What happens when you help Squint in Stalker 2?

At the end of the first mission in Stalker 2, you will get the choice to either kill or help a character named Squint. He's a rogue Stalker who stole sensors from the Ward. This decision sets the whole theme of the game’s story and its main conflict. The Ward is a faction that wants to remove the Zone for good and is constantly affecting the independence of the Stalkers.

During this mission, you can either take the side of the Stalkers or the Ward. This guide shares all the outcomes of killing or helping Squint in Stalker 2.

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What are the outcomes of helping Squint in Stalker 2?

Should you help him? (Image via GSC Game World)

Helping Squint is the more empathetic approach to the mission. Squint, a rogue Stalker, represents the ideals of freedom and resistance against the Ward's growing control over the Zone. Completing this mission, Skif learns more about Solder, the man who betrayed him. By aiding Squint, Skif also aligns with Richter.

However, helping Squint is hard. To ensure Squint's safe escape, Skif must retrieve an artifact from a cave filled with anomalies and a dangerous Bloodsucker. Despite these efforts, the rewards for assisting Squint are not very grand — Skif gains only some minor items and story progress. Squint himself doesn't play a major role later in the game, so this choice is only about morality.

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How to help Squint in Stalker 2

You will find the cave entrance inside this house (Image via GSC Game World)

First, Skif must convince Squint of his intentions by mentioning Richter’s name, proving he's not an enemy. Squint shares his problem once he trusts Skif. He is trapped in the windmill and needs an artifact to ensure his safe passage out of the area. To retrieve the artifact, Skif must explore the surrounding farmland to find the house with the entrance to the cave.

After surviving the initial fall and the Bloodsucker, Skif will find a room filled with acid pools and anomalies in the cave. Here, he‌ will need to use his detector to locate the artifact. The artifact’s location here is randomized, the detector is the only which can tell you where it is. Once Skif gets the artifact, he can go back to Squint and give it to him in exchange for the sensors and end the quest.

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What happens if Skif kills Squint in Stalker 2?

If you kill Squint, you will find it much easier and straightforward. Squint, armed with only a broken hunting rifle, isn’t much of a threat. Skif can kill him quickly and retrieve the sensors without the additional task of artifact hunting. However, killing Squint disregards his symbolic role as a defender of Stalker independence. By choosing violence, Skif aligns with the Ward’s oppressive stance, indirectly undermining Richter and other independent factions.