“Bronze Pocket Watch” is an early quest that teaches the loop this game leans on: find the item, get out alive, hand it in. The objective is simple, but the directions are vague, so here’s a precise route, what you need to bring, and where to cash out.

Bronze Pocket Watch quest overview

Quest name Bronze Pocket Watch
Given by Xavier
Map Ground Zero
Prerequisite Performance Test (quest chain requirement)
Main objective Retrieve the Bronze Pocket Watch and hand it to Xavier
Required items
  • Mechanical Key (to unlock the vehicle door)
  • Bronze Pocket Watch (the hand-in item)
Rewards +2,500 XP, 450 money
Follow-up Cargo List

What to bring and how to get it

  • Mechanical Key: Buy it from the safehouse vending machine and keep it in your inventory until the truck is unlocked.
  • Optional: 2 Wood planks if you’re approaching via the broken bridge path from the bunker entrance.
Tip: If you’re short on Wood near the bunker entrance, check local toolboxes; the vending machine at base can also help if you’re unlucky on spawns.

Exact location on Ground Zero

The watch is on Ground Zero at the far east side of the map, inside a tanker truck at the end of a road filled with abandoned vehicles. A reliable landmark is the sewer exit: head just east of it into the pile-up of cars, and you’re in the right place.

Two consistent ways to reach it:

  • From the bunker entrance: move east to a broken bridge. Repair it with 2 Wood, cross, then follow the vehicle-choked road south to a tanker truck.
  • From the sewer exit: go a short distance east into the car pile; the tanker sits at the end of that stretch.

Interact with the driver-side door of the tanker and use the Mechanical Key. Loot the Bronze Pocket Watch from the cab.

Fast extraction and turn-in

There’s a quick exit right next to the quest vehicle. To the left of the tanker, a box blocks a manhole cover; move the box to open a shortcut back to the bunker’s cellar. Alternatively, leave via your usual extraction route and return to base.

Back at base, talk to Xavier and hand over the watch to complete the quest.

Common pitfalls and quick fixes

  • Keep the Mechanical Key until the truck is opened; dropping it early strands the objective.
  • If the watch doesn’t appear in the truck, re-enter Ground Zero and try again.
  • Expect AI around the sewer exit—clear the immediate area before you interact with the truck door.

Why this quest matters

  • Progress and money: the early +2,500 XP and 450 currency are an efficient boost.
  • Core mechanics: you’ll practice key-gated interaction, precise navigation, and a clean extraction under light pressure.
  • Quest chain: Completing this unlocks the Cargo List task for the next step with Xavier.

If you’re short on bearings, anchor on two cues and you’ll find it fast: a tanker at the very east of Ground Zero, and a manhole nearby that sends you straight back to the bunker. Bring the Mechanical Key, open the cab, secure the watch, and get home in one piece.