In the STALKER 2 mission, A Needle in a Haystack, you are presented with a crucial decision that will steer your course and obligations. After taking care of the incident with Squint, you will receive the Ward Sensors, and you must take them to either Richter or Captain Zotov. This selection immediately pins your allegiance with the Stalkers or the Wardens, reflecting your short-term tasks, bonuses, and quests.
Although the general outline is essentially the same, your choice affects how you explore the game world, your challenges, and your relationships with important factions. Giving those sensors to Richter or Captain Zotov affects the game.
Give the Ward Sensor to Richter or Captain Zotov in A Needle in a Haystack Mission
After you decide whether to help or kill Squint in STALKER 2, you’ll end up with the Ward Sensors. Your choice of who to give them to, Captain Zotov or Richter, will influence certain aspects of the game, although the overall direction won’t change dramatically.
Your decision to give the Ward Sensors to Captain Zotov or Richter will temporarily align you with that faction. While it won’t drastically alter the game’s overall story, it will influence your immediate objectives and lead you down different paths within the main missions. These paths will involve infiltrating specific bases and exploring new regions of the game world.
Give the Ward Sensor to Richter
You can give the Ward Sensors to Richter, which will prevent the Wardens from cracking down on the stalkers in Zalissya. Alternatively, exit through the Northern Checkpoint to start missions in the Garbage region. If you give the Ward Sensors to Richter, the next main mission, “Answers Come at a Price,” will involve more combat and action-oriented objectives. If you want to remain neutral and avoid fully committing to the Ward or Spark factions, give the Ward Sensors to Richter.
This choice will prevent the Wardens from targeting the Stalkers of Zalissya and allow you to maintain a connection with both groups. Richter will provide you with information that could help you infiltrate the Sphere by exposing Sukhin’s illegal activities.
He will provide you with a code to unlock a keypad-locked door at the end of a tunnel filled with acidic pools. This tunnel will lead you into the Sphere. As a reward for your help, you’ll receive 1500 Coupons. During the quest “Back To The Slag Heap,” Colonel Korshunov will be more suspicious of you, while Scar, the leader of the Spark faction, will trust you more.
Give the Ward Sensor to Captain Zotov
You can give the Ward Sensors to Captain Zotov, which will align you with the Ward faction. And you can exit through the Western Checkpoint to start missions in the Garbage region. If you give the sensors to Zotov, your next missions will involve helping the Ward faction, making the upcoming quest significantly easier. However, this decision will commit you to the Ward faction, limiting your future options.
You will increase your relationship with the Ward factions and determine the main missions you’ll do next. The Captain will also help you infiltrate the Sphere. He’ll provide you with a contact inside the Sphere, allowing you to enter discreetly.
Additionally, he’ll reward you with 1000 Coupons. During the quest “Back To The Slag Heap,” Colonel Korshunov will trust you more, while Scar, the leader of the Spark faction, will be more suspicious of your intentions.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the choice of who to give the Ward Sensors to – Richter or Captain Zotov – is yours. Both choices mean you will follow different paths within the main STALKER 2 missions, but ending up with Richter provides a more combat-focused way of playing and connects you to the Spark faction while ending with Zotov does indeed give you an easier run with the Wardens but takes away future options. Consider your playstyle and desired allegiances when making this decision.
