How do anomalies work in this game? How can I protect myself from them? I scouted out a mysterious artifact thingy but I can't get to it because I get fried from fireballs out of nowhere!
You rookies failed to tell him about the importance of using bolts. Press 6 to bring out the bolts. Throw a bolt infront of you when trying to navigate through an anomaly field. If the bolt doesn't hit anything walk to wear it landed. If it triggers an anomaly. throw another bolt to the side until you don't hit anything. Repeat as many times as necessary. It's all trial and error.
Anomalies will kill you if you step in them. Some quicker than others. There are 4 different types to watch out for; gravitational, thermal, electrical and chemical. That frantic beeping sound you keep hearing tells you when you are getting close to an anomaly.
Gravitational (Vortex, Whirligig, Springboard) anomalies can be spotted by distortion in the air and debree getting sucked into them. They also make this weird sound.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Vortex Anomalies - YouTube
Don't let this happen to you.
Electrical (Electro) anomalies are easy to spot, they look like bolts of electricity flowing over the ground. They will discharge in a 10 meter radius if you throw something in them or step in them. 1-2 discharges will kill you. One trick to getting through them is to throw a bolt in to it and immediately run through. When the bolt hits it neutralizes the anomaly for a second giving you time to get past it. This is the only anomaly you can do this with.
Thermal (Burner) anomalies shoot out a stream of face melting flame when triggered. You're already familiar with this one.
Chemical (Fruit punch) anomalies are corrosive liquid. These are easy to spot. They look like a greenish bubbling liquid that make a bubbling sound.
The best way to protect yourself is to not go near them. However shiny rocks are in them that you want to sell to buy more vodka. The SEVA suit is the best for exploring anomaly fields. Certain artifacts can also be used to protect yourself from electrical, thermal and chemical anomalies.
The stalker wiki can tell you anything you want to know.
http://stalker.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Pagehttp://stalker.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page