The Zone is a brutal and unpleasant place where danger lies around every corner. As such, setting out on a journey in Stalker 2 can be a daunting task, but it is possible to circumvent that with fast travel.
Unlike the fast travel systems found in games like the Elder Scrolls and Dragon Age series, Stalker doesn’t simply allow the player to click a point on the map and go there.
That’s largely down to the way the developer wants the game to function. Skipping the hazards of the Zone and potentially missing out on random encounters is detrimental to the overall experience, so they want fast travel to be used sparingly.
Though it likely won’t become a staple in your gameplay, it’s still well worth knowing how to fast travel when you want to get somewhere without the hassle.
Fast travel in Stalker 2 guide
In order to access fast travel in Stalker 2, you will first need to track down a specialized NPC known in-game as a “Guide.” This will be familiar to players of the older games, though you’d be forgiven for forgetting about it in the 15 years since the last release.
In order to successfully travel between two places, you’ll need to have already met the guide at both the start at end location. This means you will need to walk to each place with a guide at least once before fast travel to that place becomes available.
The first guide you are likely to meet is Uncle Lyonya, found sitting at the table in The Ward building in Zalissya.
As with any service in the barren wasteland of Stalker 2, fast travel will force you to part with some of your precious Coupons. The further you want to go, the more it will set you back.
The last thing to note is that the evolving nature of the game can render fast travel services unusable. If a guide is disrupted after a settlement is attacked, you usually can’t fast travel out of that location for a while (though you will still be able to fast travel in.)
That’s all there is to know about fast travel in Stalker 2! If you’re looking to track down all of the Journalist Stashes in the Lesser Zone, make sure to check out our complete guide. We’ve also prepared a handy set of tips for making money in the game.