After speaking to the C-Consciousness Representative during the Visions of Truth main mission, players will get a call from Dr. Shcherba asking Skif for a favor inStalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl. Accepting the request to help the assistant will start the side mission “In The Name of Science,” in which players will need to find electronic collars from various mutants.
In the Name of Science is a somewhat long side mission, which also requires players to make choices on multiple points, altering the outcome of the ordeal. Let’s discuss the complete side mission and every choice you must make.
How to Find All the Electronic Collars for Dr. Shcherba
The first part of the In The Name of Science quest isfinding all five electronic collarsfrom the designated locations marked on the map inStalker 2. If you don’t see five locations, chances are you’ve already collected the collars during another mission or while free-roaming The Zone. Here are the locations and details regarding each collar you’ll find in this mission.
Kill or Buy Collar from Yevhen Mamay
Containers
Pseudogiant
Once you’ve retrieved all the collars, return back to Shcherba in theRoofed Warehousein the Chemical Plant region.
In the Name of Science can get bugged if you’ve collected the collars previously and traded them to a merchant. If you can’t collect one of the collars in an area, simply press the tilde (~) key and use the console command “XEndQuestNodeBySID E08_SQ01_S2_SetJournal_WaitForSherbaCall_Finish_Pin_0” to progress the quest.
Should You Disable or Recalibrate the Jamming Device?
Once you hand over all the collars to Shcherba, he’ll check them out and tell you there’sa strange signal jamming the collar’s functionality. Shcherba will task Skif to investigate this signal’s origin and disable the device responsible for the collars to work properly.
You’ll need to head to the Storage on the Hill location west of Roofed Warehouse to find the device producing the jamming signal. Skif will head into the warehouse andencounter various types of poltergeists, zombified soldiers, and rodent mutants before finally coming across the device.
Here,players have the choiceto destroy the jammer, which will ultimately disable the jamming signal, activating the collars for Shcherba. Or, you can change the frequency on the jammer, recalibrate the jamming device, and deactivate the collars once and for all. Here’s a quick analysis of both of the choices.
Destroy/Disable the Jammer (Recommended)
In the Name of Science mission will progress further and players will receive coupons as a reward from Shcherba. It’ll also lead to an encounter will multiple bloodsuckers and a second choice in the mission.
Recalibrate the Jammer
Dvupalov will send some coupons as a reward to Skif for his troubles and the quest will conclude.
Should You Kill or Let Shcherba Go During the “In The Name of Science” Quest?
If youchoose to disable/destroy the jamming devicein the previous strand of the side mission, Shcherba will contact Skif and inform him that the collars are now operational. He’ll also send over some coupons to Skif and assure him that he’ll call him once he needs Skif’s help again. After that, the “In the Name of Science” mission objective will become “Wait for your reward from Shcherba.”
Players can either undertake other missions or simply rest on a bed to pass the time for Shcherba to call Skif again to progress the side mission towards its conclusion. If Shcherba doesn’t call Skif, you may use the console command “XStartQuestNodeBySID E08_SQ01_S3_Technical_SherbaInvitedToLab” to progress the mission.
Once Shcherba calls Skif back to his lab, players will be handedtwo bottles of Magic Vodkafrom Dr. Dvupalov for unknown reasons. After that, players will enter the lower floor of the warehouse where Shcherba will be waiting for Skif with three Bloodsuckers at his side.
Shcherba will send Skif to a room to retrieve his reward, but it’ll turn out to be a trap. Skif will be exposed to PSI-Radiation by Shcherba to awaken Faust-like abilities in him. However, drinking the Magic Vodka given by Dvupalov will help playersnegate the PSI-radiation effects.
Now players must escape the room, kill three Bloodsuckers on their way to the main office to confront an armed Shcherba aiming his gun at Dvupalov. After a brief conversation, players will be given a choice to eitherkill Shcherba or let him go. Either choice will lead to the same rewards, but it’s recommended to let Shcherba go to maintain good relations with scientists and Dvupalov.
Once the confrontation is over, players will be rewarded with aGauss Gunfrom Dvupalov and unlock theOn a Leash trophy forStalker 2.
