In the gripping main quest of S.T.A.L.D. 2: Heart of Chernobyl, "After the Seven Seals" is quite difficult and challenging. Many players are confused about this quest and don't know how to complete it successfully. Are you also lost in the main quest of "After the Seven Seals"? Don't worry, here is a guide for you.

The main quest Seven Seals will have you tracking down a man called Solder, who may be the culprit who stole your scanner. You'll need to infiltrate the "Realm" area to confront him, and there will be some bizarre events that you've come to expect from this series!

How to start the quest Behind the Seven Seals

Before you can enter the "realm" and search for solder, you must first get intelligence about him from Captain Zotov or Gavril in Zalisia. To do this, you need to obtain the "Protection Sensor" from Squint and give it to Captain Zotov. Alternatively, you can activate the ARMS antenna to help Gavril locate Squint's position.

You can choose to complete both missions, but be aware that if you give the Protection Sensor to Captain Zotov or Richter, it will greatly affect your subsequent plot path, so choose carefully if you don't want to join a specific faction. Although this mission itself will not be affected much, the subsequent missions will be different.

Enter the "Realm" area

Once you've gained intel on Solder, you'll learn that he's hiding out in the nearby "Field" - a large military base that's going to be tricky to infiltrate. Fortunately, there are several ways to gain access to the base's gates, bringing you closer and closer to Solder.

Follow the orange icons on the compass until you reach the outer perimeter wall of "The Realm," which surrounds the entire massive structure. When you get here, start to go around to the far right side to avoid being spotted by enemies. You'll eventually find a long metal bridge that leads directly to the base.

Although the bridge is damaged in places, you can still use it to enter the base. To do this, climb up the stairs, then quickly run and jump across the gap until you reach the other side of the bridge, which will allow you to access "The Realm". From here, go through the first gate and head left to find the main entrance. Take cover behind a nearby box for now to avoid being spotted by enemies.

Entering the Field

There will be three guards outside the main gate, so you can take advantage of this by sneaking behind a nearby crate. Once you're in position, aim for the head of one of the guards and quickly knock him down, then quickly take out the other two that rush at you.

Next, a lone guard will run up from behind you, so quickly dispatch him and continue forward into "The Realm." There will be no more guards in this area, and you can explore a few rooms on this level before heading downstairs into the basement of the facility, where you'll eventually find solder.

Find the solder

When you enter the basement of The Realm, two guards will come up the stairs. Quickly dispatch them as they come into your sight. Once you've dealt with these two guards, you'll hear two soldiers downstairs yelling, meaning there are more guards at the bottom of the stairs.

Go to the end of the walkway and jump onto the large pipe on the left, then jump into the fenced area below so you can clear the gap to kill the remaining guards. Once you've dealt with the guards, turn around and see a bag next to some boxes. Open the bag to get some ammunition, medical supplies, and food.

Continue to the basement of the facility

Climb out of the fenced area and through the open door into another flight of stairs, continuing down a few floors. When you reach the bottom, you'll find a guard just down the hallway to your left. After taking this guard down, a few more guards will come running out from the other direction.

Continue to kill these guards, and then advance into the room they came out of. You will find several more guards inside. After quickly dealing with them, continue to move forward. There is a dark room ahead with some supplies. You can quickly go in and search, then open the metal door to trigger a cutscene with solder.

Talking to Solder

Once you enter the room with Solder, a cutscene will play, after which you'll be given the choice: either shoot him or knock him out. We chose to knock him out because we weren't sure if killing him would have negative consequences later in the story, but the decision is ultimately yours.

After making your choice, several guards will pour into the solder's room and you'll need to fight them, so be prepared. They'll mostly enter the room one at a time, allowing you to pick them off as they walk by, so it's not too challenging. Just stay alert, as they can appear out of nowhere and can surprise you if you're not prepared.

How to escape from the "field"

After leaving the solder room, go right and look to the right of the door, where you'll find an OZK Explorer Suit on a cart. Pick it up and equip it, as it's likely better than what you're currently wearing. Next, more guards will enter through the door you just passed, so be prepared.

There will be about four guards, so make sure all your weapons are reloaded and your stats are fully restored. Once the guards come in, kill them one by one, then enter the room they came out of and continue to advance towards the interior of the realm.

Continue to advance to the domain basement

After defeating the guards, go into the room they just came out of. You'll find a ladder that will take you to a long walkway. There will be five or six rats here that will ambush you, so be prepared to deal with them. The rats are very easy to defeat, but they are extremely agile and will cause a bleeding effect if they bite you.

Keep your distance from the rats and eliminate them one by one. Once all the rats are cleared, jump down from below and crawl into the sewer. Follow the sewer and you will eventually reach a ramp that leads to another room. You are not far from the exit of the realm, so keep going!

Leaving the field

From here, you'll enter another room with more rats in it. Deal with them as before, then jump down and enter the sewers again, following the sewers to a room with a ladder. Climb the ladder and open a series of doors, and you'll find the path to the realm's exit.

Before leaving, however, turn to the left and you'll see a storage chest behind the sewer grate. Use your Screwdriver to activate the Gas Anomaly, then quickly run over to it when it deactivates and search the storage chest, which contains an extended magazine, plenty of ammunition, and some consumables.

Use your screwdriver to trigger the remaining anomalies, safely exit the belly of the realm, and return to the wilderness where you rightfully belong. The mission is almost over!

Leaving a small area

Once you've emerged from the bottom of the realm, you'll be able to exit the smaller area and complete the "Behind the Seven Seals" quest. If you gave the Vigilance Sensors to Richtor, you'll follow the guide markers to the northern checkpoint and enter the garbage area. If you gave them to Captain Zotov, you'll enter the garbage area via the floating bridge.

As mentioned before, this will be a major fork in your playthrough, and deciding who to assign the sensors to is crucial. Once you enter the Junk Zone, you'll unlock a host of new side quests and be able to continue progressing through the main story!