The Zone in STALKER 2 is full of bizarre mysteries and supernatural anomalies. In addition to providing some of the most memorable locations in the game, anomalies can also cough out some pretty neat rewards if you do the right things.

Sometimes you may need to complete a small side quest or jump puzzle, while others have virtually no explanation or logic whatsoever, much like the appearance of The Zone itself.

Either way, anomalies are dangerous. Every single type can kill you and set you back hours of progress, if you’re not careful.

Fortunately, there is usually a way to safely extract the rewards from the Zone’s weirdest anomalies. The following anomalies are some of the strangest in the game, but well worth seeking out for a visit or two if you’re looking for valuable artifacts and interesting lore locations.

10

Bulba (Lesser Zone)

A Bizarre Gravitational Water Anomaly

The Lesser Zone might be the starting area in STALKER 2, but it’s not short of its own share of secrets and anomalies. One of the first major anomalies you’ll come across near the village of Zalissya is the Bulba.

This giant gravitational anomaly sits at the center of a lake east of Zalissya, but be careful when you approach it – the strength of this anomaly is much greater than your average grav trap.

While it is certainly mesmerizing to watch from a distance, there is some reward to be gained from risking an approach. A small but powerful artifact, the Weird Ball, can be retrieved by placing yourself correctly so that the vehicles protect you from the pull of the anomaly.

The Weird Ball is worth getting in the early game as it is not only worth a considerable amount of money, but also helps to reduce bullet damage—something you’ll be dealing with a lot throughout the game.

9

The Poppy Field (Lesser Zone)

Don’t Spend Too Long Here

The Poppy Fields might appear like one of the most tranquil and inviting places in The Zone, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. This tricky location, an anomaly in itself, has claimed the lives of many stalkers who have set foot there.

While you will visit the Poppy Fields during the main quest “The Poppy Field”, there are also several other hidden stashes and plenty of loot to acquire from dead stalkers.

Just be careful, if you spend too long scavenging around the Poppy Fields, you might succumb to their tranquilising effects. If this happens too many times, you will die.

In order to counter the effects of this particular anomaly, you can drink energy drinks to stay awake. Make sure that you’ve got a decent supply at hand, as you’ll need more than a couple to navigate the entirety of the fields.

8

Wandering Lights (Zaton)

It’s A Trap!

Located in the eastern-most part of the map, just south of SIRCAA and near the Lviv pier, you can find one of the most curious anomalies in the entire game.

The location is called ‘Wandering Lights’, and here you will find one of the best artifacts in the early game, the Weird Water artifact. It will only appear at night along with its acidic anomaly.

Be prepared to endure some pretty intense audio-visual psi hallucinations, as well as to battle with various mutants such as Fleshes and Snorks, which are also common in the region.

If you walk too far into the center of the Wandering Lights, your vision will darken, and navigation will become extremely difficult. In this case, walk backwards while using the lights themselves to guide you back to a familiar location.

7

Electric Field (Garbage)

Lend A Helping Hand

The Electric Field anomaly to the east of Slag Heap is one of the easiest to navigate, but you can get an abundance of rewards from here at a reasonably early stage of the game.

In addition to rescuing the trapped stalker in the center of the field, who will give you the Rat King artifact for carefully guiding him out of the anomaly field, there is also a safe in the nearby building.

The safe itself is located on the second floor of the building behind a locked door. To unlock the door, enter the code 1708. The stash can be found inside a locker in the next room.

Additionally, random electric artifacts will spawn on the roof and anomaly field afterward. Given the area’s close proximity to Slag Heap, this can be a great place for farming artifacts to sell.

6

Poisonous Hole (Garbage)

The Poisonous Hole anomaly can be one of the hardest or the easiest anomalies to explore, depending on your equipment and whether or not the game glitches out on you.

The area itself is a former quarry just to the north of Slag Heap, and it is highly contaminated with both radiation and chemical anomalies.

Searching for artifacts here can be very fruitful, as the area will often spawn rare and powerful items such as the Devil’s Mushroom. However, due to the bumpy terrain, artifacts can be prone to clipping through the floor and being very difficult to reach.

If you have strong chemical protection, you have little to worry about. For everyone else, make sure to watch your step and avoid the noxious vapors floating in the sky.

5

The Claw (Zaton)

As Menacing As It Looks

The Claw is definitely one of the most visually striking anomalies in The Zone. Situated next to an old Gas Station, this highly dangerous area has carved a groove into the ground and caused rocks to protrude out into the air, almost like a skeleton of some sort.

In addition to being a hotbed for conflict between rival factions, there is also a cave network within the ravine that is full of snorks, so it is probably best to avoid that place without a lot of shotgun ammo.

As for the anomaly itself, it is littered with gravitational anomalies, so don’t try climbing around it like some sort of playground.

Several artifacts may spawn at the Claw, including Springboards, Whirligigs, and Vortexes. Veteran Stalkers will recognize it as a location from the previous Stalker game, Call of Pripyat, where it served a similar purpose of housing artifacts and anomalies.

4

Mist (Burned Forest)

A Horrifying Mini Puzzle

The Mist anomaly is certainly one of the most mysterious locations in the game. Located just to the south-east of the Duga in the Burned Forest, this solitary house seems to have been at the epicenter of a unique and creepy psi-event.

The house itself is shrouded in mist and is populated by a swarm of rats and a bloodsucker.

Once you’ve dealt with the new tenants, you will need to complete a mini puzzle, which involves going out of the mist and seeing the house again with a few changes and a different orientation.

Once you’ve got the key from the underground passage, you can climb up into the attic and make your way down to the kitchen area, where the Weird Pot anomaly can be retrieved.

3

Quarry (Red Forest)

Why Not Climb It?

The Red Forest is full of weird anomalies and psi-effects, but the most spectacular and rewarding location to visit by far is The Quarry – unless you have a phobia of megalithic construction equipment, of course.

While the giant excavator itself is not an anomaly per se, it does house a small puzzle made up of several small anomalies, including some gravity-defying stepping stones you can use to get some neat gear.

If you head up the ladder and out towards the rock saw blade itself, then turn around and climb up the structure back towards the main cabin, you can then hop across the gap using these gravity-defying anomalies.

Once you reach the other side, you will have to deal with a swarm of mutated rodents, but you can always climb the nearby ladder up a platform to evade them. At this end of the excavator, you can find some cool loot, including an SVU-MK S-3 sniper rifle and some Gauss Rifle ammo.

2

Fire Whirl (Cooling Towers)

Some Floor-Is-Lava Parkour

The Fire Whirl is another missable anomaly you can visit towards the latter half of the game, and it is located in the Cooling Towers region to the north of Garbage.

The Whirl itself is quite a spectacle to witness, but to make the trip even more worthwhile, there is also a rare legendary artifact and a stash hidden in the north-east of the tower.

To retrieve the artifact, you will need to complete a short jump puzzle and avoid being burned by the Fire Whirl as it flares up.

Once you’ve retrieved the ‘Weird Nut’ artifact, there isn’t a whole lot else to do at the Fire Whirl. However, the region does offer one of the best and closest looks at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant itself.

1

The Tornado (Yaniv Station)

Stay In The Eye

The Tornado is one of the most startling anomalies in The Zone, and also one of the most dangerous. It is also one of the primary routes you can use to enter Pripyat towards the end of the game.

Heading west from Yaniv Station, follow the railway tracks to the depot, and you’ll pretty quickly see it. A Stalker will be thrown from the tornado with a Wilhelm scream, though sometimes he glitches through the map, and you can’t read his PDA.

In the PDA, it says that moving to the center of the anomaly is the best strategy for survival. To do this, you’ll need to head underneath the red metal walkway and use it to protect you from the storm. When the Tornado passes overhead, follow the pathway while enclosed within the eye to reach the end of a long crane.

Here, turn back to face the way you came, and the Weird Bolt artifact should fly out of the tornado in your direction. This legendary artifact will reduce damage from all anomaly types, so it should help a lot when searching for further unique anomalies.

STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl

Systems

Released

2024

ESRB

m

Developer(s)

GSC Game World

Publisher(s)

GSC Game World

Engine

Unreal Engine 5