Equipment slots and storage explained: what you can wear and carry
Your outfit decides more than protection. It sets how many weapons and quick-use items you can hold, and which grids you have to pack. Try combinations in the Gear planner, which applies every rule below.
The short version
- Most slots hold one piece. Helmet, glasses, mask, body armour, chest rig, gloves, belt, boots, backpack, safe box and keychain each take a single piece.
- Tops and trousers layer. Tops have 4 points and trousers have 3. Most pieces cost 1 point, and heavy pieces cost more.
- Some gear fills several slots. A one-piece suit can use your head, eye, face, top and trouser slots at once.
- Gear adds slots. Tops and trousers add hotbar slots, backpacks add a long-weapon slot and belts add a short-weapon slot.
- Backpacks, chest rigs, the safe box and the keychain are your storage. Only the safe box and the keychain keep their contents if you die. The keychain holds keys and nothing else.
Every slot and its limit
| Slot | What goes there | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Helmets and hats | 1 piece |
| Eyes | Goggles and glasses | 1 piece |
| Face | Masks and balaclavas | 1 piece |
| Accessories | Scarves, watches, wrist wraps and binoculars | No limit |
| Tops | Shirts, jackets and layered body gear | 4 points |
| Body armour | Armour vests | 1 piece |
| Chest rig | Chest rigs and carriers that add storage | 1 piece |
| Gloves | Gloves and arm guards | 1 piece |
| Belt | Belts and hip packs | 1 piece |
| Trousers | Trousers, leggings and knee guards | 3 points |
| Footwear | Boots and shoes | 1 piece |
| Backpack | Backpacks, the largest storage grid | 1 piece |
| Safe box | Storage whose contents survive death | 1 piece |
| Keychain | Holds only keys; the keychain and its keys survive death | 1 piece |
Accessories such as scarves, watches and wrist wraps never compete with each other, so wear as many as you find.
Gear that fills more than one slot
A piece that fills several slots takes the one-piece limit of each. A helmet that covers your eyes and face leaves no room for separate glasses or a mask. 27 pieces fill more than one slot; these are some of them.
| Piece | Slots it fills |
|---|---|
| Олений череп | Head, eyes, face |
| Железный шлем пагоды | Head, face |
| Маска сварщика | Eyes, face |
| Противогаз PTN BD-I | Eyes, face |
| Серая толстовка | Head, top |
| Жёлтый комбинезон химической защиты PTN | Head, eyes, face, top (2 points), trousers (2 points) |
| Термозащитный костюм PTN | Head, eyes, face, top (2 points), trousers (2 points) |
When you equip something that does not fit, the game takes off the worn piece that is in the way. Putting a helmet on over a one-piece suit therefore removes the suit.
Layering tops and trousers
Tops hold 4 points and trousers hold 3. Each worn piece uses the points shown on its item page, and the total of everything in the slot cannot go over the limit.
| Slot | Combination | Points used | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tops | Футболка (чёрная) (1) + Городская тактическая куртка (1) + Плотное кольчужное полотно (2) | 4 of 4 | Fits |
| Tops | Кираса пагоды (3) + Футболка (чёрная) (1) | 4 of 4 | Fits |
| Tops | Кираса пагоды (3) + Плотное кольчужное полотно (2) | 5 of 4 | Does not fit |
| Trousers | Базовые тактические штаны агента U.R.C. (1) + Наколенники из костей зверя (1) | 2 of 3 | Fits |
| Trousers | Термозащитный костюм PTN (2) + trousers (1) + knee pads (1) | 4 of 3 | Does not fit |
Body armour and chest rigs
Only chest rigs and bags give storage. Armour vests give none, even when a vest's description still lists a size such as "Specs: 4*3".
| Kind of piece | Slots it fills | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Armour vest that lists a size | Body armour (and the chest rig slot) | Бронежилет охранника and Полный бронежилет Jaeger both say "Specs: 4*3", but they give no storage |
| Other armour vests | Body armour only | Базовый бронежилет агента U.R.C., Тактический жилет WLF QUIK (графитовый серый), Полевая броня поварского отряда, Броня из костей зверя |
| Chest rig or bag | Chest rig only | Разгрузочный жилет рядового RS (5×2), Шерстяное пальто (4×2), Городской функциональный подсумок (2×2) |
Wear a chest rig or bag when you want storage on your chest. A vest never adds any.
Extra weapon and hotbar slots
You start with one long-weapon slot, one short-weapon slot and one hotbar slot. The other slots on the equipment screen are locked until gear you wear unlocks them: the second long-weapon slot, the second short-weapon slot and five of the six hotbar slots. The game works the unlocked slots out from the gear you are wearing.
| Slot | At the start | Unlocked by |
|---|---|---|
| Long weapon 1, short weapon 1, hotbar 1 | Open | Nothing; always available |
| Long weapon 2 | Locked | Wearing a backpack that adds a long-weapon slot |
| Short weapon 2 | Locked | Wearing a belt or hip pack |
| Three more hotbar slots | Locked | Wearing a top that adds hotbar slots |
| Two more hotbar slots | Locked | Wearing trousers that add hotbar slots |
| Gear | Adds | Total you can reach |
|---|---|---|
| Most tops | 3 hotbar slots | 4 hotbar slots |
| Most trousers | 2 hotbar slots | 3 hotbar slots, or 6 with a top as well |
| Most backpacks | 1 long-weapon slot | 2 long weapons |
| Belts and hip packs | 1 short-weapon slot | 2 short weapons |
These slots are unlocked rather than added up, so a second top does not give you more hotbar slots than the first. Most backpacks, tops and trousers unlock a slot, but 8 pieces in these gear slots unlock nothing: the Пакет из оленьей шкуры and the two duffle bags among the backpacks, the Рубаха из лохмотьев among the tops, the Наколенники из костей зверя among the trousers, and the three full-body suits, the Жёлтый комбинезон химической защиты PTN, the Термозащитный костюм PTN and the Слитный костюм огромного банана. A piece's page says whether it adds slots. A full-body suit also takes up points in both your top and trousers slots without unlocking anything itself.
The equipment grid
Worn gear has to fit somewhere too. Every piece you wear takes up its own width and height in one shared equipment grid of 40 cells, five cells wide, and the game will not let you put on a piece that has no room left. Pieces can be turned to fit. The backpack, the safe box and the keychain are the exceptions: each has a slot of its own and takes no space in this grid.
The hatched two rows at the bottom of the equipment screen are not extra space waiting to be unlocked. They are a fixed decoration: nothing can be placed in them and nothing in the game opens them, so 40 cells is the whole grid.
This is separate from the slot limits, so an outfit can respect every slot and still be too bulky. Large pieces such as vests, tops and trousers use the most space, so a few small accessories rarely matter. The Gear planner arranges your outfit in the grid and warns you when something does not fit.
Backpacks, chest rigs and the safe box
The grids on your backpack and chest rig are where you pack the items you carry. Press R while holding an item to rotate it.
| Storage | Grid | Cells |
|---|---|---|
| Рюкзак ручной работы | 6×4 | 24 |
| Лёгкий рюкзак | 5×6 | 30 |
| Сумка A | 4×7 | 28 |
| Сумка B | 7×4 | 28 |
| Полевой рюкзак | 8×5 | 40 |
| Альпинистский рюкзак | 6×6 | 36 |
| Пакет из оленьей шкуры | 7×6 | 42 |
| Сумка для винтовки | 4×9 | 36 |
| Армейский премиум-рюкзак | 10×6 | 60 |
| Походный рюкзак | 6×9 | 54 |
| Сумка для переезда | 9×8 | 72 |
| Дорожная сумка Meteor | 7×3 | 21 |
| Дорожная сумка ActionPoint™ | 7×3 | 21 |
| Базовый сейф | 3×3 | 9 |
| Стандартный сейф | 4×4 | 16 |
| Премиум-сейф | 6×5 | 30 |
Items inside the safe box are kept even if you die, so put what you cannot afford to lose there. Keys in your keychain are kept too. Everything else you carry is lost, as described in Death, overtime, and gear insurance explained.
The keychain and your keys
The Keys slot holds one keychain. The keychain gives you a small grid that holds keys and nothing else, and it has no space at all while no keychain is equipped. Putting a key on the Keys slot places it in the keychain. Click the keychain in the Keys slot to open or close its grid; the grid starts hidden and is only shown while a keychain is equipped. Dragging the keychain moves it instead.
- Doors: opening a key-locked door uses up one matching key. The game takes it from your backpack, chest rig, safe box or keychain.
- Death: the keychain and the keys inside it are kept, like the safe box.
- Passwords and levers: these need no key, so a keychain does not help with them.
| Keychain | Grid | Cells | Main way to get it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Проволочный брелок для ключей | 2×2 | 4 | Crafted at the General Workbench from 1 Оборванный провод once its blueprint is unlocked by research. |
| Кольцо для ключей | 2×3 | 6 | Reward for the mission Оперативный отдел: Финансовая отчётность. The Охранник TasteBliss Group at 88 Whitegate Avenue can also drop it. In the Bazaar, Пилот can also stock it. |
| Брелок на ремень | 2×4 | 8 | At 88 Whitegate Avenue: dropped by the Тавркен and found on the bodies of "The Professionals". The item page gives the chance for each. |
| Винтажный брелок для ключей | 3×3 | 9 | Found in the large safes at 88 Whitegate Avenue. |
| Планшет для ключей | 3×4 | 12 | Found in the chairman's office at 88 Whitegate Avenue. |
These are the main sources. Each keychain's page lists every source the game data names for it, including more drop and shop sources.
Before you head out
- Choose clothing for the hotbar and weapon slots you need, then check whether a suit is using slots you wanted for a helmet or mask.
- Pair your armour vest with a chest rig or bag if you want chest storage (three vests, the Бронежилет охранника, the Пуленепробиваемый жилет охранников and the Полный бронежилет Jaeger, already fill the chest rig slot, so they cannot be paired with a rig), and make sure the whole outfit fits the equipment grid.
- Pick the largest backpack you can use, then pack the safe box with the items you could not replace.
- Check the combined protection against what you expect to fight in the planner, using the damage and resistances guide to read the values.