open the Privilages file, download to PDA, and close it all up. Now go back to the switch, which is no longer locked down, and try it again to complete the task and get the Get to main control room task.

Get to main control room

Go back to the stairs and throw the switch for the closed door to complete the task and get the Get access to main control room task. But you can't open the door just yet.

Get access to main control room

Go down to the bottom of the stairs and open the gate that was locked before you threw the switch. As you enter the room, another cut-scene plays. When it's done, turn left (north) and go to the computer terminal. Open the Auth_codes file to get the code for the door. Now go back up to the security door, enter the code, open the door, and the task is complete. You now have the Deactivate generators task.

Deactivate generators

Follow the passageway to a closed door on the left. Open the door and enter the room to start another cut-scene. When it ends, you have a conversation with a hologram. The ending of the game depends on whether you agree to join the project or not. If not, the dialog closes and a Pyrogeist spawns. Once the Pyrogeist is eliminated, you must destroy each flashing blue crystal in order to unlock the door to the control room. A Pyrogeist spawns with each but the last broken crystal. With all the crystals broken, go up the stairs on the west side of the room and into the control room. A cut-scene plays with you entering the codes, then ends. Go to the center of the control panel and throw the switch to complete the task and start still another cut-scene. When it's done, you get the Talk to Ghost at the cemetery task and a teleport opens inside the room.

Talk to Ghost at the cemetery

Step into a teleport that takes you back to the surface and all is well in the world, birds singing, mutants behaving, etc. However, your map now has no details and the level is listed as Unknown Area. Leave the enclosure and go east to find Ghost. He's at the top of a hill just past the ruins of some cement block buildings. Talk to Ghost to complete the task and start, what we can only hope is, the last cut-scene. When it's done, you spawn back at Sidorovich's place in free-play mode. Now where did I leave my car? Seven hours later (game time) Oh, here it is at the Generators move point. Right where I left it.

NOTE: In free-play mode, all characters return to their original behavior, e.g., mutants attack, bandits shoot at you, etc.