STALKER 2 There and Back Again walkthrough for the tutorial prologue
Nov. 20, 2024The tutorial in STALKER 2 Heart of Chornobyl, “There and Back Again”, is a challenging introduction
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The STALKER 2 There and Back Again tutorial mission can be a brutal introduction to the Zone, so our walkthrough will guide you through the perimeter wall and into the Heart of Chornobyl. The game kicks off with player character Skif infiltrating the Zone, but once you’re in control of him, you’re stuck alone in the dark with lethal anomalies seemingly all over the place. Trust us when we say thatSTALKER 2is a ruthless game that can chew up unprepared players, so we’ve laid out the There and Back Again mission and tutorial in Stalker 2 to help you get through safely.
Full walkthrough and guide for There and Back Again in STALKER 2
The full walkthrough for the STALKER 2 There and Back Again tutorial mission is laid out below, but one thing to keep in mind ahead of time is thatyou should quicksave from the pause menu often, especially just before and after major challenges.This is one of our mainSTALKER 2 Tipsgenerally, as the Heart of Chornobyl is pretty merciless and the game will force you to reload a save if you die - and youwilldie often. When it happens, better to only have to go back a few minutes than anything further.
OnceSTALKER 2 is done Compiling shadersand you’ve spoken to Hermann outside the wall, you’ll climb over the top and have to progress forward, having now officially started There and Back Again and STALKER 2 itself. Here are the first steps you need to take:
This section is where you’ll first start encountering dangers, and the medkits you found can come in useful.
Now you’re out in the wild, you need to find the mobile lab structure.
The lab isn’t dangerous, so feel free to explore and loot everything. If you need help with the quest within, here’s what to do.
To find the artifact, you need to walk into thegreen acid swamp with the detector in hand.The artifact itself isinvisible until you get close enough -specifically head to the fallen barrel in the middle. Once the blue light on the detector goes solid, the artifact will appear near your feet in a little flash of light. We’ve got a picture of what you’re looking for just above, and it’s calledThe Slug- grab it and equip it in your inventory.
The next step of STALKER 2 is about Scanning several different points. Follow the objective markers, butlook out for enemies.Both bandits and mutants will appear randomly - right nowit’s better to stealth around them,but otherwise run away from mutants/animals while shooting behind you, while using cover to fight the bandits.
When you get to the first of the objective markers,there’ll be a swirl of blue energy with the option to “set scanner” in the middle. Immediately back away!There’ll be a circle of blue energy around the scanner. Keep out of it until it’s done making glowing lights before getting it again (otherwise you risk taking damage).
The second scanner is inside a cave, so make sure you head down one of the attached tunnels to get to a safe distance. This time,there’ll also be jets of fire from the ground for you to avoid.
Thethird point triggers a cutscene where Skif hides inside a house.We won’t spoil what happens, but you’re moved to a different location when it’s done.
Once you’re in the new location and meet a friendly dog, you’ll be surrounded by anomalies and given some bolts. We actually put together a full guide onhow to escape the anomaly in STALKER 2, but if you want the quick version,you’re surrounded by lethal singularities. Throwing a bolt at one shuts it down and makes it safe for about two seconds before it becomes lethal again- that gap is your chance to sprint through the area you triggered with the bolt.
Once out of the area, speak with Richter, the man who threw you the bolts. At this pointyou’re basically out of the tutorial and in the main game.There are still gameplay features to be explained, and we recommend following Richter’s advice and going to the town of Zalissya for the clearest path ahead - this eventually leads you to theSTALKER 2 Squint choicetoo. Otherwise, you’re now officially in STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl - and best of luck to you.
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Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and raconteur with a Masters from Sussex University, none of which has actually equipped him for anything in real life. As a result he chooses to spend most of his time playing video games, reading old books and ingesting chemically-risky levels of caffeine. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at USgamer, Gfinity, Eurogamer and more besides.
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