How to find and kill STALKER 2 poltergeists

(Image credit: GSC Game World)

STALKER 2 poltergeists are enemies that are invisible, which can be very confusing if you aren't familiar with them and their chaotic ways. Poltergeists are found in three variants – basic, electric, and fire – all of which are hard to find and even harder to kill, unless you know how they can be beaten. To help you out with this, we have guidance on how to find and kill STALKER 2 poltergeists so that you can deal with the threat and move on once you know what to look for. It certainly wouldn’t hurt to have one of the best STALKER 2 weapons to hand either, so you can dish out the required damage.

STALKER 2 poltergeists

how to see a STALKER 2 poltergeist — (Image credit: GSC Game World)

You'll know a STALKER 2 poltergeist is around when you start seeing floating objects that attack you. Boxes, barrels, crates – anything can suddenly rise into the air before flying at you, and if you can't find the source then it's going to be happening the entire time you're in the area.

What you're looking for is the swirling spectral glow you can see in the image above. That's the poltergeist and, while it looks ethereal, it's actually very physical. It just uses invisibility, much like a Bloodsucker in Heart of Chornobyl. However, Bloodsuckers appear just as they attack, giving themselves away, and they don't throw objects. Also you'll generally only find poltergeists inside, while Bloodsuckers tend to appear more out in the open.

When you start getting attacked in STALKER 2, immediately keep moving to avoid taking damage. If you do see an object start to float, try to break line of sight with it, as otherwise it will just launch straight at you. While moving, listen for a strange fizzing noise or the occasional animal noise, as that should lead you to the poltergeist if you can't initially see it.

Once you find the glowing shape, unload whatever STALKER 2 weapon you have into it and it will throw up a rubble shield to protect itself before running away. The trick to defeating the poltergeist is to stay on it and repeat this process – it can take a while, but if you keep on the smokey shape and shoot it at every chance you get then you'll eventually kill the poltergeist and reveal its ugly-ass, non-invisible form:

STALKER 2 poltergeist dead — (Image credit: GSC Game World)

Once it's dead, you'll stop being attacked and will be free to go about whatever you were trying to do before boxes started killing you. Electric and Fire poltergeists can be dealt with in much the same way, but use their respective elements to attack you and, as a result, they can be much more dangerous to deal with.

It's enemies like this that mean you really want to make sure you repair broken guns in STALKER 2 when you can, as a weapon failure at the wrong time can easily get you killed.