Should you kill or help Squint in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl gives players a ton of choices to make throughout the story, with many having significant consequences. One of these decisions involves tracking down Squint during the Needle in a Haystack mission, who has something you need.

Squint is a Stalker and friend of Richter, who has disappeared with Ward Sensors that both Captain Zotov of The Ward and Richter himself want back. As well as being able to decide who to give the Ward Sensors to once you have them, you can also deal with Squint in several different ways.

The quest will lead you to his location after a couple of red herrings, with the errant thief taking shelter in a windmill near a former farm. Watch out for the myriad tripwires on the way up the stairs and you’ll come face to face with him.

Here are all the options on the table when you do.

Kill Squint immediately

Dexerto/GSC Game World

One of the things you can do is get a gun out and shoot Squint in the face. Funny as that may be in this context, it’s definitely the worst option and it leaves you with a linear path forward. Richter will no longer take the Ward Sensors on your return, leaving Captain Zotov as the only option.

It also stops you getting access to the handy Piece of Cake side quest so, unless you’re purely playing the game to be a chaotic sadist, it’s better to leave him alive for now.

Retrieve an artifact for Squint in exchange for the Ward Sensors

Dexerto/GSC Game World

This feels like the standard, story-focused option that GSC Game World is leading players towards, and it’s definitely preferable to killing Squint from the outset. Agreeing to help him starts the Piece of Cake quest, in which you need to find a nearby cave entrance.

It’s in the main house building on the farm, found by dropping through the massive hole in the floor. Turn your torch on and start progressing through the darkness. The first main cave houses an invisible, very fast mutant, so bring a shotgun to dispatch it as easily as possible.

From there, you’ll enter another cave filled with radioactive blight, and you’ll find the artifact in the center using you Echo Sensor. Head back to Squint with the artifact and he will exchange it for the Ward Sensors, before running off to make his escape.

Retrieve the artifact and then kill Squint

Dexerto/GSC Game World

Unfortunately for our shifty friend Squint, the best option of all does involve his death. Agree to help him and then retrieve the artifact. Once you get back to the mill and he asks for it, say you’re keeping it and combat will ensue.

Once you have killed him, you can keep the artifact for yourself and loot all of his gear, with plenty on offer for doing so. It also doesn’t cut off your options for who to return the Ward Sensor to, with Richter bizarrely fine with his former friends death in this context.

Those are all of the options available to you in the Needle in a Haystack story mission. Make sure to check out our guides to making money in Stalker 2, as well as our complete breakdown of all the ways you can scoop up some precious ammunition.