Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl's "In the Name of Science" Side Quest: A Complete Guide
Following the Visions of Truth main mission, players receive a call from Dr. Shcherba, initiating the side quest "In the Name of Science." This quest involves retrieving electronic collars from various mutants, leading to multiple choices impacting the outcome. This guide details the complete quest and its branching paths.
Collecting the Electronic Collars
The first step is locating five electronic collars. Their locations are marked on the map; if fewer are shown, you may have already collected some.
| Region | Collar Location | Mutant |
|---|---|---|
| Garbage | The Brood | Snork |
| Wild Island | Boathouse | Psy Bayun |
| Zaton | Hydrodynamics Lab | Controller |
| Malachite | Brain Scorcher | Brain Scorcher |
| Red Forest | Containers | Pseudogiant |
Return to Shcherba in the Roofed Warehouse (Chemical Plant) after collecting all collars. If the quest is bugged (due to previously collected collars), use the console command "XEndQuestNodeBySID E08_SQ01_S2_SetJournal_WaitForSherbaCall_Finish_Pin_0" to advance.
The Jammer: Disable or Recalibrate?
Shcherba discovers a signal jamming the collars. You must investigate and choose to either disable or recalibrate the jamming device located in the Storage on the Hill (west of the Roofed Warehouse). Expect encounters with poltergeists, zombified soldiers, and rodents.
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Destroy/Disable the Jammer (Recommended): This progresses the quest, rewards you with coupons, and leads to a bloodsucker encounter and a further choice.
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Recalibrate the Jammer: Rewards coupons from Dvupalov, concluding the quest.
Confronting Shcherba: Kill or Let Go?
Disabling the jammer leads to Shcherba contacting you, providing coupons and promising further assistance. The objective changes to "Wait for your reward from Shcherba." You can progress this by resting or using the console command "XStartQuestNodeBySID E08_SQ01_S3_Technical_SherbaInvitedToLab".
Shcherba calls you back to his lab, where Dr. Dvupalov gives you two bottles of Magic Vodka. You'll then encounter three bloodsuckers and a trapped Shcherba. You must escape, kill the bloodsuckers, and confront Shcherba. The final choice is to kill or let Shcherba go. Both choices yield the same rewards (a Gauss Gun and the "On a Leash" trophy), but letting him go maintains better relations.
