You finally finished the first part. You survived the Ground Zero meat grinder, found the body, and lived to tell the tale. Then Skier hits you with it. Friend from Norvinsk Part 2. It sounds simple on paper, right? Just go to Shoreline and kill some Scavs. But if you’ve played Escape from Tarkov for more than twenty minutes, you know nothing is ever actually simple. This quest is the ultimate gatekeeper. It’s the point where casual players start to question their life choices and the "hardcore" crowd starts hoarding suppressors and snacks for long raids.
Honestly, it’s a bottleneck. You can't ignore it because it's a massive stepping stone toward the Epsilon container if you're playing on a Standard Edition account. It's the grind that defines the mid-game. If you want to progress with Skier and eventually Peacekeeper, you have to embrace the rainy, sniper-filled hellscape that is the Shoreline map.
The Reality of Hunting Scavs on Shoreline
Let’s get into the weeds. You need 15 Scav kills. Not PMC kills—Scavs. That sounds easy until you realize every other player in your lobby is trying to do the exact same thing, or they’re geared to the teeth heading to the Resort to shove LEDXs in their gamma containers. Shoreline is a weird map. It’s huge. It’s empty in some spots and incredibly dense in others.
If you go to the wrong places, you’ll spend 30 minutes running through trees and see absolutely nothing. Then, out of nowhere, a Scav with a TOZ-106 will head-eyes you from 80 meters away through three bushes. That's just the Tarkov experience. To finish Friend from Norvinsk Part 2, you have to think like a predator, but also like a coward. You aren't there to fight players. You're there to farm AI.
Where the AI Actually Hangs Out
Most people make the mistake of sprinting straight to the Power Station. It’s a hot zone. You’ll find Scavs there, sure, but you’ll also find a level 54 Chad with an M4 who is bored and looking for movement.
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- The Island (Scav Island) is a goldmine. There are usually two or three Scavs chilling by the wooden shack. The downside? You’re a sitting duck on that crane walkway. If someone sees you crossing, you’re done.
- Cottages are hit or miss. Sometimes Sanitar is there, and he will ruin your day before you even see him. If the boss isn't up, you can usually snag a couple of easy kills around the backyard fences.
- The Gas Station and the Pier. This is a high-risk area. It’s open. It’s visible from the cliffs. But Scavs love wandering near the burning building.
- Weather Station. This is my personal favorite for this quest. It’s tucked away. You can scout it from the hills. Usually, there are 2-3 Scavs guarding the tower.
The Gear Problem: Don't Overthink It
You don't need a $300k kit for this. You really don't. In fact, bringing in your best gear for Friend from Norvinsk Part 2 is a recipe for losing it to a bush-wookie. Use an SKS with PS ammo or an ADAR. Something semi-auto. You want to be able to tap heads from a distance.
The Scavs on Shoreline have a nasty habit of spotting you from incredible distances because of the sightlines. If you’re using a red dot, you’re at a disadvantage. Slap a 4x scope on your rifle. Even a cheap scavenged PSO scope on an AK-74 will do the trick. You want to be the one who shoots first.
Timing Your Raids
Night raids are the "pro tip" everyone gives, but it’s actually solid advice. Scavs have reduced vision at night. If you have even the cheapest pair of night vision goggles (NVGs), you can walk right up to them. Just be careful—Shoreline at night is also where the cultists live. If you see a guy in a robe running at you with a knife, Friend from Norvinsk Part 2 is the last of your worries. Run. Just run.
Why This Quest Is Actually About Peacekeeper
Skier is a jerk. We all know this. But the reason you’re suffering through these 15 kills is that Skier is the gatekeeper for Peacekeeper’s questline. If you want those sweet, sweet American dollars and Western firearms, you have to stay on Skier's good side.
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Completing this specific task unlocks the follow-up, which eventually leads to "Friend from Norvinsk Part 3" (killing PMCs) and "The Cult." Without Part 2, your progression with the Western trader basically hits a brick wall. It’s a test of patience more than a test of skill. Can you handle the monotony of Shoreline? Can you deal with the walk of shame back to the extract after getting sniped from a kilometer away?
Dealing With the "Shoreline Fatigue"
By the tenth kill, you’re going to be bored. You’re going to want to start looting the Resort. Don't. Stay focused. The moment you step inside that Health Resort, your survival rating is going to plummet.
Stay on the periphery. Rotate between the Scav House (near the ruined village), the Bus Station, and the Power Station. If you hear a massive explosion or heavy gunfire, go the other way. You are a ghost. You are there for the Scavs, not the glory.
The developers at Battlestate Games designed these quests to force you into specific map flows. They want you out in the open. They want you vulnerable. Understanding that is half the battle. Friend from Norvinsk Part 2 isn't just a kill quest; it's a map awareness test. It teaches you where the AI spawns, where the sniper lanes are, and how to manage your stamina over long distances.
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The Rewards (Are They Even Worth It?)
You get some Roubles. You get some reputation with Skier. You get an unlock for some gear you probably won't use. But the real reward is the Reputation. In the 2026 wipe cycle, reputation is harder to come by than ever. You cannot afford to fail these early-to-mid-game tasks if you want to level up your traders to Loyalty Level 3 and 4.
Practical Steps to Finish This Today
Stop procrastinating. Here is exactly how you finish this quest in two or three raids instead of ten:
- Select your servers carefully. If you're struggling with PMCs, pick servers with higher ping or those in time zones where it's currently 4:00 AM. It’s a "rat" move, but it works.
- Bring food and water. Shoreline raids take a long time. You will die of dehydration before you find your 15th Scav if you don't pack a lunch.
- Wait out the first 10 minutes. Hide in a bush near your spawn. Let the "Chads" rush the Resort. Let the initial chaos die down. The Scavs spawn in waves. If you move out at the 30-minute mark, you’ll have a much quieter map to work with.
- Check the Scav Sniper. There is a sniper Scav on the roof of the Power Station and sometimes on the rocks near the bunker. These count toward your total and are usually very easy to pick off from a distance.
- Focus on the Path to Lighthouse extract. It’s the safest extract on the map right now. Try to plan your kill route so you end up on that side of the map.
Once you tick off that 15th kill, don't get greedy. Get to the extract immediately. The quest isn't finished until you survive and turn it in. There is nothing worse than getting your 15th kill and then dying to a player-scav at the extract.
Move on to the next task immediately. Skier won't wait, and neither will the rest of the Tarkov player base. You’ve got PMCs to hunt next, and that’s a whole different kind of headache.