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Deadly anomalies, dangerous mutants, anarchists and bandits... None of them will stop Duty on its triumphant march towards saving the planet!
― Duty propaganda aired on their intercom system

Duty (Долг) is a paramilitary clan of stalkers operating in the Zone with members living according to a code. They, along with Freedom, are also one of the most powerful stalker clans in the Zone. They appear 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.

Overview

A paramilitary group known for its discipline, whose members live according to a strict code. Duty members are the only group who refuse to trade unique items from the Zone with the outside world. According to rumors, all artifacts found by the group are passed on to scientists. Its members consider protecting the outside world from the Zone's dangers their primary objective. Most of the group's operations concern destroying monsters, hence Duty raids often save normal stalkers from serious trouble. The faction has long been at war with Freedom.
Shadow of Chernobyl PDA description

The founding members of Duty, as well as many of its subsequent members, were originally Ukrainian Military troops and Special Forces units sent into the Zone and left to die there after being nearly killed by the Zone's mutants and anomalies. Other members are ordinary stalkers who have seen enough of the Zone's horrors, and have decided to do something about it. Duty sees the Zone as an ulcer in the world that must be purged at all costs, as they believe that if left unchecked, mutants will soon break out of the Zone and attack the outside world. They achieve this by killing all of the Zone's manifestations, namely Mutants, in the process bringing them into conflict with factions such as Freedom, who believe the Zone is something beneficial. Duty also fights against other factions such as the Bandits and Mercenaries, who extort Stalkers for personal gain. With superior equipment and fervently dedicated members, they fully intend to achieve their goal.

Duty is at odds with everyone seeking to exploit the Zone and, as Duty sees it, spread its corruption. They opt for the complete destruction of the Zone through brute force, effectively attempting to "kill" the Zone. They are contrasted by other factions, such as Freedom or the Ecologists, who see the Zone as a miracle. They tolerate Loners, but are hostile towards Freedom faction members, seeking to undermine their efforts at every step. They also openly engage Bandits due to their hostility and extortion of free Stalkers.

They are, however, openly cooperating with the Ecologists at Yantar, transferring all recovered artifacts to them; so that the Zone can be better understood (and, as Duty wishes, defeated).

The faction has long been in fierce conflict with Freedom due to their conflicting ideals.

History

SHOC Dutyer

A Dutyer, ca. 2012

Duty is primarily made up of the survivors of military expeditions into The Zone, sent to take its territory under governmental control in the wake of the very first stalker incursions in 2009. Anomalies and mutants caused many casualties, while those who managed to survive eventually made their way to the Rostok Factory, where they stayed, fighting off monsters and coping with hunger and deprivation.

Duty was founded by then Captain Tachenko, the squad leader of a team of army specialists who were tasked to destroy the center of the zone using nuclear explosives, however were nearly wiped out by an emission that followed. He and his closest officers staged a communications breakdown, allowing them to desert the army and join stalkers in exploiting the Zone. While this ploy worked, the resulting chaos led to great casualties among soldiers, although it enabled Tachenko to create Duty.

Tachenko was never held accountable, the story effectively silenced by he and the other higher ups. During a routine artifact hunting trip, however, he and his fellow conspirators were trapped in a spatial anomaly. While they searched for a way out of the anomaly, on the sixth day, a colonel named Kosmach suffered a nervous breakdown and shot two other Duty officers before finally shooting himself. The last two survivors, Tachenko and his attendant named Chepurny, split up - Tachenko never saw the attendant again, and it is revealed he later died. Tachenko then recorded his final moments and thoughts on his PDA before killing himself.

With its original leader lost, General Krylov, one of the soldiers that served with Captain Tachenko in their failed mission, assumed leadership and set up a base of operations in the Agroprom Research Institute, initiating their research into the nature of the mutants the Zone breeds. The clan avoided contact with the military for obvious reasons. However, it should be noted that there were reports of stalkers dressed in black suits dealing with Ukrainian Spetsnaz troops.

Their research, while progressing slowly at first, was launched forward with the discovery of the archives beneath Agroprom, containing a plethora of new information (mostly pertaining to Soviet mind control experiments performed on local wildlife, and research performed on behalf of the Group focusing on the C-Consciousness project).

In 2012, Duty abandoned the Agroprom Institute, relocating their base of operations to the Rostok factory. Their wrap up was thorough, leaving only an empty shell of a building behind... and a nice, elegant rundown of their investigation into the activities of the Group in the Zone, to be recovered by Captain Maksimienko. Their war with Freedom did not escalate, as with General Krylov's resignation and Brigadier General Voronin's assumption of command, they pursued a policy of remaining static - they would continue to fight with Freedom, but would not actively seek to destroy them.

After Strelok opened the way up North, Duty and Freedom both sent a contingent to the Yanov station led by Lieutenant Colonel Shulga, while General Voronin continued to command his forces from a reinforced bunker within the Rostok Factory.

Organization

Duty is a well organized faction, with a strict hierarchy and bureaucracy. Every member has a rank assigned to him (based on military ranks) and clearly defined responsibilities. Equipment is cataloged and marked with serial numbers, while all sensitive data is encrypted, to prevent non-Duty personnel from accessing it. Apparently when becoming a Duty member one has to take an oath. This is it's content, based on Marked One's example (which would ironically influence his beliefs later in Call of Pripyat):

I, a stalker known as the Marked One,

swear to defend the goals and ideals of Duty.

To protect the Earth from the dangers of the Zone, to seek out and destroy anything it spawns within and beyond its borders.

To fight any nonconformists, be they individual stalkers or groups.

And to give my life in the name of justice and order on Earth!''

― Marked One's oath.

Notable members

Armaments

Duty is one of the best equipped factions. As former Ukrainian Military operators, they prefer to use Soviet weaponry, which is yet another example of how they oppose Freedom, which prefer NATO weaponry.

Weapons

Armor

  • PS5-M Universal Protection - a basic, lightweight stalker suit commissioned by Duty.
  • PSZ-9d Duty suit - a lightweight stalker suit commissioned by Duty. Offers good protection from anomalies and can stop pistol rounds. Comparable to the Guardian of Freedom Suit in Shadow of Chernobyl.
  • PSZ-9Md Universal Protection - Duty's variant of the SEVA Suit. Only obtainable for the player in Shadow of Chernobyl, but it is worn by Duty members in all three games. Has a great protection against radiation, anomoly, and a pretty decent bulletproof protection.
  • PSZ-9d Duty Armor - Duty's variant of the Skat-9 military armoured suit. Features better protection from bites/scratches and better bulletproof than Guardian of Freedom Suit, with slightly worse protection from anomalies and radiation. Only available in Clear Sky and Call of Pripyat.
  • Duty Exoskeleton - Exoskeleton in Duty colors. Unobtainable to the player in all three games.

Appearances

Shadow of Chernobyl

Duty members first appear at the Duty checkpoint in the Garbage. The player will visit the area first likely as part of the quest that requires the player to deliver documents stolen from the Agroprom Research Institute to the Barkeep. On the first trip there, a group of Boars raid the checkpoint, and the commanding WO requests the player's help to dispatch them.

Duty's main base is the Rostok factory, where they guard all the entrances and patrol the area. Their base is inaccessible until the player speaks to the Barkeep after bringing the Lab X-16 documents; if the player trespasses, all Duty members in the area will shoot on sight.

A Duty member named Bullet appears in the Dark Valley, and provides a quest that requires freeing a teammate from the Bandits. The said teammate also offers a quest to free Shaggy Sergei from the Bandits base. There is also another random Duty member in the base, about to be executed. It is very hard to rescue him as if the player breaks in the base, he will run inside the base instead of outside, only to get shot. His death, however, has no effect whatsoever and rescuing him is not part of any quest.

A squad of Duty members later appear at the entrance of the Dark Valley after collecting the Lab X-18 documents. Another squad led by a WO is dispatched to protect Professor Sakharov's bunker after the player collects the X-16 documents.

A squad of Duty experts led by Colonel Skull appears in the Army Warehouses. Skull offers a quest to destroy the Freedom base and kill the leader Lukash, although the player can turn in Skull to Lukash, who will send a squad of Freedom stalkers to kill Skull's group.

Once the player deactivates the Brain Scorcher, a group of Duty experts is dispatched to secure the road to Pripyat. They are confronted by a group of Freedom experts sent for the same reason. If they win the battle, they will stay at the entrance checkpoint.

More Duty experts appear in the streets of Pripyat, near the Kindergarten, usually fighting their way towards the Stadium. They are commonly seen fighting either Freedom, Mercenaries or Monolith forces. Survivors will fight their way to the entrance of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant at the Stadium, where they will guard the exit.

Equipment

Duty wears characteristic black hazardous environment suits with red elements, primarily on their bulletproof vests. Their weapons are usually those of the former Warsaw Pact, including (but not limited to) the AKM-74/2, Tunder S14 (most common), SVDm-2 and SVUmk-2 variants and the Obokan. Overall, they are among the best equipped factions in the Zone.

Rankings

Experienced

The basic foot soldiers of Duty are typically equipped with AK-class or Obokan assault rifles, with the occasional NATO IL 86 assault rifle. They wear the relatively heavy PSZ-9d armor, giving them noticeably better protection that most other Stalkers and allowing them to survive about twice as much damage as a basic Sunrise Suit-wearing Trained Stalker (Duty soldiers can take a dozen TR 301 shots or more than half a magazine of AK-class assault rifle fire to kill). This makes them noticeably more durable than their Freedom equivalent, the Seedy Freedom soldier, whose light Wind of Freedom armor is on par with the Sunrise Suit. However, Freedom soldiers are typically equipped with superior NATO assault rifles.

Veteran

Veteran members of Duty typically carry the powerful rapid-fire Tunder assault rifle, making them very dangerous in close-to-medium range combat. Many are equipped with PSZ-9Md Universal Protection armor, the Duty equivalent to the SEVA Suit. The Universal Protection, outclassing both the PSZ-9d Suit and the SEVA suit in terms of both anomalous and ballistic/explosive protection, allows Veteran Dutyers to survive a significant amount of punishment.

Expert

Duty's highest ranking and most experienced expert members are often equipped with Exoskeletons. They especially wear these Exoskeletons when sent on special expeditions outside of Duty's HQ in the Bar area. Notable examples include Skull's rogue squad of Duty soldiers preparing to assault the Freedom HQ at the Army Warehouses, and the Duty squad battling Freedom near the entrance to Pripyat in the Red Forest. A squad of Duty Experts equipped with PSZ-9Md Universal Protection and Tunder assault rifles can sometimes be seen exploring the South-Eastern sector of Pripyat itself.

Clear Sky

Duty members can be found at the Agroprom Research Institute, where they set up their headquarters. They will regularly launch raids againast the Garbage Bandits and the Freedom base, especially if the player joins them in the faction war.

Duty experts can be found near Forester's home in the Red Forest. A small group can be seen in the Army Warehouses, near the Barrier.

In Clear Sky, members of the faction come in several different flavors, ranging from the simple rank-and-file Dutyers, equipped with basic armor and weapons, to the mighty dreadnoughts clad in Exoskeletons. All carry either a Fora-12 or PMm as a sidearm.

Rankings

Rookie

Wearing standard PSZ-9d Duty Suits, the lowest ranking and least experienced members usually carry AKS-74u Carbines. Rookies are rare in the Duty ranks, and they are rarely seen in combat as most Dutyers outside of the main base are usually experienced members.

Experienced

Also wearing PSZ-9d Duty Suits, Experienced members of Duty are the most prevalent Dutyers in the zone. They have far more experience and better equipment than Rookies, and commonly carry either an AKS-74u or an AK-74 assault rifle. Experienced members are usually led by a Duty Veteran or Expert.

Hazardous Environment Dutyer (Experienced)

With regular issue armors offering good, but insufficient protection from more anomalous threats, Duty commissioned the PSZ-9Md Universal Protection combat suit. Based on the SEVA suit and employing the same counter-anomaly defensive measures, it also offers superior combat protection than regular PSZ-9d Duty Suits. Universal Protection suits were issued to highly capable stalkers in the faction, operating in hostile environments and engaging enemies with an array of weapons, ranging from AK-74s to OC-14 Grozas.

Veterans

Veterans commonly act as squad leaders, leading experienced members into battle. Veterans are prevalent and very dangerous, as they are well equipped for combat; just second in combat proficiency to the Exoskeleton-wearing Experts. Veterans may either be armored with a PSZ-9Md Universal Protection Suit or a PSZ-9d Duty Armor. Veteran Dutyers wearing Universal Protection Suits may either wield an AN-94, or an AK-74 while those wearing re-painted Military Suits use upgraded AN-94 assault rifles equipped with PSO-1 Scopes.

Experts

Experts are the most elite and most powerful units Duty has to offer. Field experts use Exoskeletons painted with Duty's colors, and are armed with the deadliest armaments available. They will either use an RP-74 Machine Gun, a heavily upgraded AN-94 with an underslung grenade launcher and scope, or an OC-14 Groza with a mounted scope. Experts are rarely seen on guard duty and are usually sent to spearhead assaults on heavily fortified positions.

Call of Pripyat

Duty forces are located in Yanov, along with Freedom forces. Their HQ is located at the Yanov train station, where they share it with Freedom as a 'no fire' zone. In addition, the Loners there will act as a buffer between Duty and Freedom. Occasionally, the player may encounter small skirmishes between both factions outside of Yanov station. It is the player's choice to either assist Duty or Freedom, or leave them to their war.

Duty mostly patrols the outside of Yanov, often fighting Freedom or Bandits in the wild.

Rankings

Rookie

Quite rare despite their rank, Rookie Dutyers wear the PS5-M Universal Protection and are ranked as "soldiers". They use common low-end weaponry such as Chaser 13 shotguns or AKM-74/2Us.

Experienced

The most common type of Dutyers encountered in-game. They wear either the PS5-M suit like Rookies, or in some cases the PSZ-9Md Universal Protection. They use common weaponry such as SPSA-14 shotguns, AKM-74/2 assault rifles, and sometimes AC-96/2s. They are ranked as "Sergeants".

Veteran

Veterans serve as squad leaders, though if Duty's power in Yanov grows may eventually appear in their own squads. Equipped in the heavy-duty PSZ-9d Duty armor with the Sphere-12 Helmet, they pack a great deal more punch then the average Stalker, and will typically overpower their Veteran counterparts in Freedom in a one on one fight. They mostly use AC-96/2, Tunder S14 and SA Avalanche assault rifles, Eliminator shotguns and in some cases the Vintar BC. They are ranked as "Lieutenants".

Barring offended Military Stalkers, Duty Veterans are the toughest non-exoskeleton unit in the game - they can take a shot in the head with a 9x39mm round and survive.

Expert

The elite dreadnoughts of Duty. Experts lead squads of Veterans or platoons of Experienced Dutyers, wearing the Duty variant of the Exoskeleton and high-grade weaponry including the SA Avalanche, the Vintar BC, the Eliminator, the Tunder S14 and in rare cases the RP-74 or the unusual low-grade AC-96/2. They are ranked as "Captains".

Expert Dutyers rarely appear unless the player has tilted the battle in Duty's favor.

Behind the scenes

Development and cut content

  • Originally, Duty didn't wear black and red uniforms - instead, they had green-and-brown ones, a design later given to members of the Monolith faction (and later cut).
  • According to the original website, Duty was supposed to give the Marked One an assignment, which included traveling to the Swamps and taking out the Phantasm, a mutant that could create phantom images to attack stalkers.
  • In the original STALKER SHOC website and in their script designations, they are called "Dolg" (The Romanized Cyrillic Word for Duty)
  • As late as Build 2205, the PDA encyclopedia was supposed to include Duty's code. The unfinished version also includes rough notes on Duty's nature (transcribed below):

1. Faction:
a. Militaristic (paramilitary)
b. Clear rules
i. I must write!
2. Main purpose:
a. It is our duty to protect and save the world from the invasion of mutants and anomalous infection.
3. Priority tasks and objectives:
a. Scourging nests of mutants
b. Destruction of zombies, zombie stalkers and humanoid mutants
c. Reaching the Generators
d. Retrieving scientific documents
4. Rules:
a. We do not kill without reason.
b. Do not stand in our way.
5. Nature of the group:
a. Law-abiding Neutral (Lawful Neutral)
6. Attitude to the characters:
a. Good:
i. Lawful Neutral
ii. Lawful Good
iii. Neutral Good
b. Neutral:
i. True Neutral
ii. Lawful Evil
iii. Chaotic Good
iv. Chaotic Neutral
c. Bad:
i. Neutral Evil
ii. Chaotic Evil
7. The state of war with:
a. Anarchist group, the Freedom


References

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