Quick Links
The Zone is a dangerous place, filled with deadly radiation, terrifying monstrosities, and no-good Bandits who won’t hesitate to gun you down on sight for a couple of Coupons. Having said that, Anomalies are arguably the most dangerous thing you’ll encounter while exploring the world ofS.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl – How to Unlock Bonus Content
Seek, and you shall find.
Anomalies are paranormal phenomena that exist exclusively in The Zone and can come in all shapes and sizes. If you’re new to the series, there’s a high chance you’ll die a lot to these things in the opening hours until you figure out how to safely navigate through them. Even veteran Stalkers may not fare a lot better as the game features numerous Anomalies that weren’t present in previous games.
Anomalies 101
As you’re exploring The Zone, you’ll routinely come across various types of Anomalies, some more dangerous than others. Most of them fall into one of the following four categories:Thermal, Electro, Chemical, and Gravitational. You can usually tell what type of Anomaly you’re dealing with simply by looking at it. Thermal Anomalies spew fire and magma, Electro Anomalies generate sudden bursts of electricity, and Chemical Anomalies create puddles of toxins and clouds of noxious gases. Gravitational Anomalies are a bit more unpredictable and can show up as anything from small vortexes to large bubbles that appear to warp reality itself.
Stalker 2’s protagonist has an Anomaly detector on him at all times. Whenever you’re getting close to one, the detector starts beeping faster and faster to alert you of the danger. Depending on how brave you are, you can either turn back or try to navigate through the Anomaly. Doing so is dangerous but can be very rewarding as some Anomaly fields contain powerful Artifacts you can equip to buff your stats or sell to vendors for a good chunk of Coupons. But even if you’re not interested in Artifacts, you should still get used to tip-toeing through Anomalies because you won’t be able to get very far into the game otherwise.
How to Safely Navigate Through Anomalies
The most important tool in your arsenal for dealing with Anomalies is your trusty Bolt. Anomalies react violently to anything that passes through their area of effect. Whether it’s a human or a rusty piece of metal, the effects will be the same. Throwing a Bolt into an Anomaly activates its effect and, in some cases, temporarily disables it. This is particularly common with Gravitational and Electro Anomalies. Once an Anomaly has been disabled,you only have a few seconds at your disposal to pass through itbefore it resets. Be fast or be dead.
Another thing to keep in mind is that each Anomaly deals a certain amount of damage of a specific type. For instance, Gravitational Anomalies deal Physical damage, Electro Anomalies deal Electric damage, and so forth. Even with clever use of the Bolt, you’ll likely still get hurt by an Anomaly sooner or later. However, the damage you receive can be significantly mitigated by wearing proper protection.
Review: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl
Welcome (back) to The Zone, Stalker.
Suits and helmets designed to protect against bullets are very good at protecting you against Gravitational Anomalies as well. However, they tend to be ineffective against other types of Anomalies. Make sure to get your hands on a hazard suit like theSSP-99 Ecologistas soon as you can and always keep it in your inventory. These suits offer very little Physical protection, but they’re very good at protecting you against everything else, including Radiation.
You can increase the protective capabilities of armor byinstalling upgrades at a Technician’s shop.
Many Artifacts will increase your chances of survival when you’re delving into an Anomaly, but there’s a bit of a catch-22 with them. While you can sometimes find Artifacts in well-hidden stashes, most of them can only be found inside Anomaly fields. You’ll need to use a Detector to figure out which Anomaly fields contain Artifacts and which don’t. You’ll get a basicEcho Detectorfor free early on, but its capabilities are limited. Make sure to hang onto any better Detectors you find in your travels. Keep in mind thatArtifacts are radioactiveand will gradually kill unless you’re wearing proper protection.
Anomalous Anomalies
Certain types of Anomalies found throughout The Zone can’t be disabled, so you’ll need to do your best to avoid them. You can easily tell them apart from regular Anomalies by the fact that they don’t react to Bolts. Many of these Anomalies will actively attempt to target you and can be very difficult to deal with. Since there’s no way to interact with them, the only thing you can do is wear as much protection as possible and try to stay out of their way. In some cases, you can lure enemies into these Anomalies and pass (mostly) unbothered through the area while they’re distracted. Of course, this only works if there are enemies nearby.
The last type of Anomalies we have to talk about are Anomalous Areas. These Anomalies will almost certainly kill you if you get too close or stay in their proximity for too long. Anomalous Areas are very rare and will be marked on your map with a special icon once you discover them. Each of these Anomalies is unique and there’s sometimes a quest associated with them that gives you some insight into how they work and how to avoid getting killed by them. An example of an Anomalous Area you can encounter early on is the Poppy Field found in the northwestern part of the Lesser Zone.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl – Nightingale’s Hunt Quest Walkthrough
There are bigger threats than blind dogs in the Exclusion Zone.
