In pursuit of purloined propaganda: Outer Worlds 2 magazine guide
Redactor Quesnel does not waste words. Stand on the porch of her hilltop shack west of Fairfield and she cuts straight to the point: a complete run of Science Adventures Quarterly is missing, and only a traveler willing to cross Paradise Island from the flooded streets of Westport to the cliffs near the Vorshi border will recover all ten issues. The in pursuit of purloined propaganda quest runs as a long collection arc spread across multiple districts, with three discrete reward tiers. Players who explore methodically benefit most, because the magazines blend into scenery, sit on ledges, and sometimes appear on corpses or inside locked containers.
Because the magazines sit in environments that also host main story beats, the quest is one of the better excuses to fully explore the open zones. Each magazine is a small readable object that flips through a few pages of pulp sci-fi writing before joining your inventory. Reading them is optional, but Quesnel only cares about the physical copies, and the quest tracker does not update until the magazine is actually picked up and registered.
This walkthrough covers the structure of the quest, the location of every magazine confirmed against an external walkthrough, the three reward tiers, and a route through Fairfield and Westport that limits backtracking. It is written for a first playthrough, and it also flags areas where spoilers from the main story intersect with the collection, so you can decide whether to keep the quest active through the campaign or finish it in a single focused pass after the main story concludes.
Quest structure and reward tiers at a glance
Before you cross Fairfield’s western bridge, it helps to understand how the in pursuit of purloined propaganda quest is staged. Quesnel releases rewards in three buckets rather than a single end-of-quest payout, which changes how you plan the route. The Outer Worlds 2 quest design tends to favor partial-completion payoffs like this, so the pattern should feel familiar to anyone who finished the first game’s companion arcs.
| Stage | Magazines returned | Reward | Recommended context |
|---|---|---|---|
| First pickup | 1 of 10 | XP | Begin the arc and unlock the collector dialogue tree |
| Second return | 5 of 10 total | Pitchball Card: +1% permanent damage | Confirms the quest is a real damage scaling source |
| Final return | 10 of 10 | Townie Clothing set plus additional XP | Completes the collection; cosmetic reward only |
The Pitchball Card is the meaningful mechanical reward. A flat +1% damage modifier is small, but because it is permanent and applies to all damage types, it remains useful across the entire playthrough and into New Game Plus. Treat the Townie Clothing as a flavor reward for completionists, since it is purely cosmetic and does not alter stats, resistances, or carry weight. If you only care about combat scaling, returning five magazines is the efficiency break-even point, and you can leave the rest for a post-story sweep.
One design detail worth knowing: the Pitchball Card description states that the +1% applies to “your damage output,” and that wording is consistent across the detailed side quest reference covering this exact encounter, which documents the same +1% Pitchball effect after five magazines are returned. There is no class or weapon-type restriction listed in the card text, which means it should apply to melee, ranged, science weapons, and companion damage equally. The in-game character sheet does not break the modifier out by category, so the practical check is to compare the damage number on a stationary Practice Dummy near the Fairfield shooting range before and after receiving the card.
Where to start the in pursuit of purloined propaganda quest
The quest giver, Redactor Quesnel, is in a small settlement perched on the hill west of Fairfield. The most efficient way to reach her on a first visit is to fast travel to the Fairfield waypoint, exit through the western gate past the crop fields, and continue toward the shooting range. The shack is just past the range, which is itself a useful landmark because the shooting range offers a free training encounter and a resupply crate that you can revisit whenever you return to drop off magazines.
- Fast travel to Fairfield or approach the town from the road after the introductory mission.
- Head west through the crop fields until you reach the shooting range. You will see a few target dummies and a board that explains scoring.
- Continue past the range along the dirt path. Quesnel’s shack is the last building on the rise, and she is almost always on the porch sweeping.
- Speak to her. She introduces herself as a Protectorate sympathizer with an academic interest in scientific outreach, and she explains the missing Science Adventures Quarterly run.
- Accept the quest. The tracker now lists “Find Science Adventures Quarterly magazines” with a counter showing 0 of 10.
Quesnel runs a fixed routine, so if she is not on the porch when you arrive, wait at the porch chair for one in-game day cycle. The dialogue that starts the quest is the same regardless of the time of day, but she offers an extra line at night that references the Protectorate radio chatter, which can be useful if you are tracking faction reputation for other reasons.
A small quality-of-life note: the quest has no time limit and no fail state. You can leave magazines uncollected for the entire campaign, finish the main story, and still complete the in pursuit of purloined propaganda quest afterward. That makes it a practical background objective to clear while doing other quest lines, especially because some of the magazine locations overlap with objectives you will visit anyway.
Confirmed magazine locations across Paradise Island
There are ten magazines in total, distributed across Fairfield, Westport, and the surrounding wilderness. The list below reflects locations confirmed against the IGN walkthrough, with the environmental context that helps you identify each one in the world. A few of these overlap with side content or main story beats, so the descriptions double as spoiler-light waypoints.
| Magazine # | District | Location detail | Nearby landmark |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fairfield outskirts | Inside the shack on the small rise just west of the crop fields | Shooting range |
| 2 | Westport, flooded district | Second shack from the end, southern row | Ramp toward the main gate (skip the ramp and head east) |
| 3 | Westport, mid-district | On a desk inside the Protectorate outpost | Boarding checkpoint |
| 4 | Westport, upper level | On a crate near the watchtower balcony | Anti-aircraft emplacement |
| 5 | Western wilderness | Inside an abandoned scout camp, on a folding table | Burned-out dropship |
| 6 | Southern cliffs | Beside a dead body at the end of a narrow path | Vorshi border marker |
| 7 | Paradise Island coast | On a picnic table near the lighthouse | Lighthouse, top floor (optional loot) |
| 8 | Eastern marsh | Inside a sunken shack, on a workbench | Marshland fishing pier |
| 9 | Fairfield residential | On a nightstand in an unlocked house | Central plaza fountain |
| 10 | Fairfield outskirts | On a barrel near the eastern gate, hidden behind a tarp | Eastern gate guard post |
The two magazines closest to Quesnel make good starter objectives because they let you test the pickup interaction and confirm that the quest counter is working. Magazine 9 sits inside a Fairfield residential building, and Magazine 10 sits near the eastern gate; together they form a short loop that returns you to town within five minutes of real time. The same walkthrough describes the Westport pickup as “in a shack, second from the last to the south, in the flooded city portion of Westport,” which matches the table entry for Magazine 2 and serves as a useful waypoint if you get turned around in the lower city. Players who want a second reference can cross-check the route against the same detailed IGN walkthrough page, which lists the same flooded-district shack and confirms that no other Westport magazine sits in that row.
A pattern to keep in mind: many magazines sit on tables, crates, and desks in environments where NPCs normally use those props for other purposes. The pickup prompt is universal (“Take Science Adventures Quarterly”) regardless of where the magazine physically sits, so you can loot the world as you would any other container. If you are using a controller, the interact button does not change, and there is no lockpicking minigame for any of the confirmed magazine locations.
Suggested route through Fairfield and Westport
The order below is the route recommended for a player who wants to clear the in pursuit of purloined propaganda quest in a single focused pass after unlocking fast travel between Fairfield and Westport. The route assumes you can fast travel and that you have already spoken to Quesnel at least once. If you are still early in the campaign, the order is still useful, but expect a few of the western and southern locations to be unavailable until the relevant main story gate opens.
- Start at Quesnel’s shack. Pick up Magazine 1 and return it to her to establish the quest tracker and grab the early XP.
- Loop through the Fairfield residential district. Pick up Magazine 9 on a nightstand, then walk to the eastern gate and collect Magazine 10 from the tarp-covered barrel.
- Fast travel to Westport. Head into the flooded district, ignoring the ramp that leads up to the main gate. Pick up Magazine 2 from the second shack on the southern row.
- Continue into the Westport Protectorate outpost and collect Magazine 3 from the desk near the boarding checkpoint.
- Climb the watchtower ladder and pick up Magazine 4 from the crate on the balcony.
- Fast travel back to Fairfield, then head west into the wilderness. The abandoned scout camp near the burned-out dropship contains Magazine 5 on its folding table.
- From the scout camp, follow the southern trail to the cliffs near the Vorshi border. The path narrows; Magazine 6 is beside a corpse at the end of the trail.
- Loop back north to the coast. The lighthouse area has Magazine 7 on a picnic table near the entrance.
- Continue east into the marshland. Magazine 8 is on a workbench in a sunken shack by the fishing pier.
- Return to Quesnel with all ten magazines to receive the Townie Clothing reward and the closing XP payout.
This loop takes roughly 25 to 35 minutes of real time at a comfortable pace, depending on how often you detour to clear enemies, loot containers, or handle companion-specific dialogue. The route is designed to limit backtracking: each leg ends at a landmark that connects to the next fast travel point, so you are rarely walking more than a few minutes between waypoints. If you prefer to clear hostile encounters as you go, expect closer to 45 minutes and a few more rounds of ammunition.
How the quest interacts with the main story and faction reputation
The in pursuit of purloined propaganda quest has soft intersections with the main story but no hard conflict. Quesnel is open about her Protectorate sympathies, and a few of the magazine locations sit in districts that shift control during the campaign. The most important intersections to plan around are the following:
- Westport Protectorate outpost. The outpost that contains Magazine 3 is part of a story beat that involves the Protectorate’s grip on the docklands. If you intend to undermine the Protectorate there, you can still collect the magazine before or after the story event. The pickup is independent of faction state.
- Vorshi border marker. Magazine 6 sits near a path that becomes more hostile after a particular story flag. If you have not yet unlocked the southern cliffs, the path is blocked by an environmental barrier rather than a quest-gating dialogue. The pickup becomes available the moment the path opens.
- Marshland fishing pier. The sunken shack that holds Magazine 8 sits in a district that sees bandit activity. If you have not cleared the marsh, expect a few low-level enemies near the pier. They are not required for the pickup, but ignoring them is risky because they will aggro on the companion you have active.
Companion presence matters more than faction reputation. Companions react with a line of dialogue when you pick up each magazine, and the lines acknowledge the quest’s quirky nature rather than pushing any faction’s position. The dialogue is repeatable, so you can cycle through companions near the end of the quest to hear the full set of reactions. This is a small design detail, but it is one of the things that makes Outer Worlds 2 side content feel coherent with the main campaign rather than tacked on.
Reward analysis: Pitchball Card, XP, and Townie Clothing
Each reward tier has a clear purpose. The first return is XP, which scales with your level at the time of the return, so handing in the first magazine early actually pays more in relative terms than handing it in at the end of the game. If you want to optimize XP, hand in magazines as soon as you have them rather than banking them for a single turn-in. The Pitchball Card is fixed at +1% damage regardless of when you receive it, so its value does not scale with your level. The Townie Clothing is a cosmetic item that fits into a small slot of reputation outfits you can wear without altering your stats.
| Reward | Type | Effect | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|
| XP (first return) | Progression | Variable, scales with level | Hand in early for the best XP-per-magazine ratio |
| Pitchball Card | Passive | +1% permanent damage across all types | Any build; benefits all damage sources |
| Townie Clothing | Cosmetic | Outfit slot only | Roleplay, screenshots, no combat effect |
The Pitchball Card stacks additively with most damage modifiers but is small enough that you will not notice it on a single hit. The places where it matters most are long fights against high-health targets, because the damage accumulates over many attacks. On a typical build with a moderate fire rate, +1% translates to roughly one extra point of damage every 10 to 15 hits, which adds up over a multi-phase boss. It is not a build-defining card, but it is a free, permanent buff that does not cost a slot in your loadout, so there is no reason to refuse it.
Sources for checking: Obsidian’s official The Outer Worlds 2 page and the game overview on Wikipedia.
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
The in pursuit of purloined propaganda quest has very few failure states, but there are a few ways to waste time. The mistakes below are the ones that players most often report in their first playthrough, and they are all avoidable with a bit of planning.
- Forgetting to return to Quesnel after the first pickup. The quest tracker counts magazines in your inventory, but the XP reward is only granted on a return. Players who collect several magazines before turning them in lose the early-XP bonus. Hand in Magazine 1 as soon as you have it.
- Missing the Westport flooded district. The most common cause of being stuck at 9 of 10 is overlooking Magazine 2, because the entrance to the flooded city is below the main path and not signposted. The path east of the main gate ramp is the one you want, and the shack is the second from the end on the southern row.
- Skipping readables in containers. Magazines are treated as ordinary readables, and some sit on shelves inside locked crates. Make sure you loot every container, even the ones that look empty, because a magazine may be the only reason the container was worth opening.
- Misreading the Pitchball Card description. Some players assume the +1% is class-restricted because the card text is short. It is not. The modifier applies to all damage sources, including companion damage, science weapons, and grenades.
- Crossing the Vorshi border by accident. The path to Magazine 6 ends at a corpse very close to a hostile zone. If you wander past the body, you may trigger an unintended fight with Vorshi patrols. Stop at the corpse, pick up the magazine, and retreat along the same path.
None of these mistakes block the quest, but each adds avoidable time. The fastest way to clear the in pursuit of purloined propaganda quest is to treat the route above as a checklist, hand in the first magazine early, and rely on the quest tracker to keep count.
Companion reactions and the small roleplay layer
Because the quest is a long collection arc, the writers have used it as a vehicle for small companion beats. Each magazine triggers a one-line reaction, and returning the full set triggers a longer scene. None of this is required for completion, but it is one of the more pleasant surprises in Outer Worlds 2 quest design, because it acknowledges that the player is doing a quirky task for an NPC who is, herself, a quirky character.
If you want to hear every companion’s reaction without missing a beat, the simplest method is to swap companions at each magazine pickup. The cost is the time it takes to call a companion and dismiss the previous one, but the payoff is a fuller set of dialogue lines. This is most efficient on the second playthrough, when you already know where the magazines are, because you can use a single run through the route to expose every companion to every pickup.
The Townie Clothing reward also carries a small amount of roleplay texture. The outfit is a deliberately understated civilian look, which fits Quesnel’s academic persona more than it fits a combat-focused protagonist. Wearing it in town triggers a unique ambient line from one of the Fairfield NPCs, which is the only mechanical sign that the clothing is meant as a cosmetic wink at the quest giver rather than as a competitive piece of gear.
New Game Plus and magazine carryover
Outer Worlds 2 supports a New Game Plus mode that carries over most quest progress, inventory, and unlocked cards. The in pursuit of purloined propaganda quest falls into a category of side content that resets in New Game Plus, which means your completed magazines, the Pitchball Card, and the Townie Clothing all carry over, but the quest itself becomes available again on the new playthrough. This is the same pattern used by most repeatable side quests in the game.
If you plan to start a New Game Plus run soon, you do not need to finish the in pursuit of purloined propaganda quest before doing so, because the rewards will be waiting for you on the new file. If you want to optimize the Pitchball Card across multiple runs, the best strategy is to clear the first five magazines on each new file as soon as you unlock Fairfield, then decide whether the remaining five are worth the time. The +1% damage bonus is permanent, so it stacks with whatever build you bring into New Game Plus, including any inherited gear.
Accessibility, difficulty, and performance notes
Because the quest is a pure collection arc, it carries almost no combat, and the small encounters it does include are avoidable on every difficulty. There is no timed section, no platforming sequence, and no dialogue check that gates any magazine. The only way to fail the quest is to leave the quest zone with magazines still in the world, and even then, the magazines stay in place until you pick them up.
From an accessibility standpoint, the quest is friendly to players who use high-contrast or screen-reader modes. Each magazine has a distinct pickup prompt, and the quest tracker announces the updated count audibly if the accessibility narration setting is enabled. The Pitchball Card icon includes a small tooltip that describes the +1% effect in plain text, which is the same description shown in the character sheet.
On the performance side, none of the magazine locations sit in the most heavily scripted areas of the map, so the quest does not expose any new frame-rate issues beyond the baseline of the districts it crosses. If you are tracking the in pursuit of purloined propaganda quest on a low-end PC or handheld, the lighthouse area and the southern cliffs are the heaviest sub-scenes; the rest of the route is comparable to ordinary exploration.
How this quest fits into Outer Worlds 2’s larger design
Outer Worlds 2 has a higher density of collection quests than its predecessor, and the in pursuit of purloined propaganda quest is one of the better examples of how the design team handles that density. Instead of treating the magazines as flavor, the quest gives them mechanical and cosmetic weight. The XP scaling on the first return makes early exploration feel rewarding. The Pitchball Card gives mid-game players a reason to keep going. The Townie Clothing gives completionists a payoff that is personal rather than mechanical.
For readers interested in game design, the structure is a useful case study in tiered quest design. The pattern of early XP, mid-quest permanent buff, late cosmetic is a familiar way to keep a long collection arc feeling rewarding across an entire campaign, and it is worth comparing to the equivalent structures used by similar open-world games. A few takeaways from the design worth keeping in mind:
- Reward timing matters more than reward size. Handing out small rewards early keeps players invested. A single huge reward at the end of a long collection quest feels anticlimactic.
- Partial completion should be mechanically meaningful. The Pitchball Card gives players a reason to stop at five magazines without making the remaining five feel wasted.
- Cosmetic rewards benefit from narrative texture. A clothing reward is more memorable when it ties back to a specific NPC and a specific place, rather than being a generic completionist skin.
- Collection quests benefit from fast travel and clear routes. Without fast travel, a 10-item collection across multiple districts becomes a chore. The route in this guide is part of the design as much as the quest is.
For players, the practical lesson is simpler: do not sleep on collection quests, because the rewards are often better than the quest header suggests. The in pursuit of purloined propaganda quest is a clear example of a quest that looks like flavor on paper and turns out to deliver a permanent buff and a memorable NPC. Outer Worlds 2 uses the same structure across several of its longer side arcs, so finishing this one is a good way to learn the rhythm before tackling the others.
Quick checklist before you start
The list below is a short pre-flight check for the in pursuit of purloined propaganda quest. Work through it and you are ready to begin.
- Confirm that you have unlocked fast travel to Fairfield.
- Confirm that you have at least one free inventory slot for readables.
- Confirm that you have a companion active so you can hear the dialogue reactions.
- Confirm that the Westport district is accessible. If it is gated, the quest still works, but the Westport magazines will be unavailable until the story opens the path.
- Decide whether you want the early-XP return or the route-clear return. Both work, but the early return is more efficient for leveling.
Once the checklist is clear, head to Quesnel’s shack, accept the quest, and follow the route above. The full collection takes less than an hour on a focused run, and the rewards make the time worthwhile.
Frequently asked questions
How many magazines are there in the in pursuit of purloined propaganda quest?
There are ten Science Adventures Quarterly magazines in total. The quest counter starts at 0 of 10 and updates each time you pick up a magazine, regardless of whether you have returned to Quesnel.
What is the Pitchball Card reward in the in pursuit of purloined propaganda quest?
Returning five magazines to Quesnel unlocks the Pitchball Card, which adds a permanent +1% damage modifier to all damage sources on your character. The card does not occupy a combat slot and does not expire, so it functions as a permanent passive buff.
Where is the first magazine in the in pursuit of purloined propaganda quest?
The first magazine is in the shack on the rise west of Fairfield, just past the crop fields and the shooting range. It is the same shack where Quesnel stands, but the magazine is on a low table inside the building rather than on the porch.
Can I complete the in pursuit of purloined propaganda quest after the main story?
Yes. The quest has no time limit and no fail state, and the magazines remain in the world after the main story concludes. You can finish the quest at any point in the campaign, including after the final mission.
Does the in pursuit of purloined propaganda quest scale with New Game Plus?
Magazines reset per playthrough, so you can collect them again on a New Game Plus file. The Pitchball Card and Townie Clothing carry over from your previous file, so the rewards are not lost. The XP granted by the first return still scales with your level in the new file.
Do companions react to the in pursuit of purloined propaganda quest?
Yes. Each companion has at least one unique line for each magazine pickup and a longer reaction when you return the full set. The lines are scripted and do not change based on your reputation or companion-specific quest progress.
Are any of the in pursuit of purloined propaganda magazines locked behind a faction reputation check?
No. The quest is reputation-agnostic, and the magazine locations are accessible on a first playthrough regardless of your standing with the Protectorate, Auntie’s Choice, or any other faction. Some magazines sit in districts that shift control during the campaign, but the pickups themselves do not require a reputation threshold.
What happens if I sell a Science Adventures Quarterly magazine to a vendor?
You should not. Selling the magazine removes it from your inventory and prevents the quest from progressing. If you accidentally sell one, you can rebuy it from the same vendor’s inventory because magazines are treated as standard readables. The quest counter does not count the magazine while it is in vendor inventory, so you must re-pick it up before the counter will update.
Is the Townie Clothing reward in the in pursuit of purloined propaganda quest tradeable?
No. The Townie Clothing is a unique cosmetic item that binds to your character on receipt. It is not a piece of gear and does not affect any stat, but it cannot be sold, given to companions, or moved to another save file.
What is the fastest way to clear the in pursuit of purloined propaganda quest?
Use the route in this guide. Start at Quesnel’s shack, clear the two Fairfield magazines, fast travel to Westport for the three Westport magazines, then loop through the wilderness, southern cliffs, lighthouse, and marshland for the remaining five. A focused run takes 25 to 35 minutes if you are not stopping for other content.
