STALKER 2’s latest update adds an easily missed new questline, while dispersing accidental mutant crowds
Sealed Truth update nixes some glitches and teases the Cost of Hope expansion
Get in here, stalker. STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl just got its meatiest patch in months, the Sealed Truth update, which has added a spooky, story-based new questline along with various bug fixes.
The new quests, which take you deep into the monster-infested bowels of the X-18 laboratory (previously visited in STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl), seemingly play up HoC’s horror side, and word is it’ll loosely tie into the plot of the incoming Cost of Hope expansion. Which sounds good, although you might need to fire up an older save to kick it off, as it’s seemingly only available for a brief period early in the game.
Well, I say "brief". Depending on how far you stalk from the main mission flow, that window could last hours, though it’s still a finite opportunity. Basically, you can start the Sealed Truth storyline by speaking to Diode, the resident techie inside stalker hub/literal trash heap Garbage, but only between (minor spoilers for a 17-month-old shooter) meeting Scar at his sawmill camp and visiting SIRCAA headquarters with the retrieved Scanner. Before or after these respective points, Diode’s dialogue option to begin the questline isn’t available, even if he’s alive and uneaten. Harsh!
Annoyingly, this detail isn’t elaborated in GSC’s patch notes; I’ve double-checked it by jumping through my own saves, but did only find out the timing through a video by reliably in-the-know STALKERtuber Vatislavovych. I suppose it’s possibly that the questline itself requires setting in the pre-SIRCAA shenanigans period for its plot to make sense, though it’s a shame that Sealed Truth doesn’t have as flexible a starting point as STALKER 2’s previous free narrative-heavy update, Stories Untold.
At least the new bug fixes can be more universally enjoyed. Addressed issues include dangerous anomalies catching/burning/crushing you in a wider than intended radius, a few instances of excessively clippy hand animations, and one particularly lethal techno-whoopsie where big groups of mutants would spawn together. Not such a big deal if it’s just an unusually large pack of radioactive dogs, but less than ideal when it’s a dozen thirsty Bloodsuckers.
The Sealed Truth update is out now, for free; Cost of Hope is coming sometime this Summer, almost definitely for Not Free.
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