Upon completing the game’s prologue and finally stepping foot into the Zone proper, you’ll head for Zalissya, this game’s version of the rookie town. There, you’ll encounter a handful of characters who will help propel the story forward, along with merchants, technicians, and even your first up close and personal interaction with a faction. You’ll also need money—well, coupons in this universe. You’ll find Mityay arguing with another Stalker in the merchant’s shop, and if you choose to accept his quest, he’ll send you to a dangerous anomaly field known as the Poppy Field. It’s gorgeous and deadly in equal measures.
Mityay asks for your help retrieving a family religious icon left behind on their plot of land, buried in a root cellar beneath the Poppy Field. But he warns you about this area: It’s dangerous. The Poppy Field is a singular anomaly that forces Stalkers to fall asleep and never wake up. He suggests you bring along energy drinks, and you should. You’ll require approximately eight to survive the anomaly.
Upon arriving at The Poppy Field to the northwest of Zalissya, you’ll encounter a few mutants, but more importantly, a voice comes over the radio, urging you to meet them at the nearby house to the northeast of the field. Once there, you’ll encounter Pomor, a lone and mysterious Stalker who requests your help. He knows where to find the root cellar but requires your assistance entering the field. You can either pay him 2,000 coupons or help him recover the weapons and ammunition from multiple bodies marked within the field. If you choose the latter, you’ll need some energy drinks. You’ll need one to reach the body and then one to return. The last two drinks are for the root cellar. They’re mostly a precaution, though. Depending on how much you panic, you might only use one drink per body.
The final house at the southwest portion of the field contains two bodies, one in the central room and one in the rear bedroom, so don’t panic while you avoid the petals. Keep a clear head, search both bodies and then exit swiftly.
It’s important to note that you don’t have to help Pomor, though. If you’d rather pay him, you can. Otherwise, you can walk back out and find the root cellar yourself. It’s located to the far west of The Poppy Field, out behind the two far buildings, near the edge of the anomaly.
If you choose to help Pomor, you’ll unlock an additional path to complete this side quest, along with unique rewards.
To summarize, your options include:
At the end of the day, this is the Zone. No one will judge you for double-crossing a shady Stalker you met out there.
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