Stalker 2 Heart of Chornobyl’s questline is expansive, you will be kept busy while exploring the Zone doing main missions and side quests. One such side quest will be given to you by Sonya Kalyna, a bartender at Sultansk. She has a job for you: to kill Sultan and Beard in a secluded location. Like a lot of quests in the game, you can choose to follow her instructions or get a different outcome for this quest.
The quest also gives you the opportunity to obtain the RPM-74 Machine Gun. In this guide, we have all the details on how to complete the Three Captains quest in Stalker 2.
How To Start The Three Captains Side Quest In Stalker 2
You can find Sonya Kalyna in Sultansk, Zaton. Just head east from Zalissya Bar in Lesser Zone and keep following the path till it curves southeast. Once inside, talk to the bartender and ask her for some jobs. Initially, she will send you off to talk to Sultan and get jobs from him, but a bit later on she will give you a task herself. This will happen after you complete The Mysterious Case and Bullseye side quests. Accept the task when she presents it to you to start the Three Captains side quest.
Three Captains Quest Guide Stalker 2
Your task is to kill Sultan and Beard while they have a meeting in an abandoned building in Port Cranes. You will be given indications of using a sniper from an adjacent building and killing both of them with it. There are several outcomes to this task, and there is also a choice where you can keep both Sultan and Beard alive.
Kill Beard & Sultan
If you choose to kill them, there are several methods you can implement for the task. Head over to the giant crane near their meeting spot and head up the ladder. There is an enemy inside, so quickly take him out and collect the Mark I EMR Sniper Rifle. But you don’t need to use this one, as there is another sniper rifle kept out for you within this room. Collect the Unique AR416 leaning against the wall, then head over to the table nearby where the radio is.
You can change the frequency of the radio to eavesdrop on what Beard and Sultan are talking about, which can help you make a conscious decision on whether you wish to kill them or not. Take position near the window where the AR416 Sniper Rifle was, and aim and shoot at the two of them. In case you walk away from the mission without killing them, Kalyna will send her men to finish off the job anyway. Alternatively, you can head directly inside the building where the meeting takes place to kill them.
Spare Beard & Sultan
If you feel that killing Beard and Sultan is a bad choice, there is a way to keep them alive. After listening to the radio, stand at the sniper spot but don’t shoot. Kalyna will urge you to complete the job, but you can ignore her. You will find that Beard and Sultan have left their spot, and mercenaries will start invading the space.
Kill the one that is heading towards the door of the building, then exit your spot and make your way down the crane. A bunch of mercenaries are waiting for you near the crane, so take them out and collect all the loot you can. Once the area is cleared, enter the building where the duo were and open the door near the entrance. You will find Sultan and Beard safe and alive, and they will thank you for helping them.
Which Option To Pick: Kill Or Spare Beard & Sultan?
In our experience, helping Beard and Sultan is the better option, as you can get The Good Ol’ Days achievement and 4,000 Coupons. In the aftermath, the duo will join hands to run the Sultansk, which is now renamed to Skadovsk. You won’t find Sonya Kalyna after this mission, and it is uncertain what happened to her.
If you, instead, kill Sultan and Beard, you can collect the unique RPM-74 Machine Gun from Sultan’s corpse. You can also check out Beard’s body to get the SPSA-14 shotgun. Return to Kalyna to receive your reward, which is a varying amount of Coupons depending on your game’s difficulty.
This isn’t the only decision you have to make in Stalker 2, as there are tons more quests to pick up and more important decisions to make. If you are wondering what choices will affect your game’s ending, you can check out our Stalker 2 All Endings guide to know more.