[V3.0] What Is the Task Board? The New "Errand Requests" You Can Take at Traders

Starting with V3.0 “Dead Hot Summer,” a new bulletin board called the Task Board has appeared at trader outposts. It’s a system, separate from the usual quests, that lets you take on small “barter errands.” To put it simply, you can think of it as a casual extra source of income where you just bring in items you’ve gathered through everyday exploring and scavenging, and get a reward.

How does it work?

On the Task Board, the residents of a trader outpost post small requests along the lines of “deliver these specific items and I’ll give you this item as thanks.” For example, bring in some wood and trade it for mechanical parts—that kind of thing.

The ones making these requests are familiar faces and newcomers alike, such as Trader Jen, Crazy Jake, Carl Bobby, and Ned Wyoming. The lineup and how often they show up seem to vary by outpost, so you can expect to see different requests at each one you stop by. Requests also have ranks, like difficulty levels, and the items demanded and the amount of the reward vary as well.

Benefits for players

• Your items on hand turn into rewards: You can trade materials that piled up while exploring for items you actually want. It also seems well suited for putting stuff to use while tidying up your storage.
• Separate from regular quests: Unlike traditional quests centered on combat and clearing out locations, these focus on deliveries, so they’re easy to tackle even for players who aren’t good at fighting.
• Makes touring outposts more fun: Since the requests differ from outpost to outpost, it gives you a reason to make the rounds of various traders.

Points to watch out for

Requests appear to have a time limit, so once you take one, it’s safer to finish the delivery sooner rather than later (we won’t make definitive claims about the exact time-limit mechanics here, as that depends on future testing). Also, since the items demanded and the amount of the reward have a random range each time, you won’t always get the same reward.

For starters, stop by a nearby trader and take a peek at what kinds of requests are posted on the board. The items you’ve steadily gathered might just turn into an unexpected reward.