“Wishful Thinking” is a main mission in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl. This guide provides a complete walkthrough of the mission and the rewards you’ll earn for completing it.
How to Start Wishful Thinking Main Mission
In the “Forge of Progress” main mission, you’ll experience some chaotic teleportation towards the end. Once these mishaps with the teleportations are finally over, you’ll be safely transported outside the facility in SIRCAA, bringing the “Forge of Progress” mission to a close. Dr. Dalin will then reach out to you through the radio, instructing you to come meet him, and this will begin the “Wishful Thinking” main mission.
Wishful Thinking: How to Meet Dr. Dalin
To meet Dr. Dalin, you will have to find the D1 Hall first; the images and pointers below will help you:
Finding the D1 Hall
Click on the images to enlarge
- The D1 Hall is situated inside a building in the SIRCAA region.
- To get there, you’ll first have to go through an old building, climb the flight of stairs to reach a glassdoor with a guard standing beside it.
- After passing the first checkpoint, climb the stairs on your right to pass a second checkpoint, and then you’ll have access to the main entrance of the building.
- Upon entering the building you’ll find yourself in the B2 Hall of the mansion, climb the flight of stairs on your right and you’ll reach the D1 Hall.
Talking to Dr. Dalin
- Once you’re inside the D1 Hall, climb another flight of stairs on your right to reach the D2 Hall, there you will find Dr. Dalin talking to Colonel Korshunov.
- Upon seeing you, they will start discussing the Alpha Artifact, and how strong its effects still are in the zone. The game then transitions to a cut scene.
- After talking to Dr. Dalin you will come to know about the possibility of activating the Monolith with the Alpha Artifact.
Wishful Thinking: Make a Wish by the Monolith
Leave the room where Dr. Dalin and the Colonel are conversing. Descend to the lowest floor and go to the Monolith in the center of the room. There, you will find two kneeling blue figures– interact with them. Here, you can make the wish of wanting the zone to disappear and it’ll show you an illusion. After a while, a third blue figure will appear standing near the Monolith–interact with it.
Hold off a relentless wave of hostile Ward soldiers until you wake up and return to reality. Despite being vastly outnumbered, you can use the room’s pillars, staircases, and other structures as cover to heal and regroup when needed.
Wishful Thinking: Find Out What Happened at the Monolith
Go back to the D2 Hall to meet Dr. Dalin and Colonel Korshunov. There, you can converse with them about what went down in the Monolith room. After learning about Dr. Dalin’s experiment and his desire to take control of the zone’s anomalous energies you’ll be directed to go to the Projection Room.
Wishful Thinking: Go to the Meeting in the Projection Room
Exit the D1 Hall and head into the room labeled B2. Climb the stairs to reach the C1 room. Proceed straight ahead until you transition to a cutscene with Professor Hermann and Agatha. Here, Agatha will give you the choice of either killing Professor Hermann or letting him go. At this point, if you decide to help with the experiment, Agatha will direct you to meet with Strider, the leader of Noontide and convince him to not break into SIRCAA.
Note: Choosing to spare Hermann ensures he remains part of your story, though the late-game consequences of this decision remain unclear.
Killing Hermann removes him from the story going forward, but the impact of this decision on the later narrative remains uncertain.
Wishful Thinking: Getting to the Cryptobiology Lab Entrance
Exit the main building and use the moving marker on your PDA map to locate the Cryptobiology Lab entrance. There’s an old building, go inside it and you’ll find Sgt. Mykhailov standing outside of the lab entrance. After speaking with the Sergeant, proceed directly to the Cryptobiology Lab.
Wishful Thinking: Talk to Dubny
Inside the lab, you will meet Simon Dubny who will ask you about the Monolith. Talk with him and he will eventually ask you to side with the Noontide faction. The choice will be yours then.
Choosing “I’m With You”
If you choose the “I’m With You” option, you must eliminate all the Ward soldiers in the room behind Dubny. By siding with Dubny, you align yourself with Strider, the Noontide faction, and the Spark faction.
This choice also leads to a different set of objectives toward the mission’s conclusion.
- After killing the Ward soldiers, you will need to proceed through the passageway leading to X11. There, you will encounter Strider and assist him in detonating a wall nearby. Beyond the wall, you will face a tense confrontation with Dr. Dalin.
- Following this, you will awaken in a sewer drainage system, where the mission “To the Last Drop of Blood” will begin.
Choosing “I’m With the Ward”
If you choose the “I’m With the Ward” option, you will need to eliminate all the Noontiders in the room, including Dubny. By siding with the Ward, you will align yourself with Dr. Dalin, Colonel Korshunov, and the Ward faction.
This choice will also lead to a different set of objectives towards the mission’s conclusion.
- Find the Entrance to X11: After taking down Dubny and his Noontide soldiers, follow the marker on your PDA Map and Compass. As you get closer, the marker will shift until you reach the elevator that leads down to X11.
- Approach the bunker door, and the game will trigger a lengthy cutscene. This signals the conclusion of the Wishful Thinking mission and the beginning of the “Law and Order” mission.
Mission Rewards
Upon completing the “Wishful Thinking” main mission, you will receive coupons as rewards (the amount will depend on the level of difficulty you have gone through).
