Stalker 2: Should you side with The Ninth or Dew in The Lost Boys quest?

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl is filled with quests where players can decide how to react. One of those is The Lost Boys side quest, so here’s our complete walkthrough to ensure you make the right decisions.

Developer GSC Game World has put a lot of emphasis on player choice and consequence, as well as the dynamism of their world at large. Within it, factions act independently, and the world can change without any direct intervention.

Consequential quests are not locked to the main story, however, and many of the side quests you can pick up will also have effects, either immediately or further down the road. The Lost Boys is one of the earlier examples of this.

The Lost Boys quest walkthrough

Speak to Lens and find the group’s last known location

To pick up The Lost Boys quest, head to Zalissya and speak to Lens. He will inform you that a group of diggers has gone missing while out on a mission, and he’d like you to go to their last known location to take a look.

Once you agree, you’ll get a map marker leading you to a bunker. Head in and drop down to the next level. In a room to the right, you will find a corpse with a PDA explaining that they were going to be killed by an emission.

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Proceed through the only open passage until you come to an area with a bag and a shotgun on the ground. Please take all the loot, but it’s the fuse you’re looking for in particular. In the room opposite the bag, there’s a fusebox on the wall where it can be placed, restoring power to the area.

Move on and disperse the anomalies ahead of you with your bolts, before proceeding through until you find an injured digger named Max Saturday on the ground. Just watch out for the significant anomaly and mutant rats.

Use a Medkit to heal him up, and he’ll tell you that Mastiff, the group’s leader, has been kidnapped and taken to a “cursed” apartment building. This will give you a new map marker to pursue.

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Head towards the building, and you will find the main door locked, so you will actually need to head to the adjacent outhouse. Loot the ammo and medical equipment from the shelf on the left and head through the tunnel in the floor to the main building.

As soon as you arrive, you will hear mysterious prayer coming from the attic and a gravely injured Mastiff in a bed. You can safely head up to the attic and meet The Ninth, a mysterious figure from the game’s strange cult – The Monolith.

From here, you’ll have a decision to make.

Speak to The Ninth first but don’t make a decision yet

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After opening your conversation with The Ninth, you will have the opportunity to attack and kill him immediately. Don’t do this. Instead, explain that you’re there to help. From there, you can talk to Dew and his mercenaries outside.

They are there to kill The Ninth, so explain that you’re also there for Mastiff and pick the “I got it” option. From there, you have two potential paths to take: Side with The Ninth, side with Dew or stay as far out of it as possible.

Ally with The Ninth

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If you choose to ally with The Ninth, then you’ll have to help him defend the house from Dew and his mercenaries. It’s a tough fight, but there is some decent loot on the bodies left behind after the battle.

After the battle is concluded, you can speak to The Ninth again to learn more about him and The Monolith as an organization. He’ll also give you the Rubber Layer blueprint, which is a solid improvement to gear that can take advantage of it.

Upon returning to Lens you will be rewarded with 500 Coupons, though he will warn you that most in the Zone are not friendly to the Monolith.

Side with Dew and the mercenaries

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If you side with Dew and his band of not-so-merry men, you will have to fight The Ninth. He’s a tough cookie and will take a fair amount of hits before he finally goes down, so be prepared for that.

Unless you’re deliberately looking to ingratiate yourself with The Monolith as an organization, this is the more financially prudent option. Lens will double your fee on your return, giving the player 1000 Coupons for your trouble.

A non-violent resolution is not possible

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Though it may seem like you can talk everyone out of fighting, this is one battle that can’t be avoided. If you lie to Dew and tell him nobody is in the house, then the group will press on and search anyway, finding The Ninth and starting a gunfight.

If you try to convince Dew that The Ninth is actually telling the truth and is acting to save Mastiff, then the mercenary will accuse you of being a traitor, before attacking.

With all of that in mind, the best choice is to side with Dew and accept the bigger reward from Lens on your return to Zalissya.

Make sure to check out our guide to making money or collecting precious ammo in the Zone.