Permafrost opens with a fixed line of main quests that carry you from the first campfire in the snow all the way to the lookout tower at Hunter’s Glade. Each one sets a short list of objectives and hands off to the next, with side quests opening from the people you meet in between.
Quick answer: The eight main quests begin with A New Beginning, followed by Feel the Heat; Horizon’s Kitchen comes next, then Dog Days. After that, play New Home, followed by The Outpost; High Frequency leads into The Way Home.
The eight early main quests in order
These eight run back to back on a solo Survival game. The table below pairs each quest with the objective text the game pins for it; the detailed steps follow underneath.
| # | Quest | What it asks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A New Beginning | Find the nearest shelter |
| 2 | Feel the Heat | Find the leader of Horizon |
| 3 | Horizon’s Kitchen | Cook meat for Robyn |
| 4 | Dog Days | Find a new ally in the Bone Cave |
| 5 | New Home | Gather resources and build the structures for a home |
| 6 | The Outpost | Reach Hunter’s Glade |
| 7 | High Frequency | Renovate the Hunter’s Glade tower |
| 8 | The Way Home | Take the blueprint from Skinwalker’s box |
Each main quest and its steps
Every quest below lists the objectives in play order. Follow the yellow diamond on the compass to reach each marked point.
A New Beginning
The opening prologue has you gather materials and get warm. It ends the moment the campfire is lit.
- Find Wood 0/3
- Find Stone 0/3
- Build Campfire
- Warm Yourself Up
The journal records additional tasks along the route: make a Stone Shiv and Stone Axe, open the cabin door, gain access to Rope, and craft a Crude Bow.
Feel the Heat
This quest routes you through a cave and out into the valley toward the settlement. It closes when you speak to Robyn in her cabin.
- Enter the cave
- Exit the cave
- Go To Horizon
- Find the leader
Horizon’s Kitchen
Robyn asks you to cook meat. Cook one piece of Meat at any campfire, then speak with her again to finish.
- Cook meat
- Talk with Robyn
Dog Days
Head to the Bone Cave Robyn marks on your map and bring the dog back into your party. You need any Bandage and one piece of raw meat in your bag before you reach it.
- Enter Bone Cave
- Go deeper into the Bone Cave
- Heal the dog with any Bandage
- Feed the dog with raw meat
New Home
This early quest takes the most time, with gathering accounting for much of the work; it can take about an hour and a half. Leave Bone Cave, establish a base, then tune in to your friend’s broadcast.
- Exit Bone Cave
- Build 2 Wooden Foundation, 5 Wooden Wall, a Wooden Doorway, 2 Wooden Floor/Roof, a Wooden Door
- Build and claim a Bed
- Build a Small Wooden Chest
- Build a Workbench
- Craft a Flint Pickaxe, Flint Axe, and Flint Shiv
- Learn the Stone Furnace Blueprint and build a Stone Furnace
- Smelt Copper Ingot (optional: Search the Cold Zone for useful supplies)
- Build Radio Station, then listen to the transmission from your friend
The Outpost
A single objective and a long road trip. You travel out past Bunker Checkpoint to reach Hunter’s Glade.
High Frequency
At Hunter’s Glade you repair the tower. The renovation takes 13 repairs with the Building Tool.
- Go up the tower
- Talk to Skinwalker
- Repair the tower in Hunter’s Glade (13 fixes)
- Listen to transmission from Icarus
The Way Home
The known opening sequence continues with The Way Home. Skinwalker next directs you toward the South Road, a camp, and Anna.
- Talk with Skinwalker
- Take the blueprint from Skinwalker’s box
- Build Tailoring Bench
Taking the blueprint from Skinwalker’s box unlocks the Tailoring Bench recipe and gives you a Utility Backpack (capacity 25). Building the bench itself does not grant the recipe.
Side quests that open along the way
Several optional quests open from the people you meet. Robyn’s stay available in her dialogue if you skip them for now. Rewards are listed where they are set.
| Side quest | Given by | What it asks | Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Connections | Robyn | Speak with the trader in Horizon | |
| Tonight… We Hunt! | General Trader | Bring a deer hide | Advice about cold protection |
| Separated | Robyn | Reach Liam’s favorite spot, hear two recordings, return | +25 Bucks |
| Return to Hunter’s Glade | Robyn (after Separated) | Retrieve the recording from the tower summit | +400 XP, recipes, Survivor’s Backpack and supplies |
| Follow the Flare | World event | Go to where the flare was fired | |
| Oh, Deer | Skinwalker | Hunt deer 0/5 |
Request a job from the General Trader to finish New Connections. If a Deer Pelt is already in your inventory, Tonight… We Hunt! completes immediately. Return to Hunter’s Glade awards a crate containing a backpack and the Survivor’s Gloves and Survivor’s Uniform recipes. Follow the Flare sends a red flare above the trees, which you may choose to ignore. Oh, Deer is one of several hunting and climbing challenges Skinwalker offers at the tower.
What each quest unlocks
Five of the eight quests open something lasting, from the settlement’s facilities to your own base and new traders.
- Feel the Heat — Horizon, with a bed, traders, a cooking hearth, a Repair Bench, and a fast travel post.
- Dog Days — your canine companion and the supplies in its pack.
- New Home — establish your personal respawn base, make a Workbench and Stone Furnace, and receive the story broadcast.
- High Frequency — claim another bed at the tower and meet the traders Skinwalker and The Mule.
- The Way Home — a recipe for the Tailoring Bench and a Utility Backpack with 25 capacity.
Reading the quest markers and journal
Active objectives sit pinned at the top left, and a diamond on the compass shows the distance to the next step. Main quests use a yellow “!” diamond; side quests use a white “?” diamond.
To review quests, open TAB, choose JOURNAL, then select QUESTS. MAIN QUESTS and SIDE QUESTS appear there, each step accompanied by a line of your character’s thoughts. MEMOS contains notes, recordings, and radio messages; WORLD covers characters, animals, and locations; DIALOGUES stores dialogue; and GUIDES lets you revisit every tutorial. A banner announces each new quest, while a completed one displays “QUEST COMPLETED” — that notice applies to the entire quest, not individual objectives.
Pacing and routing tips
This stretch, from the start to The Way Home with both of Robyn’s side quests, takes roughly three hours on Survival at an unhurried pace. Those side quests are not a condition for anything; they simply fit cleanly into the route. A few moves save backtracking:
- Hunt deer before you enter Horizon: Meat serves Horizon’s Kitchen, raw Meat serves Dog Days, and a Deer Pelt covers the trader’s side quest.
- While doing Feel the Heat, collect every “Recipe” sheet in Horizon. The Wall Torch recipe and recipes for three Survivor’s clothing items are free there.
- During Dog Days, mine Flint and Rock Boulders inside Bone Cave; New Home calls for 5 Flint and 40 Stone.
- Collect “Separated” en route to Bone Cave; Liam’s favorite spot lies between Horizon and the cave.
- Take on Return to Hunter’s Glade before starting The Outpost; the tape is in the room you visit for the main quest.
Permafrost remains in early access, and quest titles, objectives, and rewards may shift as updates arrive. The total number of main quests beyond The Way Home is still unsettled, and co-op quest behavior has not been confirmed.
