Side Quests

Complete side quests in Dying Light 2 Stay Human to gain lore, rewards, and experience, helping you unlock blueprints and understand Villedor.

Side quests in Dying Light 2 Stay Human are your primary source of additional lore, unique rewards, and substantial experience points outside of the main story. They are crucial for character progression, unlocking valuable blueprints, and deepening your understanding of Villedor's inhabitants and their struggles. Always keep an eye out for yellow exclamation marks on your map and compass, as these indicate available side quests.

Types of Side Quests & Strategic Approaches

Side quests vary greatly in scope and complexity. Understanding their types can help you prioritize and approach them effectively:

• Fetch Quests: Simple tasks requiring you to retrieve specific items from designated locations.
  • Strategy: Ideal for quick XP boosts or when you need to gather specific crafting materials. Often located near your current objective, making them efficient to complete on the way. Use these to test new parkour routes or traversal tools.
• Combat Challenges: Missions focused on eliminating specific infected or human enemies, often in challenging scenarios.
  • Strategy: Excellent for testing new weapons, gear, and combat skills. Prioritize these if you're looking to gain combat XP or acquire rare enemy drops. Consider bringing a co-op partner for tougher encounters.
• Exploration Missions: Quests that guide you to new areas, often revealing hidden secrets, valuable loot, or unlocking new safe zones.
  • Strategy: Tackle these when you want to discover more of Villedor's map, find inhibitors, or uncover hidden collectibles. They often lead to unique vantage points or lore-rich locations.
• Narrative Arcs: Multi-part quests that delve deep into the stories of specific NPCs, offering significant character development and often leading to unique rewards.
  • Strategy: Prioritize these for deep lore immersion and character building. The rewards are often unique and impactful, such as powerful weapon blueprints or unique gear. These are often time-consuming but highly rewarding.
• Faction-Specific Quests: Missions offered by either the Survivors or Peacekeepers, which can influence your standing with them and unlock faction-specific gear and facilities.
  • Strategy: Crucial for tailoring Villedor to your preferred playstyle. Complete these to gain reputation, unlock faction-specific facilities (like ziplines for Survivors or traps for Peacekeepers), and access unique vendor inventories.

Key Side Quests and Their Importance

While an exhaustive list of every side quest is beyond the scope of this section, here are some notable examples and categories that highlight their value and provide detailed guidance:

The Deserter

This quest introduces you to a former Peacekeeper grappling with his past and searching for his family. It's a poignant narrative that explores the human cost of the conflict in Villedor and offers a glimpse into the moral ambiguities of Villedor's factions.

• Starting NPC: Julian (Found in the Bazaar in Old Villedor after completing the main quest "The Only Way Out").
• Walkthrough:
  1. Initiate Quest: Speak to Julian, who is usually found near the entrance of the Bazaar, looking distraught. He'll confide in you about his past as a Peacekeeper and his desperate search for his missing family.
  2. First Clue - Apartment Building: Head to the marked location on your map, a dilapidated apartment building in Old Villedor. Be prepared for a few standard Infected (Biters, Virals) inside. You'll need to navigate through debris and broken floors. Look for a specific note or a child's drawing on a table or wall, which will update your objective.
  3. Tracking the Trail: The clue will lead you to a new marked location, often a Dark Zone or a small bandit camp. For instance, you might be directed to a specific abandoned GRE trailer or a rooftop hideout.
  4. Confrontation/Discovery: Upon reaching the second location, you might encounter a small group of bandits who have taken shelter there, or a more aggressive group of Infected (e.g., a Howler attracting Virals). Clear the area. Inside, you will find another piece of evidence, such as a bloodstained teddy bear or a discarded Peacekeeper uniform, indicating the family's fate or next destination.
  5. Final Location & Resolution: The final marker will often lead you to a more remote or dangerous area, perhaps a small cave system or a heavily infected ruin. Here, you'll discover the tragic truth about Julian's family. The specific outcome can vary slightly based on minor choices or environmental factors, but it generally involves a somber discovery.
  6. Report Back: Return to Julian in the Bazaar. You'll have a dialogue choice on how to deliver the news. Your choice can slightly affect his demeanor but not the quest outcome.
• Rewards:
  • Experience: Significant Combat and Parkour XP.
  • Crafting Materials: Rare Infected Trophies (Uncommon/Rare), Scraps, and sometimes Military Tech.
  • Gear: A random rare weapon (e.g., a unique two-handed axe or a fast one-handed sword) or a piece of armor.
  • Reputation: Minor reputation gain with Survivors.

The First Biomarker

A challenging quest that tests your combat prowess against a particularly dangerous infected. This quest is a good indicator of your gear and skill progression, often requiring careful preparation and tactical thinking.

• Starting NPC: McGregor (Found in the Central Loop, often near a safe zone or survivor settlement, typically after you've unlocked the Central Loop area).
• Walkthrough:
  1. Accept Quest: Speak to McGregor, a grizzled survivor who needs a rare biomarker from a specific, highly dangerous Infected for research or a desperate cure attempt. He will provide you with the general location.
  2. Locate the Target Zone: Travel to the designated Dark Zone or Infected Nest. These are often abandoned hospitals, metro tunnels, or large, multi-story buildings. The quest marker will guide you to the entrance.
  3. Infiltrate and Prepare: Inside the target zone, you'll likely encounter numerous standard Infected. Clear a path or stealthily bypass them to reach the specific area where the unique Infected resides. Before engaging, ensure you have full health, stamina, and your best weapons equipped. Place UV flares if it's a dark zone.
  4. Engage the Unique Infected: The target is often a more powerful variant of an existing Infected, such as a 'Alpha Volatile', a 'Mutated Goon', or a 'Screamer Matriarch'.
     • Strategy Tip: For Volatiles, use UV light to stun them, then heavy melee attacks. For Goons, target their exposed back after dodging their slow swings. For Screamers, prioritize taking out the smaller Infected they summon before focusing on the main target. Utilize environmental hazards like spikes, explosive barrels, or high ledges for drop attacks. Keep moving and manage your stamina.
     • Recommended Loadout: High-damage two-handed weapon, a fast one-handed weapon for quick dodges, plenty of healing items (Medkits, Immunity Boosters), UV Bars, and Molotovs or Throwing Knives for ranged damage.
  5. Extract Biomarker: Once the unique Infected is defeated, approach its remains and interact to extract the biomarker. This usually involves a brief animation.
  6. Return to McGregor: Head back to McGregor to deliver the biomarker and complete the quest.
• Rewards:
  • Experience: Substantial Combat and Parkour XP.
  • Crafting Components: Several Rare or Unique Infected Trophies, Military Tech, and potentially a specific rare component needed for high-tier crafting.
  • Blueprint: Often a unique weapon blueprint (e.g., "Volatile Axe Blueprint" or "Biomarker Knife Blueprint") or a powerful mod blueprint.
  • Money: A significant amount of Old World Money.

The Broadcast (Side Quest)

Important Note: This is a distinct side quest and should not be confused with the main story quest titled "Broadcast". This side quest involves helping a specific Survivor NPC establish a local radio broadcast, often to connect with lost loved ones or coordinate efforts against the infected, highlighting the importance of communication in a broken world.

• Starting NPC: Lena (Often found in a Survivor settlement in the Central Loop, typically after you've progressed through the main story in that area and established a few safe zones).
• Walkthrough:
  1. Initiate Quest: Speak to Lena, who is attempting to set up a makeshift broadcast station but lacks crucial components due to scavenging difficulties. She'll explain her goal of reaching out to other survivors.
  2. Component Retrieval - First Location: She will ask you to retrieve specific parts from a nearby GRE anomaly or a bandit-controlled area. For example, she might need "High-Frequency Transistors" from an abandoned GRE facility. Navigate to the marked location, clear out any threats (usually a mix of Infected and a few bandits), and locate the specific item in a lootable container or on a workbench.
  3. Component Retrieval - Second Location: Lena will then realize she needs another part, perhaps a "Power Converter" from a different, more challenging location like a Dark Hollow or a rooftop guarded by Renegades. This often involves more complex parkour or a tougher combat encounter.
  4. Return Components: Bring both sets of components back to Lena. She will begin assembling the broadcast equipment.
  5. Activate the Broadcast: Lena will then ask you to activate the broadcast from a nearby rooftop or antenna, requiring some precise parkour to reach the highest point. Interact with the antenna to send out the signal.
  6. Report Back & Listen: Return to Lena. She will be monitoring the frequency. You'll hear a faint, hopeful response over the radio, signifying the success of your efforts.
• Rewards:
  • Experience: Good Parkour and Combat XP.
  • Crafting Parts: Unique crafting parts related to electronics (e.g., "Advanced Circuitry"), Scraps, and sometimes a few Uncommon Infected Trophies.
  • Faction Reputation: A noticeable amount of faction reputation with the Survivors, contributing to unlocking their facilities.
  • Consumables: A few Immunity Boosters or UV Bars.

Water Towers & Electrical Stations: Strategic Optional Objectives

While some Water Towers and Electrical Stations are integrated into the main questline, many are entirely optional. However, dismissing them as merely "optional" would be a significant oversight. These facilities are critical for faction control and unlocking essential facilities throughout Villedor, profoundly impacting your gameplay experience.

• Purpose: Activating these facilities allows you to assign them to either the Survivors or the Peacekeepers. This choice directly influences the infrastructure and benefits available in the surrounding district.
• Faction Benefits:
  • Survivors: Assigning facilities to Survivors often leads to more parkour-friendly environments (e.g., ziplines, air vents, landing bags) and access to unique crafting blueprints for consumables and tools (e.g., healing items, lockpicks, decoys). Their safe zones are generally more focused on shelter and resource gathering.
  • Peacekeepers: Assigning facilities to Peacekeepers provides more combat-oriented environmental traps (e.g., car bombs, electric fences, crossbow turrets) and access to powerful weapon blueprints and gear (e.g., high-damage melee weapons, crossbow bolts). Their safe zones often include weapon stashes and guard posts.
• Unlocking Facilities: Each activated facility contributes to a region's overall faction control. Reaching certain thresholds (e.g., 2 facilities for a faction in a district) unlocks new safe zones, shops, and unique faction rewards in that area. These rewards are permanent and significantly enhance your capabilities.
• Strategic Importance: Carefully consider your faction allegiance and desired playstyle when deciding who to assign these facilities to. Your choices have a tangible impact on the game world, your available resources, and the ease of traversal or combat in specific areas. You cannot reassign a facility once a choice is made.
• Walkthrough (General):
  1. Locate Facility: Find an unassigned Water Tower or Electrical Station (marked with a blue icon on your map).
  2. Approach and Infiltrate: Navigate to the facility, which often requires challenging parkour sequences to reach the entrance or clearing out a perimeter of Infected/bandits.
  3. Solve Environmental Puzzle: Inside, you'll need to solve an environmental puzzle to activate the facility.
     • Water Towers: Typically involve climbing to the top, navigating through pipes, and turning valves in a specific sequence to restore water flow.
     • Electrical Stations: Usually require routing power by connecting cables between generators and junction boxes, often under a time limit or while dealing with Infected.
  4. Assign Faction: Once the facility is operational, approach the main control panel. You will be prompted to choose whether to assign it to the Survivors or the Peacekeepers. Confirm your choice carefully.

General Tips for Side Quests

• Explore Thoroughly: Many side quests are found by simply exploring settlements and talking to NPCs, not just by looking at the map. Listen to conversations, check notice boards, and revisit areas as the story progresses.
• Check Your Journal: Your quest journal (accessible via the pause menu) provides detailed information on active quests, including objectives, current progress, and sometimes hints. Use it to keep track of multi-part quests.
• Prioritize Rewards: If you're looking for specific gear, blueprints, or a particular type of crafting material, research which side quests offer them. Some quests are essential for unlocking advanced crafting recipes.
• Don't Rush: Some side quests have multiple parts and can take you across different regions. Enjoy the journey, the stories they tell, and the opportunities for exploration and combat they provide.
• Co-op Advantage: Many challenging side quests, especially those involving strong Infected or large bandit camps, are significantly easier and more enjoyable with a co-op partner. Shared rewards and combined strategies can turn a difficult encounter into a breeze.
• Night Quests: Some side quests are only available or can only be completed at night. These often offer increased XP and unique challenges, but also higher risks due to more aggressive Infected.
• Missable Quests: Be aware that some side quests can become unavailable if you progress too far in the main story or make certain faction choices. If you're a completionist, try to clear side quests in an area before moving on to major story beats.

Compare side quests inAnthem