Shortly after you arrive to Zalissya, one of the first major settlements you find in STALKER 2, you learn about someone who can help you find information about Solder: Squint. Unfortunately, two groups are people are after him, and you’ll have to decide if you want to help Squint or not.
The choice is entirely up to you and decides how you want people to view you moving forward during your playthrough. Before you make this decision, though, you have to help the two factions aid you in tracking down Squint. He stole sensors from one of the factions, the Ward, and they want them back, but the stalkers also want them, too. You’ll have to choose between these two. Here’s what you need to know about how to complete Find a Needle in a Haystack in STALKER 2.
Find a Needle in a Haystack: How to find Squint in STALKER 2
There are two routes you can take to find Squint while in Zalissya. The first is by speaking with the stalker leader, The Gaffer. You can find him inside his home on the east side of town talking with Richter, the stalker who found you when you initially woke up at the beginning of STALKER 2. The second route is by speaking with the Ward’s leader, Captain Zotov, who wants you to track leads of where they think you can find Squint and return the equipment he stole. Bringing Squint back alive is optional for the Ward, while the stalkers want to help him and keep him alive.
Speaking with The Gaffer or Captain Zotov provides two different quests. For The Gaffer, you’ll be asked to activate an old radio tower in Zalissya in the quest called Invisible Nets. The tower in Zalissya has a way of tracking Squint, and you have to climb to the top. Alternatively, if you speak with Captain Zotov, he asks you to check out an old warehouse with radiation hazard signs. You might end up speaking with Captain Zotov regardless if you seek him out or not due to him calling up to you after you climb the tower.
Both quests get you the same result, eventually tracking down Squint. Working for The Gaffer leads you to the first radio tower inside Zalissya, and then a second one outside city. After you get the second working, you receive Squint’s PDA tracker, and you can find him at the mill, east of the city at the Farmstead inside the mill.
For those who want to work for the Ward and make their way to the warehouse for Captain Zotov, you come face to face with a group of bandits who saw Squint. You’ll have to choose to give them 1,500 coupons to share that information, or you can fight them. Fighting them results in being able to search the lead bandit’s body, learning they sent Squint to the Farmstead, but you’ll get no exact location on where to find him. Regardless of how you approach this quest in STALKER 2, Squint will always be at the mill.
When you arrive at the Farmstead, you can go to the mill on the east side of town. There will be several mutants and wild boars running around here. Eliminate them, and then you can go up to the top of the mill, but you want to be careful. Squint has placed multiple traps throughout it, and setting them off damages you. Reaching the top allows you to speak with Squint and figure out what you want to do next.
Should you help Squint or give him to the Ward in STALKER 2?
Finding Squint gives you another divided choice of how to deal with this situation. Squint wants your help to get out of there, but he needs you to find an artifact for him. Alternatively, if you believe what Captain Zotov said about Squint, you can choose to attack him outright because he’s a murderer and a looter. Defeating Squint allows you to loot his body and find the Ward sensors, and then you can bring them back to Captain Zotov. You could bring the sensors back to Richter and The Gaffer, but they won’t be happy you eliminated Squint, at least, when they find out.
This decision comes down to which faction you want to work with more in the future. If you want to work with the stalkers more, help Squint. If you want working with the Ward to be easier for you, attack him.
If you choose to help Squint, you get a side quest called Piece of Cake. The artifact you need to find is inside a nearby cave. You can reach the cave entrance on the north side of the Farmstead, where you’ll climb to the bottom and search for the artifact. A mutant is down here at this location, which can make it challenging. If you stick close to the entrance and wait for it to rush toward you, there’s not too much damage it can do to you, but it can hide itself. You might be better off rushing forward and fighting it another day.
When you reach the end of the tunnel, there’s a large cave full of toxic piles and gas. You’ll need to use your detector, then use bolts to uncover the artifact, throwing the bolts in the piles of acid at the center until the artifact is revealed. Once you can see it, you’ll recover the Mold artifact, and you can bring it back to Squint. Follow cave the rest of the way out and safely return to him.
When you hand off the artifact to Squint, he’ll offer the Ward sensors as a reward. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have any additional payment to complete this task. However, you can double-cross him, taking the artifact and the Ward sensors for yourself. Regardless of your choice, the next step is to return to town and speak with The Gaffer and Richter or Captain Zotov. If you go with Richter, he’ll offer over 1,500 coupons, while Captain Zotov only provides 1,000. They lead you to the next step in the larger main quest and point you toward the Sphere.
