Alright, let’s talk about that beast of a quest, “The Collector”. Man, where to even start?
I remember deciding to actually go for it. Saw some folks talking about it, knew it was the big endgame thing to get that special container. Sounded simple enough on paper, right? Just find a bunch of stuff in raid. Easy peasy. Wrong. So wrong.
Getting Started – The Naivety
So, I printed out a list, kinda mentally checked off the ones I already had just from playing normally. Felt pretty good, maybe got like, a quarter of the way there just by accident. Thought, “Okay, this won’t be too bad, just gotta focus on finding the rest.” I loaded into my first “Collector focused” raid. Probably went Shoreline, thinking about those rare spawns.
The Grind Actually Begins
That first raid? Died. Second? Died. Third? Found some junk, extracted, nothing for the quest. This became the pattern. Raid after raid. You start learning the high-value spots, the risky areas where maybe, just maybe, one of those super rare items might show up.
- Checked every duffle bag.
- Scoured every shelf.
- Hit every stash I could remember.
- Risked Labs runs, got wrecked.
- Tried Lighthouse, sniped.
- Ran Streets till my eyes bled, server issues half the time.
You start to lose track of how many kits you’ve lost. Roubles just draining away. You find something good, something worth a lot, but it’s not for the quest. Tough call, do you take it for the money or keep space open for that one specific thing Fence wants?
The Mid-Quest Slump
There’s a point, maybe halfway or two-thirds through, where you hit a wall. You’ve found most of the “easier” rare items. Now you’re stuck on those few specific ones. That one medical item that only seems to spawn in one place, guarded by half the map. Or that weird electronic gadget. Or the streamer items… ugh, don’t get me started.
Weeks went by. Seriously, weeks. I’d find one item, feel great, then go another fifty raids finding nothing. It gets frustrating. You question why you’re even doing it. Almost gave up a couple of times. Thought maybe I just wasn’t lucky enough.
A Glimmer of Hope
Then, you get a lucky break. Maybe you kill a player scav who just happened to find one of the items you need. Or you spawn right next to a rare spawn and there it is, just sitting there. I remember finding one of the last really annoying ones, I think it was some military tech piece, just randomly in a crate on Woods. Woods! Wasn’t even really looking hard on that raid, just trying to get some task done. Almost didn’t check the crate.
That gives you the motivation to push through for the last few. The list gets shorter and shorter. Down to three items… then two… then one.
The Final Item
The hunt for the very last item is intense. Every raid feels critical. You’re checking the same spots over and over. Finally, FINALLY, found the last thing I needed. Can’t even remember which item it was, the relief was just immense. Extracted with my heart pounding, praying I wouldn’t disconnect or get killed by a bush wookie in the last few seconds.
Turning It In
Made it out. Went straight to Fence. Handing over all those items, watching them disappear from my stash… it was a feeling, alright. A mix of exhaustion and satisfaction. Then, getting that Kappa container. Felt earned. Like, really earned.
So yeah, that was my journey with The Collector. A long, painful, expensive grind. But hey, I did it. Took forever, cost a fortune in gear, but got there in the end. Now, what to do next…
