Storage Hunters Quest NPCs
Nine NPCs hand out quests, and every one of them pays in Gems and Luck — the two things that actually compound. Here is where each stands, what they want, and the net worth that gets you in the door.
Last updated 2026-07-14
All 9 quest NPCs
| NPC | Where | Net worth | What the quest asks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billy | Junk Yard | From the start | Repeating auction quest — grind auctions and turn in the items he asks for. A second "Junk Flipper" quest has you repair items. |
| Gas Station NPC | Gas Station | From the start | Two quests: a Junk Yard forecourt clean-up, then a Back Alley collection run. |
| Basketball NPC | Near Back Alley | From the start | Find six basketballs in the Junk Yard (uncommon drops). Both guides call this the hardest quest in the game — up to three hours. |
| Sal | Back Alley | From the start | Repeating auction quest — collect and turn in items. |
| Basketball Ring NPC | Near Back Alley | $3,000 | Collect basketball rings from the Back Alley. The rings are rarer drops, but the grind is reported as shorter than the basketball quest. |
| Black Market Guy | Behind Back Alley | $5,000 | Bring him regular weapons from the Back Alley first, then he escalates to legendary ones. |
| Ted | Farmyard | $10,000 | Repeating, area-specific quest — run auctions and turn in what he asks for. |
| Fishing Pond NPC | Dock near the Farmyard | $10,000 | Two quests: fish 100 items, and land $50,000 worth of catches. Needs a fishing rod. |
| Steve | Shipyard | $100,000 | Complete 90 small container auctions, then 15 large ones. The longest chain in the game. |
What to do first, and what to leave
The four no-requirement NPCs are worth clearing early simply because they are free: Billy and Sal both run repeating auction quests, so they fold into the bidding you are already doing rather than costing you a detour. The Gas Station NPC is the same shape — a collection run through the Junk Yard, then the Back Alley.
The basketball quest is the one to make a decision about rather than drift into. It wants six basketballs that drop uncommonly in the Junk Yard, and both guides call it the hardest quest in the game — up to three hours. Counter-intuitively, the Basketball Ring quest ($3,000) asks for rarer drops but is reported as the shorter grind, so do not assume the gated one is the bigger commitment. If you want the basketballs, start while you are farming the Junk Yard anyway — coming back later to grind low-tier lockers for them is a miserable use of a mid-game account.
The Fishing Pond NPC needs a fishing rod and $10,000, and asks for 100 fished items and $50,000 of catches — a genuinely separate activity from the auction loop, so treat it as a side project rather than a detour. Steve, at the far end, wants 90 small container auctions followed by 15 large ones, which is less a quest than a description of your end-game anyway.
What the quests actually pay
Gems and Luck, in every case. That is worth understanding rather than skimming, because it decides how much the quests are worth to you:
Gems are the currency your shop upgrades run on — the Tip Jar and Price Tags upgrades that raise income on every future sale, and the Trophy Capacity that lets you display more Gavel Trophies. Luck raises your chance of pulling mutated items, which is where the real money is: a Void (35x) or Secret (50x) roll dwarfs anything a quest hands you directly.
So quests are not a payday. They are a way to buy more shots at one. The trophies and luck guide covers what else moves the Luck stat, and the odds calculator shows how many unboxes a given mutation realistically takes.
No guide publishes exact Gem or Luck amounts per quest, and neither do we. If you see a site quoting a precise figure, ask where it got it.
Frequently asked questions
How many quest NPCs are in Storage Hunters: Open World?
Nine. Billy, the Gas Station NPC, the Basketball NPC and Sal are available from the start; the Basketball Ring NPC needs $3,000 net worth, the Black Market Guy $5,000, Ted and the Fishing Pond NPC $10,000, and Steve $100,000.
What do quest NPCs give you?
Gems and Luck. Gems are the currency your shop upgrades run on, and Luck raises your chance of pulling mutated items — so quests feed the two things that actually compound. No guide publishes exact per-quest amounts, and neither do we.
Which quest is the hardest?
The basketball quest — the one asking for six basketballs from the Junk Yard. Both guides call it the hardest in the game and put it at up to three hours. Counter-intuitively the Basketball Ring quest ($3,000 net worth) asks for rarer drops but is reported as the shorter grind, which is the opposite of what most players assume.
Are the quests repeatable?
Several are. Billy, Sal and Ted all run repeating auction quests — collect what they ask for, turn it in, take the Gems and Luck, repeat. That makes them a steady background income rather than a one-off.
What net worth do I need for Steve?
Both guides that list the quest NPCs put Steve at $100,000 — but he stands in the Shipyard, which unlocks at $125,000. We cannot reconcile that, so we publish both figures rather than pick one. Assume you will meet him when the Shipyard opens.
Where this came from
The NPC list, their locations, their net-worth requirements and their quest chains are taken from two independent guides that agree line for line: the quest NPC guides published by allthings.how and TechWiser. We have not measured any of it ourselves and do not claim to.
One thing we could not reconcile, so we are flagging it instead of hiding it: both sources put Steve’s requirement at $100,000, but Steve stands in the Shipyard, and the Shipyard gates at $125,000. One of those numbers is wrong and we cannot tell you which. If you reach Steve at a different figure, tell us and we will correct this page.
Sourced 2026-07-14 · Maintained by Jim Liu