Should You Destroy Kryvenko’s Antennas In Stalker 2: Heart Of Chornobyl?

Along your journey through Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, you’re sent to Camp Icarus to find out who was working with Faust. The problem is that there are two ways to go about finding that out. Do you help Captain Senkevych by destroying the data antennas that are annoying his soldiers?

Alternatively, do you leave them unscathed, collecting data from them for the SIRCAA scientist Dr. Kryvenko? The quest plays out similarly but can result in some significant changes for what you have to do next. Also, only one of them pays you for your time.

Like many quests in this game, your decisions can have an influence on how your story progresses. To help ensure that you can make the most informed decision, we’ve included the path for both choices, along with their potential differences going forward.

How To Begin The Like A Moth To A Flame Quest

The quest will begin after you talk to Captain Senkevych inside of Camp Icarus, a Ward base in the Zaton area. You’ll walk in on him arguing with a local doctor. Once you talk to him, you’ll explain that someone in this camp was working with Faust to sabotage Icarus, and you have the PDA you can use to track them.

The captain suspects Dr. Kryvenko, citing that a SIRCAA scientist isn’t part of his men and that his machines could be doing anything. Regardless, he can’t perform a scan because Kryvenko’s antennas cause interference. Since you’re an outsider, he asks you to destroy three of these antennas, and he will find out who the traitor is.

This is where the decision of the quest is made. You are given the chance to talk to Kryvenko as well, who asks that you DON’T destroy his machines but collect data from them instead. Doing so would allow him to locate the person you’re looking for.

We’ve branched the rest of this guide out according to which path you follow. But here’s a super short summary of the possibilities.

What Happens If You Break Kryvenko’s Antennas

If you agree to break the antennas, four new markers will appear on your map. Three are for the antennas, one is for an optional objective to talk to Kryvenko first.

If you choose to break them, you’ll be able to fire your gun within the camp without concern (assuming you’re using it to shoot the antennas).

The Antenna Locations

1. Exit the front of the Icarus building and look left toward the observatory. Along the outside edge, near the wall, is a guard post and a scanner.
2. Behind the main building, opposite the first antenna, is a tall water tower. Check the back of it for a door inside, where you can climb a series of ladders to the top, where this antenna is.
3. Northeast of the camp, outside of the walls, will be a small water pump relay building. It’s downhill, so as you approach, you should have a clear shot of the antenna from a distance.

If you approach the water relay building, watch out for a single zombie soldier.

Once all three are broken, return to Senkevych, who will be at his desk in the main building. He will inform you that something is still blocking the signal, a device underneath the observatory here in Icarus. He was told previously by Luetenant Shterev that the area was clear but would like you to go down there yourself to check.

Dealing With The Psi-Beacon

Following the icons on your map, go the the observatory and find the lit-up door in the back of the main room. This will lead down a narrow path into the underground tunnels.

There will be a moving electrical anomaly blocking the way. Run past it at the right time to avoid getting hurt. Running into the left cell will result in a dead end, but some resources to loot. Running down the hall to the right will lead to another room containing the psi-beacon.

Move quickly here. The longer you are around the psi-beacon while it’s active, the more mental damage you take, which can result in hallucinations and even ‘non-existent’ enemies.

Once in the room where you can see the beacon, shoot it to break it.

Don’t forget to pick up the fragments before you leave. Enter the door to the right of the beacon and then the door on the left. This will put you on the beacon’s side of the fence. The fragments will be on the ground.

From here, you can either go back the way you came or exit through a broken tunnel system behind a locked door to the left (if you’re looking at the beacon). There’s no benefit to taking the tunnels; the way back is faster.

How This Changes What Happens Next

Once back on the surface, you’re asked to meet Senkevych in the comm room, which is the small building next to the water tower. You tell him about the beacon, solidifying Shterev as the traitor. He puts out an order to all patrols to arrest him and then asks you to follow up with both patrols, kicking off the next quest. You’re given two icons on the map, one for each patrol.

He also suggests going to the Icarus medic for some anti-psi pills, which will come in handy.

You will encounter Dr. Kryvenko later on in the story, but destroying the antennas doesn’t influence how that goes.

What Happens If You Collect Data For Kryvenko

If you talk to Kryvenko first, he will ask you to collect data from the antennas instead. If you agree, your map will be updated with icons for the three antenna locations.

The Antenna Locations

1. The first antenna is near the observatory, in the space between it and the outer wall.
2. The second antenna is on top of the water tower in the back of the camp, behind the main building. You can find a way to the top through a doorway on the back of the tower.
3. The third antenna is further northeast, outside the camp. It’s on top of a small building with pipes connected. To reach the roof, follow along the southern pipe until it’s low enough to jump on top of, then walk along that to the roof.

Watch out for the zombie that can be found here.

Once you bring all three data drives back to Kryvenko, he will tell you that there’s something interfering underground and ask you to go look. He also requests that you get a data reading from whatever it is. He also gives you 5,668 coupons, unspoken.

Dealing With The Psi-Beacon

Head to the observatory and find the illuminated door in the back. Follow this linear pathway until you reach an electrical anomaly. You’ll end up in an underground tunnel system. Run past the electricity when it’s safe and follow down the hall on the right. You’ll enter another room, where the psi-beacon can be seen but not reached.

Don’t delay, as the longer you’re around the beacon, the more psi-based damage you’ll take, which can result in hallucinogenic enemies that CAN hurt you.

You’ll also have the optional objective to destroy the beacon here if you want. Doing so will jump you back over to the ‘broke the antennas’ pathway, directing you to talk to Senkevych in the Comm Room.

Go through the door to the right, and then the door immediately left. This will grant you direct access to the beacon, where you can remove a data drive before turning the machine off. There’s a locked door nearby that leads to a tunnel outside, but the going the way you came back is faster.

How This Changes What Happens Next

Once you return to Kryvenko, he will explain that you encountered a psi-beacon, an old Monolithian device that was recently fixed up. According to the data you gave him, Luetenant Shterev is the one who put it there. He also mentions that Shterev has the same psi-signature as former Monolithians.

He recommends going to Echo Station, where he has colleagues who are doing similar research. This concludes the Like Moth To A Flame quest and kicks off the next one.