The STALKER 2 first mission and tutorial is called There and Back Again, and our walkthrough will guide you through the first steps into the zone and Heart of Chornobyl accordingly. You might wonder why anybody would need a guide or walkthrough for a tutorial mission and prologue, but STALKER 2 is a ruthless game that takes no prisoners, and very much starts as it means to go on, with an introduction that takes unprepared players to task like little else.
With that in mind, we’ve got a step by step guide to the start of STALKER 2 here, a full walkthrough that’ll take you across There and Back Again into the main game itself. If you’re having trouble with the first mission and opening sequence, we’ve got everything you need to know here.
Full walkthrough and guide for There and Back Again in STALKER 2
The full walkthrough for the STALKER 2 There and Back Again tutorial mission is laid out below, but one thing to keep in mind ahead of tiume is that you should quicksave from the pause menu often, especially just before and after major challenges. This is one of our main STALKER 2 Tips generally, as the Heart of Chornobyl is pretty merciless and the game will force you to reload a save if you die – and you will die often. When it happens, better to only have to go back a few minutes than anything further.
Cross the Perimeter
Once STALKER 2 is done Compiling shaders and you’ve spoken to Hermann outside the wall, you’ll climb over the top and have to progress forward, having now officially started There and Back Again and STALKER 2 itself. Here’s the first steps you need to take:
- Head straight ahead to the crack in the high perimeter wall, to the left of the glowing anomaly.
- Climb through the gap so you’re inside the wall itself.
- Follow the path right for some optional supplies at the end (you’ll need to break them open with your knife). Then head back left and take the other path that slopes down into the sewers.
- Before you head on, loot the wall cabinet next to the boarded up door for medical items.
Go through the Sewer Tunnel
This section is where you’ll first start encountering dangers, and the medkits you found can come in useful.
- Use your knife to break down the wooden boards blocking the door.
- Head down the corridor until you come to a door with a yellow padlock. Hit the padlock with your knife to open it.
- Go through into the sewer pipe, climbing over the obstacles ahead of you. Follow it around; you’ll hear some chatter from the South Checkpoint.
- There’ll be a soldier’s body on the right with an SMG and PDA. Loot it. You wont’t get to keep any STALKER 2 guns you get at this point but you’ll still need it for now.
- A ball of electricity is moving around the sewer on a loop. Follow it closely down the pipe (without getting too close) past another lootable body until it raises up.
- At the end of the pipe, turn left. From that point on, follow each turn that brings you in the direction of the main objective marked on your compass until you reach the opening and emerge back into the open world.
Get to the Mobile Lab
Now you’re out in the wild, you need to find the mobile lab structure.
- Follow the objective marker, circling around radioactive spots (marked by radiation signs).
- You may encounter enemies along the way. Back up and fire in controlled bursts for the best chance. There’ll also be ruined houses you can loot for more items.
- The mobile lab is a large, stone bunker. Use the yellow ladders on its side to climb to the top.
- On top of the mobile lab, look for the red light – there’s a hatch underneath you can use to climb down into the lab itself.
- Make sure to interact with the ladder! Fall damage in STALKER 2 is significant, and you risk death if you fall down.
Finding Nehoda and Scanning Points Data
The lab isn’t dangerous, so feel free to explore and loot everything. If you need help with the quest within, here’s what to do.
- Follow the path around to the West side of the lab to find Nehoda’s body. Loot the PDA off it, and turn on the fuse box right next to the body.
- Head back around to the ladder you came in through. Next to that is a room with a body and a laptop – interact with the laptop to trigger a radio message.
- You can now leave the lab by the North East door next to the body in the orange hazmat suit.
How to find the Artifact in the Anomalous Field
To find the artifact, you need to walk into the green acid swamp with the detector in hand. The artifact itself is invisible until you get close enough – specifically head to the fallen barrel in the middle. Once the blue light on the detector goes solid, the artifact will appear near your feet in a little flash of light. We’ve got a picture of what you’re looking for just above, and it’s called The Slug – grab it and equip it in your inventory.
Scanning the Different Points
The next step of STALKER 2 is about Scanning several different points. Follow the objective markers, but look out for enemies. Both bandits and mutants will appear randomly – right now it’s better to stealth around them, but otherwise run away from mutants/animals while shooting behind you, while using cover to fight the bandits.
When you get to the first of the objective markers, there’ll be a swirl of blue energy with the option to “set scanner” in the middle. Immediately back away! There’ll be a circle of blue energy around the scanner. Keep out of it until it’s done making glowing lights before getting it again (otherwise you risk taking damage).
The second scanner is inside a cave, so make sure you head down one of the attached tunnels to get to a safe distance. This time, there’ll also be jets of fire from the ground for you to avoid.
The third point triggers a cutscene where Skif hides inside a house. We won’t spoil what happens, but you’re moved to a different location when it’s done.
How to get out of the Anomalous Field
Once you’re in the new location and meet a friendly dog, you’ll be surrounded by anomalies and given some bolts. We actually put together a full guide on how to get out of the anomaly field in STALKER 2, but if you want the quick version, you’re surrounded by lethal singularities. Throwing a bolt at one shuts it down and makes it safe for about two seconds before it becomes lethal again – that gap is your chance to sprint through the area you triggered with the bolt.
Once out of the area, speak with Richter, the man who threw you the bolts. At this point you’re basically out of the tutorial and in the main game. There’s still gameplay features to be explained, and we recommend following Richter’s advice and going to the town of Zalissya for the clearest entry, but otherwise you’re now officially in STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl – and best of luck to you.
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