Monolith forces

It's those damn fanatics, we need to deal with them!
― Colonel Kovalsky

Monolith forces is a mission in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat.

Description[]

This mission is immediately given once the player has completed the Missing recon unit mission. It will trigger only if the player hasn't raided the Book Store yet; if the player cleared out the building on their own, then this mission will be skipped altogether.

The notes found from the bodies of Captain Klimenko's group reveals that the Monolith faction established a hideout in the old Book Store. Theorizing the Monolith ambushed and killed the men, Colonel Kovalsky sends two men to assist the Major into raiding the Book Store.

The two men will be by default Vano and Sokolov, assuming they both survived the trip through Jupiter Underground. Lieutenant Skelya will replace Sokolov if he did not survive, and Sergeant Merkulov replaces Vano if the same happened to him (or if he wasn't recruited for the trip).

Once the Major meets the team, they proceed to attack the store. This will be mostly close-quarters combat, so a shotgun is an effective weapon to use. Once the first room is cleared, move to the corridor. Watch out, as a Monolithian will ambush the player from the left. Another will also wait at the other end of the corridor.

The team then arrives at a double door, behind which prayers can be heard. Load a weapon then open the door. Several Monolothians will be praying around a structure. They will not react immediately to the player's presence, so going for headshots with a shotgun can allow one to clear the room without the enemies being able to fire a single shot.

Once the building is cleared, the Major investigates the structure, to find a radio emitter beneath the garbage. After a conversation with Kovalsky, the squad returns to the Laundromat.

Notes[]

In the very first room, on the shelves in the top right corner, there is a stash containing SGI-5k with some ammo which may prove to be useful if the player wishes to keep their main weapon in good condition for a bit longer.
Occasionally, the player's team will become hostile during the fight for the book store - this can be solved with a simple quickload, and is most often due to ricochets or friendly fire with shotguns or grenades.
There is a staircase leading to a location overlooking the room with the Monolithian structure through some small windows. It is possible for the player to simply lob some grenades inside and kill off the Monolithians before he opens the main door, although caution must be taken not to throw grenades too close to the door as it might turn the player's squadmates hostile.
There is no direct penalty for the player if their team dies. However, remember that, if he survives, Sokolov will be taking part in the final Evacuation, and every man counts for this difficult mission. As for Vano, he declares his loyalty at the start of the raid, so it's good sportsmanship not to let him die. If Skelya and/or Merkluov are sent instead, their death is of no importance whatsoever; they are anyway scripted to die later, during the Radio interference mission.
Because of their scripted deaths during a later mission, if Skelya or Merkulov die during the raid, their corpse will 'warp' to their final resting place near the Kindergarten once the Radio interference quest has begun. Skelya's 'warping' may occasionally create another corpse, leaving two Lt. Skelyas in the level.
There is a rare glitch, where Sokolov might not return to the Laundromat after the mission, however his appearance does not vanish from Pripyat, indicating he is wandering around the city aimlessly. What causes this glitch is uncertain, but it might be because of the player not following him back to the Laundromat after they are done at the Book Store.
If the player waits long enough after being given this mission before going to meet the team, mutants can spawn in the area and a swarm of them can be found attacking the two men. However, they appear to be immune to damage at this stage in the quest and just stand there calmly, although the player will have to kill the mutants before the quest will progress.