Anomalies dot the countryside of Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl. These are dangerous and unstable phenomena, which can easily damage your character if you get too close. However, they may also yield amazing rewards that can boost your survivability. Here's our guide on how to farm artifacts in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl.
How to farm artifacts in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl
To farm artifacts in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, you'll need a trusty detector. By default, you should have an Echo Detector in your inventory. Simply equip to your inventory wheel from the menu, then hold it in your hand. When you get close enough to an anomaly field, the detector should start flashing, indicating that there's an artifact nearby.
Farming spot and preferred detector device
The Echo Detector is added in the game's opening mission. However, we suggest grabbing a better artifact detector--such as the Bear Detector or Velese Detector--which are huge improvements. You can check the vendors in settlements like Yaniv, which are further north of the village of Zalissya.
As for the farming spot, we recommend the scorched yard near the Helicopter Base, which is in the Duga region at the southwestern portion of the map. While artifacts tend to respawn in anomaly fields, we've noticed that the Helicopter Base has an unusually high respawn rate.
Since the anomalies here deal fire damage, be sure to equip a suit, as well as other anomalies, that increase thermal resistance, if you have one.
Looking for artifacts in the Helicopter Base
Once you're in the Helicopter Base, it's time to farm artifacts in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl. With your Bear Detector equipped and ready, simply look at the green pips on the interface. Face a certain direction to know the general location of the artifact and walk toward it as the meter fills up. Once it's full, the artifact will likely pop out of thin air, so just press the interact button to grab it.
Due to the high respawn rate, your device will likely beep often, denoting that another artifact can be found nearby. If it doesn't, just walk a short distance away until it beeps again. Alternatively, if you're using the Veles Detector, just walk up to the red dot that you see on the device interface.
Artifact rewards
In this particular location, we were able to find all sorts of thermal-based artifacts:
Fireball: Increases thermal protection (weak); causes radiation build-up (weak).
Steak: Increases bleeding resistance (weak); causes radiation build-up (weak).
Spinner: Increases bleeding resistance (weak); causes radiation build-up (weak).
Eye: Increases thermal protection (weak); causes radiation build-up (weak).
Droplets: Increases thermal protection (weak); causes radiation build-up (weak).
Plasma: Increases thermal protection (medium); causes radiation build-up (medium).
Dead Sponge: Increases bleeding resistance (medium); causes radiation build-up (medium).
Magma: Increases thermal protection (weak) and carry weight (weak); causes radiation build-up (medium).
Petal: Increases bleeding resistance (strong); causes radiation build-up (strong).
Hypercube: Increases bleeding resistance (maximum) and thermal protection (maximum); causes radiation build-up (maximum).
Note that most anomalies will cause a certain amount of gradual radiation build-up when equipped. To offset this, you need helmets and suits that have high radiation resistance, as well as other types of anomalies that protect you from radiation.
In any case, that does it for our guide on how to farm artifacts in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl. We suggest keeping at least one Hypercube due to its effects. You can sell the artifacts you don't need for some extra coupons.
