What Is An Anomaly And How To Counter Each One In Stalker 2: Heart Of Chornobyl

What Is An Anomaly And How To Counter Each One In Stalker 2: Heart Of Chornobyl

As soon as you witness the starting cutscene of Stalker 2: Heart Of Chornobyl, you’ll quickly realize just how dangerous The Zone is. Not only are you fighting the intense weather and the emissions, but you’ll also constantly be chased and ambushed by both humans and mutants alike.

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If that isn’t enough, you’ll also face special environmental dangers all around called the Anomalies. This is a unique mechanic in this game, and it’s important to understand exactly what it is if you want to have a smooth experience.

What Are Anomalies?

Stalker-2-The-Lost-Boys-Find-Out-What-Happened-Exit

As you might already know, The Zone of Chornobyl was created after a huge disaster that also led to the spread of radiation everywhere. This disaster caused the environment to behave abnormally, creating different types of anomalies all over the place. You’ll find these anomalies quite commonly on your playthrough.

Unfortunately, since these are environmental hazards, you can’t exactly defeat these anomalies. Your only option is to avoid or counter them, while also removing them in rare cases if they happen because of a special incident nearby.

How To Counter Each Anomaly

Walking toward the Water Tower in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl.

Soon after you finish the game’s prologue, you’ll get a handy tool in the form of bolts. This will be your main method of discovering and countering most of the anomalies, and here are the anomalies you’ll encounter along with a way to avoid them:

Anomaly Name

Picture

What They Do And How To Avoid

Electric Orb

Stalker 2 Heart Of Chornobyl electric orb in a closed place.

This is the first anomaly you’ll find while going through the sewers area at the start of the game. On your first encounter, this orb will simply follow a set path and you can easily avoid it.


However, when you find it after the prologue, it will instead start following you as soon as you come in its point of view from any direction. The only way to avoid it is by entering special rooms it can’t enter or avoiding its line of sight.

Firepits And Lava Projectiles

Stalker 2 Heart Of Chornobyl lava pool coming out of ground.

You’ll commonly find small random fires on the ground that will turn into a proper fire if you get close and slowly drain your health. As you progress, you can also find small lava pits that start throwing lava directly towards anything that comes close.


To dodge the firepits, simply throw a bolt at them and run through while jumping on top of it as soon as it stops. As for the lava pits, you have to avoid their range since there’s no other way.

Electric Ground

Stalker 2 Heart Of Chornobyl showing electric field on the ground.

This is another common anomaly that first occurs after your first scanner placement. You can easily see the electricity on the ground when they’re nearby.


These can also be countered easily by simply throwing a bolt to trigger them and then running through.

Storm Vortex

Stalker 2 Heart Of Chornobyl shine before the storm.

This is one of the anomalies that are difficult to see with your eyes, especially when you’re sprinting. They can be identified with a cluster of leaves going in a circular pattern with an occasional shine in the middle.


If you get too close, this anomaly will suck your character in for a few seconds before dealing damage. You can avoid it with a bolt as well.

Spark Explosion

Stalker 2 Heart Of Chornobyl spark before the explosion.

You’ll start finding this anomaly once you reach the Garbage area, and it essentially starts a spark at the location where your character would be in a couple of seconds if it kept walking on the same trajectory.


If you’re in its AoE, you’ll get flashbanged, concussed, and take damage. It can be difficult to avoid this if you start getting hit, so the best way is to bait its placement on one side and then run in the opposite direction.

Glass Shards

Stalker 2 Heart Of Chornobyl glass shards in the air.

This is another anomaly that you’ll find in the Garbage area, and it’s also one of the few that don’t get a siren when you’re nearby. If you walk or run through these, they deal damage and give you bleeding status.


While they’re hard to notice, you can easily crouch past them if you notice them beforehand.

Giant Bubbles

Stalker 2 Heart Of Chornobyl toxic bubble in the marsh.

You’ll start seeing this anomaly in the Swamp area and it’ll essentially be a giant bubble suspended midair. If you get too close, this bubble will start slowly moving towards you.


If it gets close or if you throw a bolt at it, it bursts into multiple small bubbles and you’ll take poison damage if you go inside these bubbles.

Acid And Acid Fumes

Stalker 2 Heart Of Chornobyl acid pool with fumes on top.

Another one of the most common anomalies, acid is the easiest-to-spot environmental issue in the game. You can easily see it from far away because of its bright green color for both the pools and the fumes.


While there’s no way to remove them, you can simply walk from the side without taking any damage.

Gravity Orb

Stalker 2 Heart Of Chornobyl gravity pull circle in the middle.

While going through The Zone, you’ll sometimes notice a big distortion in the middle of the air. This signifies the gravity orb anomaly that sucks you in the middle and deals heavy damage if you get close.


You can easily avoid it by throwing a bolt through it first and then walking past before it respawns.

Upward Thrust

Stalker 2 Heart Of Chornobyl debris in the middle of the air.

This is a non-lethal anomaly that you can identify with a bunch of flying debris in the air. If you get close to it, it’ll simply thrust you up in the air. It might help you reach special places in some areas.

While most anomalies are dangerous, they can also be a good sign in some cases.

Artifacts usually spawn in places with a bunch of the same type of anomalies in a group.

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