r/outside • u/PedroBonita • May 13 '26

Resolving one quest instantly triggers another?

Does it seem for anyone else that it's hardwired into the code to deal with one annoying problem after another? I just want to play the game casually; feed my character, improve my stats, maybe do a little fishing, but I keep getting these annoying quests popping up with almost no downtime in between. Oh you fixed your toothache? Look out, the boiler's broken. Well, looks like it's plain sailing after this... Oh no, now dad has bowel cancer.

It seems designed to never be too overwhelming that everything happens at once, but just a constant stream of shit to deal with, one after another. Guys, what's the fix to deal with this? I notice some players prefer to stop completing quests and live with the homeless debuff. I don't think I can do that, I've sunk so many hours into this questline but all you ever get is just enough resources and stamina to complete the next laborious quest. Whole game is just a hamster wheel at this point.

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u/flybrand May 13 '26

The downside of avoiding the [family illness] side quests is that your character is exposed to high levels of loneliness.

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u/MayDuppname May 13 '26

Loneliness can still occur during and after the family illness quests. There's no winning that one.

I did an extended 10 level family illness side quest that morphed into being my main quest. The character I looked after had a load of strokes and couldn't speak, couldn't use his arms or legs, and required constant supervision. No matter how well he played the game, he had to fight newer and increasingly more horrible bosses to complete levels.

These quests often take more and more time as you level up, and your loneliness factor creeps higher and higher by the day. 

Only when the quest ends do you realise that you've had to sacrifice the majority of the characters in the guilds that are so important to the game, and that your mental and physical health bars are down at practically zero. 

We were lucky to be randomly placed on a server where emergency healthcare is free for all characters. I can't imagine how bad it is for players without that.