Stalker 2: Should you kill or help Squint?

Should you kill Squint or help him in Stalker 2?

Stalker 2 / GSC Game World

As his name suggests, Squint is a bit of a weasely character in Stalker 2 and it’ll be your job to decide his fate when you encounter him during the quest, Needle in a Haystack in the game. You’ll be sent to him as he has some Ward Sensors that you need, but he won’t be so willing to just hand them over. 

This means you have two choices, kill him, take the Ward Sensors, and be home in time for tea, or help him out so that he’ll willingly give you the sensors, avoiding bloodshed. We’ll explain the consequences of both choices and explain which option we think is best. If there's anything else you still want to know about the game, check out our Stalker 2 FAQ for more info.

Contents

1. If you kill Squint
2. If you help Squint
3. Should you kill or help Squint?

If you kill Squint

Stalker 2 / GSC Game World

If you gun him down as soon as you see him then things will be wrapped up quite quickly. You can loot the sensors off of his corpse, however, you will miss out on an extra side quest, so this is only an option for people who are speeding through the game. No one will even mention the fact that he’s dead, so there aren’t any consequences.

If you help Squint

Stalker 2 / GSC Game World

Help Squint and you’ll be given the side quest Piece of Cake, which directs you to a cave nearby that hides an artifact Squint needs to escape. The only problem is there’s an invisible Bloodsucker there and you’re going to have to deal with it, do so and move through to the room with giant pits of acid where you’ll need to use your scanner to find the artifact.

Bring it back to him and you’ll be given a second chance to kill him if you want to, keeping the artifact for yourself and still getting to loot the sensors from his body. If you want to co-operate though, you can hand over the artifact and he will give you the sensors willingly before disappearing into the Zone. As far as we can tell, you never see him again.

Should you kill or help Squint?

If you just want to rush through the mission then killing Squint is by far the easier option, and if you still want the artifact then you can go to the cave on your own time and find it without the quest. However, helping Squint makes that a lot easier and you can still kill him after the fact if you really want to stick it to him, and no other character ever seems to care that he’s dead. In the end, sparing him doesn’t seem to yield any extra rewards, so it’s only worth it if you’re trying to be as morally upstanding as possible.