Several missions in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl lead you to dangerous territory, lands that are crawling with mutants and unstable anomalies. One, in particular, takes you all the way to the southeastern edge of the map. Here's our guide on how to reach Clear Sky Base in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl. Likewise, please be reminded that this article contains minor spoilers.
How to reach Clear Sky Base in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl
The Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl Clear Sky Base objective is part of a main quest called Ad Astra Per Aspera ("To the stars through hardships"). This occurs several hours into the campaign. We won't discuss all the details, but we will mention a few important tidbits.
Meeting Trapper and Nimble
Before you head to Clear Sky Base in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, you need to gather information about its location. As you track the quest, you'll be told to meet up with a couple of characters who should be familiar to veterans of the previous Stalker games:
Trapper - Once you meet him, he'll ask for help in fending off several wild animal mutants, including a rare rapid stag.
Nimble - Nimble is hiding inside a cave. There's a dialogue option where you can either spare his life or kill him outright.
Note that past this point, you'll venture further into the Swamps region. The fetid waters here are irradiated, and rains tend to occur frequently. As such, you'll need a suit with high radiation resistance and some Anti-Radiation Drug consumables. Moreover, the next quest step involves shutting down Psi-Beacons. This means your suit should have psi resistance, too.
Disabling the Psi-Beacons
There are four Psi-Beacons in the Swamps region. They're all marked on your map and compass as long as you're tracking the quest. You do need to watch out in a couple of these locations:
One of the beacons is in a facility in the marshes. Not only is this place crawling with zombies, but there's also a Controller mutant in the distance. This creature will blast you with psychic energy from far away, so you need to take it out swiftly.
Another beacon is in an old church. To reach it, you have to destroy the floorboards, which will give you access to a path to a small nook with crates. You can clamber on top of these crates to reach the higher ledges.
Warren Shack, the Emission, and a Chimera
Once the four Psi-Beacons have been shut down, you should be on your way to reaching Clear Sky Base in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl. Your next objective is to pass through Warren Shack, which is at the opposite side of the lake.
Here's the kicker: In our playthrough, it seems that an Emission is likely to occur as you make your way to Warren Shack. Emissions are anomalous disturbances characterized by constant lightning strikes, a blood-red sky, and your health quickly getting depleted. You need to make your way through Warren Shack and the base just to survive. Not only that, but a Chimera will spawn as you're making your way through the marshes.
Trust us: You do not want to fight a Chimera. You should definitely run. Because of this, it's imperative that you have enough stamina so you can sprint often. Avoid being heavily encumbered by dropping all the unnecessary items and loot. Lastly, watch out for shallow swamp water, which can slow you down as you move across terrain.
Extreme Simplicity quest and rewards
Once you've made it past Warren Shack, Clear Sky Base should be straight ahead. Make your way to the underground shelter to survive the Emission, and watch the cutscene involving Faust. You'll then get the Extreme Simplicity mission, which tasks you with escaping the Swamps region.
Before you leave the area entirely, don't forget to grab a couple of goodies from Journalist Stashes:
Just after exiting Clear Sky Base, there's a ruined building that you can reach via a ledge. Just watch out for the gravity anomaly that will keep pushing you around. The container here has a Wanderer Suit, which has amazing resistances and +8 kg. bonus carry weight.
There's also another Journalist Stash that's closer to the border between the Zaton and Swamps regions.
That does it for our guide on how to reach Clear Sky Base in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl. We hope you manage to brave the dangers of the Swamps.
