- For daily objectives such as killing infecteds, see daily challenge.
Side missions, also known as side quests, are optional tasks which, once activated, have their objectives marked "[Optional]" in-game. They are issued by characters occupying constant locations in some of the zones. At a given time, each of those characters can be present or absent, typically through an entire day, but see "Available quests" for the details.
Side missions must be completed in the map they were assigned in. If you leave the map (or even log out, crash out etc) the mission's progress will be forgotten when you return, and it will have to be started over from scratch. If a quest requires you to salvage a resource, it's the action that counts: you don't need to have space in your resource pocket to actually retain the resource, you just need to successfully salvage enough. On the same token, having the resource stored up beforehand won't count (but may enable you to craft items to disassemble, like in the case of tools). Trading the resource obviously won't count either, because the missions would then be completable with any amount traded back and forth enough.
Kill tally missions count the input of all the members of your group, even if they're in different zones (towns). If the groupmates jointly kill an infected, it counts the amount of times there were participants from the group close enough. Bear in mind that tally missions will be completed faster if you take advantage of the respawning principle.
Available quests[]
Every day at 3 am UTC, side quests are reset, and random ones are chosen by the server to be available for the day. If a zone gets crowded out, the forming variant may have different side quest characters available than the main variant. Also, if the last remaining variant of a zone is abandoned by all players, the newly forming variant may have different characters than before, leading to inaccuracies in the tracker markings. Since there are scheduled reboots in the game, on certain days this is a constant feature.
There is logically one server running the game nowadays, so regardless of settings all players will be in the same situation.
Side quests tracker link: Tracker
The easiest way to tell if a zone has an active side mission is to use a 
compass. When used, the compass will show what direction the NPC is located in, and if no NPC exists, nothing will happen (which indicates it's not active).
List[]
Sacramento Suburbs[]
Ignore the code he tells you, it's not needed. Head north into the fenced area (recommended to bring a friend) and click the table with the computer on it in the top left of the building.
Zombies will occasionally drop 
rope or 
wooden planks (mostly rope). Pick up any 
Guitars you find, as they give both wood and rope. There are some set rope locations nearby: one is to the west, north of Emett's side quest building. Another is to the north- east, in the house south of the pool, next to a desk (there is also a guitar in this house). There is also a rope along the northeast of the pond by Amber. Another rope can be found right beside one of the broken-down cars (Dodge Challenger) by the BiBi-Too Café (which is west of the gas station). One more is north of the Bibi-Too Cafe by a trashcan. A further one is in the north-western part of the parking lot north of the gas station.
Infecteds occasionally drop 
Biscuits, which have a low chance to give chocolate. It is advised to find other chocolate giving sources such as 
strawberry cake and 
chocolate boxes, both of which can be found in vending machines as well as some set locations (it's worth leaving the area to find it and then restarting the quest when you have good chocolate giving items). Go north past Tiscornia park and northwest to the memorial statue. Talk to Sophie.
You can find pitchforks in the barn, or dropped from infecteds. You can also find farmer infecteds in the area.
Infecteds will commonly drop 
Lighters (1 fuel), and occasionally drop 
Gas bottles (5 fuel). You can also find fuel, above the gas station, to the right of the gas station, and a gas tank near the entrance to the terrace gardens secret passage.
Bodega Bay[]
Go north through the wrecked house, and take a picture. Next, follow the path east past the wrecked house and take another picture. Continue east and take another picture. Return to Abbi; she is just nearby.
Tasers can be found in green loot bags, or
Game console can be found in the house to the north of farm
Best way to do the quest is to bring 2 
Candy dispensers or 10 fruit Juices. There's one candy dispenser in the playground right near the NPC. Juice and fruit are alternative sources of sugar.
- Juice can be found in vending machines and as mob drops while doing this quest. Check the convenience store for vending machines, it's east of spawn, just below the Farm Secret Passage, where Gabriella Campbell is located.
There are four bats to be collected. Infecteds nowadays will only drop bats eagerly (green quest bags) if you already are operating one, so bring your own or find one of these:
The first two are in the houses across the street (to the north) from the one with the pool north of the spawn. One in the bedroom with the parked rockets painting in the south of the western house, and the other in the fenced yard in the north of the eastern house (the one that had the dog blanket).
The third one is at the north-eastern corner of the staff building at the Havocked Pier (buoy area).
The fourth one is at the One-Way Shore (the eastern stretch of the White Clam Beach, by a backpack just west of the grotto.
A good place to gather resources in the north, across the river. In the workshop building.
Downtown Santa Rosa[]
Go to the building to the south east (and the surrounding area) and search for 3 antibiotics (it can also be dropped by medical infecteds). Return them to Sylvia.
Mazon College[]
Follow the south-east path until you reach a dorm building on the east edge of the map (entrance is on the north west side) and travel to the south west corner room, search the dresser for pet food, and feed the hamster. Go to the east side of the building and exit out the hole in the wall and talk to Glenn.
Sunset Mall[]
Along the way to the casino in the Egon search quest, there is a golf course (to the west of the casino). Search for golf balls scattered in this area. Return to John, who has moved into a building at the southern end of the golf course.
You can grab the 
air conditioning unit right next to her for a cold based weapon. 
Ice machines will also start appearing frequently in containers should you need another weapon with cold damage. Find another one in fancy restaurant east of the cinema and if needed grab ice machine from the diner west of the cinema.
Grab a golf club in / near the gold course, and kill 10 infecteds in the area south of Jack, and then kill 10 more in both the north and south-east sections of the golf course.
The best source for 
components is 
Screens but 
Remote controls will start appearing frequently, electricity can be salvaged from all kinds of battery items (especially 
Laptop battery), and the best source of metal is probably finding an 
Industrial metal piece (there's a set location for one in construction area). You can find both electronics and batteries in the room NE0 is in, but if you need more you can check out the cyber cafe south west of the pool area and south of the super market entrance (the one that connects to the SP - Freezer).
Walker River[]
Note: There is a 
bike to the north west of the campfire for easily leaving the map.
You can find 2 camera in the building she's in. Normal zombies also have a chance to give cameras as a quest drop (green loot bag).
You can find a Lighter on a picnic bench near the motel and another in the north western most motel room if you need a fire damaging weapon.
Infecteds have a high chance to drop one during the quest, keep an eye out for a green loot bag!
There is plenty of fuel in the gas station just northeast of this area. Go southeast of the gas station by the Motel, you'll find him fixing the brown van.
While on this quest, infected will have a chance to drop crab, which can be salvaged for a chance to get salt, and you can also fish in the nearby fishing spots for various fish. Talk to him again when done.
Arizona Jurassic Museum[]
Go northwest past the greenhouse to his house to kill 20 infecteds. Go back and talk to Dr. E. Pollick. Afterwards, go back towards the bike, down the slope and northeast to the water tank to inspect it (Alternatively, southwest to the museum and swing around to the north end) and pick up the 
Water bottle box. Return to Pollick.
Infected rarely drop tools for you, so scavenge in the railway secret passage and around the map. You must salvage the tools after the quest has begun or it does not count. Talk to Joshua when you are done. Go to the front of the museum into the toy shop, and take a dinosaur plush. This time killing infected will drop green bags containing them. Return to Joshua. He won't take your 
tools, but he will take a 
Dinosaur plush.
After speaking to her, you first you have to read the diary next to her and then she requests 10 Fish and 5 Meat. Infected will now drop 
gudgeons and 
chicken sandwichs more often. Collect the resources this way takes a lot of stamina and time. Alternatively the surrounding buildings can be searched, especially the Diner in the West. Now return to Tasha.
Note that the voltmeter quest item does not deal electric damage and you'll have to find some other way to deal electric damage. Best bring a taser for this quest, or if someone else already completed the quest, ask to borrow their taser. Microwaves deal electrical damage as well if you can find one.
Infected will drop scrubs and shovels to use. The infected within the excavation site are a higher difficulty than most typical infected.
