Dangerous Way is a Freedom main mission in Stalker 2: Cost of Hope that sends Skif to rescue Barque’s missing group from an area overrun by Mercury anomalies. Reaching the trapped soldiers is only the beginning: you’ll need to find and equip the Water Drop artifact to safely cross the silver Mercury barriers, retrieve a C4-Charge, and blast open the wall preventing the group from escaping.
The Mercury anomaly can damage Skif with its tendrils, and the pools covering the floor are also dangerous. Careful movement is essential until you secure the Water Drop.
Where to Find Barque’s Missing Group
After speaking with Barque during Dangerous Way, follow the objective marker into the area containing the Mercury anomalies.
You’ll enter a room filled with silver Mercury hazards. Avoid both the anomaly’s tendril attacks and the Mercury puddles spread across the floor while moving toward the objective.
Continue to the marked section and inspect the broken wall. On the other side you’ll find Keel and Vanko, the missing members of Barque’s group.
Speaking with them reveals the main problem. Explosives are available nearby, but Skif can’t reach them without passing through the Mercury. To do that safely, he first needs a special artifact.
The soldiers also give you the Storage Key, which opens the route toward it.
How to Find the Water Drop Artifact
After speaking with Keel and Vanko, head downstairs.
Enemies are waiting in the lower section, so clear the area before continuing. Once it’s safe, enter the shooting range and locate the locked iron gate.
Use the Storage Key you received from the missing group to open it.
Inside the storage area, climb the ladder to reach the upper floor. Follow the corridor until you reach its end, then climb onto the nearby boxes.
From there, get onto the pipes running across the room.
Carefully follow the pipes, jump across the gap, and enter the open doorway on your left. The Water Drop artifact is inside.
How to Reach the Water Drop Artifact
Finding the Water Drop isn’t enough because the artifact is initially floating too far away for Skif to grab.
Jumping toward it won’t work.
Instead, shoot the artifact to move it around the room. Each shot pushes it in a different direction, effectively turning this section into a small pinball-style puzzle.
Your goal is to move the Water Drop toward the stack of boxes in the right-hand corner of the room.
Shoot it carefully until it’s positioned close enough to those boxes. Climb onto the stack, approach the artifact, and pick it up.
Once you have the Water Drop, open your backpack and equip the artifact before attempting to cross any Mercury barriers.
How to Get the Explosives From the Warehouse
With the Water Drop equipped, you can proceed through the Mercury that previously blocked your path.
Go through the Mercury wall on the left side of the room to enter the office behind it.
Inside, find the boxes positioned against the wall and climb onto them. They provide access to an open ventilation duct above.
Enter the vent and follow it until Skif drops into another room filled with Mercury anomalies.
Keep moving through the Mercury barriers while the Water Drop is equipped. Eventually, you’ll reach the C4-Charge needed to free Barque’s men.
Pick up the explosives before continuing.
How to Save Keel and Vanko
After collecting the C4-Charge, climb over the nearby boxes and turn left to leave the room.
Make your way back toward the broken wall where you originally found Keel and Vanko.
At the wall, use the explosives and plant the Detonator. The resulting blast destroys the obstruction and frees Barque’s missing group, completing the rescue portion of Dangerous Way.
How to Get the Monorail Activation Key
Saving the soldiers doesn’t immediately end Dangerous Way.
The next important item is the Monorail activation key, which Keel possesses.
There are two ways to obtain it. You can continue the interaction with Keel and receive the key through conversation, or defeat him and take it instead.
Either method provides the Monorail activation key and advances Dangerous Way toward its final stages.
The most important step in the mission is securing the Water Drop before attempting to reach the explosives. Find Keel and Vanko, use their Storage Key to access the artifact route, shoot the floating Water Drop toward the boxes so you can collect it, and equip it before crossing the Mercury. Once you retrieve the C4-Charge and destroy the broken wall, Barque’s missing group will be free and you can continue toward the final objectives of Dangerous Way.
