Lone canines aren't that dangerous, but packs of them are a real pain in the ass. They only attack if they're hungry... the bad thing is, they're almost always hungry. If you're up against a whole pack, try to pick them off from a high spot, else they'll just run you over.
― Gonta's description
A Blind dog is a type of mutant appearing in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat. It is one of the fastest enemies in the series, yet is rather weak and easily disposable.
Overview[]
Several generations of the dog species have lived and died since the catastrophe. Each was more affected by the Zone than the previous one. Rapid mutation lead to a vast improvement in previously peripheral abilities, frequently at the expense of primary ones. The most notable biological change was the loss of sight, paired with an uncanny development of smell. As it turned out, blind cubs survived in the Zone as well as normal ones, if not better. As a result, the common dog quickly became extinct in the Zone, giving way to a new breed - that of blind dogs. The animals instinctively identify and avoid anomalies, radiation, and other invisible dangers that plague the Zone. Like their wild ancestors - the wolves - blind dogs hunt in packs. An encounter with a large group of these animals can be dangerous even to an experiences and well-armed stalker.
― Encyclopedia
As the name implies, these dogs have lost their eyesight, possibly due to some form of warped, mutation-induced evolution. Rather than rely on eyes, Blind Dogs have extremely keen senses of hearing and smell and can hunt, fight, and navigate through both pockets of radiation and fields of anomalies without much problem. They also seem to have developed an unusually high resistance to electricity. Perhaps due to radiation in the Zone and subsequent mutations, many Blind Dogs are albino.
Blind dogs are among the most common mutants encountered in the Zone. They do not appear to be very territorial as they can be encountered wandering throughout the Zone's various environments. Blind dogs can be frequently encountered accompanied by Pseudodogs, and are known for hunting other mutants such as rodents, fleshes and boars.
For Stalkers, blind dogs are a constant threat, both to the player and otherwise. While they're quite fragile in regards to their health, traveling in packs allows them to make up for that in strength in numbers. They also can do a non insignificant amount of damage and can always catch up to virtually everything that isn't the player. They can be observed throughout the zone attacking lone Stalkers along with and groups of Stalkers.
Most weapons can be used to easily dispatch dogs due to their low health, so experienced stalkers should have relatively no problems with them, however all stalkers should remain wary of getting swarmed, which can easily get you rapidly killed, or at least cause intense damage and bleeding. Lone dogs are almost never a problem, but they can get a few hits in if they catch you off guard or sneak up behind you (their pathfinding is better than you'd think, even if you're on the 4th floor of a building shooting them they'll find the exact path to you up the stairs and through the halls).
Appearances[]
- Often found near the deceased Tolik's comrade near the tunnel under the bridge.
- In Cordon, next to the southern entrance to the tunnel under the embankment.
- In Cordon behind the Vehicle Station and next to the tunnel leading to Dark Valley.
- In Cordon near the Death Truck. They will also attack when giving the Fox a medkit.
- In Garbage between the central and eastern hills.
- Also they occasionally run together with other animals from the Agroprom side to the Garbage.
- In Dark Valley, southeast of the swamp. Also sometimes near the crane, north of the factory.
- At the Agroprom Research Institute, on the hill, north of the passage to the Garbage.
- At the southern entrance to Bar.
- On the railway tracks in Wild Territory after passing through Lab X16.
- Occasionally at the Army Warehouses.
- At the Radar after disabling the Burner.
- Occasionally in Yantar after passing through Laboratory X16.
Related missions[]
- Purge the area from mutants in Cordon by Sidorovich
- Destroy the lair of wild mutant dogs at the Wild Territory
- Destroy the lair of wild dogs by Sakharov
- Purge the dog lair by Kitsenko
See also[]
Gallery[]
| Mutated animals | |
|---|---|
| Humanoids | |
| Poltergeists | |
| Unknown | |
| Cut mutants | |