Right after talking to the representative of C-Consciousness in the Visions of Truth main mission ofStalker 2, Skif discovers that eternal life exists within the Noosphere. However, he’ll have to travel to the Center of the Zone to confirm this. The only person to ever go there is Strelok, a legendary stalker. But to get to Strelok, Skif must find his companion, the Doctor, who was last seen in the Red Forest region. Thus begins the Dark Times main mission, setting Skif on a quest to locate the Doctor.
Reaching Hunter’s Camp in Red Forest (Pile Driver)
Once players exit the STC Malachite base after wrapping up the Visions of Truth main mission, they’ll need tohead for the Hunter’s Campin the Red Forest region ofStalker 2. The location is called “Pile Driver” and the person you’ll need to talk to is Arkhyp Lichen, and his companion, Hornet.
Once players arrive at the scene, they’ll spotArkhyp and Hornet looking over a dead stalker’s corpse. After some cold reception from Hornet, Skif discovers that some mercs are after the Doctor, and the same mercs are responsible for the dead stalker Gray Arkhyp lamenting over.
So, the next objective is togather clues about the whereabouts of the mercsand ask them about the Doctor.
Examining the Site of Gray’s Death
After heading over to Gray’s site of death, you’ll encounter a Bayun mutant. Take it out and look forGray’s baglying in the middle of the road. Loot the bag to retrieve a PDA to find out more about the mercs.
Playing Gray’s last messagereveals how his companion Tundra was shot by an unknown shooter in an anomaly field. Now you must follow this lead and locate the potentially dead stalker to see where this breadcrumb trail leads next.
Finding Tundra’s Body in Symbiont
The next stop on the journey is theSymbiont, which has curved stone structures surrounding an anomaly field. Entering the location, players will spot a circle of dead stalkers with the body of Tundra lying in the middle.
Loot Tundra’s corpse to retrieve a PDAand play his last recording. In the recording, Tundra has left a message for a doctor, warning him about the mercenaries. This will lead to the next location where we’ll try to locate the mercs and ask them about the Doctor.
Make sure toequip your artifact detectorand grab an artifact from this area.
Locating Wolfhound’s Mercenaries
After arriving at the location, players will hear a loud song playing from one of the houses. Getting near the house, you’ll be attacked by apack of Blind Dogs.
After eliminating the pack of mutants, head inside the house through the window on the left side, as the main door is locked. Make sure to grab supplies on the tables on your way to the room with the radio. You’ll find asoldier named Jarlin this room.
Once the conversation is over, you’ll hear a radio transmission from Wolfhound, the leader of the mercs. Wolfhound is calling for backup as he has tracked down the Doctor at the cemetery. Reaching the cemetery, however, the mercs will start shooting at Skif. Take out the Wolfhound’s squad andretrieve the PDA from Wolfhound’s bodyto get coordinates for the Doctor’s whereabouts.
Reaching the Doctor’s House
After following the coordinates, you’ll arrive ata crater with a huge bubble anomalyin the center. Find a way to drop into the crater, make your way to the center, and enter the bubble anomaly.
There’s a house in the middle with a fence on the boundary going around it. Keep following the fence until you see an opening to enter through the fence. Near the opening, you’ll find Strider’s body lying on the ground and this will lead to aninteraction with the Doctor.
After the interaction concludes, the Dark Times mission inStalker 2will be marked as completed, andAn Act of Mercy main mission will commence.
