If you are thinking about starting the new S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Cost of Hope DLC, Terra Incognita is where it actually begins. The entire quest is built around a choice that helps shape your run through the Iron Forest region. While it seems to be a short mission on the surface, the path you take heavily decides what enemy you will fight.
This guide will offer you all the information you need regarding the Terra Incognita quest in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Cost of Hope.
How to Start the Terra Incognita Quest in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Cost of Hope
The S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Cost of Hope DLC does not have a separate menu entry. Instead, the DLC is woven directly into the main campaign of the game. Here’s how you can trigger the quest:
- Leave the Lesser Zone and begin the Behind Seven Seals main quest. Alternatively, you can begin the Back to the Slag Heap main quest too.
- Wait for Boozer’s radio call and let him ask you to come to the Slag Heap base, which is situated in the Garbage region.
- Right after that, Terra Incognita will be added to your PDA automatically.
If you still wish to skip ahead, the Early Start option in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 can help you jump straight to the Back to the Slag Heaps quest, which lets you start Terra Incognita without replaying earlier campaign hours. I also found the Advanced Start option, which goes even further and allows you to unlock both parts of Cost of Hope at once.
Complete Terra Incognita Walkthrough in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Cost of Hope
After you reach the Slag Heap base, here’s how the mission will play out for you:
Get inside the large warehouse and go through the gate on the left side of the bar.
Look for Chatterbox, who will be waiting by a table with a drink.
Bring a Beer. This character trades information for booze, so you will need to keep offering him bottles throughout the dialogue. When he is drunk enough, he will reveal where the Iron Forest is.
Before you start the quest, don’t forget to stock up on Beer bottles. Otherwise, talking to Chatterbox will be quite a problem for you. If you are unlucky like me, you may have to backtrack and get some bottles to continue the conversation again.
Once Chatterbox starts his dialogue, two optional paths will be presented to you on your map. Both of them will lead you inside the Iron Forest, and with that, Terra Incognita will be marked complete. That being said, both paths play out differently.
Path A: The IPSF Checkpoint
This route usually takes longer, but it will pay you off with extra rewards:
Head to the IPSF Checkpoint, where you can find mutants attacking soldiers.
Help the soldiers by killing the mutants. Do watch out for an invisible mutant, which is dangerous.
Clear the fight, and the game will register your Terra Incognita mission as completed and begin the side mission of Dead or Alive.
Path B: Goodbye’s Meeting Place (Digger’s Tunnel)
This route is faster than the first path as it lets you skip the mutant fight.
Near the Iron Forest Gate, look for the bus stop that holds two dead bodies.
Loot Goodbye’s PDA, which will start the Digger’s Tunnel side mission.
Once you drop down into the tunnel and wait for the gas cloud inside to dissipate, push through the area. You may have to time your push right before the cloud reappears again.
Once it clears, climb the ladder up, keeping left. After that, you have to climb a second ladder till you reach the surface.
The final climb will close your Terra Incognita quest alongside Digger’s Tunnel, and drop you to Iron Forest, where you will find Chill standing nearby.
What Happens After You Complete Terra Incognita in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Cost of Hope DLC
Regardless of your path, you end up inside the Iron Forest. Once there, speaking to Chill will kick off the next quest in the DLC, called Step Into the Unknown, which is also a quest that comes with multiple layers.
That sums up the entire path for Terra Incognita in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Cost of Hope. If you are only here for the story, the Digger’s Tunnel route will be faster for you. However, the IPSF checkpoint path is worth it for the extra payout.
