Where to find the Weird Ball artifact - Stalker 2

The Weird Ball artifact will protect you from incoming bullets, a very useful trait in the Zone.

The Weird Ball is a very powerful artifact that you can get quite early in Stalker 2. Play through the game until you get to Zalissya, the first settlement. From there, a short trip can bring you to this powerful item, but be warned, it's not without risks when trying to get it.

How to get the Weird Ball artifact in Stalker 2

From Zalissya in the Lesser Zone, head east to a large pool of water just to the south of a small group of houses. This area will be filled with abandoned cars, a crane, and some ambulances. There will also be a very obvious anomaly called Bulba on your map, a huge ball of water floating above the small lake. This floating ball of water contracts and expands, putting huge pressure on anything around it, and is extremely dangerous.

During the contraction phases, it will try to drag you closer, and if you get pulled in, it will kill you, so be very careful. I found it best to start from the crane and sneak forward while it was expanding. It is easy to know when this is happening as the air effects and particles will be pushed away from the anomaly. 

Crouch-walk from the crane to the nearest rock, then the large rock after that, and finally to the ambulance, timing each move carefully to not get dragged forward. The Weird Ball can be found right at the front of the ambulance, which is being crushed and then returned to normal by the anomaly. Carefully peek out and grab it, then slowly return via the same route.

Do not make the mistake of thinking you can outrun the gravitational pull, as you cannot and will get dragged to your death. When you equip the artifact you will take less damage from bullets, but each bullet impact will make the artifact heavier. To avoid this becoming a major issue, make sure you unequip it from time to time to reset it.

If you need more help in the Zone, be sure to check out our Stalker 2 page.