InSTALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl, Skif ends up in the Zone because a little artifact managed to explode his kitchen back on the mainland.
These spicy rocks of varying radioactive readings can be a hassle outside of the perimeter, but inside the Zone, they are your best way tomake a living.
Artifacts are almost exclusively found withinanomaly fields, and unless you have a death wish (not an unusual trait among stalkers, truth be told),you want to have a good detector to lead the way, as poking blindly around anomalies is not a good way to avoid taking a dirt nap.
STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobylhas fourartifactdetectors, each of them with quirks and advantages, so grab your bolt and jump in before the bandits come.
There’s Something, Somewhere
Where To Get It
On a scientist’s body during “There and Back Again”
Where To Buy It
Barkeep (100 Rads Bar in Rostok)
2,000 Coupons
That blurb about every detector having advantages has a big asterisk next to it, and it is the Echo detector.
The Echo uses a blinking blue light accompanied by a beeping sound. The shorter the time between beeps and blinks, the closer you are.
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tips that can help both rookies coming from the Lesser Zone and veterans pouring in from the Cordon.
The classic yellow pocket beeper is marginally better than a wooden stickfor finding artifacts, as it provides next to no information besides “Yes, there is an artifact here.”
That in itself has value since it can save a trip inside ananomaly fieldthat is dry, but there is little going for the Echo besides that.
Far, Far Away
Eastern stash in the “Budmo!” quest
Hawaiian (Yaniv), Barkeep (100 Rads), Pythagoras (Malachite)
4,000 Coupons
The Hilka is where the fun begins. Although the game’s blurb advertises it as abeginner modelin the same class as the Echo, in practice the Hilka is in a class of its own.
This bulky little guy with a long antenna has an LCD that gives you the exact distance to the nearest artifact.
Although it still lacks any directional feedback,having a number to work with makes the Hilka much more friendlythan the Echo.
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Its main advantage lies in the effective range though. The Hilka candetect artifactsout to 100 meters, the longest of any detector inSTALKER 2.
You can use this to sniff out anomalies in dodgy areas from a distance, instead of having to gamble, especially in areas that are hard to access or have hostiles nearby.
That Way, Stalker
During the “Uninvited Guests” quest
Hawaiian (Yaniv)
6,000 Coupons
The Bear detector is a “show me the way” type of device that makes your life considerably easier compared to the Echo.
Artifacts are displayed in a radial scope that gives you the direction to the nearest artifact, while also feeding the range through the number of bars.
By the time you get close to the artifact, your scope will be flooded, so you might need to go with your gut in the last few steps.
Althoughthe Bear detector is considerably more intuitive than the Hilka, its range caps out at 50 meters, which can be insufficient near larger anomalous formations closer to Pripyat.
Hi-Tech Rock Farming
After “In Search of Past Glory” quest
Bison (Pripyat)
9,000 Coupons
The Veles is the Ferrari of artifact detectors, and nothing in the market comes anywhere near it.
This high-tech gadget will be familiar to stalkers who played throughSTALKER: Call of Pripyat, where the kind but clumsy scientists in the Yanov ecologists' bunker help you get your hands on this bad boy.
The Veles uses a radar screen that gives you the exact position of the artifactyou are after, instead of offering directions or range. Turn towards the artifact, walk in, and pick it up: it’sfree money.
Arguably the biggest advantage of the Veles is not in the artifact detection, but the anomaly. The screen shows the position and type of any anomaly within range, which serves as a good indicator of the trigger point for most of them.
This is especially useful in dark spaces where thermal or gravity anomalies look inconspicuous.
The detection range of the Veles is closer to the Bear than the Hilka, but the accuracy trade-off is worth it. Better yet, this detector costs only 9000 coupons!
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The only way to make it in the Zone is with a bolt in one hand and a good gun in the other.
