Stalker 2: What to Do With the PDAs ? – Answered

Exploring the hostile open world of Stalker 2 can be incredibly challenging, especially without the help of a PDA. This essential device provides crucial information, including a detailed map of the Zone, text-based logs, and more.

While you will acquire PDAs throughout the game, you might wonder—what should you actually do with them? In this guide, we will break down everything you need to know about handling PDAs in Stalker 2.

What is a PDA in Stalker 2

The PDA, or Pocket Diary Assistant, is an essential tool for those navigating the Zone in Stalker 2. It is one of the few digital devices that still functions within the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, and nearly every stalker and NPC from other factions carries one.

How Do You Get PDAs?

You can acquire a PDA by looting it from NPCs after they are defeated. The game features two types of PDAs: informative ones and mission-related ones.

Informative PDAs provide valuable details that are automatically transferred to Skif’s PDA when picked up. On the other hand, mission-related PDAs, especially those tied to main quests, are identified by a brown tick icon on the top-left corner of their icon in your inventory.

This brown tick indicates that the PDA has not fulfilled its purpose yet and will play a role as you progress through the main storyline or a side mission.

Some PDAs offer clues, such as the location of keys hidden nearby, which can unlock secret doors. Others provide details about secret stashes, like the Shah’s stash you uncover during the No Honor Among Thieves side mission in Stalker 2.

All the information you collect is accessible in the Skif’s Notes section. It can include audio logs, written details, and even visual markers that appear on Skif’s map for easier navigation.

In Stalker 2, completing main or side missions often involves reporting back to the NPC who assigned the task. Sometimes during these interactions, you will notice the NPC transferring Coupons to you via their PDA. This highlights that the PDA is not just a tool for storing vital information about the Zone and its inhabitants—it also functions as a currency manager, facilitating trade within the Zone.

Related: Stalker 2: Wishful Thinking Guide – Side With Noonstriders or Wards

What to Do With the PDAs in your inventory in Stalker 2?

The best way to handle PDAs in Stalker 2 is to sell them to traders once they have outlived their usefulness. After a PDA has fulfilled its purpose—whether by advancing a main mission or providing crucial information for Skif—it will no longer display the brown tick icon in your inventory.

This change indicates the PDA is now a disposable item, and selling it is a smart move to free up space. Alternatively, if you want to manage your inventory more effectively, you can transfer unwanted PDAs to your stash.

Note: Each PDA weighs 0.2kg. Carrying ten of them, for example, adds 2kg to your overall inventory weight.

Why Can’t I Transfer or Sell the PDA in Stalker 2?

As mentioned earlier, PDAs with a brown tick icon still have an important role to play in a main or side mission. If you find that a PDA cannot be sold or transferred to your private stash in Stalker 2, it is likely because it is still mission-critical.

The game has a safeguard to prevent issues during missions by locking PDAs that are still needed. Until their purpose is fulfilled, these PDAs cannot be sold, transferred, or dropped from your inventory. They are stuck with Skif like a dead weight.

Once a PDA is no longer useful, you can either discard it from your inventory or, better yet, sell it to a trader. While PDAs do not fetch a high price, earning something is always better than nothing!

That is everything you need to know about what to do with the PDAs in Stalker 2. For more tips about the game, we recommend you check out Should You Side with The Ninth or Dew in The Lost Boys, Should You Help or Kill Squint, and Kill Shah or Roosevelt in King of the Hill in Stalker 2 guides.