No Honor Among Thieves Walkthrough

Many Secondary Missions in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart Of Chornobyl are a great way for players to get their hands on extra loot, special weapons, and coupons. “No Honor Among Thieves” presents a hard choice for players, and either option is going to have dire consequences if they are not careful.

First things first, let’s take a look at how to start this Mission, and then a get into a detailed walkthrough, section by section, to make sure players don’t miss any of the possible rewards. Players will need to travel to the Slag Heap, in the Garbage Pile region, and talk to one of the vendors there to start this secondary objective.

How To Start No Honor Among Thieves In S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart Of Chornobyl

By following the main mission, and depending on the choices they made, players will eventually reach the Garbage Pile region. There lies a “safe zone” called the Slag Heap, which is filled to the brim with bandits, Stalkers, and other unsavory characters. One of said NPCs is named Huron, and he’s the local vendor. Approach this guy and dismiss his snarky remarks by selecting “I’m looking for work,” then “Whatever, I’m out.” Huron will stop the player and tell them about a Missing Courier who was supposed to deliver some Cargo from the Brood Bandits.

By accepting this task, players will start “No Honor Among Thieves” and will be sent north from the Slag Heap, to find the missing Brood Bandits that were supposed to make the delivery. Here’s where things get tricky, since just following the objective marker won’t do, and players need to do some jumping puzzles to get to the bottom of why Huron doesn’t have his package.

How To Find The Brood Bandits

To follow up Huron’s request, Skiff needs to find a group of Brood Bandits, one of the many Factions in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart Of Chornobyl. The marker seems to point to them being holed up in a nearby shack, but upon reaching that location, it will be impossible to enter the building, so here’s what players should do:

1. Turn around and search in the backyard of the building for an excavator breaking into the rooftop of the building, and follow it until they reach a couple of rusty containers.
2. Look around the containers for a spot with some crates, and break them with the knife to enter.
3. Make your way through the crates, climb on top of the containers, and then jump to the excavator.
4. Follow the excavator’s arm until you reach the building’s roof, then drop inside the house.

Now, players need to look around for clues. Start by checking all the bodies near the opening in the roof, then check the walkie-talkie that’s producing static on the table. After that, check the bodies in the backroom to find a PDA with the info needed to locate the counterpart of this failed “delivery.”

It turns out, the couriers were ambushed by a rival group, and now Huron’s package needs rescuing. Let’s follow the marker to reach the next zone, and prepare some weapons, because we’re in for a gunfight.

Should You Let Docent Live, Or Kill Him And Take The Cargo?

Following the marker, players will reach an abandoned factory that has become the lair of some bandits. There are seven enemies in total here: 2 on the left side of the building, 2 on the right side of the building, 2 on the sidewalks surrounding the building, and one sniper on the rooftop.

Ideally, players would need to take care of the guards on either side before engaging the rest of them. Using a scoped rifle like Valik Lummox’s AKM-74S is the ideal approach. Once players have slain the bandits on the sides, take cover behind the trees or the rusty buildings, but watch out, since enemies on the sidewalks of the building can throw some grenades, and to make things worse, the sniper will take advantage of this and land some critical shots on Skiff.

Bleeding can be a problem, so players should make sure to carry enough Bandages or Military Med-Kits to heal if the bandits land some shots on them. After dealing with the enemies on the floor, aim for the sidewalk goons, and then the sniper on the roof.

Remember: every body shot counts, but landing a single shot to the head is lethal in most cases. Wait until enemies yelp “I need to recharge,” or “Cover me, I’m recharging.” That will be a good window of opportunity to take down a few of them before they start another round.

After dealing with the enemies, players should loot everything they can, then climb the boxes at the front of the building to make it to the sidewalks and enter the building through a small opening. After that, they should look for a way to enter the office where the leader of the bandits, Docent, is holed up.

Look for another sidewalk that leads to the upper part of the Factory’s office, and then jump down the hole. A cutscene will begin immediately, and it will be time to decide: Should players accept Docent’s offer and take the Cargo and the location of a Special Weapon, but let Docent live? Or kill Docent and take the Cargo back to Huron?

If players pick the first choice (the most obviously rewarding one), they will let Docent live, but in doing so, they might piss off one of the Faction Leaders (Shah), and Docent also reveals the location of a special weapon brought from the Mainland to Skiff. This will be marked as a “Stash” on the Northern side of the Slag Heap, but we will go back to this later. Another obvious consequence is Docent’s warning about “not taking the Weapon to the Brood Bar” because Shah’s men or the leader of the Brood Bandits could blame the player for the deal going sideways and that could end badly.

We highly recommend players take the deal with Docent, since the main quest will eventually lead to a confrontation with Shah and his henchmen, so picking this extra reward is a great move. Plus, it will also unlock a secret achievement/trophy titled: “Your Move!” which consists of finding a unique weapon designed for a kingpin.

If players are out for blood and decide to kill Docent, they will be able to take the Cargo anyway, but they will be locked out of the option to find Shah’s Stash and the Shah’s Mate SMG. So, once we get the Cargo, it’s time to complete the Delivery and the Quest. And if players take Docent’s offer, we will go over how to find the Unique Weapon.

Where To Find Shah’s Mate Unique Weapon In S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart Of Chornobyl

First, players should complete “No Honor Among Thieves”, since this doesn’t lock them out of getting the secondary rewards; that is, Shah’s Mate Unique SMG. Travel back to the Slag Heap and talk to Huron to complete his request. Once this is done, it will be time to get their hands on a juicy special reward.

Now go north past the “Labyrinth” zone, and travel a little bit north, and west, going over some train rails and jumping down a hill. There’s an entrance near the marker location, and this leads to a small drain where the weapon is hidden. But prepare in advance, because taking this weapon is not as easy as it seems.

Once players pick up the weapon, a Bloodsucker will appear and try to kill them. We strongly recommend they pick a Shotgun and land some critical shots on the beast once it approaches them. This creature is fast and dangerous, and remaining against the wall is the best way to prevent it from sneaking up on Skiff.

The best way to deal with Bloodsuckers, especially as they often come in pairs, is to run towards a building or abandoned car, then face them with your back against the structure. Don’t panic, and wait until they approach, then unload all your magazines on them. These beasts tend to play with their food, so they will circle around the player for a while and make them waste bullets before jumping on them. If, by any chance, players are surprised and tackled to the ground, they should quickly use a Med-Kit, since the beast will quickly finish up the job otherwise. This becomes quite annoying,
especially on higher difficulty levels
where the slightest mistake means death.

Once players have slayed the annoying interloper, they will be able to enjoy this SMG, which has the particularity of being modded with a drum magazine, and has a slightly faster fire-rate than most SMGs in the game. This gun is particularly effective at close range, especially against mutants such as Bayuns, Bloodsuckers, Blind Dogs, and Rodents.

Since these enemies are fast or attack in swarms, the Shah’s Mate will come in handy for the rest of the game, but keep in mind that it also consumes a lot of ammo, so being stocked up on bullets all the time is a must. In case players are short on cash to purchase ammo, or repair/mod weapons, there’s a particularly useful Money Glitch they can use. It’s not the most honorable thing to do, but in a game where no one can be trusted and murderous mutants and bandits constantly surround players, any advantage is welcome.