Field Details
Quest name Bronze Pocket Watch
Giver Xavier (Weapons NPC at the bunker)
Map Ground Zero
Main objective Retrieve the Bronze Pocket Watch from a locked truck and hand it to Xavier
Required items Mechanical Key (to unlock the truck door); optional: 2 Wood for a bridge repair route
Typical rewards 2,500 XP and 450 currency (some builds may show 1,000 XP and 1,000 currency)
Follow-up Cargo List

Mechanical Key — how to get and use it

The truck is locked, and the Mechanical Key is the only way in. You can buy it from the bunker’s vending machine for 660 currency. It’s also possible to find a key in the world, but purchasing is the most reliable option.

If you’ve built the Key Registration Device in your bunker, you can register the Mechanical Key before you head out so you don’t risk losing it. Otherwise, just keep the key in your inventory until you reach the truck and use it on the driver's door.

Location on Ground Zero — exact route

The Bronze Pocket Watch sits inside the cab of a white truck attached to an orange fuel tanker in the southeastern corner of Ground Zero, across the river. The truck is parked at the end of a short stretch of road choked with abandoned vehicles. A consistent landmark: the sewer exit is very close; the truck is just east of it in a pile-up of cars.

Two reliable approaches:

  • From the bunker entrance (bridge route): Head east to the broken wooden bridge. Repair it with 2 Wood, cross, then follow the vehicle-clogged road south to the tanker. Interact with the driver-side door and use the Mechanical Key to open the cab.
  • From the sewer exit: If you’ve previously opened the sewer hatch, surface at the Ground Zero sewer exit and move a short distance east into the car pile-up. The tanker is at the end of that stretch. Unlock the cab with the Mechanical Key.
Note: If you haven’t repaired any bridges, both can be fixed with 2 Wood each. Toolboxes near the bridges and by the bunker entrance often contain Wood, and the vending machine at base can fill gaps in a pinch.

Safer paths and likely resistance

Both river crossings work, but they’re not equally risky. The northern bridge runs near the Road Camp and can draw scavengers from multiple angles, with gunfire potentially pulling in mercs. The southern bridge beyond the radio antenna is typically quieter—expect a couple of scavs at most. If the sewer hatch is already unblocked, that route is the fastest and the safest: pop up, unlock the cab, loot the watch, and leave in under a minute.

Fast extraction right next to the truck

There’s a quick exit next to the objective. To the left of the tanker, a box sits on a manhole cover. Move the box to clear the hatch and open a shortcut straight back to the bunker’s cellar. It’s one of the cleanest ways to extract with the watch and minimizes the chance of losing the objective to roaming mercenaries on the road.

Is the watch spawn RNG?

No. The Bronze Pocket Watch is a fixed item inside the locked cab of the tanker truck described above. If you don’t see it after unlocking the door, leave Ground Zero and re-enter; occasional instances can bug or fail to populate correctly. Also make sure you used the Mechanical Key on the correct driver-side door of the tanker truck at the southeastern pile-up near the sewer exit.

Turn-in and what comes next

After extracting, hand the Bronze Pocket Watch to Xavier at the bunker to complete the quest. Most players see 2,500 XP and 450 currency for the turn-in, though some builds award 1,000 XP and 1,000 currency. Completing this task opens up the next step in Xavier’s line, including Cargo List, and sets the pattern the game leans on: locate, secure, and extract under pressure.

If you’re getting turned around, anchor on two cues: the orange tanker at the far southeast across the river, and the manhole beside it that drops you straight back to safety. Bring the Mechanical Key, unlock the cab, grab the watch, and take the hatch home.