'Stalcraft': How To Farm Pickles In Rostok

As odd as it sounds, pickles are essential to the progression path of both Bandits and Stalkers in "Stalcraft." Like the barter materials before it, these serve as the main gate that bars players from getting mid-high-tier gear.

Getting pickles is as simple as getting seeds and stones from previous areas, but it's significantly harder to do thanks to one simple fact: pickles drop in active PvP areas.

Where to get Pickles

Pickles drop from NPCs in Rostok, otherwise known as the Bar. This place is a melding pot where players from both factions collide, and in most servers, it is always an active warzone.

One half of the map is dedicated to Bandits, while the other half is for Stalkers. The three previous areas of the Zone, namely the Dump, Dark Valley and Agroprom, all connect to the Bar too, so there is always an influx of players.

Due to the divide, players from one faction will always be present in the others' dedicated zone. This greatly increases the odds of running into other players, especially since Rostok's layout is a lot more linear compared to others.

Safe Pickle Farming

It's important to understand that pickle farming is always going to be risky, so try to go in with a group.

For Bandits, there's a Stalker NPC camp to the northwest of the Bar building. For Stalkers, two Bandit camps are situated directly west of the safe zone. Try heading to these locations for a relatively quick and easy pickle run.

One way to guarantee some pickles is to do daily quests from the Bar's bounty board. Finish the ones that reward pickles, and since they can only be claimed inside the Bar itself, players won't have to worry about losing them mid-extraction.

However, the pickle rewards from these missions are only in the single-digit range. Farming NPCs will still be the fastest way to get some.

Bring a silenced weapon, preferably one with high damage but a low rate of fire since automatic fire tends to attract the attention of hostile players. A pistol with Expanding Ammo is great for taking care of mutants, but make sure to bring AP ammo for whenever NPCs or other players appear.