Upon leaving the vault at the beginning ofFallout 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 inFallout 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.

Fallout 76 Steel reign story ending between Paladin Rahmani and Shin.

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.

5Home Expansion

Obtain & Build Shelters

One of the best side quests worth pursuing first is’Home Expansion’as part ofFallout 76’s freeSteel Dawnupdate. This side quest is crucial as it allows players touse 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.

Player picking up ‘The Order of the Tadpole Quest’ from a Mister Handy robot named Scout Leader Jaggy in Fallout 76

Upon your arrival, speak to a Mister Handyrobot inFallout76namedMr. 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 toinstantly build Sheltersand receive all the features to start building your dream home, as shown in the table below:

A character with Foundry Smelter from Fallout 76.

4The Order of the Tadpole

Become A Pioneer Scout & Earn Badges For Rewards

As part of theWild Appalachiaupdate, ‘The Order of the Tadpole’ is a uniqueside quest inFallout 76that allows players todemonstrate good community behavior to earn badgesand 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, including800 XP, 200 Caps, and Pioneer Scout-related crafting items and plans. This even includes a Tadpole backpack and a random legendary armor drop.

mixcollage-07-dec-2024-07-26-pm-397-1.jpg

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 arethree main tasks that players must completeto earn theseitems inFallout 76and 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:

Complete Stings and Things

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.

3An Organic Solution

Gain Anti-Radiation Meds

When starting your adventure in the Wasteland, you’ll likely have a limited supply ofChems inFallout76.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 inFallout 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 may gather the necessary materials to craft it whenever you like, giving you a huge advantage in your early gameplay.

Items

The ‘Organic Solution’ quest can be picked up by stumbling acrossElla Ames’ research at Southhampton Estate on the second floor, which is picked up from Ella’s corpse. Upon exploring Ella Ames' bunker, make sure tohack the terminal inFallout 76to 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.

Fallout 76: How To Get & Use The Foundry Smelter Plan

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.

2Cold 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 aweapon inFallout 76useful for early gameplay that could last you well into the late-game stages. Perhaps thegreatest 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’re able to always complete this as early as possible since it willalways 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 may 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, followGamerPiller’s demonstrated walkthrough to see how it plays out. To initiate this quest, players must findMiss 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.

10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50

10mm round (Ultracite)

30

91

120

60

AP Cost

28

It has some really useful features, with acommon ammo type available all over the wasteland, making it a convenient and reliable weapon. Moreover, rifles are some of thebest weapons inFallout 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 deals24 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 75XP inFallout76and 95 Caps and randomized aid items, ammo types, and plans.

1Order Of Mysteries

Complete Multi-quests To Join A Faction

One of the most important steps is finding afaction inFallout 76to join. Havingallies is a necessity for survivalin the apocalyptic wasteland, providing you with trustworthy NPCs who you may go to and trade with, and they also provide you with engaging story-driven missions for a richerFalloutexperience.

Among the most intriguing factions to join is the Order of Mysteries, which provides players with the firstmulti-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 Fieldson 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.

The Mistress of Mystery

The very first side quest to begin your relations with the faction is named’Into The Mystery', which ispicked 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 70Bottle Caps inFallout 76, totaling 1250 XP and 350 Caps, allowing players to level up fast and purchase lots of goods from vendors.