The Rangers

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 Ranger has other uses. Please see Ranger (Disambiguation) for other meanings. 

The Rangers ("Stalkers" in Slavic versions of the game) are a group of elite battle hardened soldiers that roam the wasteland, and are the video game's equivilent to stalkers. The rangers move individually or in small units helping settlements as well as fighting bandits, the Red Line, the Nazis, and mutants and appear to have strong ties to Polis.

Overview

The rangers maintain a permanent base located in a church on the surface, known as Sparta. The origin of the rangers are unknown, but the members may have been soldiers from the Russian Army or from the Russian Special Forces (Spetsnaz) before the 2013 apocalypse. They may as well have been mercenaries or some sort of other armed forces.

Rangers seem to be greatly feared by the bandits, Reds, and Nazis alike. In the level "Dry", a conversation between a few bandits near the rails can be heard. One mentions how a lone ranger single handedly took out large groups of men and how nothing in the tunnels can stop them. The bandit also mentioned that they might not even be human because of their fighting skills. Ironically, upon questioning, the bandit reveals the group killed by a 'lone ranger' were outside Riga station - the bandit outpost taken down by Artyom when he was traveling with Bourbon.

Appearances

The first Ranger Artyom encounters during the course of his journey is his step-father's friend, Hunter. Hunter has come to Exhibition because of reports of telepathic mutants (the dark ones) attacking the station. He, Artyom, and Artyom's step-father, Sukhoi (Alex), defend the entrance to the Hospital against several waves of nosalises. After the battle he leaves and tells Artyom that if he doesn't return to Exhibition, Artyom must deliver a message to Polis. He then hands Artyom his Ranger Token, an enameled dog tag, and tell him to find Miller in Polis. He is presumed to be dead or missing.

Artyom himself had been addressed as "Ranger" a couple of times during the game. The first took place in the Chapter "War" in the Frontlines level after rescuing three Red prisoners from being executed by the Nazis. The leader of the other two says his thanks and says "Thank you comrade. We heard there was a Ranger in the vicinity, good work". The second was in the level of "Child" after Artyom brings the little boy Sasha to his mother. Before Artyom walks to the surface, one of the soldiers bids him goodbye by saying "...good luck to you, Ranger".

Hunter's message to the other rangers can be found near the end of Dead City 2. The message talks about heading to Exhibition with some heavy gear, to try and help fight against the coming threat (the dark ones).

One man named Khan who is affiliated with the rangers guides Artyom to The Armory. Khan has a different outlook on the situation than the other rangers. He does not believe the dark ones, mutants, or anomalies are evil, they are just now what the world is, and that humanity should move on with them.

The next group of rangers Artyom meets are Pavel and Ulman, who save Artyom from being executed by two Nazis. Ulman leaves the group while Pavel and Artyom head to Polis. Pavel does not survive the trip. Artyom meets up with Ulman later on and they reach Polis

At Polis, Artyom meets Miller, the leader of the rangers. After failing to gain support from the Polis Council, Miller and Artyom decide to find D6. Miller, Artyom, and Danila head towards the library to find the location of D6. On the way, Danila is injured and must be taken back to Polis, and Miller leaves Artyom on his own to find the documents leading to D6.

When Artyom leaves the library, he is confronted by a librarian, but before the Librarian could attack Artyom, Miller and Ulman show up in an armored car, and run it over. They take Artyom to Sparta where Artyom meets the remainder of the rangers: Boris, Vladimir, Stepan, and Danila along with Khan and three unnamed rangers.

Metro Last Light

After finding, restoring power and launching missiles from D6, the rangers now seem to have occupied D6, and are guarding a 'Doomsday Device'. The device is sought after by both the Nazis and the Communists. The rangers have also reinforced the entrances and regularly come under attack.

Known Rangers

• Artyom - The youngest and newest member, Artyom unofficially became a Ranger when Hunter gave him his first mission to get to Polis and find Miller. He was chosen for his natural fighting skill and marksmanship abilities.
• Miller - The colonel and leader of the rangers.
• Ulman - A higher ranking Ranger Artyom meets him the most.
• Hunter - Missing in Action - a friend of Alex, Artyom views him as a mentor.
• Pavel - Killed in Action in the Depot.
• Stepan - Killed in Action in the Caves.
• Boris - Killed in Action in the Dungeon.
• Vladimir - The technician of the rangers, and one of the veteran rangers.
• Danila - A lower ranking Ranger who accompanies Artyom and Miller to the Library, but is injured on the way.
• Captain Krasnov - A Ranger who works in Polis. He is only encountered once.

Rangers mentioned, but not seen:

• Red - Mentioned by Hunter in a hidden tape in English dub.

• Ivan Petrovich - The guard captain of Polis. Mentioned by one of the soldiers at the airlock.

Trivia

• In the novel Hunter described his order of stalkers (rangers) as "leukocytes" circling around Moscow's metro system.
• In both the game and book series, it had been mentioned that the rangers are an "Order". They may or may not have been founded by Russian Special Forces personnel after the apocalypse.
  • In Metro 2034 it's noted that the punishment for betraying "the Order" is considered to be "worst than death".
• It is unclear if rangers have ranks - most of them never served in RF military.
  • They mostly call each other by names, but sometimes Miller is called Colonel, which might be just a respectful moniker.
• Rangers are equipped with best weapons and armor the metro can offer. Their arsenal at Sparta Base is quite extensive, containing "latest military equipment with outrageous costs in blood".
• They are also known for using MGRs on their primary weapons, though in game Boris used dirty rounds on his VSV.
• In the novel, when Artyom is being saved from the savage cannibals, several of the stalkers wore dark-brown trench coat, similar to Hunter's . This could be a way for the rangers to identify rank: ones with the trench coats are veterans, ones without could be new recruits.
• In the live action short "Enter the Metro" the Ranger in the film looks more like how the stalkers are described in the novel, than the in-game model.
• It is unknown if there are female rangers, there very well may be as the rangers are, in Hunter's words; "an order" which means they are born into the rangers, they die in the rangers, so there could be female rangers or children from Polis could be put in to the order by their parents or could be selected.
  • Sasha in Metro 2034 technically counts as a stalker, however, since being a stalker has little in the way of requirements besides venturing up to the surface and back - she would likley not qualify as a ranger (which is more of an organization than a job).
• It appears the rangers allow those outside of the original military to serve in their ranks for example Ulman, who was ten when the world ended, and Artyom who was allowed in the rangers after helping Miller's squad with the Dark ones.
• Ranger armor can be purchased for an Xbox Live avatar for 320 microsoft points.