Yantar (eng. Amber) is a major area featured in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky.
Overview
The legendary lake in the sector of the same name dried up a long time ago, leaving a shallow swamp in its place. The place is morbid and sodden with death. Great danger signs await any adventurous soul foolish enough to get near it. Anyone who dares to go too far goes insane. Zombie drones are rambling around the whole sector, waiting for zombified stalkers and snorks attack victims.
If you walk around the lake and past the zombies, you'll end up at the scientists' camp, brought by helicopters for research. You can have chat with them; they buy artifacts and could even send you on a mission.
History
Yantar wasn't always a swampy, desolate place. A long time ago it was a large lake, however, its fate was sealed when it was chosen as the perfect location for a factory. The construction crew caused an accident underground and the water drained from the lake, leaving a stinking swamp in its wake.[1]
It is not known when the X-16 lab was constructed underneath the factory and it's entirely possible that the factory itself was meant as an elaborate cover for the secret laboratory. What is known is that after breakthroughs in X-18, a prototype Kaymanov emitter was set up in the lab, powered by a massive artificially grown brain, with the antenna hidden inside one of the factory buildings.
After the Zone was born in 2006, the complex fell into disrepair and was abandoned, but the emitter was still active. This has proven disastrous, as many stalkers, lured by the prospect of scavenging an intact factory, fell prey to the emitter's disastrous influence and turned into zombified stalkers, almost feral creatures extremely aggressive towards anyone not zombified.
Sometime after the Zone's appearance, the Yantar area was chosen as a prime location for the mobile science lab ran by Professor Sakharov and his Ecologists. Their bunker was air-dropped into the swamp under heavy protection of the Ukrainian military and they began studying the Zone and its inhabitants.
The area proved to be a good choice, due to its relative calmness and remote location (the zombie infestation notwithstanding). However, the emitter's cooling systems malfunctioned in September 2011, increasing the output of the device and threatening the entire Yantar sector with its emissions. For this reason, Sakharov hired Lefty and his team to repair the cooling systems and make Yantar safe again (with major assistance from Scar).
Sometime between 2011 and 2012, the area became a war zone again. Apart from zombified stalkers infesting the area, the Monolith conducted a major operation in the area (which included a BTR-80[2]) and invaded the X-16 laboratory to reactivate the emitter to full power. The squad never made it out of the lab, but they did achieve their objective. Subsequently, a Spetsnaz unit conducted an operation in the factory and suffered major casualties - one fatality and three wounded[3].
In 2012, shortly before the Marked One's arrival in Yantar, Ghost was hired by the Ecologists to infiltrate the X-16 lab with Professor Vasiliev. However, due to a Controller, they were separated and killed - Ghost by the mutant, Vasiliev by the zombies in the swamp. Hired by Sakharov, the Marked One infiltrated the X-16 lab and disabled the emitter, recovering invaluable data and information regarding the C-Consciousness project and securing a Psi-Helmet prototype for himself.
Layout
The area is roughly divided into three parts - the massive Yantar factory in the north-west, the swamp with the mobile science lab in the south-west and a road leading from the wild territory to the factory running along the eastern end of the map.
X16
- Main article: Lab X-16
The X16 facility is located in a building complex to the north-west of the area. The whole area is filled with zombies and snorks making it very dangerous. Later, after the psi-emission is disabled, even a Controller may appear there. The unique Healing Berill outfit can be found on a dead soldier in the complex. Entering the facility without obtaining the Psi-Helmet from the scientists first is highly discouraged, because the screen gets VERY bright, the player harms himself and the attacking zombies will kill the player in this condition without effort.
Mobile science lab
The bunker is protected by an airlock where the player automatically hides his gun. The player can only see a small part of the bunker - the office of Professor Sakharov, a single room with beds and a hall with Professor Kruglov. Professor Sakharov sells a quite wide range of useful equipment in Yantar, including shotguns, Obokans and SSP-99M Suits (after disabling the psi-emissions, patched game). He also gives the player numerous missions which usually require him to bring Sakharov a specific artifact or a part of a mutant. After the player turns off the psi-emission, Duty stalkers start to cross the Wild Territory to defend the entrance against zombies.
The swamp
The swamp is usually inhabited by about 4-5 snorks and a few zombies. In Shadow of Chernobyl, several secret stashes are here, including a very rare Battery artifact (fire resistant version). In Clear Sky, an artifact spawns here. The artifact spawn may change, you'll either get a Kolobok or a Bubble. Please note that in Clear Sky, Sakharov does not sell weapons, and it is only protected by Loners.
Stalker camp
After the emissions are turned off, stalkers start to move through Wild Territory to a lowered place east of X16. There are usually 6-10 stalkers there, including Sparrow - the target of an assassination mission given by Barkeep. The AI somehow makes the stalkers attack all the zombies they see. This action is triggered by the player luring the zombies or the stalkers to attack each other. This may end up in a massacre. The stalker camp has a car and a bus inside.
Appearances
Shadow of Chernobyl
General Voronin will ask to kill a zombie in Yantar for him near the crashed helicopter, this mission is given automatically each time you revisit Yantar after the lab X-16 quest.
Clear Sky
Inhabitants
In Clear Sky, the Yantar area is inhabited by large bands of loners, who make it a pretty safe location (outside the zombie infested areas, such as the Yantar factory. It is noticeably more dangerous here in Shadow of Chernobyl, as due to earlier events, pretty much only the Ecologists remain in the area. However, once the player disables the X-16 lab emitter, Duty and Loners will move into the area.
Your main foes in Yantar are zombified stalkers and Snorks. After you've been to Yantar a number of times, you may also come upon in X-16, the Controller. In the tunnels beneath the installation to the north you will also encounter a Pseudogiant. In the boggy area in lake Yantar is where most of the snorks live, while the zombified stalkers roam everywhere and come from the complex above X-16. The swampy areas with the Snorks is particularly dangerous due to the reduced movement speed caused by the water, the high speed of the snorks because of their ability to jump and the sheer number of them. If you plan to kill the snorks to get their feet for Sakharov then the best plan is the snipe from the edge of the bog, then wade in to collect.
See also
References
- ↑ S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky, st_dialog_manager.xml, string id: dm_about_127, There used to be a lake here before the first accident, called Yantar. When they were building the factory they screwed something up underground and the water drained from the lake, leaving a stinking puddle. Right now the scientists have a camp next to what's left of the lake, and that same factory is still causing trouble a bit further up the road. Your brain goes haywire as soon as you get close and you can't think for shit. The only people still trying to get inside are suicidal - everyone else just kills off zombified stalkers who come out of the factory, and helps the scientists.
- ↑ There is no BTR in front of the factory in Clear Sky, but one is present in Shadow of Chernobyl. Seeing how there is a Spetsnaz operator crushed under its wheels, it's obvious the vehicle didn't belong to the military and the only other faction powerful enough to operate armoured vehicles and have an interest in the facility is, well, the Monolith.
- ↑ S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, Lukash, Some of the grunts are sporting a new type of bullet-proof vests. The inside lining is soaked in some healing ointment or something like that… anyways, it makes small wounds heal up very fast. And imagine what luck: just the other day ten of those guys ran into Yantar, and only six returned, with the three on their shoulders. You follow? One of them got left behind. If you get us his bullet-proof vest, we'll examine it and make us a lot of them too.
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