Backpack

Your **backpack** has 22 item spaces, 6 resource spaces and 4 categories of Survivor equipment spaces, holding one specific piece each.

You can arrange the items in your backpack by dragging them around - the items will swap spaces (except if you drag a mod onto a weapon, it will attach the mod to that weapon - but not if you drag the weapon onto a mod). If you'd like to drop an item, drag it outside the storage matrix, the item will land at your feet in a small loot bag, which won't disappear for 5 minutes (and unlike loot bags from infected, will withstand you relogging or going to a different zone then back). However, other players can see and grab this item too. Players with a full backpack often temporarily - while processing other items - drop something to the ground which they would still want back, so don't pilfer anything from under their feet if they're not moving away.

You cannot increase the size of your backpack, but you can build item storage at your camp (and you can develop characters for holding items).

The backpack storage can be collapsed out of view by clicking on the backpack itself, and when the item space is displayed, the resource pocket can be opened and closed using the little hammer icon. The survivor gear pieces can be hidden away from your character's appearance by clicking on their spaces (if hidden they still work the same).

The blue and red numbers indicate how much reputation (stops adding when you have 2000) and survivor marks (stops adding when you have 200) you possess.

To fill the pocket with resources you can get them through trade - or you need a normal (or better) quality item, which you have to drag into the resource pocket - and then pay with an increase to your hunger or thirst for the specific resources it's made of. The item will be destroyed. If you click away or walk with your character while the components list is displayed, you will forfeit both the item and the resources, so be careful. You can safely open your home stock and other appliances - and you can craft and consume without closing the components list, but the list will only update your nourishment status when you draw something from it, so if - for instance, you're recycling without enough hydration, you can make yourself, say, a fruit salad, eat it, then pick another component which you pay for with hunger - and that will unlock your thirst-powered resource.

The resource spaces each have a capacity of one stack, the size of which differs among resouce types.

The "collect resources" side missions actually require you to recycle enough of each, which you can then actually keep (or you don't even have to store it if you don't have space, it's just the successful extraction of resources that counts)

The first six items in your backpack (along the bar to the left) can be quickly selected by using `⇧ Shift` + `1`-`6`, or by using the scroll wheel.

The skills from your survivor gear can be activated using the 5-8 keys, but this may be not enough, as there are sometimes 5 skills. The order of the skills gets jumbled up on the screen if you're holding an item that has its own - like thrown weapons or firearms - in which case the keys operate the skills in the order currently shown on the screen, starting with 5

## Flaring

*Main article: Death*

When you flare - that is:

1. When you lose all your health when you're simultaneously: a) without the protection of Pouch the dog - and b) afflicted with the "one foot in the grave" symptom. This symptom you get either from getting knocked out and revived in any way - or building your threat level up above 5.
2. If you pick the "flee" option while being knocked out, or if your agony clock runs out of time.
3. If you use the red pistol button in your profile when Pouch the dog isn't protecting you

(USING THE "SOS signal" from the flare pistol item IS NOT flaring - after the progress bar completes it brings you home unscathed and instantly. The pistol is spent in this way.)

you will:

* Be brought home. This will empty all the containers you inspected while you were in the zone in which you flared. Your "one foot in the grave" symptom will be cancelled, but you'll keep the pain if you had it.
* **Lose all your survivor gear**: this is irreversible and you'll have to procure new pieces.
* Drop all the item and resource contents of the backpack at the spot where you flared: this in turn can be reversed by going back to that exact spot, finding the dropped backpack on the ground (see the image above) and picking them back up. Note that you don't have to take them all out at once - the backpack, whether you visit it or not - will remain there forever until you a) deplete it or until b) you overwrite it with a new backpack dropped by flaring (see also the note below). Even if the backpack is in a space which periodically locks, it will be available once the space opens. Only the owner can see and access their dropped backpack. Sometimes you might be mistaken about the spot in which you flared, especially if there are lags involved, so look (and click, if there are obstacles obscuring) around - and if necessary, think where locked controls or other events (explosions and so on) might have propelled your character to.

A dropped backpack can be damaged (or temporarily wiped out) when the combo attack from the gaming console is used nearby. It will regenerate on subsequent visits to the zone (so you can just relog if this happens)

Note. If you make a group with someone who is at a Player-versus-Player session then travel to the Mazon College, you'll join that PvP session too, except whatever you have in your inventory when you finally expire on PvP will get bundled in a backpack collectible in the corresponding spot in the regular Mazon zone. You do not lose survivor gear. This is a way to smuggle items out of PvP, but it overwrites your old backpack.