S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl

From the looks of it there are up to 69 different artifacts (not including the 6 arch-artifacts and one that is story related) which is definitely a lot more than were in the previous games. I'm hoping this list is accurate since I haven't found everything yet and every other list I found seemed incomplete.

More often than not you'll find them in anomaly fields but sometimes you can find them near dead bodies in certain areas. And after an emission or two artifacts will usually respawn in artifact fields. The Echo detector tends to be rather annoying to use for artifact hunting so it's best to upgrade to something better if you can. It's possible to get a Bear detector as a quest reward for completing "A Sign of Hope" which is at the Noontide base on Wild Island.

Regularly I would do a run around Zalissya in the Lesser Zone since there are 5 anomaly fields somewhat near the town. And I would then move north into Garbage since there are 6 more anomaly fields that are easy enough to check out. Can make for a decent way to make some cash in about half an hour if you're quick about it. And doesn't hurt to see if you come across any new artifacts while you're out it.

One particular thing of note is that artifacts are spawned randomly, but based by distance. So if you make a quick save before reaching an anomaly field (100-150m or so) you can check to see what's there and if you want to reroll it you can do so by loading your save. If you don't mind spending the time trying for it you can attempt to reroll artifacts until you get something new or worth a lot of money.

You can also find legendary artifacts like the Compass, Thunderberry, and Liquid Rock early in the game. I managed to get a Compass in the Deaf Meadow gravitational field northeast of Zalissya. And also got a Thunderberry from the Pol Depot electrical field northwest of Zalissya. So it's definitely worth checking anomaly fields in the starting areas since the game doesn't prevent high tier artifacts from spawning in them.

From the looks of it there are up to 69 different artifacts (not including the 6 arch-artifacts and one that is story related) which is definitely a lot more than were in the previous games. I'm hoping this list is accurate since I haven't found everything yet and every other list I found seemed incomplete.

It was quite a pain in the ass wasting an hour trying to find a Bubble which was the last artifact I needed. The achievement popped after I grabbed it and I did not need to have the Heart of Chernobyl story artifact.

More often than not you'll find them in anomaly fields but sometimes you can find them near dead bodies in certain areas. And after an emission or two artifacts will usually respawn in artifact fields. The Echo detector tends to be rather annoying to use for artifact hunting so it's best to upgrade to something better if you can. It's possible to get a Bear detector as a quest reward for completing "A Sign of Hope" which is at the Noontide base on Wild Island. Can also see about buying a Bear detector up at Duty's base in the Cement Factory.

Regularly I would do a run around Zalissya in the Lesser Zone since there are 5 anomaly fields somewhat near the town. And I would then move north into Garbage since there are 6 more anomaly fields that are easy enough to check out. Can make for a decent way to make some cash in about half an hour if you're quick about it. And doesn't hurt to see if you come across any new artifacts while you're out it.

One particular thing of note is that artifacts are spawned randomly, but based by distance. So if you make a quick save before reaching an anomaly field (100-150m or so as it varies) you can check to see what's there and if you want to reroll it you can do so by loading your save. If you don't mind spending the time trying for it you can attempt to reroll artifacts until you get something new or worth a lot of money. It can also be useful if somehow an artifact gets stuck in a ground where you can't grab it.

You can also find legendary artifacts like the Compass, Thunderberry, and Liquid Rock early in the game. I managed to get a Compass in the Deaf Meadow gravitational field northeast of Zalissya. And also got a Thunderberry from the Pol Depot electrical field northwest of Zalissya. So it's definitely worth checking anomaly fields in the starting areas since the game doesn't prevent high tier artifacts from spawning in them.

People have been mentioning the Crystal Thorn and I think that may be tripping some people up. It's possible to get one from a story related quest and I'm suspecting that one doesn't count for the achievement. You'll know you have the quest related one since it has a unique description that references where you found it. If you only have this one chances are you probably need a regular one for the collection which can be found in acid anomalies. I had both when I found my final artifact so the achievement popped without issue.

There is another unique quest artifact that can be obtained through the "All That Is Left" quest in the Chemical Plant area. This quest is missable if you take too long to do it or depending on how late it is in the story when you visit the Chemical Plant for the first time. It's a Soul that has a unique description and it sounds like it doesn't count for the achievement which means needing to find a regular Soul in electrical anomaly fields.

From the looks of it there are up to 69 different artifacts (not including the 6 arch-artifacts and one that is story related) which is definitely a lot more than were in the previous games. I'm hoping this list is accurate since I haven't found everything yet and every other list I found seemed incomplete.

It was quite a pain in the ass wasting an hour trying to find a Bubble which was the last artifact I needed. The achievement popped after I grabbed it and I did not need to have the Heart of Chernobyl story artifact.

More often than not you'll find them in anomaly fields but sometimes you can find them near dead bodies in certain areas. And after an emission or two artifacts will usually respawn in artifact fields. The Echo detector tends to be rather annoying to use for artifact hunting so it's best to upgrade to something better if you can. It's possible to get a Bear detector as a quest reward for completing "A Sign of Hope" which is at the Noontide base on Wild Island. (Noontide Base becomes accessible at a certain point in the story) It would be quicker to see about buying a Bear detector up at Duty's base in the Cement Factory. Yanov Station north of Rostok also has a chance to sell Bear or Veles detectors.

Regularly I would do a run around Zalissya in the Lesser Zone since there are 5 anomaly fields somewhat near the town. And I would then move north into Garbage since there are 6 more anomaly fields that are easy enough to check out. Can make for a decent way to make some cash in about half an hour if you're quick about it. And doesn't hurt to see if you come across any new artifacts while you're out it.

One particular thing of note is that artifacts are spawned randomly, but based by distance. So if you make a quick save before reaching an anomaly field (100-150m or so as it varies) you can check to see what's there and if you want to reroll it you can do so by loading your save. If you don't mind spending the time trying for it you can attempt to reroll artifacts until you get something new or worth a lot of money. It can also be useful if somehow an artifact gets stuck in a ground where you can't grab it.

You can also find legendary artifacts like the Compass, Thunderberry, and Liquid Rock early in the game. I managed to get a Compass in the Deaf Meadow gravitational field northeast of Zalissya. And also got a Thunderberry from the Pol Depot electrical field northwest of Zalissya. So it's definitely worth checking anomaly fields in the starting areas since the game doesn't prevent high tier artifacts from spawning in them.

People have been mentioning the Crystal Thorn and I think that may be tripping some people up. It's possible to get one from a story related quest and I'm suspecting that one doesn't count for the achievement. You'll know you have the quest related one since it has a unique description that references where you found it. If you only have this one chances are you probably need a regular one for the collection which can be found in acid anomalies. I had both when I found my final artifact so the achievement popped without issue.

There is another unique quest artifact that can be obtained through the "All That Is Left" quest in the Chemical Plant area. This quest is missable if you take too long to do it or depending on how late it is in the story when you visit the Chemical Plant for the first time. It's a Soul that has a unique description and it sounds like it doesn't count for the achievement which means needing to find a regular Soul in electrical anomaly fields.