Endings

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Lost Alpha has a variety of ending possibilities.

“

I don't know whether I was right or wrong, I guess I'll never know... But I made it. And I guess I should be thankful for that.
- Strelok

”

“

Strelok... it was a long road to get to this point.. ..we really did it!
- Ghost

”

“

You made it after all stalker. You turned out to be much stronger than we initially thought. Well, the time for us to talk has come. Head towards the signal. We'll be waiting for you.
- Follow the signal

”

List of known endings[]

The endings are achieved based on the actions of the player throughout the course of the game. The protagonist can be greedy and self-serving, a goody two-shoes or the most evil bastard to ever walk the planet. All of the 'false' endings are shaped by how you play the game from start to finish; while two of the requirements can be tailored to your liking, the last cannot (to a degree). If you insist upon a given 'false' ending, you will need to play from the beginning accordingly. The 'true' endings can be achieved regardless of play style, as long as you accomplish important specific quests.

v1.30013 - 1.3003:

There are three good ending in the game. These lead to Freeplay.
Others are known as "Bad" since all of them end with the protagonist being wiped out by the Zone as the Wish Granter is approached in the Sarcophagus.

Good ending (normal)[]

Reaching X2[]

After you successfully enter the Generators area, the protagonist will be accompanied by Ghost who will push through the enemy lines of the defenders and enters the Lab X2 surface compound by instigating Distraction tactics while the player flanks and kills the guards.

In X2[]

Strelok enters the lab alone with only one goal and that is shutting down the main source of evil that created the Zone. As he turns the system off he gets out of the lab via Teleport and is taken into an unfamiliar Zone eerily similar to Generators. At that moment the Zone begins to cool down and is apparently no longer under the influence of the Common Consciousness. The last scene shows the reunion of Ghost and Strelok while they happily enjoy the beauty of the nature. The credits roll, a retouched version of the 'good ending' video is shown and the player is taken back to Cordon to Freeplay further around the Zone.

Good ending (alternate)[]

Plays out very much as the previous sequence but on leaving via Teleport to Generators 2 a second storyline task appears instructing the player to Follow the signal.
(Note that v1.4000+ endings do not spawn the Follow the signal task, that the 'heads-up' contained within it IS given, and that reaching the Oso may work once or twice in v1.4002, but is seriously bugged in v1.4005)
In this Ending, even if the player opens dialogue with Ghost the conversation ends quite quickly with this exchange:

“

Yes, we did it, now I have other important matters to attend to, can we meet later in the bar with all our friends?
- Marked One

”

“

No, I need to be here now, still have a lot to do. Be careful and take care of yourself!
- Ghost

”

(Note that the above dialogue is not given in v1.4005. The player gets to choose between the orthodox 'Ghost' ending or the 'Victory' ending (iff available) and both are broken)
After which the player proceeds with the signal mission and meets the 'Enlightened', is 'killed', and wakes back in Cordon for Freeplay.

Good ending (Victory)[]

Similar to the above example except that the player's actor survives the Sin Spy assault, a different ending ensues and the player wakes back in Cordon for Freeplay.
Available up to v1.4002.

Good ending (Broken)[]

Similar to the previous two possibilities, except that a scripting bug transports the player to the earlier, "Swamps Oso" at the conclusion of Follow the signal (v1.3003)
The player is then dumped in the Swamps next to the transition to the Outskirts without entering Freeplay. Hence the 'broken' designation.

v1.4007:

Good Ending (alternate) v1.4007[]

Entering the Oso results in a transition to the Base Game's "shoot the pods" sequence without the soundtrack.
This is followed by the same "right or wrong" video seen in the Base Game, followed by a transition to Cordon and Freeplay with the ten skill points bonus.

Bad endings[]

For any of these, the player just has to reach the Wish Granter at the end of the Follow monolith call mission.
These are the same videos that conclude the Base Game.
The credits will be played after the various movie endings that may follow but the game will be definitively completed with no possibility of entering Freeplay.
Players should note that the criteria listed below are for the SoC game and that differences may be noticed for LADC v1.4007.

I Want to Be Rich![]

Occurs if the player is carrying more than 50,000 Ru. Also appears to trigger if the player is carrying a large amount of high-value items.

I Want to Be Immortal[]

Occurs if the player has been 'neutral' and does not have enough assets to trigger the 'Rich' ending. May use the same triggers (reputation and whether the leaders of Freedom and Duty are still alive) as triggers.

I Want the Zone to Disappear[]

Occurs if the player has been 'good' and does not have enough assets to trigger the 'Rich' Ending. May use the same triggers (reputation and whether the leaders of Freedom and Duty are still alive) as triggers.

Destroy/Control Humanity[]

Occurs if the player has been 'evil' and does not have enough assets to trigger the 'Rich' Ending. May use the same triggers (reputation and whether the leaders of Freedom and Duty are still alive) as triggers.
This means that the player's reputation will need to be "terrible", just "very bad" will result in 'Immortal' or 'Disappear' endings.
The difference between 'destroy' and 'control' here is due to the words used in the English and Russian versions of the cutscene.

Rule The World[]

Occurs if the player has been 'neutral' and does not have enough assets to trigger the 'Rich' ending, but uses different parameters than the 'immortal' ending. May use the same triggers (reputation and whether the leaders of Freedom and Duty are still alive) as triggers.

Notes[]

All versions:

In X2, the player may avoid the Teleport in the middle of the control room and exit the lab by at least two routes: back up the stairs to the level transition, or up the ladder near the power control switch on the first floor.
Both exits lead back to Generators.
This is in no way plot-breaking, but gives the player the opportunity to explore the area at some leisure without having to travel from the Cordon to do so.
The first notable observation will be that the Generators that were just turned off are undamaged and quite functional.
Any remaining wildlife is also in rude health.
The Teleport may be approached whenever is convenient.
N.B. Players that take advantage of this feature should note that the door to X2 that Ghost opened may be closed by the player. If this happens it will not reopen with the result that reaching a satisfactory ending will be impossible, and in any event, the 'bad' ending fork is already closed off.

v1.4007:

Only the "Good normal ending" remains generally unchanged (some transition graphic effects are removed)
Any of the other "Good endings" predicated upon visiting the Oso only lead to an antechamber and corridor there. Actual attempts to progress into the (presumably empty) level result in the player being teleported to Cordon.

Trivia[]

Completing the entire game (with a good ending and successfully transitioned to Freeplay) grants the player 10 skill points (hattip to XanloZz for the video link)