STALKER 2 Poppy Field walkthrough and best choices

Deciding whether to give Pomor or Mityay the religious icon in the STALKER 2 Poppy Field mission — (Image credit: GSC Game World)

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Root cellar location
Should you give the icon to Pomor or Mityay?

Our STALKER 2 Poppy Field walkthrough will explain how to get through, and who to give the Religious Icon to at the end: Mityay or Pomor. What starts off initially as a simple job to find a cellar in dangerous terrain grows increasingly complicated as it becomes clear that the loot at the end is wanted by multiple parties, but there's actually a way to get the rewards from both of them - assuming you don't mind getting your hands unnecessarily bloody, we'll explain in our guide to the Poppy Field below.

Stalker 2 Poppy Field root cellar location

Stalker 2 Poppy Field stash location — (Image credit: GSC Game World)

Your first objective in The Poppy Field side mission in STALKER 2 is to find where the root cellar is, and it's on the western side of the poppy field not too far from one of the derelict houses - see the above map image.

What you're looking for is a simple hole in the ground at that point with a ladder leading down into the cellar - the Religious Orthodox Icon is down there on a shelf.

Stalker 2 Poppy field root cellar hatch and entrance — (Image credit: GSC Game World)

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However, when you reach the poppy field marked on your map, you'll get hailed by Pomor, who we recommend speaking to before you go for the cellar to help you get maximum rewards for this side quest. It's also a good idea to bring lots of energy drinks with you as you'll need them to counter the field's sleep-inducing effects!

Speak to Pomor in his shack on the eastern edge of the poppy field and he'll tell you that he knows where the root cellar you're seeking is - obviously, you can just tell him you'll find it yourself. Importantly, Pomor will suggest that you could give him the icon instead of Mityay for some rewards.

With that, you can head into the poppy field root cellar and grab the icon, but then you'll need to decide if you'll go back to Pomor or Mityay.

STALKER 2 Poppy Field best choice and outcome

Stalker 2 Poppy Field choice — (Image credit: GSC Game World)

The best choice for the Religious Icon in the STALKER 2 Poppy Field side mission is to give it to Pomor, kill him, take it off his body, and then take it to Mityay.

As brutal as this is, it means you can get both rewards and effectively get the benefits of both choices, and as we've seen so far, there aren't any downsides or negative penalties to killing Pomor (who is already characterised as a slightly shady grave robber who is, at the very least, not warning people about the dangers of the Poppy Field so he can loot their bodies).

If you give the Religious Icon to Pomor, you get the Unknown Stalker's AR416, a full auto assault rifle.

It's decent as an early game weapon, but there's one issue - despite the description saying it's been well-taken care of, it's at a mere 10% durability and jams with use. You'll need to bring it to a technician (which is how to repair weapons in STALKER 2, if you weren't aware), though this is an expensive repair job - over 7000 coupons when we tried. You can even raid his locked back room with the key on his corpse.

If you give the Religious Icon to Mityay, you simply get 1000 coupons. If you killed Pomor before this, it doesn't even get mentioned - the dialogue is the same regardless. Giving the icon to Pomor, then Mityay, means you get the gun and the coupons, so that's definitely the best course of action for this STALKER 2 side mission - assuming you're not bothered about morality.

The Poppy Field isn't the only side mission with a choice involved. Find out about the STALKER 2 The Lost Boys choice here.

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Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and Very Tired Man with a BA from Brunel University, a Masters from Sussex University and a decade working in games journalism, often focused on guides coverage but also in reviews, features and news. His love of games is strongest when it comes to groundbreaking narratives like Disco Elysium, UnderTale and Baldur's Gate 3, as well as innovative or refined gameplay experiences like XCOM, Sifu, Arkham Asylum or Slay the Spire. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at Eurogamer, Gfinity, USgamer, SFX Magazine, RPS, Dicebreaker, VG247, and more.

With contributions from

Grace DeanFreelance Writer
Will SawyerGuides Editor, GamesRadar+

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