Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl is out now, and in addition to the horror survival shooter gameplay in line with its predecessor, you will also be making choices along the way. Some of these have an impact on your gameplay, in terms of what rewards or credits you get.
Once you reach the Chornobyl Anomalous Zone, you will come across Diode and get the quest ‘Back to Slag Heap’. After you reach the end of the quest, you have a choice to make: Show the unusual PDA or not. How each of these pan out, what rewards you get, and which is the better option; we have answers to all these in our guide. So let’s get started!
How To Start The Back To Slag Heap Quest In Stalker 2
You have to complete the prior quest, Deal with the Devil, to pick up the Unusual PDA quest item. You will find the item deep within the Plant, just east of Slag Heap in Garbage. You have to head inside the Plant and open a gray door to find the dead body of The Last One. Investigate the corpse to pick up the Unusual PDA, then leave the Plant to automatically start the Back to Slag Heap quest. Just head west to Slag Heap from the Plant to get a call from Diode, who will ask you to meet him.
Back to Slag Heap Quest Guide Stalker 2
Once you step foot in Slag Heap, you will find the Ward waiting for you. Head inside to find Diode, only to find Sgt. Metlov in his place. Talk to him and you will get info to head upstairs to find Diode. So go ahead and do just that, but you will be stopped and interrogated by the guards blocking the staircase. Tell them that you need to see Diode, after which you can quickly go up and head towards the room where Diode should be.
But instead, you get to meet Col. Korshunov and Dr. Dalin. They will ask if you have anything to report to them based on your previous mission, and you have a choice to make here.
Don’t Show The Unusual PDA
Col. Korshunov will get frustrated if you tell him that you have retrieved nothing from the mission and start to belittle you. Dr. Dalin will step in and tell you about the Scanner and the Artifact that will help Mankind. He needs your help in retrieving it, but Skif will act nonchalantly towards him and exit the room.
Show The Unusual PDA
After informing Col. Korshunov about Varan and the Scanner, the colonel will blame Dr. Dalin for not finding out about the Scanner in question. To cool down the tension, hand over the Unusual PDA. In the process, you will learn about a particular island called Wild Island that contains the Scanner in question as well as the Artifact.
Head Over To The Sawmill
The quest doesn’t end here, as there is another choice to make later on. Exit the room after making a choice here and head downstairs to find Richter. Follow him outside then talk to him, you will be informed to make your way to the Sawmill to see the other side of the Zone. So, you have to do just that, you can find the Sawmill southeast from your location.
Once inside the Sawmill, you can talk to Scar and learn what happened at the Factory, the Scanner, and the other side of the Zone that Richter was talking about. Towards the end of the conversation, you will be given the choice to again show the Unusual PDA to Scar or not. Refusing to show the PDA will make Scar distrust you, while showing it to him will have him appreciate your efforts, and this will end the mission and start the next one.
Which Option Should You Pick?
Right off the bat, you won’t have any repercussions to your choice, so you can choose any option about the Unusual PDA while talking to Scar and Col. Korshunov. There is just a slight difference in the information you get about where the Scanner and the Artifact could be. Showing the PDA to Col. Korshunov will help you learn about Wild Island.
On the other hand, if you don’t show the PDA, you can still learn about the island once you reach the Sawmill and speak to Mute. And whether showing or not showing the PDA to Scar will change the storyline, it doesn’t, so your choice here will not matter.
Your rewards for this mission are a varying amount of Credits, depending on what difficulty you are playing in. You will also receive a Ward Badge if you show the Unusual PDA to Col. Korshunov. There are a lot more choices to make as you keep playing Stalker 2, and we have guides covering some of the more important choices like the ones in the Lost Boys quest or the King of the Hill quest.
