The area in Stalker 2, explained

It's been a few years since the last installment in the Stalker series, but Stalker 2: Heart Of Chernobyl has arrived with new challenges to throw you into and a new story in The Zone for you to survive. While there are many questions about the game's plot, it might be a good idea to start with the basics.

New and old players will come to the inevitable question when entering the world of the Stalker series: what is The Zone? Mysterious, deadly, it is a lawless place where only the toughest survive, but what is this enigmatic place and why is it so important?

Where is the area?

The Zone is the area directly around Pripyat, Ukraine central-northern part of the country near the border with Belarus. It extends about 40 miles around the city, though not in a perfect circle.

The area is marked by various high walls and military installations that aim to keep away the intrepid adventurers and horrors that call it home.

What is the zone?

The Zone is there fictionalized version of the real-life Chernobyl exclusion zone (spelled Chernobyl in the game) arose after the nuclear contamination event in 1986.

It's done even more deadly in the game by the various supernatural or pseudo-scientific creatures and anomalies who call it home.

The area was not only a place for nuclear energy research, but also to experiment on the human psyche, the atmosphere and other fringe scientific activities. These scientists continued their studies after 1986 and the dissolution of the USSR, resulting in a revival of initial energy in 2006.

These “emissions” occur in the area from time to time, causing damage to the area, strange weather conditions, and who knows what else.

In older games, The Zone is the shortened colloquial form of The Zone of Alienation.

Why do people enter the area?

Anyone who chooses to enter the Zone of their own volition does so with a purpose of their own. Some are i various Ukrainian military forces whose objective is to maintain the “security” of the Zone and monitor it for any changes.

Most humans in the Zone are those defined as stalkers. They often enter the area for hunt valuables, weapons, scientific equipment or everyday valuables left behind by the government and the population of Pripyat and the surrounding area following the evacuation.

Some of the first Stalkers were actually employed by the USSR government to explore and map the dangers of the Zone.

Some, however, are more adventurous and try to exploit the peculiar energies that pervade the area. Money can be earned by selling the Zone's energy-filled artifacts to various government agencies and black markets around the world.

Of the stalkers, Various factions have coalesced, each with their own goals, weapons and history in The Zone. Some want nothing more than to help those who enter the area, while others attack anyone on sight, aiming to loot their equipment.

Why is the area dangerous?

The event changed the area surrounding Pripyat in two ways. The first of which is the most obvious: gamma radiation which can still be seen today by those who enter the area in search of valuable objects.

In some areas, this radiation is more severe than others, which ultimately led to various mutated versions of the animals inhabiting the area.

These mutants aren't the only thing threatening the Stalkers. Anomalies also infest areas of the Zone.

Some are as simple as strange bubbles that distort vision and can injure or kill people who enter them. Others are more complexthrowing objects into the air, knocking the victim unconscious or confusing them.