R.E.B.O.R.N. part 1 - "Artifacts of Death" Walkthrough

Version 2.53 ("Another Way")

Posted November 29, 2015

Last Revision: September 2, 2016 - complete rewrite (again)

kwag3.myers@gmail.com

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Special Thanks To

A few fellow stalkers who helped me out along the way:

• Jesse Roy
• Liquidator
• A.Majer U0752255
• Vitaly Kriklivenko (Google Translated)
  Vitaly's videos are of 2.52, which has some major differences from 2.53. Example: In 2.53, you do not get an artifact from Gunslinger. Instead, you give him a PDA.

I'd still be wondering around the Red Forest if it wasn't for these guys.

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Before you begin the game, I highly advise reading the Hints section of the README_REBORN_253_ENG.txt file in the Reborn Team folder. My Windows 7 installation put the folder on my desktop. Here are a few hints of my own:

• This mod crashes a lot! Save often, especially after you score stash coordinates or complete a difficult task. Also, Saves, especially Quick Saves, seem to get corrupted after you load them several times. I've even had Quick Saves go bad after loading a second time. If you're having a hard time with something and find yourself reloading several times, I suggest making a backup Save, i.e., load the Save, and then Save again under another name.
• The mod has a set order you must follow and if you don't, you get a message that you made too many mistakes and must try again. I've tried to minimize the number of times you have to retrace your steps, but stay on the game's schedule. There may be times when you think you can do things more efficiently, but the mod may not let you. For example, during the game you need to escort Amelia to the Red Forest from Agroprom. But if you do this too soon, it's obvious by the characters' behavior that you did things out of order.
• I play this at either Stalker or Veteran level. If you play at Novice, you may find it easier to kill some mutants, encounter fewer Undefeatable Zombies, and fewer enemies in general. However, you may also find some of the items mentioned in this walkthrough, such as PDAs, are missing. Example: When you first arrive at the Garbage and free the hostages from the Vehicle graveyard, you may not get a reward.
• The dialogs are, at times, mind-numbingly long in comparison to the original game. To make matters worse, the writing style is either an abysmal attempt at vernacular or we're suppose to think all these characters flunked the second grade. Many of these conversations seem to have no bearing on the game, offer misleading information, or are distractions from the main objectives.
• Most Zombies can be taken out with a single shotgun to the head (pump, not that semi-auto piece of junk). Just don't let them get too close. When there is a group of them, an RPG works in most cases. The flamethrower works, too. But I like to save that for the spiders.
• The best weapon I've found for taking out Controllers, Burers (a.k.a. lawn gnomes), and Undefeatable Zombies (usually wearing an Exoskeleton suit) is the Barrett M82A1 (.50 cal). headshot = one shot. You can also do the job with about five or six rounds from the Dragunov, or several rounds from a Vintar. Burers will go down with three headshots from a Gauss. I tried using a Gauss on a Controller and lost count of the shots before the Controller ended the contest.
• Mutant spiders can't climb very high. My favorite tactic is to get up on a vehicle or boulder and give them each about five shotgun blasts, a couple of VOG-25 grenades, or a blast from the flamethrower.
• As in the original game, Bloodsuckers cannot be killed while invisible. However, they show themselves just before they strike. So, if you're up for a game of chicken, load up the shotgun and stand your ground. You may also want to Save before and after the encounter. I should also mention that not all Bloodsuckers show themselves at all, so timing is everything when dealing with these.
• I've added links to various pages of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Wiki: Clear Sky to provide more information. I've written quite a bit on the stashes, locations, and helped on some other pages in this wiki.
• Check every corpse; you never know what you might find.
• Possible bug with traders: If you attempt a big trade with one of the traders and get a message that they don't have enough money, try a few items at a time.

The Walkthrough

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As you can tell by the empty entries in the preceding lists, this is a work in progress. If you have any suggestions, things that I've missed, or questions, please send me a note: kwag3.myers@gmail.com.

Zaton

The game starts with you spawning at sunset in the northwest corner of the Zarton map from Call of Pripyat (COP) and you instantly get a message to run. If you don't, a mutant thorn bush makes you start the game all over. Sprint southeast toward the bridge between the Sawmill and the Burnt Farmstead, and then check the map when you get there. This is a good place to save, because if you get caught by a Pseudogiant you have to start all over again with a new game. Head southeast to the Skadovsk, which is marked on your map, and stay away from the Pseudogiants. They don't come after you unless you get too close.

Once at the Skadovsk you may notice that you can't stand on the mesh decking. This is important to know because it can work for you or against you, depending on where you are. This also is true for wire fences. Go inside, up the stairs and turn left to get the “swag”. You might as well put your weapons away because they are useless on this map.

If you want to explore the map, you may find a few corpses (with nothing on them) and the south end of the Preobrazhensky Bridge is surrounded by a teleport that takes you back to the complex on the north end of the bridge where there are mutant spiders and Zombies. One of Vitaly's videos shows an artifact at the south end of the bridge, but I haven't figured out how to get there without teleporting back to the north end. So maybe we'll come back to this later in the game?

The PDA shows only one transition point in the Testing Workshop of the Iron Forest (a.k.a. the Stingray 2 crash site), which is in the southwest corner of the map. The problem is, the place is infested with mutants. You don't have enough ammo to kill them all, so a little game of Catch Me If You Can is your best option:

• One tactic, which seems easy if you do it right, is to enter the area from the east. The east wall has several openings. Using the opening furthest south, walk toward the mutants until you hear them react, and then run back through the opening. Now head south around the shipping crates and to the far southeast corner of where the buildings along the south side of the complex extend out to the east. Wait for the mutants to be sure they don't lose your trail (otherwise you have to start all over again). When the first mutant gets close, walk through the fence and wait for the rest of them to join up. The Pseudogiants are the slowest and once the first one gets there, sprint west before it stomps. Go until you can get between the buildings and then head north to the end of the wall that runs along the west side of the Iron Forest with the Testing Workshop at the south end of the wall. Carefully maneuver around the north end of the wall (so you don't fall down the hill) and sprint to the Testing Workshop.
• Another tactic is to show yourself to the mutants at the north end of the complex, then run northeast to the Oakpine anomaly. This tactic is much riskier because the mutants will be chasing you. Climb up and wait for all the mutants to get there. You don't need to go to the top, but just so you're over the gully to cause the mutants to go below you. I like to use the southwest leg of the anomaly as it's the shortest distance and easy to walk up. Once the first Pseudogiant is almost below you, sprint back to the Testing Workshop. Don't wait too long because the Pseudogiants will stomp and you won't be able to sprint for a few seconds, which is all the spiders need to catch you.

As soon as you enter the door, turn left and go down the steps one level, then left through the doorway and follow the hall to the right. If you encounter a blind dog along the way, just keep running. If you're playing at the Master level, you may also have a black spider in your way. They usually take four to five shotgun blasts and you only have two in the chamber. You'll be dead before you can reload, so try to jump over it.

At the end of the hall, there's a quick right than left down two more sets of stairs at a right angle and continue down a longer hall (don't go all the way down the stairs, but just to the first doorway). At the end and to the left are four more sets of stairs. At the bottom of the stairs, go through the door on the right, and then left into the large room where the Pseudogiant was in Call Of Pripyat. Mounted to the wall on the left is a ladder you can climb to the top. Now you're safe from the mutants and may want to Quick Save in case you fall transitioning to the catwalk. If you're bleeding and losing health, take a vodka or two.

In COP, there was an opening in the duct work in the southwest corner of the room opposite where you entered that led to the area where you found the papers for the Gauss rifle. This is where the transition point is located. Make your way over there using the overhead crane. In fact, you can stay on the catwalk of the crane to transition point without actually jumping down into the duct.

Yantar

You transport to the Mobile Lab compound in Yantar and the screen displays a thought. This is your cue to make your way to the Clear Sky camp in the Swamp to get answers from Dr. Bashnya. There are two transition points to Agroprom, one to the south and another to the east (which is guarded by a group of Zombies). It doesn't matter which one you take, but I recommend taking on the Zombies so you can start collecting weapons and ammo. Be aware that these guys are packin' some heavy weaponry. But they're not too quick and you can run past them before they react. Then use the shipping crates for cover, and if you're lucky, a Zombie with the RPG will do your work for you. If not, you should have just enough shotgun ammo to take them out with headshots. Collect their gear and notice that you can carry a whole lot more that your limit. At this point (without artifacts) you can carry 200 kilograms. Once you're done with the Zombies, you may be tempted to go hunting Zombies for more loot. But there's plenty along the way, so I recommend you head for the transition point.

Agroprom

If you used the southeast transition point (which is one way, i.e., you can't go from Agroprom to Yantar from here), there are two corpses on top of the hill in front of you (the Stone Ring) with more loot. Walk between or around the two trees, up the slope and climb on top of the rocks to avoid the mutants. Also, avoid contact with Duty and Stalkers even though they show as neutral on your PDA, as they turn on you without warning. There may be some Zombies in the area if you want more swag (remember: headshots save ammo). Also, if you happen to gain stash coordinates, you can leave them for now and collecting them later in the game. Especially if the stash is near one of the bases. By the time you get to a trader, you'll have more than you can carry anyway.

From the Stone Ring, head southeast to the Barricades by a Train Car, which may also have a few armed Zombies around. In the tower is a dead Bandit named Sheluden with the first PDA. Sheluden's PDA has some valuable information on flash drives and another PDA in the Underground, which we will get to later. Many of these flash drives contain information about hidden transition points. Getting off the top of the ladder can be tricky. Looking up and to the left usually works for some reason. Turn around and walk to the outside of the platform, then along the south to the corpse and check your health (you probably need a vodka soon). Loot the corpse, get down as quick as you can and take another vodka if you need to. Then head for the northeast transition point to the Garbage, which is also one way. If you encounter Zombies with no weapons, just sprint past them.

Garbage

Head for the transition point near the Receiving Outpost at the south end of the road, again avoiding any contact. As you approach the outpost you may hear a fire fight, which usually ends with an RPG blast. A squad of Russian Special Forces (RSF) is attacking some Bandits. You can either wait for the attackers to finish up and head toward the Gravel Pit, or try to take them out with an RPG as they leave. Either way, there's probably more loot than you can carry at this point.

Be sure to Save before you move on and check your PDA, because you never know who or what is going to be waiting for you when you spawn at the Far Outpost. I've been greeted by mutants and a squad of RSF. I can fight my way past the RSF, but the mutants forced me to go back through the Garbage, Dark Valley, and then to the Cordon.

Cordon

From the Far Outpost, you may encounter a Controller having lunch on a corpse near the Camp Under Rocks with it's two pet Chimeras. If you are lucky enough to score a .50 cal, take the headshot. Or, a Dragunov does the job with five headshots. The Chimeras go down with a single shotgun blast. Otherwise, go east through the fence and keep your distance. As you head south toward the Northern Farmstead in the Cordon there are mutants, another Controller, and two Burers on the west side of the road near the Bivouac in the Meadow. This is a fight you don't need to start, so it's best to avoid them. While you're in the Cordon, DO NOT go to Sidorovich's yet.

There are two more corpses near Camp in Spruce Forest, which are guarded by civilian Zombies. You should be able outmaneuver them and save some ammo. Sheluden's PDA mentions a flash drive at the Quiet Hideout, which is east of the Old Farmstead. The corpse is guarded by some Pseudodogs and at least one of them is a cloner. It's best to take them out from a distance before they start cloning to save ammo. I should mention that clones can go through fences, too. The body of the RSF has a flamethrower and the Flash drive with data of hidden transition point on the Swamps. Get to the Northern Farmstead so you can trade in all your goodies and get your gear repaired. You can take on optional missions, but there are no flash drives or PDAs in it for you. And unless you are really hard up for cash, these are a waste of time. I would advise on getting a leather jacket and have it upgraded so you can put a couple of artifacts on your belt, not to mention night vision. If you keep it repaired, a leather jacket should be all you need until later in the game when you get an Exoskeleton suit for free.

From the Quiet Hideout, go west to the Bonfire in Forest, but not to the transition point. There's a helicopter that likes to shoot rockets at you when you're in the Village Center. From the Bonfire in Forest, go up the hill to the railroad tracks and follow them west until you can get a good shot with an RPG. If you're lucky enough to hit the helicopter in the tail section, it goes down with one shot. Otherwise, you're going to need a second hit. Once that's out of the way, follow the western edge of the map heading south towards the transition point in the southwest part of the map and (again) DO NOT stop at Sidorovich's. You only get one chance to visit Sidorovich, and if you go in now, you will probably wish you hadn't later. As you pass the Bonfire Under Tree, be sure to stay on the east side of the fence. There's a hidden teleport up on the hill that we don't want to use just yet or we'll end up in the northern end of the Dark Valley. Go outside the fence when you get close to the tunnel so the military doesn't start shooting. Go into the tunnel and teleport to the Swamp.

Swamp

You spawn on the east side of the Southern Farmstead, which has a few Lone Wolfs that you can either avoid or take out (if you wait until later you might get rewarded by Clear Sky). Then head for the Clear Sky camp by following the fence that runs south of the Southern Farmstead. As you approach the gate, you are stopped by a rather lengthy dialog, at which time you can choose how you want to play the rest of the game. My choice for this walkthrough is to join Clear Sky. Here are the objectives:

• Find the Art-hunter and buy artifacts.
• Find the way to Limansk.
• Find all three Artifacts Of Death.
• Collect 12 PDAs.

I should also mention that I found playing the game with emissions on only slows the game down and offers no additional challenge your playing abilities, only to your patience. And, as much as this game crashes, your patience will be tested as it is. Also, Lebedev tells you about using Esc+F2, which brings up the Faction Commander control panel. This may be helpful when you're ordered to capture and hold a point on the map, but don't have any support from Clear Sky. Use the Spawn Squad on the Commander tab to hire some help, or capture a point on your own and hire a squad to hold (defend) the position. The squad spawns at the nearest marked point (yellow dot) on the map, unless it is already occupied. At some point, when you have 20,000 Ru's or more, use the Spawn button under Z-Team and send the squad, led by Volf, to capture an enemy held point. The squad fails the mission (or is suppose to), but you get a PDA out of the deal. The next time you spawn the squad, Black Serg should be the commander (if the commander is Volf again, go back to your last Save and wait a little while, about an hour game time, then try again). Ask him if he is Commander Serg, and then ask if he has a special PDA. He gives you Greek's PDA. On some maps, like CNPP and the Jupiter Underground, opening the control panel crashes the game. Lebedev also tells you to talk to Professor Bashnya, who is there at the camp, Meatgrinder, who is the red circle on your PDA map, and Looter.

Be sure to talk to Lotsman, the guide at the south end of the camp. He gives you some information on transition points (which I haven't quite figured out how to use yet). He also agrees to meet you in Limansk, which is an important part of the game.

Once you're ready to leave the camp, check your PDA for a red target west by northwest of the camp. This is Meatgrinder, and that's your next task. Meatgrinder tells you where to find Looter, who is at the Army Warehouses. Now head for the watchtower on the west edge of the map, where in the original Clear Sky, you were sent on your first mission. The guy in the tower tells you to run for the tower and when you do, he climbs down and gets killed. Once you clear out the mutants, be sure to get his Monstrpress shotgun, which is used as a secondary weapon and way better than a pistol. There's a Pseudogiant in the area which decided to wait for me at the base of the tower once. I was able to kill it with a single RPG round to the head.

You now have an Echo detector and can start collecting artifacts. From the tower, there's an artifact to the south, then head north to the area marked Detector "Veles" on your PDA map. There are two more artifacts along the way. See Clear Sky Artifacts for a map. Be sure to collect artifacts when you can and read the description of each one. Some artifacts can be used to create a Gravi anomaly (a.k.a. Springboard) and I have found them very useful in a couple of instances, which I will mention when we get there.

To use an artifact, display your inventory, put the artifact in the secondary weapon spot and hold the shoot key/button for a few seconds to deploy. You may want to practice a few times to get the timing down. The downside to using artifacts is when one of your allies gets killed by the anomaly, his friends turn on you. Usually, it's just those in his squad and the rest of the faction stays friendly.

Remember that Veles behind the mattress in the original Clear Sky? If not, there's a cave between the box cars and bridge, and behind the mattress in the corner is a Veles detector. See Hidden Veles Detector if you need a walkthrough. And be sure to check the cave for an artifact before you leave. You may pick up a Gravi that's not on the aforementioned Clear Sky Artifacts map.

At this point, you can hang around the Swamp as long as you like, maybe take some jobs and build up your inventory of ammo and cash (once you get to six figures, it's pointless to get any more). You can buy stashes from the trader and barkeep, but none of them have flash drives or PDAs. I like to capture all the points on the map, then spawn a squad using the Faction Commander set at Expansion to hold the point. This reduces the number of messages you get when you leave the Swamp about Clear Sky objectives that you really don't need to be concerned with. Otherwise, the Lone Wolfs move right back in and you're constantly getting mission objectives for the Swamp throughout the rest of the game. Or, you can just head for the Northern Farmstead and ignore the messages. This is also helpful for places you have to pass by a lot, like the Machine Yard.

Zarka

Up in the northeast corner of the map, east of the Northern Farmstead, is a Person of Interest. This is Zarka, and she asks you to escort her to her friends, which are northwest of the Encampment Under Embankment. Before you contact Zarka, you have to clear out the Northern Farmstead or she starts a fire fight with the Lone Wolfs. If she dies, you die.

When you finish with the Lone Wolfs, be sure to watch your PDA. If the Machine Yard is under Lone Wolf control, they may send reinforcements in from the southwest. If you look out the western facing window of the house you can snipe them as they cross the bridge they use to get to the farm.

Take Zarka to her friends (who may not actually be there, but it doesn't matter). Be sure to keep her on the minimap as you go or she'll go back to her starting point. She stops by the pond just west of the Northern Farmstead to check for anomalies, then goes west until the fence turns north toward the train wreck. She passes the train wreck on the north side and meets up with her buddies just a little further west. After the dialog, they head to Agroprom, but don't bother trying to follow them because the transition point isn't open to you yet.

When you're ready to move on, ask a guide to take you to the Village Center, or head for the transition point in the northeast corner of the map (where you met Zarka).

Cordon 2

If you used the transition point, you spawn in the southern part of the Cordon near the Military Outpost. Walk on the east side of the fence until you get past the minefield. Go see Wolf in the Village Center and talk to him about helping a Stalker (named Anelia) at the tunnel that goes to the Dark Valley, which is marked Bonfire by Tunnel on your PDA map. Anelia is trapped by three or four Bloodsuckers running around the camp. This does not display in your PDA as a task, or is it marked on the map. But it is necessary to gain one of the Artifacts of Death. As with Zarka, you must clear the way, or you'll have a tough time completing the mission. There's a Burer and some mutants at, or north of, the Camp Near Van just north of the Village Center. Then head for the Vehicle Station, where you have to take out the RSF there in order to clear the way for Anelia.

The easiest way I've found to clear out the Vehicle Station is to use the bus stop as cover and snipe as many as you can. If you're luck, a bunch of them will come out the front gate where you can take them out with an RPG. Usually, one or two of them stay inside the buildings and you have to go in to finish clearing them out. Then head east to the Bonfire by Tunnel.

My tactic for dealing with these Bloodsuckers is to stand in the road just west of the rail fence. This seems to be their boundary for some reason and you can step forward a few steps to bait them to come at you. Remember to wait until they show themselves just before striking and take your shot. Also, you have to give Anelia a pistol before she will leave. In one game, I found Anelia west of the camp and safe from the Bloodsuckers. Still, I had to clear them out and wait for her to go sit in the shelter before getting her to leave. Like Zarka, you must keep Anelia on your minimap as you escort her to the Village Center, or she goes back to the starting point.

When you get back to the Village Center, Anelia tells you all about looking for her father and how her boyfriend came to the Zone to make some money for their wedding, but became a Zombie instead. Let her tell her story because you get coordinates for a stash when she's done. Then go get the stash and the nearby artifact. See the walkthrough for Reward for a Hero if you need help getting the artifact. In the stash is the Joker of Horror flash drive that tells you to look up Korsakov, who is in the Agroprom.

You can go to the trader at the Old Farmstead to sell all those weapons you picked up from the Vehicle Station, then go back to the Village Center and find Anelia, who is hold up in the underground storm cellar. Offer to take her to her father and she leads the way, leaving the camp on the west end, over the hill to the Bonfire Under Tree, through the fence (I guess she can do the fence thing too) and up the hill toward the hidden transition point. Then she turns around and goes back past the east entrance to the Village Center, through the tunnel under the railroad tracks, past the Encampment in Trough and stops just before the two transition points. If you haven't taken care of the two mutants here, you may want to sprint ahead and do that before she gets there (just don't run into the transition point). When Anelia stops, she tells you to meet her in the Agroprom, then turns and disappears.

Now head for the Dark Valley by way of the tunnel where you rescued Anelia from the Bloodsuckers.

Dark Valley

There may be a squad of hostile Mercenaries at the Encampment on Farm in the southwestern corner of the map. So Save your game before you approach them. Collect Commandant Glykin's PDA, which was Lingov's corpse in the original Clear Sky. This PDA tells you of the 12 PDAs you must collect. The three in the Dark Valley are in the same places as the original Clear Sky. You have one, another at the Encampment at Foothill, and the last one on top of the large storage tank at the Gas Station.

From the Encampment on Farm, you can collect the PDAs and artifacts any way you want. I prefer to go east to the Fault anomaly, then to the Springboard anomaly at the southeast corner of the Factory Lobby. This anomaly seems to be buggy, even in the original Clear Sky. I find that sometimes I can get the artifact with no issues by just walking along the southern wall of the factory. Other times, the artifact shows on my detector, but I'm unable to grab it. I've found that if I close the game and reboot, I can then get the artifact. Or, just wait until later in the game, because we'll be back to the Dark Valley a few more times. If you need any help with the stashes, see Clear Sky Stashes by Location - Dark Valley for walkthroughs.

From the factory, go along the east side of the wall to the Encampment at Foothill to pick up the PDA los(sic) in Valley lying on a boulder with a mattress against it. Sometimes this camp is guarded by Mercenaries, and sometimes they are hostile, but not always. So, Save before you approach, and move in carefully.

Next, make your way to the gas station and get the PDA from the corpse on top of the tank, which is (Uncle Artikular friend's PDA). This is where you went to get the flash drive off of Yar's friend in the original Clear Sky. If you need help getting the artifact from the top of the north tank, see the Note section for Gas Station. This PDA mentions a teleport in a tube at the Mercenary's base, which is marked on your map as the Factory Lobby. But at this point in the game, the teleport is disabled.

You can go inside the Freedom base, or wait until you collect the next artifact. The base is under attack by Zombies and you have to clear them out before Ashot the trader appears (sometimes he never shows).

The teleport behind the Factory lobby still doesn't work yet, so once you get all you can, head back to the Garbage by way of the End Outpost transition point.

Garbage 2

When you spawn in the Garbage, you get a message about a toolbox stash (with a PDA inside), which is marked on your map (Forgotten PDA). Switch to your favorite Zombie weapon and go to the southeast corner of the Flea Market. As you approach you get a message that it's under attack. The Zombies are in the bottom of the building and if you get there quick enough, they are all bunched together. Don't use an RPG though, because you'll likely take out a Stalker or two as well, and the rest of the Stalkers aren't very happy about that. Once you clear the Zombies out, another group may come in from the southwest.

Once the Flea Market is safe, you'll hear a familiar conversation letting you know those Bandits are waiting for you in the cellar again. Shoot them through the door and retrieve the PDA of the Unknown. If you hang around the Flea Market, it gets attacked continuously by Bandits. One of the Bandits is Yoha, their leader, and he has a PDA. You can also go to the west end of the Depot and attack the base to get the PDA (which saves some time). I like to loop around to the west side and use the train car to snipe from. You can jump from the top of the tunnel to the train. The doors of the Depot may open, so once you have a safe path, get close to the doors so you can get inside and take out Yoha.

One of Vitaly's videos shows how to use the fallen pieces of the crane at the southeast corner of the building to get inside. It's a tricky jump to execute: Sprint along the long pipe lying on the ground almost parallel with the south wall of the Depot. There's a flange at the end where you want to jump from up onto the rigging (keep the Forward button down until you're sure you either missed it, or made it). Once you're on top of that, turn towards the building and go up the wreckage into the Depot.

Next, go to the New Encampment. There are more corpses on the way to the north, if you want to loot them. At this point in the game, I usually have plenty of money and am only interested in ammo and supplies. When you get to the New Encampment, turn to the east and look for a dead tree with a large trunk. Against the southeast side of the trunk is a corpse with the PDA from Garbage, which also tells you of 12 PDAs you need to collect.

Turn west toward the toolbox stash and check your PDA map for Bandits. Once you have the PDA, continue collecting artifacts. When you're finished collecting artifacts, head for the transition point north of the Flea Market to Army Warehouses. We need to talk to this Looter guy (that Lebedev told us about) in the Mercenaries Bivouac.

Army Warehouses

Go to a squad leader and ask for a job. He'll send you to get the Intelligent Service Commander's PDA. Then check your map and find Looter and go talk to him in his...office. Looter tells you about hiring a former Clear Sky member who then shows on your map as an important person, and he also gives you the task of talking to Forester. You can buy some stashes from Looter, but none of them have any flash drives or PDAs.

Before retrieving the PDA, there's a Controller northeast of the village that needs to be removed. Also, be aware of the two Burers at the Water Tower. With the Controller down, switch to the shotgun and get up on the rocks west of the area to take out the mutants near the corpses. Try for the Chimeras first because they can jump and get you even on the tallest rock. However, the Chimeras won't jump at you unless they can see you.

With the mutants out of the way, grab the PDA and read it. You may even want to take a screenshot of it, because you have to return it in order to complete the mission and you can't take another job without completing this one. Before you leave the area, there's an artifact northwest of the area.

According to the Intelligent Service Commander's PDA, one of the guys with Looter is a former Clear Sky member and has a PDA with valuable information on it. This is Butcher, whom Looter told you about, and is the blue icon on the east edge of the village on your map. Go talk with him, cap him, and take his PDA, the O'consciousness Agent PDA. Here's why:

The rest of the jobs here are optional. There's a squad of Monolith at the Fallen Chopper that can be taken out with a single RPG round and one of them may have a .50 cal. If not, check the Far Farmstead to see if it's occupied by Monolith or Stalkers. Monolith attacks this spot and one of them may have a .50 cal. You may even score a Guass. If the Stalkers are still there, check the area at the south end. And if that doesn't land you a .50 cal, take the second job from a squad leader, which is to return Time Patrol Ammo Gauss. Trust me, you will want that .50 cal in a very short time. Again, be sure to scan the area to the north of the Fallen Chopper for artifacts after you clear the Monolith. Also, there's a possible bug with the mission "Return the Jellyfish", where I didn't get credit for returning the item, but when I left the map, I got a message that the mission had failed.

Looting corpses may get you the stash coordinates to the Cross near tree stash, which has some ammo for the Gravi Gun. When you're ready to move on, head for the northwest transition point to the Red Forest. According to Looter, Luke's last known location was with Forester in the Red Forest. Before you jump, get the RPG ready.

Red Forest

I never know for sure what I will find when I spawn in the Red Forest for the first time. The Camp Near Caper is attacked by spiders, or Zombies, or a Burer, or a lone Monolith. Sometimes, the camp is attacked by two or three of these all at once. Here's how I deal with each attack, assuming they aren't happening all at once:

• There may be a squad of Zombies at the bend in the road up ahead who are about to attack Duty at the Camp Near Caper. If you have your RPG ready and get close enough, you can take out most of them with one shot. However, (depending on what level you're playing at) there's usually one Undefeatable Zombie that takes a .50 cal in the head before he goes down.
• Another possibility is you'll hear a swarm of mutant spiders. In this case, find something like a vehicle or shipping crate and jump on top. You can use your Vepr or flamethrower to clear them out.
• A Monolith will sometimes come in from the north of Forester's building (one time he was in the attic of the building to the east and easy pickings).
• So far, I've encountered a Burer in Forester's building, on the catwalk above, and in the road attacking the camp as I came out of Forester's building. Once, it came into the room while I was talking to Forester and killed me before I knew it, then attacked the old man. I've seen it come down the ladder on the east side of the building a few times. It seems to spawn when you approach Forester's building. If you stay with Duty at the Camp Near Caper, you shouldn't have to worry about the little pest until you're ready for it.

You can expect to encounter each one of these attacks before you head into the forest. It's usually at this point that I turn my speakers off so Forester's tune doesn't get stuck in my head. Go in, talk to Forester and have him repair any equipment that needs it. He tells you about another PDA, and to stay away from the bridge. If you haven't encountered any of the attacks that I mentioned, you probably will when you leave Forester's building.

Climb the ladder on the east side of the building and remember not to walk on the mesh decking. At the top of the ladder, turn to the right where it's solid (you may have to jump) and go north to the stairs. At the top of the stairs, there's another ladder in front of you. To get to it, you either have to go left, the long way around the building, by walking on the narrow solid section of the decking, or jumping on the handrail and then to the solid deck area at the foot of the ladder. When you get to the top you get hit by an anomaly, but just keep going straight to the next ladder. At the top of this ladder, move to the left to align with the narrow solid section.

On the east side of the building, go past the cable and climb down into the area with boxes. There's a PDA in one of them, Fivetwentyone's PDA. Be careful of the anomaly on the other side (north) of the area. The boxes on that side are empty.

To get down, the quickest way is to go back to the ladder, climb down at least one of the two ladders and then purposely fall through the decking to the roof on the north side of the building. You can go through the decking from where you are, but you're going to need a vodka or bandage to stop the bleeding. Go to the northeast corner of the roof. There's some sort of circular tank you can land on, and then to the ground. Also, you can go back the way you came, or jump on the handrail, then to the cable going to the other building and slow-walk down. Move to the lowest part of the roof and walk off (don't jump or you'll start bleeding).

The PDA that Forester told you about is now marked on your map directly south of the Camp Near Caper, near the eastern gate. As you make your way to the spot, there's spiders and Zombies to the east which usually attack two guys from Duty near an Electro anomaly. If they come after you, sprint for the location of the PDA, and when you get there, jump up on the wall, then to the top of the gate. This gives you a good spot to take out the spiders and Zombies with a shotgun, or whatever weapon you like. If you stay on the wall and don't move up to the top of the gate, the Zombies will knock you off. Save your flamethrower fuel for now.

When it's safe, grab the PDA of Lost in Red Forest, which tells you (as does the O'consciousness Agent PDA) to save Azot at the bridge. However, it is very difficult to save Azot and I usually find his corpse either in, or near the tunnel to Limansk. I have successfully saved him and the job he gives me is to return the tank machine gun, which I can get from any squad leader in the Red Forest. When I return with the machine gun, he doesn't give me a reward or another task, so I'm not sure this is a worthwhile venture. Instead, I do some side jobs for Duty in order to get another PDA.

Go and ask one of the squad leaders for a job and he'll send you to the tank to retrieve the machine gun. Make sure your inventory can handle another 50 kg or you won't be able to carry the gun back. Then head southeast to the tunnel that leads to the Devilish Encampment, which is marked Mutant's Den on your map. If you're scanning for artifacts, there's three along the west embankment that will be easier to collect on your second trip for the PDA, after you have cleared out most of the mutants and Zombies.

There's another group of spiders, rodents, and a Controller waiting in the Mutant's Den. Here are some ways to deal with them:

• The easiest way I've found is to go to the tunnel (armed with the flamethrower) and jump into the trolley car. Sometimes the tunnel is nearly empty and you may need to shotgun one or two of the rodents to attract the Controller's attention, then switch to the .50 cal (you can kill a Controller with the flamethrower, but it's risky). Check your PDA map to see which end of the tunnel the Controller is at and get ready for it to show itself.
• Get as close to the tunnel as possible and attract the spiders' attention (toss a smoke grenade or something). Then, sprint to the southeast gate (as a reference, there's a transition point just beyond where you need to get to). Just beyond the gate is a truck where you can jump to the bottom of the windshield opening, then climb on top of the truck cab. Make sure you get all the spiders before the Controller shows up. You can hide behind the cab so the Controller can't get you and lean out with your .50 cal to clear the way. This is a good place to Save, because the Controller doesn't always follow the spiders and then you have to go looking for him.
• Another option, instead of the truck, is to use the pile of boulders along the path to the east of the tunnel, about halfway between Dark Yar and Misty Meadow.

With the way clear, go through the tunnel and head north to the tank. There's a group of spiders there which can climb onto the tank, along with some Zombies. However, there is a large boulder to the southeast of the tank that makes a great place to shoot them from. The transition point over the tank doesn't work (which Forester has already warned you about), but the corpses have some ammo and maybe a mini-gun if you don't already have one. However, you're going to be coming right back to this spot, so if you're near the weight limit in your inventory, wait to loot the corpse on the next trip. When you're done there, go back to the tunnel and don't be surprised if you see a couple soldiers on your map. They don't have any weapons and will run away from you when you get close. There may also be a Zombie and one or two spiders in the tunnel, so watch for a red dot on your minimap.

As you make your way back through the forest, you'll probably encounter more Zombies and spiders. There are a few boulders that are low enough to jump on to, but high enough to keep you safe. These Zombies, however, don't go down easily and I've found using the machine gun from the tank is the best way to deal with them. Take the machine gun back to the squad leader, then ask the other squad leader for a job and he sends you back to the tank to fetch a PDA. Make sure you read the PDA, or take a screenshot (because you have to give it back to complete the mission). This is the PDA of returned from Limansk.

Now head for the bridge. As you approach, there's a cut-scene fly over of the bridge that you really should pay attention to. When it's done, Save (so you don't have to cut-scene again in case you don't make it). This is another situation where I never know what to expect. The object is to clear out all the trouble-makers for when you come through here later. Strangely, you can walk on the grading of the bridge without falling through. Usually, there's a Burer, Controller, Bloodsucker, Pseudogiant, and spiders. The Pseudogiant can be eliminated with a single RPG. There's also some first aid kits in the lockers on the first floor of the gate house. Once the mutants are cleared out, you may want to launch an artifact on the walking bridge on the east side of the bridge where the mutants cross, just to keep them from coming back (hopefully).

The truck in the middle of the river has a Gravi Gun in the box behind the cab. To get to it, start from the east side of the bridge and walk along side the bridge on the south. Go out to the end of the broken cement and align yourself with the truck and a broken off pillar in between. Take a standing jump to the pillar, then to the truck. You can also walk off the side of the bridge onto the truck, but you'll take some damage when you land. The gun is behind the cab on the right side (facing the front) and you can go back the same way, except don't try for the bridge from the pillar. Instead, do what I call a step-jump to the right of where you started and land on the shore. You can't just jump from the pillar, you need some momentum to carry you to the shore. So, you have to position yourself at the back edge of the pillar, take one step and jump. It's made difficult because you're taking on radiation all the while you're over the water.

When you're ready to leave, take the road south from the bridge. When you get to the fallen tree blocking the road, take out your .50 cal and look down the road. There's a Controller down there, along with a couple of Pseudodogs that spawn on the right as you approach the transition point. Take the transition point to the Factory Backyard in Yantar.

Yantar 2

According to the list of PDAs, there's one PDA in Yantar we need to get by the Uprooted Tree. Also, Sheluden's PDA mentions three flash drives in the factory (I've only found one), in the building you entered to get to Lab X16 in the original Clear Sky. The door is closed, so you have to go around the opposite side of the building where there's a hole in the wall for you to enter. Go in down to the bottom of the stairs. One of the two boxes contains the Flash drive with data of hidden transition point on the Agroprom Underground.

The PDA is in the northwest corner of the map near the place marked Uprooted Tree. There's a Burer, mutants, and Zombies waiting for you, too. But first, you have to get through the factory complex. I find it easiest to go around the north side, and then along building on the east to the entrance. Stay on the left side of the road to avoid some Zombies at the Power Transformer Booth. When you get past the anomaly by the bus, turn west and head for the Drain Pipe.

My strategy is to hide behind the tree at the top of the hill and take out the Burer with the .50 cal. Then, switch to the RPG and fire a couple rounds at the mutants. Switch to the shotgun and jump up on a rock so you can see the rodents that come at you. Once the mutants are out of the way, go back to the RPG. As you approach the nearest corpse, a group of Zombies comes in from the north. Hit them with the RPG and finish off any remaining Zombies with a sniper rifle. Once the area is clear, get the artifact from the anomaly and the PDA of Luke's friend. You can talk to Professor Sakharov if you want to. He's going to ask you for the PDA. When you're ready to leave, take either transition point to Agroprom.

Agroprom 2

Head to the factory and ask a squad leader for a job. He gives you the task to return Stalker Mohnat's PDA, which is in the Underground.

There are two artifacts in the factory's east building, just as the original Clear Sky. However, sometimes they are on the top floor. The trader at the factory is Beard (a long way from the Skadovsk). Go see Wanderer in Hermit's hole and he offers you a job getting a PDA from the log cabin in the swamp (even if you have the other job from the squad leader). It's an easy job with one bandit that shows himself as you pass by to the south and you can take him out with a sniper rifle through the doorway from a safe distance.

Once you have the PDA (PDA from loghouse on the swamp, Agroprom) read it and then take it back to Wanderer. Sometimes he takes it from you and sometimes he doesn't. So be sure to at least read it, or take a screenshot. Buy Wanderer's only stash, which is PDA of Stalker, Dead In the Underground. Also, you can buy an Exoskeleton suit for 9000 ru's, but you have to wait until you get to the Dark Valley again to have it upgraded. Wanderer tells you to talk to Vivisector, who is near the northwest transition point to Yantar. Stay up along the east ridge of the valley to avoid the transition pointed. If you get the dialog to teleport, click No and you have to climb up either side of the valley to try and get around the transition point again. Vivisector is at the very edge of the map. He informs you of how to get into the Underground.

You may notice that there is a Person of Interest icon southwest of the Outpost By The Hole. This is Amelia, but we can't contact her just yet. Instead, stop by the Outpost By The Hole and clear out the Snorks, and then go to the Duty base, which is under attack by Zombies. They seem impervious to everything but a shotgun, mini-gun, or Gravi Gun. Even RPGs are useless against these Zombies. They are usually roaming around in front of the main building, and another group coming in from the Northern Entrance. When you have finished clearing the Zombies outside the main building, the front door opens to reveal another group in the front hall with one or two roaming the halls.

Once all these Zombies are gone, and depending on how many Duty survived, you can trade with Lentyay (the trader) and (optionally) buy some stashes. Although, I have had it happen where the trader and technician don't return right away, or even until I leave the map and return. At some point, reinforcements arrive and then it's safe for business as usual.

The Joker of Horror flash drive mentions the shooting range, which is at the Northern Entrance, and that's where Korsakov is. If he's not there, pick this next part up when you return to Agroprom. Go into the building and talk to Korsakov, who asks if you want to take the shooting challenge. Take one of the shooting challenges to get the O'consciousness PDA. After completing the challenge, ask Korsakov if he has any stashes and he sells you Joker's stash. The stash is located in the northeast corner of the map. There's a Controller guarding it, who is usually on the east side (outside) of the fence in the meadow. The stash contains a sweet little Svarog detector prototype.

Agroprom Underground

The minimap points you to the Underground Entrance on top of the hill northeast of the Agroprom Institute. When you spawn inside the chamber, remember that you can't walk on the grading, but you can walk on the rails. Once you get to the ground floor, go through the doorway and follow the hall to the left. Put your gun away because there's an anomaly that may cause you to drop it part way through. The easiest way is to go around the barrel, staying against the left wall, and sprint until you are next to the pillar (not quite to the end). You want to use the pillar as cover from the Zombies in the room to your right (north). Just before you get to the pillar you lose your bearings, so just stop until you can see your way again. Turn to face the pillar (north) and move around the right side to where the hall narrows again (not in front of the open doorway) and take out your RPG. Side-step left and let the Zombies have it, get back out from in front of the doorway, and switch to the .50 cal. Now check the room for Undefeatable Zombies.

Move to the left and go through the doorway, staying to the left. The next doorway on the right has another anomaly, so you may want to put your gun away before going through. But first, check the room for another Zombie. If you don't see him, or he hasn't come after you, he's probably in the corner on the right. Go through the doorway, take out your Monstrpress and let him have it. Then switch to the .50 cal. There's one more Undefeatable Zombie through the next door, and a regular Zombie behind him. If you take too long with them you might have to deal with a Pseudogiant before you're ready to.

Mohnat's PDA is at the end of the hall, but you have to get past the Pseudogiant, and this one takes more than one RPG. For this, I recommend a Wrenched artifact to set up a small gravi anomaly. The Wrenched has a small radius, but is powerful enough to take out the Pseudogiant. If you haven't used an artifact as a weapon yet, put it in place of your secondary weapon. Stay to the right as you move up the hallway to stay out of sight of the Pseudogiant, and when you get past the entrance to Strelok's stash (about where the fallen air duct blocks the left side), hold down the fire button until the artifact leaves your hands. Then, get away from it and try to get the Pseudogiant to walk through the anomaly once it's going good (it takes a few seconds to get cranked up). Throw a grenade down the hallway, or just shoot a few rounds that way. You can sprint through the anomaly, but the Pseudogiant can't. Once he becomes red confetti, go to the end of the hall and down the stairs. The PDA is in a backpack under the stairs. If you need help finding it, see Backpack under stairs for some screenshots. There's some .50 cal ammo at the top of the stairs. Then up the ladder to Strelok's stash, take out the flamethrower (even if you don't have any fuel), and Save your game. This next part is timed, so you may want to read through it first.

When you get close to the door on the right side of the room, you teleport into a room with Luke lying on the floor and a timer starts. According to the O'consciousness Agent PDA, you have to climb the ladder in the circular room to turn the timer off. If you bought stashes, you may see some of them along the way, but don't take the time to get them now. First, turn off the timer and then come back to get all that. Also, don't talk to Luke (unless you close the dialog quickly so that it's recorded in your PDA Messages and you can read it later). Grab the flamethrower fuel, go up the ladder, (at the top reload the flamethrower if you need to) go through the gate, turn left to the valve, and hit the action button. Then, cook the Zombies at the gate while you wait for it to open, sprint to the other end of the room, down the spiral steps and turn left down the hallway. Stay to the left side and use the flamethrower to get past the giant rodents, go up the ladder to turn the timer off and wait for the rodents to leave. You may need to throw a grenade down the hole if one of them gets stuck at the bottom of the ladder.

Save again, climb down and go back the way you came to pick up the PDA of Stalker, Dead In the Underground, which is the stash you bought from Wanderer. Go up the spiral stairs and back to where you left Luke to get his PDA, the Last record in the Luke's brocken(sic) PDA. Now you can take your time and collect any other stashes. Also, there's some ammo in one of the wooden boxes of the room between the gate and the spiral steps. Then go back to where you climbed the ladder to stop the timer, only go past the ladder and walk through the gate. Stay along the wall to avoid any remaining rodents and when you come to the end of the hallway you are transported to the overpass in Dark Valley.

First Stalker

You spawn inside the Dark Valley Overpass, which consists of three rooms connected by a walkway, and you are just south of the middle room and you are in (or near) the north room. There's a wooden box on the floor of the room (where the floor drops down) and it contains the Flash drive with data on hidden transition point on the Yantar. No matter which direction you take, you transition point to another map, and we don't want to leave just yet. There's someone we need to talk to at the north end of the overpass. Then move forward and when the dialog comes up about transporting, click No to get tossed out of the overpass. If you bought an Exoskeleton suit from Wonderer, you can have the Freedom tech upgrade it.

This next part takes place where the radioactive levels are pretty high, so if you have a Bubble artifact, you might want to put it on your belt. Start inside the base at the southeast corner of the incomplete building, which is on the west side of the Freedom Base, i.e., the west entrance. Follow the complex wall south until you reach a wall panel leaning against another panel. There's just enough room for you to crouch down and get between the panels into the unused part of the complex, then go around and in the building on the left to talk to First Stalker. If you're taking on radiation, click through the dialog so you can read it later. First Stalker tells you there are four flash drives in the overpass with information on hidden transition points and a not-so-helpful strategy on how to get them. When you're done talking with First Stalker, you can have him fix up any gear that needs repairs. Then, go up to the top of the ladder to the overpass, turn and step-jump onto the ledge above First Stalker. There's a case of ammo for a Gravi Gun at the far end.

Now you can check teleport in the drain pipe at the Abandoned Factory. Shoot one of the barrels from a safe distance to clear the way. This takes you to the north end of the overpass and the Flash drive with data of hidden transition point on the Cordon. The radiation is pretty high here, so don't take time to read it. If you move either north or south you teleport to the Bonfire under tree. Instead, click No to get tossed out of the overpass and head for Yantar or Red Forest by way of the hidden transition point north of the Freedom base - details.

If you spawn in Yantar, go straight through the gate to teleport to the Red Forest and on to the bridge. When you get there, go to the very end of the tunnel. This transition point takes you back to the overpass and this wooden box has the next flash drive, Flash drive with data of hidden transition point on the Agroprom. Repeat the process and go straight north to be teleported to the Agroprom. Before you jump, have your Vepr or Monstrpress ready for the Controller on the other side (unless you have already collected Joker's Stash and took the Controller out then).

Agroprom 3

We need to return Mohnat's PDA and give Luke's PDA to Vivisector. Go to the Stalker base to return Mohnat's PDA (which you can buy back if you want to). And then head northwest to tell Vivisector about Luke. When you do you get a message, "Main Purpose: Zone opened a passage to the Gunslinger."

Now that the passage is open for Gunslinger, we need to go to the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (CNPP) and help him out. If you haven't received Greek's PDA, this is your last chance. Send the Z-Team to the Swamp Camp, which is usually occupied by armed Zombies. When they are all killed, go to another spot on the map and spawn the Z-Team again and you should be able to get Greek's PDA from the squad leader. Then, take the transition point to Yantar, and make your way through the Factory Backyard where the transition point to Red Forest is. I find it easiest to turn right just inside the gate and head north, then west staying on the edge of the complex to avoid Zombies and Monolith.

When you spawn in the Red Forest, there are three Pseudodogs in the area that should be dealt with. This will make your next trip through here easier because you'll have Amelia with you. Head for the bridge and tunnel again, only this time take the left turn to teleport to CNPP. Before you jump, make sure to have your favorite sniper rifle ready and Save, as your next AutoSave may not be any good. I'll explain in a bit.

Chernobyl NPP

You spawn at the CNPP in a cut-scene where you can get shot, but can't return fire. So, watch your health and bleeding during the cut-scene. After the cut-scene fly over where you see Gunslinger climbing down a ladder, you end up on a crane hook above the building where Gunslinger just climbed down from. In fact, I found that you can even start running before the cut-scene is over. If Gunslinger gets killed, you fail the mission. There are three snipers on the roofs and five more on the stairs in the distance. You want to take as many of them out as you can to make this next part a little easier (again, don't take too long). You probably won't be able to see the sniper at the bottom of the stairs until you get closer.

From the crane, go to the south end of the building, but stay behind some cover and Save. If you try to Save after this point, either Quick Save or regular, Gunslinger runs back to the starting point when you reload. Take the three snipers along the roof lines and run through the teleport at the southeast corner of the building. As you spawn on the overpass where Gunslinger is, a Monolith wearing a ghost suit spawns behind you, and Gunslinger is probably shooting it out with another one where the overpass forks to the northeast (with a teleport to Limansk) and southeast. With those two down, go for the snipers on the stairs, which is to your right.

As Gunslinger advances around the corner and heads southeast, two more Monolith spawn behind him. After taking them out, finish off the snipers on the stairs if possible. Once Gunslinger jumps the cement slabs, you better be right behind him. Again, two more spawn behind him and a third time when he is almost to the ladder going up to where the snipers were. Once on the roof, there is probably one more sniper at the foot of the stairs that you couldn't get before. As Gunslinger heads for the stairs to the left (there's a teleport there, but don't try to follow him through it), Monolith spawn in the northeast corner of the roof, and on the south side of the pipes to your right (with your back to the ladder you just climbed). They can't get Gunslinger at this point, but they can get you. Gunslinger runs up the stairs, along the walk, then turns around and comes back. You can talk to him and when you ask how you can help him, he asks for Greek's PDA. Give him the PDA and wait for the cut-scene, which is the ending of SOC.

Limansk

After the cut-scene, you are on another overpass and no longer a member of Clear Sky, but a Mercenary. Go north and follow the walkway to the right where First Stalker is waiting. I have had it happen that First Stalker wasn't there and had to do the whole thing over again. When you're done talking to First Stalker, go to the transition point behind him, which sends you to the tunnel in the south of Limansk. Make your way over the rubble at the end and drop down into the next part. You have to low-crouch and move slightly to the right in order to get over the rubble. When the dialog displays, click No, which you may need to do more than once before getting to the van and into the southern edge of Limansk.

There's a Bandit in the same spot as the two Bandits were in the original Clear Sky, one in need of a medkit. There's another civilian Bandit wondering around that doesn't attack. Follow the same path as you did in the original Clear Sky, avoiding the Bandit ambush. When you get to the House on Fork in Road you may notice that other Mercs are now enemies and will fire on you. Clear out the house with the machine gun nest as you did in the original Clear Sky. Don't forget the stash of VOG-25 grenades upstairs. Also, there's a Poltergeist that may come down the street from the courtyard. Use the machine gun nest and a mini-gun to make it go away, permanently.

Be sure to check the corpse(s) in and around the house to find the Flash drive with data of hidden transition point on the Garbage on one of the Mercs. Go north and approach the light blue and white bus carefully, which is marked Backyard with Terrace on the map. There may be another Poltergeist, two Burers (unless you took them out before if you used the Yantar transition point), and an assortment of mutants waiting for you. The top of the bus is a good place where you can snipe the Burers with your .50 cal. Then switch back to your favorite mutant masher for the rest.

Before you start looting all those corpses, there's three machine gunners on a balcony to the north of the courtyard that are waiting for you to get in range, which is about the south wall of the deli on your right (looking north). Once they are down, you can move about the courtyard freely. However, you may get a visit from a Monolith patrol coming from the north. So keep an eye on your minimap. Save before you go into the basement of the deli, where you find Galetskiy. Try to lead him back to the tunnel where you started from. Be sure to let Galetskiy go ahead and wait until he teleports, which should be pretty obvious by now.

Instead of following Geletskiy into the tunnel, go back to the square and to the north side of the Gastronom building. Find the arched doorway with two doors. The one on the left leads to the basement, where there's some Gravi Gun ammo and a teleport in the middle of the room. You need to use a shotgun or grenade to unlock the door and push your way through. The second door just pushes open. Go around to the right to pick up the Gravi Gun ammo, then step into the middle of the room (the wooden boxes only have some cans of Tourist's Delight). This takes you back to the Dark Valley overpass where you'll find the fourth flash drive, Flash drive with data of hidden transition point on the CNPP. Go south to teleport back to the bridge in the Red Forest. If he was kind enough to not blow himself up in the Bandit's Ambush, skip to Galetskiy. Otherwise, go back over the bridge and take the left tunnel to CNPP again.

This time when you spawn, Clear Sky may fighting with Monolith on the ground to the southeast and you can help them out with your sniper rifle. When you teleport to the overpass from the roof, more Monolith may spawn as they did in SOC. Follow the overpass to the left where it forks and jump over the rail into the teleport over the crashed helicopter. Go back to the deli and talk to Galetskiy in the basement and escort him to the tunnel. Then use the Gastronom building teleport again or you'll end up on top of the tank in the Red Forest surrounded by mutants and may have to fight your way back to the bridge.

Galetskiy

Galetskiy spawns at the other end of the tunnel, i.e., the west side of the bridge. Have your Gravi Gun ready for any spiders that may try to stop Galetskiy and cross the bridge to find him in his usual position, cowering in the corner of the tunnel. Talk to him to get him to stand up, then let him go over the bridge first. He stops in the middle to check for artifacts and the Clear Sky guys may shoot at him, but eventually he moves into the woods where he stops constantly to check his imaginary detector.

You can Save whenever Galetskiy stops, which will spare you from having to go through it all again if he walks into an anomaly or if the game crashes on you (yeah, it happen to me right at the end when I was just about to get the stash information from Anelia). With Galetskiy, reloading doesn't send him back to the beginning of the map like it does with the others. Between stops, Galetskiy advances to the mine. However, if he sees anyone along the way in the woods, he vanishes. When he finally gets to the back of the mine, Galetskiy stops by the fire and stands with his finger pointing. I guess this is his way of telling you to go get Anelia, who is waiting at the south end of Agroprom. Go south from the mine to the transition point that goes to Yantar, and then the southeastern transition point by the Outpost to get to Agroprom.

Anelia

In Agroprom, go to the Encampment Near a Boulder and clear out any mutants in the area, then do the same at Camp Under Tower and do the same. Stay clear of the Stalker base, because they are now enemies. Any trading or repairs will have to be done at the Duty base. For this section, I like to use the RPG for longer distances and Gravi Gun in case any more mutants pop up.

The easiest way to find Anelia is to go to the Outpost by the Hole and head southwest until she shows up on your minimap. West of the anomaly, find Anelia sitting by the fence, but Save before you approach her. When you stand next to her for a few seconds she stands up and goes either north or northeast and eventually toward the Fork in the Road. From there, Anelia goes north past the Eastern Outpost of the Institute complex to the embankment that runs east and west on the other side of the railroad tracks. Unless you cleared them out already, there's a pack of blind dogs near the fallen tree, so sprint ahead to clear the out, but not so far as to lose Anelia.

Anelia goes up the embankment and straight north to the fence, then turns left (west) and goes to the transition point to Yantar. I like to Save when she gets to the fence because as you go along the fence, you may get attacked by more blind dogs, Pseudodogs, and spiders. When you get near the transition point, which is marked with an opening in the fence, stop and let Anelia go ahead until she disappears. If you teleport too soon, she sits down right where she is and you have to reload your Save at the start.

When you spawn in Yantar and Anelia is behind you and you have to go east or west far enough to get around the transition point, then stand next to her to get her moving. When you meet up with Anelia and follow her to the transition point, click No and she continues toward the Scientist's Camp, then turns east. You just have to follow her as she zigzags through the southeastern part of the map. There's a group of Zombies on the Island in Swamp, and sometimes (usually at night) several more in the Scientist's Camp complex. It's best to avoid contact if you can until you get near the factory. Also, you're going to need several RPG rounds to get through the factory complex. There's a group of Zombies at the Power Transformer Booth that you may be able to snipe as you pass by to the south. Amelia is going to stop at the Springboard anomaly near Hilltop, so you have a few seconds. After she checks the anomaly, she walks right through it.

When she starts up the ramp of the Secret Entrance, go on ahead to the east and hit the Zombies near the Garages near Perimeter and Power Transformer Booth (if you haven't already). Most of the Zombies can be taken out with an RPG round, but the Undefeatable Zombies (usually wearing an Exoskeleton suit) may need a headshot from the Gravi Gun. There is usually one or two at the Power Transformer Booth, but sometimes one at the Garages near Perimeter, too.

Inside the complex, the Zombies wearing lab coats are armed with a Chaser 13 and a Bulldog 6. They like to wait until you get close to them before they start shooting. There's a Monolith sniper on the roof of the Hanger, and a Bloodsucker that sometimes comes in from the overhead crane area. Another Monolith sniper on the roof to the right across from the Hanger (where Lefty's men had to open the valve to the cooling system in the original Clear Sky). Turn the corner to the Factory Backyard and you should be safe. The transition point is a gate with a three-circle emblem blocking the road with a pedestrian gate. Again, don't go through the transition point until Anelia disappears.

You both spawn in the southeast corner of the map, on either side of a transition point. Go in a loop around it, and if you didn't take care of those Pseudodogs, they may kill Amelia before you can get to her. Fortunately, as she makes her way, Anelia stays to the outer edge of the forest where it's easy to protect her. However, she does go through a few radiation hot spots, so be sure to put a Bubble or Wrenched on your belt. I have had it happen that the spiders and Controller that I took care of during my first trip to the Red Forest, decided to respawn and I had to sprint away from Anelia so she would return to the starting point, and use the rocks on the south side of the Dark Yar to clear the way again. As you escort her through the Red Forest, Anelia may start to sprint. This is caused by spiders, usually. So, get your Gravi Gun ready if you see her bolt.

Once Anelia gets near the Bloodsucker's Resting Place, she stops in the same places as Galetskiy did to check for artifacts, even inside the mine. Again, Save on at least one of these stops just as a precaution. Finally, she goes to the back of the mine and, after the quake, you can talk to her. Anelia then gives you the coordinates to her stash with the Black artifact of Blood. And then they both vanish. The location of the stash is the Crate with backpack, which is along the east shore just south of the bridge to Limansk. Check your PDA to be sure it's safe when you get to the bridge as sometimes Monolith will take over the eastern side. Also in the stash is Anelia's PDA, which tells you about Zarka in Zaton, who you are now tasked to find.

Now go back through the woods to the northern transition point. There are a few mutants that spawn when you get near the semi in the middle of the road. You can either try to outrun them, or jump up on the semi and eliminate them before moving on. More mutants spawn as you get close to the transition point, but it's easier to outrun them than to kill them. When you spawn in the Dark Valley overpass, go north to where the floor drops down and get the Gravi Gun ammo in the wooden box at the northeast corner of the room. Then go south.

You are transported to the secret room of the Gastronom in Limansk. There, you find the Black artifact of a Desire, a flamethrower and fuel, an Exoskeleton suit, and ammo for the Gravi Gun. When you move around the room a transition point dialog displays. However, I found that unless I am directly in front of the control panel, the game crashes. Keep clicking No until you have all the items in the room, and then get in front of the control panel (with the door at your back) and walk toward it.

You spawn in the southern end of the hospital with a message that the enemy can't see you (as long as you don't walk in front of the machine gun). Make your way south on the second floor until you are behind the barrier with the machine gun. Drop down to where the wooden boxes are, and there is usually something in one of them. There's someone we need to talk to around the corner, the Unnamed Scientist. When you finish the conversation, the Unnamed Scientist can upgrade that new Exoskeleton suit you just found at no cost. He will also fix up your shooters, but he charges for that. Then, go through the transition point and end up back at the Vehicle Station in the Cordon.

If you have any stashes or rewards in the Cordon or Dark Valley, now's the time to collect them. The PDA of Lost in Red Forest mentions Sidorovich, so maybe we should go see him now. Visiting Sidorovich costs you 4000 RU and about 10 minutes of your life you'll never get back. But before you go down the stairs, make sure all four yellow dots are together. These are his body guards and one of them likes to walk up the stairs and stop you before you reach the door. If they are all together, you should be clear to go. As you enter the door there's a cut-scene dialog in, what I assume to be, Russian. Neither that nor the English dialog offer any help as near as I can tell. However, I got a tip from stalker Jesse Roy about the portal in Sidorovich's back room (that I couldn't figure out how to get to). Jump up on the ledge in front of Sidorovich, low-crouch and walk through the opening. As you approach the doorway to the next room you are transported to the Chernobyl NPP.

CNPP 2

You spawn inside one of the overpasses with a teleport at the end. On the ground are all kinds of enemies, Monolith, RSF, Burers, Zombies, etc. If you're careful, you can walk at your own pace and collect all the ammo you want. The teleport takes you to the top of a building where you basically go through the same path as the original Clear Sky, only no one spawns as you advance to the teleport on the other side of the roof.

Next you land on top of the walkway where you first spawned and the teleport at the end. There may be a sniper to southeast (left) on the overpass with the two large pipes where the pipes turn east. The next teleport takes you to the northwest corner of the roof where Gunslinger was climbing down the ladder in the cut-scene. Again, go to the southeast corner to teleport to the overpass.

Limansk 2

Go left at the fork, use the teleport to Limansk again, and make your way back to the deli. If you happened to get close to the front of the deli during your first visit, or even now, Lotsman sends you some instructions on how to meet him on the top floor (remember him from the Clear Sky base in Swamp?). But we need to clear the way first, and come back to meet him. From the deli, follow the road north until the anomaly that seems to block the road. There's an iron gate to the right with a few bars missing so you can get through. Then turn left and continue north. When you get to the car, turn northeast and go up the long flight of stairs. Make your way through the house and out the north side where you'll see a bridge over a canal and the House on hill on the other side.

The House on hill is occupied by Monolith. You can easily bypass this fortification by turning to the left when you get to the bridge and walking through the fence and then crossing the canal. However, Lotsman will run through the house, so you have to clear it out. If you approach the house from the west, you should be able to pick them off one by one, starting with the one in the doorway and the other in the window. Then move up to the house and shoot through the windows, working your way around the back of the house, then inside. Being able to walk through fences has its advantages.

Once you're done making and checking corpses, exit on the west side of the house, through the fence and between the buildings where you'll find the Space Bubble anomaly maze. You can go through the maze without having to avoid the anomalies because they don't work. As you approach the construction site, Lotsman sends a message about the doctor on the top floor, which is the same as the one he sends when you're in, or near the deli.

One scientist shows up as friendly and gives you the location of Scar's PDA when you ask him for a job, so don't kill him. Also, don't talk to him until he's standing at the front of the construction site on the ground floor, or he'll punch you. But the guy at the top, according to Lotsman, needs to go down. If you try to approach him you get teleported to a very great height and splat somewhere in the woods. See my walkthrough if you need a strategy for clearing out the construction site. Once you've cleared the site and taken out the guy on the top floor, ask the friendly scientist for a job and he tells you to return Scar's PDA. Then go back to the square with the fountain and all the bodies.

You can either Meet Lotsman now, or go get the PDA and meet him later. Use the teleport in the basement of the Gastronom building again. When you spawn in the Dark Valley Overpass, click No in the dialog and use the Crossroads of Time to get to the northern edge of the Swamp. Remember that both Freedom and the Mercs are enemies, so stay out of sight.

Once you get to the Swamp and you happen to visit the Clear Sky Base, you may notice that Lotsman isn't at his post. Anyway, the PDA is north of the Village Ruins, so if there's a guide around you may be able to make this a quick trip. Although, now that you are no longer a member of Clear Sky, you have to pay for the service. Once you reach the corpse, grab the PDA, and find a guide that can take you to the Limansk Bridge. Otherwise, you have to go back to Sidorovich. If you try going through Agroprom and Yantar, the game might kill you for too many mistakes. You can try it, but Save first in case it doesn't go well. When you get to CNPP, things might get a little red and shaky. I waited once for a few minutes to see what happens, but nothing did. Use the teleport to get back to the deli in Limansk.

Meet Lotsman

Once you get to the square in Limansk, you want to pick up your old buddy Lotsman. Lotsman's instructions are as follows:

1. Jump on the pick-up at the other side of the street...
2. Then to the fence...
3. From the fence to the porch roof...
4. From that roof to the other building roof...
5. Jump to the tree...
6. To the balcony

The pick-up directly across the street (west) from the deli is near a brick wall. Climb up the front bumper, hood, and roof, then jump to the wall and walk to the northeastern corner post. If you want an easy artifact, jump down on the west side of the wall and walk south with your detector to find an anomaly on the ground. Look up and you'll see a Night Star on the balcony (which we can get once we're on the roof). Circle the building to the south, through the fence and get back to the truck. Once you are back to the northeastern corner post, align yourself diagonally with the porch roof of the building to the north of the truck, but stay slightly to the right so you don't hit the tree when you jump. You should be on the southwest corner of the post facing northeast. You need to be able to step once and then jump to make it to the roof. If you make it, you may want to Quick Save before moving on. I generally try to sprint, but since it's only one step, I'm not sure that it matters. Next, stand on the peak of the roof and jump to the main roof of the building. Go to the west end of the roof and sprint-jump to the roof southwest of you. Go to the other end of that roof and sprint-jump to the Gastronom building, where you used the teleport in the basement to go back to Dark Valley and collected the fourth flash drive. Now you can get that Night Star on the balcony.

Move east along the wall and continue around to the porch roof on the east side of the southern part of the building. If you still have your detector out, you can see a glow in the last window. Jump up on the window ledge and crouch to get the Goldfish artifact. Then go back to the north part of the building, where there's three chimneys. If you walk on the south side of the northern chimney, there's a tree branch that you can walk on directly from the roof. Take that branch to where it joins a larger branch, then turns to the right and down to the next crotch where there's a branch from another tree reaching in from the east. Continue east through the second tree until the branch angles down and you can't really see the branch to walk on. This is a good place to Save, because the next two jumps are tricky. Jump east to the third tree. Continue east to a branch that reaches out near the southwest corner of the deli's roof. Sprint-jump to the roof, walk slowly off the roof at an angle (otherwise you might overshoot) to drop down on the balcony and through the door to meet Lotsman. He tells you of a teleport on the roof of the construction site and agrees to follow you there.

After your conversation with Lotsman, he turns and walks through the wall, leaving you to find your own way out. Step off the balcony rail onto the van roof to minimize damage and wait for Lotsman to come through the front door of the deli. Lead him to the House on the Hill, then follow him to the top of the construction site. Along the way, he too stops at every anomaly to check for artifacts. These are also good times to Save because I have had the game crash on me at the construction site. Once you get there, Lotsman tells you the teleport is on the cement slab hanging from the crane, which is on the west side of the building, then he disappears.

Don't take the teleport, but return Scar's PDA to complete the task instead. If you haven't gone back to the Swamp to get it, go back to here and do that now. When you return the PDA, you get the Bonus PDA, which instructs you to take a screenshot of it (F12 on PC).

Monolith

There's more Monolith waiting in the building to the northeast marked Road to Fire Station. However, these guys show as neutral on you PDA and they do not shoot. Once inside, find one named Giga Programmer. Tell him you want to join Monolith and he gives you a flash drive with instructions on how to get Priplusovanny's PDA, which is back in Zarton. Now you have to go back and clear out the Clear Sky camp. There's two other guys in the next room, a trader and a technician. Now go back to the Gastronom building and teleport to the Dark Valley, then use the Crossroads of Time to get to the Swamp again.

Clear Sky Base

When you get near the Clear Sky base, you get a message that the former leader of O'consciousness and the Clear Sky leader are both dead. You may notice green dots on your minimap. These are the mutants that Bashnya has tamed and you have to take them out, too. The only Clear Sky members you can spare are the trader (who still trades with you), the bartender, and the technician, although they do show as enemies. Once you finish with the base, you get a message telling you to go to the Jupiter Underground.

Go to the northeast transition point, which takes you to the Cordon, and make your way back to Sidorovich. Avoid being seen by the rookies in the Village Center and use the teleport in Sidorovich's back room again. Make your way to the teleport to Limansk, then to the construction site and teleport to the Jupiter Underground. Getting to the slab before the hanging slab is tricky because you can easily hit your head and not make the jump. The teleport takes you to the Jupiter Underground from Call of Pripyat.

Jupiter Underground

When you spawn in the underground, First Stalker is waiting for you in an elevator to your right. Be careful walking on the wire floor as you will fall through. First Stalker tells you about something in the control room, which is Zarka's PDA, and that there is someone waiting at the end of the underground.

There's a group of Zombies on the other side of the truck where you first spawn, plus a Pyrogeist roaming around. Follow the passage south where there's five more Zombies waiting by the doorway. When you come to where the passage branches to the right and dead-ends, a Pseudogiant may come from the far end of the tunnel. Although I have had it happen that he waits until I get closer. This guy takes a few RPGs before he goes down. There are two trucks back-to-back across the passage where you can jump up on top to deal with the Pseudogiant.

Stay on the left side walkway and jump up on the shipping container. There's a fence with a few corpses on the other side. Only, some are really sleeping Zombies that wake up as soon as you walk by them. Shooting them with anything other than the Gravi Gun is a waste of ammo (they go down, but get right back up again). But if you don't shoot them now, you'll have to shoot them later. So it's best to cap them as you go along while they're not moving.

If you haven't encountered the invisible spiders yet, toss a grenade or two near the doorway on the left. Also, by now you are probably in a Controller's Aura. When the way is clear, jump down on the south side of the container, jump up on the container next to the door and get your shotgun ready for the Controller to come through the door. You may get a couple more spiders, too. Again, when the way is clear, jump down and go through the door, and down two flights of stairs. There may one armed Zombie along the way here, so be ready for it.

At the bottom of the stairs, turn right, and continue down the hallway until you come to a large room with train cars. Jump up on the front of the locomotive on the right, then to the handrail, and finally to the top. Soon you'll be surrounded by Pseudodogs, Snorks, and any Zombies you didn't finish off along the way. You might even get a chance to cap the Burer or Controller if either one comes in from the large circular room to the south. The Zombies are civilian and easy to outrun. However, the next part is a whole lot easier if you get rid of them now. There's 50 rounds of .50 cal and buckshot in the box car along the west wall. Just don't touch whatever is surrounding the crate.

The room to the south is a large circular area with a Controller, Burer, Snorks, and a squad of Patrol Time with semi-automatic Guass rifles. In fact, you may even hear them fighting with the mutants. There's an Exoskeleton in a crate that's located in a room south of the entrance to the overhead control room, which is on the west side of the circular room, but I advise against taking the time to get it. From the left side of the doorway, move into the next room and behind the first post. This room has three levels of catwalks. At the far (south) side, on the third level, you should be able to see a Patrol Timer, maybe two. Once he's down, work you way to the right staying along the wall and watching for one or two on the ground, along with any mutants that haven't been dispatched yet. There's dead end tunnel next to the doorway to the large room, then an elevated platform. Continue along the wall and as you near the shipping crates, you can see a small room on your minimap. There's one Patrol Timer in there.

There's a hallway at the south end of the room that you can probably see on your minimap. With your flamethrower and Monstrpress ready, you can see what's there if you want. There's a Controller that makes its way down the stairs at the other end of the hallway and is usually pretty easy to take out with the Monstrpress. Up the stairs and into a flooded hallway with more of those giant rodents we first encountered in the Agroprom Underground. Stay in the open area at the top of the stairs and let the rodents come to you. At the end of the next hall go left and through the doorway straight ahead into a room with a crate containing Gravi Gun ammo and Save again. Out the door and around to the right are more spiders and two invisible bloodsuckers (one of them is carrying a Night Star artifact, if you can find the body).

The only way to see these bloodsuckers is to stand in water so you can hopefully see their footsteps. Northeast of the room you're in is a good spot where you can stand in front of the gate and throw a grenade to attract their attention. My strategy for the spiders is to lure them to the room with grenades where I cook them as they came through the door. You can also use Gravi Gun if you have the ammo. At the end of the passage is a door on the left with an armed Zombie waiting. If the Zombie hasn't come out while you were dealing with the others, throw a grenade into the door to clear the way, then check to be sure you got him. He's only got a shotgun so he's not very dangerous.

By now, you should see a blue icon (person of interest) waiting for you that First Stalker told you about. Go up the ladder and click No in the dialog (or you spawn in Limansk in a drain tunnel near the House on Hill). The guy at the top of the ladder is Zero, a Scientist. Only, he runs away and, after he teleports, you can hear a helicopter. Go back to the circular room and shoot down the helicopter through the hole in the roof.

Zarka's PDA

Go to the platform with the generator on top and climb on top of the generator. This is where you had to throw a switch in order to get to the control room in Call of Pripyat. Position yourself either next to, or on top of the fuel tank on the south end. Sprint-jump to the ledge west of the generator and go to the ramp. The object is to get inside the Control Room, and you can do this three ways:

1. Go halfway up the ramp, turn to the right and jump to the catwalk that leads to the Control Room.
2. Go to the top of the ramp and fall through the opening in the catwalk.
3. Go to the top of the ramp, follow the catwalk around to the top of the Control Room and drop down to the planks that lead to the open window of the Control Room.

Inside the Control Room on the control panel is Zarka's PDA. Go back to the window and follow the catwalk back around to the south end of the room. There's a ramp at the end and you can then take the first ramp to the top, only don't fall through the opening this time. Follow this catwalk to the roof of the Control Room and up the ramp to the overhead crane. Stay on the south rail of the overhead crane and take the ramp south. At the top of the ramp, turn left and go to the next room. In the southeast corner of the room is a teleport that takes you to the north side of the circular room. To prepare for this next jump, you need to downsize your backpack as much as possible. Get one of those Patrol Time Gauss rifles ready, and drop everything you don't need. Keep only the guns and ammo you must have, and only the Artifacts of Death and artifacts for your belt (maybe one or two extra to use as weapons). Also, be sure to keep some 5.45x39mm ammo, even if you don't use it. Save and then follow the catwalk to the next room and you teleport to Zaton.

Zaton 2

You spawn in the northwest corner of Zaton, facing west, with instructions in the upper-right of the screen to quickly get to a high place. What you're not being told is that a timer is going to start in a few minutes and you'll only have three minutes to shut the timer off by getting about halfway across the Preobrazhensky Bridge. When you do, you lose everything in your backpack and bank account (there goes my retirement).

Your back is to the Sawmill and there's a Patrol Timer coming up behind you. Turn and move to the right to see him, and take him down. If you want to pick up his Gauss for the ammo, do it on the run. Sprint east and follow the pipeline. As you come over a hill you'll see another Patrol Timer to the left. Once he's out of the way, you should have a clear shot to continue following the pipeline, unloading and dropping those Gauss' as you go. When you get to where the pipe goes into the ground, near the Skadovsk, is a good place to Save. There's more Patrol Timers on the stern of the Skadovsk, and you may be able to get by them. Otherwise, you'll have to loop to the south. Just be careful of the Pseudogiant wandering around there.

The pipeline goes up the hill and over the Preobrazhensky Bridge, where there's one more Patrol Timer waiting for you. Take him out and as you sprint to get his Gauss, unload yours and drop it. When you get to the bridge, if the timer hasn't started, Save your game. Continue sprinting on the right-hand (west) side of the bridge until you get to the jeep with a crate in the back. Along the way you'll hit a Springboard anomaly. Just try to get through it as quickly as you can (sometimes jumping forward helps).

By now, the timer has probably started, or will start soon with a quake. Put all single items, such as guns, artifacts, flash drives, and PDAs, in the crate. Also put some extra ammo for your favorite close-range sniper rifle, like the SA Avalanche or Vintar BC. For items like ammo and medkits, it's quicker to use the Drop All option and dump them on the ground in the middle of the bridge (so nothing falls off the edge). Don't drop artifacts because they disappear. You can keep the Artifacts of Death and your Svarog detector prototype.

Quick Save and continue up the right side of the bridge until the timer stops and you get a message about reality ending here and you now have an AKM-74/2U with 60 rounds of ammo. Save and go back to get your favorite sniper rifle and ammo. Then, cross the bridge until you get around the damaged section. You can see the third artifact, Black Artifact of Fire, inside another anomaly. If you approach the artifact, a cut-scene starts and you probably won't survive. So, using the support posts on either side as a guide, stay two sections back and stand in the center of the bridge. Shoot the artifact until it reaches the far side of the bridge. If you hear helicopters approaching, sprint back to the jeep and put your sniper rifle in the crate. Then crouch down behind on the east side of the jeep.

Six helicopters approach from the northwest and you get a message from Zarka. As the helicopters near the bridge, they get caught in the anomaly and crash. Once that's done, Save again and head for the damaged section of the bridge. On the right-hand side you can jump down to get to the overturned car at the bottom. The safe has some goodies, then work your way up the embankment and grab the artifact. There's a Patrol Timer south of the bridge that you can try to take out now, or wait until you get a better weapon to clear the way for your next task. Use the east wall of the Waste Processing Station to get close without being seen and go to the last opening before the wall turns. Then, you can then either go under the bridge to get to the other side, or start across and wait for the cut-scene to play out. After which, you get a message to find Zarka. You can get your stuff out of the jeep now.

Zarka is about the same spot as where you started the game, in the northwest corner of the map and appears on your PDA map. If you didn't take the Patrol Timer out south of the bridge, do that now. Then, staying off the road to avoid mines, follow the road that goes to the Krug Antenna Complex, where there's a super-sized Pseudogiant. This one takes about seven or eight RPG rounds. Next, there's a Burer at the crash site of Stingray 5 and a one-shot Pseudogiant on the road at that location. Finally, two Patrol Timers on the west side of the Sawmill and two blind dogs on the north side.

If you follow the road that goes north from the Sawmill, you'll encounter the blind dogs and mutant thorn bushes that made you run at the very beginning of the game. You can loop around them if you want by going through the east gate of the Sawmill and turn north to go along the embankment. If you talk to her, Zarka ask you to escort her to the bridge. Follow her to the south side of the Preobrazhensky Bridge. As she begins to cross, Zarka disappears and you are tasked, once again, with finding her. Then another cut-scene plays.

Technically, that's the end of the game. You can free play by going back to the teleport in the Testing Workshop, or try the teleport mention on flash drive Priplusovanny's PDA, which takes you to the Jupiter Underground. The electrical panel is on the north side of the main building of the Sawmill. Jump on top, turn to the west and jump on the roof. Then follow the course to where you met Zero the Scientist. You spawn in Limansk south of the House on Hill. You may also want to try some of the disabled teleports in the Army Warehouse and CNPP. Or go looking for the two remaining flash drives in the Yantar factory complex. If you find them, or any other useful information during free play, please let me know about it.

If you any corrections, broken links, or comments, please write me at kwag3.myers@gmail.com.