Upon leaving the vault at the beginning of Fallout 76, players should first and foremost look for side quests to start immediately in their adventures as a new Wastelander. With so many threats lurking about and with such little on your back, progressing quests early on will help you make allies quickly and obtain useful weapons, gear, and other necessary items to help you survive.
Aside from survival, side quests are also a great way to earn lots of XP, allowing you to swiftly level up to use better weapons and armor and take on tougher enemies. With all the building and crafting potential in Fallout 76, many quests are essential to complete to gain access to particular building abilities. Follow the list below for the five best side quests to do first.
Related
Fallout 76: Over And Out Quest Guide (Paladin Rahmani or Shin?)
When progressing the 'Over and Out' quest in Fallout 76, players must choose between two Brotherhood Knights to side with, Paladin Rahmani, or Shin.
5 Home Expansion
Obtain & Build Shelters
One of the best side quests worth pursuing first is 'Home Expansion' as part of Fallout 76's free Steel Dawn update. This side quest is crucial as it allows players to use the Shelters feature as an expansion to the C.A.M.P. system. Shelters provide players with interior spaces that can be decorated and modified to their heart's content, giving you your very own customizable vault in a way.
The only way to obtain this feature is to come across and view a Shelters Camp Claim Center poster, which will then lead you to the Shelters Claim Center, located west of Vault 51's entrance. If you haven't found the poster anywhere, you can always go straight to Vault 51 to find the center in the Forest region of Appalachia.
Upon your arrival, speak to a Mister Handy robot in Fallout 76 named Mr. Clark inside the center, who will then give you direct access to the building feature. To complete the quest and officially unlock Shelters, you must access the nearby terminal to register yourself as a Shelter owner, navigating to the following tabs: Shelter Owner Registration > System Register New Owner.
Upon registering, you will be able to instantly build Shelters and receive all the features to start building your dream home, as shown in the table below:
Quest Rewards | Items |
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4 The Order of the Tadpole
Become A Pioneer Scout & Earn Badges For Rewards
As part of the Wild Appalachia update, 'The Order of the Tadpole' is a unique side quest in Fallout 76 that allows players to demonstrate good community behavior to earn badges and become a Pioneer Scout. Unsurprisingly, in the wasteland, everyone only looks out for themselves, not the Pioneers.
This thriving community allows players to be heroes and gain many useful rewards, including 800 XP, 200 Caps, and Pioneer Scout-related crafting items and plans. This even includes a Tadpole backpack and a random legendary armor drop.
To start this quest, players must head to the Pioneer Scout camp in the Toxic Valley, situated along the shoreline of Grafton Lake. You must speak to Scout Leader Jaggy, who recruits new members to become Tadpole Scouts. He is found near the building with the knowledge exam terminals.
There are three main tasks that players must complete to earn these items in Fallout 76 and earn their reputation as a Pioneer Scout. Upon completing all tasks and daily quests shown in the table below, you can return to Scout Leader Jaggy and officially become a Pioneer Scout:
Pioneer Scout Tasks | Daily Quest | Description |
Demonstrate Hopefulness: Clean Up Kiddie Corner Cabins | Complete Operation Tidy |
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Demonstrate Bravery: Control Pests at Dolly Sods | Complete Stings and Things |
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Demonstrate Growth: Earn 3 Pioneer Scout Badges | x3 Tadpole Badges must be collected | The complete list can be found in the Challenge section under 'World' in the main menu. |
3 An Organic Solution
Gain Anti-Radiation Meds
When starting your adventure in the Wasteland, you'll likely have a limited supply of Chems in Fallout 76. This is especially problematic. Radioactive land surrounds you, and Rad-X and RadAway aren't always enough to keep you well-protected due to their short buffs.
'An Organic Solution' is one of the best side quests to prioritize first, as you will be rewarded with Radshield, a consumable item that provides +300 Rad Resistance for 15 minutes. This is one of the best meds to use in Fallout 76, especially when swimming through contaminated water or exploring Blast Zones for special items, where radiation is particularly rife.
Moreover, completing this quest also gives you the crafting recipe for RadShield, so even though it's a one-time consumable item, you can gather the necessary materials to craft it whenever you like, giving you a huge advantage in your early gameplay.
Quest Rewards | Items |
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The 'Organic Solution' quest can be picked up by stumbling across Ella Ames' research at Southhampton Estate on the second floor, which is picked up from Ella's corpse. Upon exploring Ella Ames' bunker, make sure to hack the terminal in Fallout 76 to officially start the mission.
The quest tasks players with crafting RadShield using a Chems Workbench after they go on a scavenging hunt to collect many unique ingredients.
Related
To get the Foundry Smelter Plan in Fallout 76, players can win it from Daily Ops or buy it from Minerva, to build the smelter at their CAMP base.
2 Cold Case
Gain A Level-Scaling Weapon
The 'Cold Case' side quest is one of the best ones to complete first, as it provides players with a weapon in Fallout 76 useful for early gameplay that could last you well into the late-game stages. Perhaps the greatest thing about Perfect Storm is that the weapon's level varies, depending on the level of the player at the time of quest completion.
This could be a good or bad thing, depending on your perspective. While players may wish to hold off this quest for later so that the weapon's level is higher later on, you can always complete this as early as possible since it will always be compatible with you.
If you're desperate for a good firearm, this is one of the best quests to progress as it guarantees one you can use immediately. For those who do wish to wait, its peak level is Level 50, which will take players a while to reach.
As it is a fairly long quest, follow GamerPiller's demonstrated walkthrough to see how it plays out. To initiate this quest, players must find Miss Annie, a Miss Nanny robot operating at Way Willard's Water Park. Alternatively, it can be picked up at Clarkburg, Grafton Dam, and Woods Estate, making it extremely convenient for starters who haven't explored the entire map yet.
Perfect Storm Features | Weapon Stats |
Type/Class | Ranged Automatic Rifle |
Legendary Effects | Incendiary |
Level | 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 |
Damage |
|
Ammo | 10mm round (Ultracite) |
Magazine Size | 30 |
Fire Rate | 91 |
Range | 120 |
Accuracy | 60 |
AP Cost | 28 |
It has some really useful features, with a common ammo type available all over the wasteland, making it a convenient and reliable weapon. Moreover, rifles are some of the best weapons in Fallout 76, and can be modded with some extremely useful and compatible Perks such as Bloody Mess, Gunsmith, and Quick Hands, to make it stronger.
Additionally, it is the only weapon that uses the Tier 4 legendary effect, Incendiary, which deals 24 Fire damage over 3 seconds to the target. Inflicting a damage-over-time status effect will make you a formidable survivor and combatant in the wasteland.
Aside from Perfect Storm, players will receive 75 XP in Fallout 76 and 95 Caps and randomized aid items, ammo types, and plans.
1 Order Of Mysteries
Complete Multi-quests To Join A Faction
One of the most important steps is finding a faction in Fallout 76 to join. Having allies is a necessity for survival in the apocalyptic wasteland, providing you with trustworthy NPCs who you can go to and trade with, and they also provide you with engaging story-driven missions for a richer Fallout experience.
Among the most intriguing factions to join is the Order of Mysteries, which provides players with the first multi-series quest to complete, allowing you to align yourself with them. As it is a fairly long series of side quests, it's crucial to go for these first, as it may take you some time to complete them throughout your gameplay.
Lester Fields on YouTube provides a series of all Order of Mysteries quests in order and how to complete each one to obtain your rewards and eventually join the faction.
Order of Mysteries Quests | Rewards |
Into the Mystery |
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Initiate of Mysteries |
|
Novice of Mysteries |
|
Seeker of Mysteries |
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The Mistress of Mystery |
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The very first side quest to begin your relations with the faction is named 'Into The Mystery', which is picked up at Tygart Wastewater Treatment Plant, in the Forest region of Appalachia. In this region, find the corpse of a young woman who was once a member of the Order of Mysteries. This will lead you to visit Riverside Manor, the base of the faction located in the same region, south of the Charleston Capitol Building.
Aside from a host of great rewards as shown in the table, each individual side quest rewards players with 250 XP and 70 Bottle Caps in Fallout 76, totaling 1250 XP and 350 Caps, allowing players to level up fast and purchase lots of goods from vendors.
Source: GamerPiller/YouTube, Lester Fields/YouTube
Fallout 76
Action
RPG
Systems
- Top Critic Rating:54/100 Critics Recommend:9%
- Franchise
- Fallout
- Platform(s)
- PC , PS4 , Xbox One
- Released
- November 14, 2018
- Developer(s)
- Bethesda
- Publisher(s)
- Bethesda
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Engine
- Creation
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol
- How Long To Beat
- 34 Hours
- X|S Enhanced
- No
- File Size Xbox Series
- 97 GB (May 2024)
- Metascore
- 53
- PS Plus Availability
- Extra & Premium
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- yes
- Cross Save
- no
- Cross-Platform Play
- no
