Outer Worlds 2: In Pursuit of Purloined Propaganda Quest Guide

“In Pursuit of Purloined Propaganda” is one of The Outer Worlds 2’s more memorable side quests, asking you to scour Paradise Island on Eden for a scattered collection of Science Adventures Quarterly magazines. While the objective is simple—find all 10 issues—the open layout of the island and the number of locations can make the hunt time-consuming if you do not plan your route.

This guide walks you through how to start the quest, the most efficient order to pick up each magazine, and the rewards you will earn along the way, all while keeping narrative spoilers to a minimum.

Quest Overview

“In Pursuit of Purloined Propaganda” is a collectible-driven side quest focused on exploration and light environmental navigation rather than combat or dialogue checks. You will spend most of your time roaming Paradise Island, checking shacks, docks, and towers for brightly colored magazines. The quest is tied to the character Redactor Quesnel, a corporate functionary obsessed with gathering every last piece of company-approved reading material.

How to Start In Pursuit of Purloined Propaganda

You can technically begin the quest in one of two ways: by stumbling across one of the magazines or by speaking directly to Redactor Quesnel. In practice, most players will pick up at least one issue naturally while exploring before they ever meet the quest giver.

Reaching Paradise Island

The quest takes place entirely on Paradise Island, a coastal region on the planet Eden. You will usually gain access as part of the main storyline, but it is easy to get sidetracked by side content once you arrive. Before you commit to a full magazine sweep, make sure you:

• Unlock at least one fast travel point on the island, such as Fairfield or the Landing Pad.
• Stock up on ammo and healing supplies, as some locations have hostile wildlife or corporate troops.
• Consider bringing a companion whose abilities you use frequently—this will matter once you unlock the final perk reward.

Locating Redactor Quesnel

Redactor Quesnel resides in a modest house roughly halfway between Fairfield and the Ministry of Accuracy. She is usually found outside, busying herself with cleaning and corporate busywork. The house is easy to overlook if you sprint straight between objectives, so check the smaller homes in that corridor carefully.

Speaking to her after picking up your first magazine formally logs the quest in your journal. If you arrive before looting any issues, you can still accept the quest; your journal will then instruct you to begin finding the magazines scattered around the island.

Quest Structure and Progression

The quest unfolds in two main phases tied to how many magazines you have collected. You are free to grab the issues in any order, but the rewards are locked behind handing over specific totals.

Phase One: First Five Magazines

Once you present Quesnel with your first issue of Science Adventures Quarterly, she will request four more. You do not need to return after each find; instead, gather any four additional magazines and then speak to her again. After you hand over a total of five different issues, you earn your first reward, the Josephus Fielder pitchball card, plus some experience.

Phase Two: Completing the Set

After the initial set of five, Quesnel becomes determined to complete the entire run. She then asks you to recover the remaining five magazines. Once you have all 10 and turn them in, you receive the rest of the rewards, including a unique armor set and a powerful perk that affects your companions.

Recommended Route Across Paradise Island

Because the magazines are spread around the whole region, wandering at random can waste a lot of time. The list below groups locations according to proximity and suggests a loop that minimizes backtracking. The numbering is for route planning only; the in-game volumes are not tied to this order.

Early-Game Cluster: Ministry and Fairfield Area

If you begin near Fairfield or the Ministry of Accuracy, it makes sense to clear the northern and central inland locations first.

• Near the Ministry of Accuracy: One magazine can be found just north of the Ministry, outside a ruined or partially collapsed house. Expect at least one corporate soldier nearby.
• East of Fairfield: Another issue sits inside a house that overlooks the water, with the Landing Pad visible in the distance. This is often one of the earliest magazines players encounter.
• Farm Storage Building: West of a Vox Relay in the interior, check a fenced-off farm compound. Look for a storage building housing both the magazine and a modest stash of loot.

Westport and Surroundings

Westport, a settlement on the western side of Paradise Island, has several convenient stops. Once you fast travel or walk there, you can pick up multiple magazines in quick succession.

• Outskirts House in Westport: Look for a single-storey home on the edge of the town, often near areas where you fight local wildlife such as crables. The magazine rests on a bed or table inside.
• Across the River and Outdoor Prison: Head west from Westport and use debris and collapsed structures to cross the river, or access the area by traveling east from the Vox Relay to an outdoor prison complex. Ride an elevator down to reach another magazine in this section of the map.

Crabbing Tower and Southern Coast

The southern reaches of Paradise Island feature sweeping coastal views and a few isolated buildings. Planning a loop through this zone can scoop up several issues quickly.

• Crabbing Tower Office: Travel to the Crabbing Tower in the western coastal area. Climb the ladder at the back and enter the office at the top to find a magazine on a desk.
• Halfway House Toward Crabble Spawning Grounds: Moving from the Crabbing Tower toward the Crabble Spawning Grounds, you will pass a small house. The door may be jammed; an Engineering skill of at least 1 or the appropriate physical trait allows you to force it open. A magazine rests inside.
• Southernmost Dock Village: At the far south of the map, look for a house with a table on a porch overlooking the sea. A fisherman NPC often appears here. The magazine is on the table.

Northern Shoreline and Final Shack

Once you have cleared the interior and southern coast, swing back toward the northern shoreline to finish your collection.

• Dock North of Paradise Island Hub: On a dock north of the island’s central areas, check the tables for another copy of Science Adventures Quarterly.
• Northwestern Shack by the Sea: The last issue can often be found in a remote shack at the northwestern corner of the map, perched on the coast. Inside, you will see the magazine on a table beside a lantern.

Magazine Location Summary

If you prefer a concise overview, the table below summarizes each magazine’s general area and any notable details. Use it as a quick checklist while you sweep the island.

Quest Rewards and Why the Quest Is Worth Doing

Beyond the satisfaction of cleaning up a collectible list, In Pursuit of Purloined Propaganda offers rewards that meaningfully impact combat and movement, encouraging players to finish the entire run rather than stopping after the first few magazines.

Mid-Quest Reward: Josephus Fielder Pitchball Card

After turning in five magazines, Quesnel gives you a Josephus Fielder pitchball card. While this collectible is mostly for completionists and lore enthusiasts, the pitchball cards help flesh out the universe’s fictional sports culture and corporate sponsorships. If you enjoy tracking sets of collectibles, this card is one more reason to explore Eden thoroughly.

Final Reward: Townie Clothing (Unique Armor)

Once you return all 10 magazines, Quesnel rewards you with a unique armor piece often referred to as Townie Clothing. This outfit is more than a cosmetic reskin. It provides a strong mobility-focused stat line, including:

• +20% evasion chance – You are less likely to be hit, especially when combined with movement-heavy playstyles.
• +50% combat sprint speed – You can reposition rapidly, dodge incoming fire, and close gaps faster.
• Charge Repulsor mod effect – This mod lets you ignore incoming damage on a periodic timer (approximately every 15 seconds), giving you a safety buffer in chaotic fights.

Mobility and damage avoidance are powerful defensive tools in action-RPGs. Research on player performance in similar real-time games shows that players who improve positioning and evasion tend to survive longer and take less overall damage, even without massive health pools or armor values.¹ Gear that directly boosts these traits effectively increases your margin for error in combat.

Final Reward: Serial Fanatic Perk

Completing the full set also unlocks the Serial Fanatic perk, which reduces the charge time of companion abilities by around 15%. In practice, this means:

• You can trigger powerful companion specials more often in long encounters.
• Your party’s overall damage output and control options increase.
• You gain more flexibility to sync companion abilities with your own cooldowns.

Companion abilities are designed to provide burst damage or tactical advantages, and shortening their cooldown aligns with broader game design principles where lowering ability timers tends to increase the depth and pace of combat decision-making.² For players who lean on companions as core members of their build, this perk is an excellent payoff for a purely exploration-focused quest.

Tips for Efficient Completion

While the quest is straightforward, a few small optimizations can save you time and make the scavenger hunt more enjoyable.

• Prioritize central magazines first: Start with locations near Fairfield, the Ministry of Accuracy, and Quesnel’s home. From there, loop west through Westport and then down to the southern coast.
• Use fast travel intelligently: Unlock fast travel points like Westport, the Vox Relay, and the Landing Pad as soon as possible. Use them to reset your position for the next leg of the loop instead of retracing your path on foot.
• Combine with other side quests: Several magazines sit near other objectives, such as outdoor prison content or wildlife-heavy zones. Check your journal and align your route with other quests to make the most of each trip.
• Prepare for locked or jammed doors: Keep at least minimal points invested in Engineering so you can unjam doors and avoid being blocked from a magazine. The requirement is low, but forgetting to invest can force a backtrack.
• Watch for environmental storytelling: Many magazine locations include small encounters or NPCs that hint at Eden’s corporate culture and failures. Taking a moment to read notes and inspect surroundings adds flavor to what might otherwise feel like a checklist.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to find the magazines in a specific order?

No. The quest only checks how many unique issues you have collected, not which order you pick them up in. You can follow the suggested route in this guide or improvise based on where you happen to be questing.

Can I miss this quest permanently?

Current information indicates that the quest is not permanently missable as long as you still have access to Paradise Island and have not completed the game in a way that locks you out of the region. Open-world RPGs often warn players before a true point of no return in the main story.³ To be safe, try to finish the quest before pushing through the final acts.

Do enemies scale with my level during this quest?

The Outer Worlds series typically uses level scaling that keeps most regions close to your character level while still preserving a sense of progression, though exact tuning can vary by difficulty and area.⁴ In practice, if you start the quest when Paradise Island is first available, enemy encounters around the magazines should remain manageable on standard settings.

Is the Townie Clothing worth using over high-armor gear?

That depends on your build. If you favor aggressive, mobile play—constantly sprinting, dodging, and flanking—then the combination of evasion, sprint speed, and periodic damage immunity can outperform raw armor in many fights. Players who prefer standing their ground and trading hits might opt for heavier gear and treat Townie Clothing as a situational set for exploration or specific bosses.

What happens if I pick up more than five magazines before talking to Quesnel again?

If you gather more than the requested number before turning in, Quesnel will still progress the quest correctly and count all the issues you have on hand. You do not need to worry about the quest breaking if you are an overachieving scavenger who brings back most of the set at once.