How to Get Every Unique Artifact in Stalker 2 Cost of Hope (The Forgotten)

The Cost of Hope expansion for Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl adds four unique artifacts you cannot pull out of a random anomaly. Two sit in fixed spots inside the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, and the other two are locked behind The Forgotten side mission, which asks you to assemble five Flickering Flare fragments before you ever see the payoff. Here is exactly where each one is and what it takes to walk away with it.

Quick answer: Take the Heart of a Shadow Chimera off the dead chimera during the Shadow of the Past mission, drop the Water Drop from the ceiling inside DPP-2 at the CNPP, then run The Forgotten to collect five Flickering Flare fragments, build the Flare Time artifact at the water treatment plant, and kill Otter to loot the Flare Light.

All four unique artifacts and their stats

Each of these artifacts fills a specific role. The Heart of a Shadow Chimera is a heavyweight defensive piece, the Water Drop is a carry-weight and stamina tool, and both Flare artifacts stack psi-protection for the deeper CNPP zones.

Artifact	Weight	Value	Main effect
Heart of a Shadow Chimera	0.5 kg	72,000 K	Physical, electrical, thermal, chemical and bleeding protection; raises radiation
Water Drop	0.25 kg	42,000 K	Endurance and carry weight; raises radiation
Flare Time	—	—	Built from six Flare Time shards during The Forgotten
Flare Light	0.35 kg	80,000 K	Maximum psi-protection

Heart of a Shadow Chimera location (Shadow of the Past)

This one comes to you during the main mission Shadow of the Past. As you progress, you will reach a dead Shadow Chimera lying on the ground. Walk up to the corpse and use the search prompt to collect the Heart of a Shadow Chimera, then examine the pulsing red artifact when the game offers the option.

It is a strong all-round defensive artifact, covering physical, electrical, thermal, chemical and bleeding damage at once. The trade-off is a steady radiation increase, so pair it with anti-rad gear or a rad-reducing artifact if you plan to keep it in your belt.

Water Drop location (DPP-2, CNPP)

The Water Drop hides inside the DPP-2 building in the CNPP region. It does not sit on the floor waiting for you; you have to knock it loose from the ceiling first.

Head to DPP-2 on the CNPP map and go inside the building. Look up at the broken ductwork and pipe running across the ceiling.

Shoot or dislodge the debris in that ceiling opening. A glowing purple spherical artifact will drop down and land on the floor below.

Pick the artifact up off the ground. In your inventory it reads as the Water Drop, boosting endurance and carry weight while adding a small radiation cost.

The Forgotten: Flare Time and Flare Light

The Forgotten is the long chain that hands you the last two artifacts. It begins near the Testing Workshop in the Iron Forest and CNPP area, where you meet a trapped stalker named Otter. He sends you after five Flickering Flare fragments, and only once they are all equipped can you reach the areas that hold the Flare Time and Flare Light.

The five Flickering Flare fragment locations

Each Flickering Flare fragment grants psi-protection on its own, and you need every one before the water treatment safe zone opens up. Here is where they sit.

Fragment	Area	Where it is
1	Testing Workshop Pylon	Atop the electrical transmission pylons, on the top metal sphere apparatus reached by climbing the steel lattice
2	Sentry Building	Second floor of the two-story tiled building, on the floor of the shattered room facing the anomaly field
3	Industrial Site	In the bare tree branches above the rusted yellow tracked crane
4	Bridge to CNPP	At the edge of the broken concrete slab on the northern canal bridge

Start at the Testing Workshop. Take the hidden underground tunnel, disarm the tripwires, and loot the stalker body belonging to Senya Moon. Interact with the chalk drawing on the metal door to move the objective forward.

Image credit: GSC Game World / Lunar Gaming

Climb to the workshop roof and step into the blue gravity portal. This drops you next to Otter, who is stuck in the silo. He tells you to gather four more flare fragments after this first one.

Move to the large electrical pylons surrounded by gravity and shock anomalies. Climb the collapsed steel lattice girders to the upper levels and grab the first Flickering Flare off the top metal sphere.

For the Sentry Building fragment, enter the two-story tiled building and avoid the yellow energy bursts. Break the wooden crates blocking the staircase, talk to the stalker Castro (choosing “Relax, I’ll sort it out” ties into the Where Hope Leads mission), then take the second fragment off the floor of the broken upstairs room.

At the Industrial Site, weave past the rusted trailers, fences and yellow anomaly pulses. Climb onto the rusted yellow tracked crane, look up into the tree branches overhead, and collect the third fragment.

Head to the northern canal bridge leading into the CNPP. Push across the broken span while dodging phantom stalkers and anomaly bursts, then pick up the final fragment at the edge of the collapsed concrete slab.

Build the Flare Time at the water treatment plant

With all five Flickering Flare fragments equipped in your belt slots, you can survive the psi-heavy water treatment safe zone that holds the next artifact.

Equip all five fragments and enter the water at the water treatment safe zone inside the central plant in the CNPP. Wade through the flooded basement canal toward the green energy vortex, surviving the psi-phantoms along the way.

Climb the ladder out of the canal and follow the catwalks, corridors and the large ventilation pipe to exit high above the facility.

Collect all six Flare Time shards spread across the circular rotating platform roofs, numbered 1 through 6, while avoiding the psi-distortions and anomalies. The final shard sits atop the central machine structure, and grabbing it completes the golden Flare Time artifact.

Kill Otter for the Flare Light

The Flare Light is the reward at the very end, and it means turning on Otter.

Return to Otter. Use the rooftop gravitational jump anomalies to drop down safely, then make your way back through the administrative buildings and cooling tower base to his underground hideout.

Open the blue metal storage chest with the search prompt and place the Flare Time artifact inside. Head back outside and follow the map to the portal near the crane and gantry structures.

Reach the high gantry walkway, loot the dead stalker for extra items, and walk through the portal. The objective updates to “Defeat the bosses and get your rewards,” dropping you into a plant warehouse full of heavily armored stalkers.

Fight through the armored enemies and confront Otter. Choose the “[Attack] Let’s get to business” dialogue option, kill him, and loot his body to claim the Flare Light artifact, which provides maximum psi-protection.

Tip: Before you leave, open the blue safe in the corner of the office room. It holds NVG Gen 3A night vision goggles and several coupon vouchers worth 1,500 each.

You will know each artifact is secured the moment its “item acquired” prompt appears and it lands in your inventory. The Heart of a Shadow Chimera and Water Drop can be grabbed independently, but the Flare Time and Flare Light only exist as the tail end of The Forgotten, so hold onto all five Flickering Flare fragments until Otter is dealt with rather than selling or dismantling them early.