In V3.0, aka Dead Hot Summer, the actual content of the quests hasn’t been dramatically overhauled, but the onboarding path for people who have just started the game and the quests that send you back and forth between traders have been quietly tidied up. For normal play, it just feels like “it’s a bit harder to get lost,” but there is one thing sandbox players should watch out for.
The Starting Quest Is Now Clearer
In V3.0, the first quest you complete when the game begins (the introductory quest as a citizen of White River) is now treated as the official “starting point.” There has always been an introductory quest, but this time it is properly positioned as the origin of the opening flow.
For new players, this means “what to do first” is easier to follow than before. You can expect fewer cases of players slipping through the cracks of the tutorial-like flow.
POI (Building) Clearing Quest Targets Have Been Organized
For the POI-type quests where you clear out towns and facilities, the way targets are narrowed down has been internally reorganized. The way it plays likely won’t change much, but this is an adjustment in the direction of quest destinations being selected more consistently. As for any concrete difference you might feel, it’s best to actually play and see how it goes (we can’t say for certain).
Conditions Added to Trader-to-Trader Quests
The travel quests where a trader tells you to “go visit the next trader over there” now have conditions attached to whether they appear. Having finished the introductory quest, and having the relevant setting enabled, are now prerequisites.
As long as you’re playing through normally, they unlock naturally, so there’s no problem. However, if you’re playing in sandbox or with custom settings and have the trader-to-trader quest setting turned off, these quests may stop appearing. If you’re aiming to make the rounds of traders, it’s worth double-checking your settings once when you start the game to be safe.
All in all, V3.0’s quest changes are an update that “cleans up the early-game guidance.” The newer you are to the game, the more you’ll feel the benefit, while the impact on existing players is very slight. Just remember that the only real thing to worry about is sandbox players checking their settings.
Related: List of V3.0 Articles