You'll find numerous gear pieces and consumable items as you explore the world of Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl. Some of the best armaments, however, can be yours if you're able to discover crates left behind by a fella who's interested in your progress. Here's our guide that discusses all Journalist Stash locations in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl.
All Journalist Stash locations in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl
The Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl Journalist Stashes come from a side quest called Seek and You Shall Find. After completing A Needle in a Haystack--the main quest where you give the Ward Sensors to either Richter or Captain Zotov--you're told to check your personal stash.
Once you open your stash, you'll notice a curious item, the Journalist's Flash Drive. Pick it up and a message will play. This will cause the Journalist Stash locations to appear on the world map.
Tips to remember when looking for Journalist Stashes
Before you go scampering off to grab all the loot, here are some tidbits to remember:
The rewards from these containers are usually modified versions of existing gear pieces that you'd normally find as enemy loot or vendor wares. The difference is that some of these armaments have preset or pre-built attachments already.
Some of these locations are fairly close to the initial area, Zalissya, but many others are quite far away. You can collect them as you progress through the campaign, especially if a main quest takes you near those areas. However, it might be viable to strike out regardless of progression so you can get these goodies early in your run.
Some containers can only be reached by jumping atop structures or objects. You need to have enough stamina, so try not to lug around too many items with you. Don't get too close or beyond your maximum carry weight.
Note that weapon rewards also come with that weapon's ammo.
Journalist Stashes on the map
Above, you can see a map of the Exclusion Zone. These are the Journalist Stash locations in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl. We've numbered these locations based on when we visited these regions during our playthrough.
Journalist Stash #1: Lesser Zone
Location: This will likely be the first Journalist Stash that you stumble upon in the campaign. Hop on the truck's hood and then clamber onto the roof. You should then be able to drop down the landing to get to the attic.
Reward: Mercenary's Light Suit and PTM Monolith (handgun)
Journalist Stash #2: Lesser Zone
Location: Due northeast of Zalissya, there's an abandoned factory with a ladder that leads to the roof. Climb up and look for another ladder that leads back down to the adjacent roof.
Reward: Viper Monolith (submachine gun)
Journalist Stash #3: Lesser Zone
Location: In the Sphere facility, you should see this crate along the outer wall.
Reward: AR416 Monolith (assault rifle)
Journalist Stash #4: Garbage
Location: Near the riverbank in the southern part of the Garbage region, there's an old bus with this particular crate.
Reward: M860 Monolith (shotgun)
Journalist Stash #5: Garbage
Location: You can find this Journalist Stash in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl by heading further north of Slag Heap. Once you reach the junkyard, climb atop the derelict vehicles to spot this container.
Reward: Tourist Suit
Journalist Stash #6: Rostok
Location: This location looks like an abandoned school. Beware because there are gravity anomalies and a Poltergeist inside. Swiftly grab your loot and run back to safety.Reward: Riemann (submachine gun)
Journalist Stash #7: Yaniv
Location: Keep going to the northwest until you reach Yaniv Base. Due east of the settlement, there's an abandoned train. One of the train cars can be opened so you can grab the reward.
Reward: Model Competitor (revolver)
Journalist Stash #8: Swamps
Location: Upon reaching the Swamp region, you should see a ruined farmhouse. Jump on top of the lorry, then hop to the fences. Doing so will let you get to the roof and through the opening.
Reward: Veteran (assault rifle)
Journalist Stash #9: Swamp - Clear Sky Base
Location: There's also another Journalist Stash in the Swamp region, though it's at the southeasternmost tip of the entire area. To reach it, you can refer to our Clear Sky Base guide as it's part of a main quest. Once you've finished the objective, you should see a ruined building with an open rooftop. You can hop on the ledge to get to your loot. Just watch out for the gravity anomaly which will push you around. You can throw a bolt to make it dissipate temporarily.
Reward: Wanderer Suit (has a +8 kg. maximum carry weight bonus)
Journalist Stash #10: Chemical Plant
Location: To get this Stalker 2 Journalist Stash, you have to hop on the yellow truck so you can reach the ledges on the building's wall. Gingerly make your way to the opposite side of the building, then jump through the opening. This will let you grab your loot, as well as unlock the second-floor metal gate.
Reward: Lullaby (assault rifle)
Journalist Stash #11: Burnt Forest
Location: This location is rather creepy, as it's in the middle of a burned village. One of the houses here has a fire anomaly, and you need to climb down the ladder to reach the cellar.
Reward: SSP-100M SIRCAA suit
Journalist Stash #12: Duga - Entering the base, avoiding snipers, and encountering a nasty bug
Getting this Stalker 2 Journalist Stash might be a tad bit more complicated than the rest. That's because it's in the Duga region, which is heavily fortified. The base's main gate and walled-off section has snipers. Even if you take them out, "invisible snipers" will still one-shot your character instantly.
However, there's a path along the southeastern portion of the base, which leads to the interior with a yard and apartment buildings. This is slightly farther away from the fortified section, so the snipers won't be able to kill your character instantly.
Note 1: We were able to reach this area while tackling a main quest called Happiness For Everyone. We're unable to confirm if it's possible to safely enter the southeastern part of the base earlier in the campaign.
Note 2: If you're in the middle of the Happiness For Everyone quest, then your objective is to defeat the patrolling troops and talk to Star inside the building. You need to enter the building immediately, so do not grab the Journalist Stash at this time.
In our playthrough, the building's door became permanently locked once we moved farther away and we had to reload our save. However, once you've spoken to Star, you can go ahead to the Journalist Stash location before going down to the sewers for the main objective.
Journalist Stash #12: Duga - Container location, Burer encounter, and the last reward
Once you've reached the the armory that's marked on your map, you need to be ready for a fight. Inside the building is a Burer, a mutant that can psionically grab weapons and use them against you. Since you're inside an armory, you have to contend with nearly a dozen assault rifles blasting you from all directions. Oh, and the Burer can grab your own weapon, too.
If you manage to eliminate the Burer, check the left-hand side of the building's interior to find a generator. Activate the generator, then go up the steps to the control room and press the switch. This will unlock the gate, allowing you to grab the loot from the locker area.
Rewards:
SA-U Gabon (assault rifle)
SEVA-I Suit (from the nearby locker)
You're not done yet, because once you pick up the remaining Journalist Flash Drive, a recording will play telling you that there's one final stash that you can only obtain from an iconic location much later in the campaign.
That does it for our guide on where to find all Journalist Stashes in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl. We hope the goodies that you've obtained help you survive the Exclusion Zone. If you want to learn more about the 13th Journalist Stash, you can head over to our Prypiat reward location guide.
