This STALKER 2 Poppy Field walkthrough will guide you through a surprisingly dangerous field to the root cellar you’re looking for. Inside, the Religious Icon that Mityay wants. Finding this cellar isn't easy, but things get even more complicated as a man called Pomor gets involved, offering to give you some loot in exchange for the Religious Icon. But, it’s up to you to decide who gets it - Pomor or Mityay. Or, you can get a little creative (and violent) to reap the rewards from both of them. Here’s the full STALKER 2 Poppy Field walkthrough from the root cellar location to who you should give the Religious Icon to.
How to find the Stalker 2 Poppy Field root cellar
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.
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.
Who should you give the Stalker 2 Poppy Field Religious Icon to?
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 fair 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 and Mityay's thanks. 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.
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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