Fallout 76 Backpack Guide
If you have ever played any of the Fallout games, be it New Vegas, Fallout 3, Fallout 4 or the latest Fallout 76, it’s safe to say you have fallen in love with hoarding and exploration. Every little metal scrap is worth adding to the inventory because what if you need that very thing during a fast-approaching challenging mission? It is hard to let go of scraps when you are walking on a barren nuclear wasteland, but there are a few backpack limitations we must adhere to.
Without the backpack limitations, the player character will be practically omnipotent, which is never fun in video games (especially RPGs). You want a few restrictions holding you back so you can ensure creative workarounds. So, the fact that inventory space is limited and FO76 backpack mods can only do so much can be positive. There will be ample space in the wearable gear (be mindful of the extra weight, though) for you to cart around goods you find scattered across the wasteland. And here’s more- you can even customize the backpacks!
The Fallout 76 backpack is an armor item in the game, available in 2 distinct variants. Introduced in May of 2019, the Standard size offers +60 carry weight at the 50th level. You must complete The Order of the Tadpole to earn this one. Considering the quest’s time-consuming nature, Bethesda added a Small backpack in September of 2019, with a max +30 carry weight. These are much easier to procure. You are at liberty to add FO76 backpack mods and cosmetic flairs to both of these backpacks.
Small Backpack In FO76
This one was added to the game with its Nuclear Winter update on 10th September 2019. As per Bethesda’s statements, the goal of the small backpack is “to help more players acquire a Backpack earlier on during their Appalachian adventures.” You can find the plan to craft a Small backpack in the Overseer’s Cache within the Morgantown Airport Terminal. It will be located on the 2nd floor.
A Morgantown Airport Security Keycard is a must to access the second floor. Once you have found the door going to the 2nd floor, turn around and head down the stairs to the basement. Right behind the door on the opposite side of the room, you will see a Responder’s corpse on a chair with the keycard tucked in his hands.
Once you enter the 2nd floor, you have to cross the waiting area. Right behind the crashed vertibird, you will find a Responder Command Post where you will meet Dontrelle Haines and find the Overseer’s Cache with the plan for your Small backpack simultaneously. You cannot trade, sell, or drop this plan.
Small Backpacks are the same as Standard Backpacks in appearance but have only 50% of the carry ceiling offered by a Standard backpack. Its base Carry Weight increases at higher levels to a ceiling of +30 Carry Weight at the 50th level.
You can craft Small backpacks at an Armor Workbench and equip them with the same Mods as your Standard backpack:
| Level | Requires | Carry Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 Cloth 5 Leather 2 Steel | +5 |
| 10 | 13 Cloth 7 Leather 5 Steel | +10 |
| 20 | 16 Cloth 10 Leather 8 Steel | +15 |
| 30 | 19 Cloth 12 Leather 11 Steel | +20 |
| 40 | 23 Cloth 15 Leather 15 Steel | +25 |
| 50 | 27 Cloth 18 Leather 19 Steel | +30 |
Standard Backpack in FO76
Bethesda added the Standard backpack to Fallout 76 with its “Ever Upwards!” Wild Appalachia update on 7 May 2019. Your character will get a Pioneer Scout: Tadpole Backpack after completing the side quest called The Order of the Tadpole. You can also craft Standard backpacks once you finish the quest.
The Order of the Tadpole
Talk to Scout Leader Jaggy at Toxic Valley’s Pioneer Scout Camp to kickstart the quest. Scout Leader Jaggy can be found near the Pioneer Scouts Knowledge Exams shack. During the quest, you have to demonstrate Pioneer Scout Values- Kindness, Helpfulness, Bravery, and Growth.
● Kindness: Revive an Ally (another player) with a Stimpak (Receive an Ally)
● Helpfulness: Complete the repeatable operation Tide quest assigned by Scout Leader Pompy at Kiddie Corner Cabins. Pick up 5 Toxic Mutagenic Waste and deposit it into a containment barrel at Kiddie Corner Cabins to pass it with flying colors (Clean Up Kiddie Corner Cabins).
● Bravery: Finish the repeatable quest ‘Stings and Things’ assigned by Scout Leader Treadly at the Dolly Sods Wilderness. Your task will be to collect a Bloatfly Gland, Radroach Meat, a Bloodbug Proboscis, a Stingwing Barb, and a Tick Blood Sac. Treadly marks possible locations to find these items on your map, but things found at other locations also count (Control Pests at Dolly Sods).
● Growth: Collect 3 Tadpole Badges. (Earn 3 Scout World Challenge Badges)
Tadpole Badges
To finish ‘The Order of the Tadpole,’ you have to get 3 Tadpole Badges or Scout World Challenge Badges, as termed by the quest text. Here your player will come across a list of all Tadpole Badges and the corresponding challenges you need to complete to get those. You can see them in Challenges > World.
The Standard backpack looks the same as the Small backpack, and the cost to craft them is also the same. However, the Standard backpack offers 50% more Carry Weight in comparison to the Small one with a max of +60 Carry Weight.
| Level | Requires | Carry Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 Cloth 5 Leather 2 Steel | +10 |
| 10 | 13 Cloth 7 Leather 5 Steel | +20 |
| 20 | 16 Cloth 10 Leather 8 Steel | +30 |
| 30 | 19 Cloth 12 Leather 11 Steel | +40 |
| 40 | 23 Cloth 15 Leather 15 Steel | +50 |
| 50 | 27 Cloth 18 Leather 19 Steel | +60 |
Fallout 76 Backpack Mods
6 out of the 8 plans for FO76 backpack mods can be bought from the Possum Vending Machines meant for Possum Badges. These Vending Machines can be located at Camp Adams or the Pioneer Scout Camp. The other 2 are occasionally sold by Minerva. Alternatively, they can also be bought from Mortimer at Crater Core.
| FO76 Mods | Effect It Has | Level 1 | Level 10 | Level 20 | Level 30 | Level 40 | Level 50 | How to Acquire |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armor Plated | Lowered Carry Capacity/ Increased Damage Resistance | +15/ -5 | +30/-10 | +45/-15 | +60/-20 | +75/-25 | +90/-30 | Possum Vending Machines (5 Possum Badges) |
| Chemist | Reduces all Chems weight by 90%. Does not stack with perks. | 90% | 90% | 90% | 90% | 90% | 90% | – Mortimer (350 Gold Bullion, Raiders Reputation at least Friendly). – Occassionally sold by Minerva. |
| Grocer | Reduces the weight of all Food and Drink by 90%. Does not stack with perks. | 90% | 90% | 90% | 90% | 90% | 90% | – Samuel (350 Gold Bullion, Settlers Reputation at least Friendly). – Occassionally sold by Minerva. |
| High Capacity | Increases Carry Capacity/ Reduces Energy and Rad Resistance | +10/ -10 | +20/ -20 | +30/ -30 | +40/ -40 | +50/ -50 | +60/ -60 | Possum Vending Machines (8 Possum Badges) |
| Insulated | Increased Energy Resistance/ Lowered Carry Capacity | +15/ -5 | +30/ -10 | +45/ -15 | +60/ -20 | +75/ -25 | +90/ -30 | Possum Vending Machines (5 Possum Badges) |
| Lead Lined | Increased Radiation Resistance/ Lowered Carry Capacity | +15/ -5 | +30/ -10 | +45/ -15 | +60/ -20 | +75/ -25 | +90/ -30 | Possum Vending Machines (5 Possum Badges) |
| Refrigerated | Decreased Food spoilage rate/ Lowered Carry Capacity | -10%/ -5 | -20%/ -10 | -30%/ -15 | -40%/ -20 | -50%/ -25 | -60%/ -30 | Possum Vending Machines (8 Possum Badges) |
Currently, there is no Backpack Jetpack Mod in Fallout 76. If you see players running around with jetpacks on their backpacks, those are the Secret Service Armors. A Secret Service armor is obtained only by clearing certain secret quests. You can find a jetpack mod for Secret Service Chests. The backpack can also be worn, so the jetpack and the backpack overlap, which looks like a backpack jetpack.
Fallout 76 Skins
Backpack Skins are essentially cosmetical mods that can change the appearance of your backpack. Different skins can be purchased at the Atomic Shop for about 500 Atoms each. Moreover, many Backpack skins are made available through quests, community events, SCOREBoards, and other occasions.
Quest and Events
| Name | Backpack Skins | How to get |
|---|---|---|
| Tadpole Backpack |  | Reward for completing The Order of the Tadpole. |
| Possum Backpack |  | Pioneer Scout Possum Backpack can be bought from Possum Vending Machines in exchange of 3 Possum Badges. |
| Arktos Pharma Backpack |  | Received in Event: Project Paradise if the objective to use ARIC-4’s shutdown code (optional) is completed. |
| Blue Ridge Caravan Backpack |  | Blue Ridge Caravan Backpack has about 5% chance to become a reward at ‘Event: Riding Shotgun’. |
| Chally the Moo-Moo Backpack |  | This has a chance to become a reward at ‘Event: Grahm’s Meat-Cook’ (6.25% chance with best performance, 4.19% chance with good performance, and 2.13% chance with bad performance). |
| Safari Crocolossus Backpack |  | This has a small chance to be received from opening any kind of Mole Miner Pail during the seasonal ‘The Hunt for the Treasure Hunter’ community events. |
| Safari Gorilla Backpack |  | This has a small chance to be received from opening any kind of ‘Mole Miner Pail’ during the seasonal ‘The Hunt for the Treasure Hunter’ community events. |
| Camo Backpack |  | This has a slight chance to be received from opening any kind of Mole Miner Pail during the seasonal ‘The Hunt for the Treasure Hunter’ community events. |
| Cultist Backpack |  | This is a reward in the seasonal ‘The Mothman Equinox’ event. |
Fallout 76 Backpack Flairs
With Backpack Flairs, your player can add more personality to the character. The Steel Dawn Update released in November 2020 witnessed Bethesda adding 2 Backpack Flair slots that can be filled with such cosmetic items. Your player can pick whether you want to hang flairs on your right, left, or both sides of the backpack.
Backpack Flairs function like other FO76 mods. To apply a Backpack Flair, use an Armor Workbench. Launch the Modify/Repair option, tap on your Backpack, and select which flair you wish to add to the right and the left side. Feel free to hang the same flair twice. Most of the already available backpack flairs are S.C.O.R.E Board rewards, while some were available in the Atomic Shop or exclusively for Fallout 1st members.
| Name | Flairs | How to Get It |
|---|---|---|
| .50 Round |  | 250 Atoms |
| Brotherhood of Steel |  | July 7-20, 2021 (Free for all players) |
| Mr. Fuzzy |  | July 7-August 8, 2021 (Fallout 1st) |
| Red Rocket |  | Season 3 (Rank 32) |
| Armor Ace Helmet |  | Season 3 (Rank 86) |
| Platinum |  | Season 4 (Rank 6) |
| Brickhouse |  | Season 4 (Rank 22) |
| Armor Ace |  | Season 4 (Rank 72) |
| K.D. Inkwell |  | Season 5 (Rank 6) |
| Alistair |  | Season 5 (Rank 22) |
| M.I.N.D. Overlord |  | Season 5 (Rank 54) |
| T51 Helmet |  | Season 6 (Rank 15, Fallout 1st) |
| Silver Shroud |  | Season 6 (Rank 16) |
| Grognak |  | Season 6 (Rank 92) |
| Zetan Ship |  | Season 7 (Rank 16) |
| Zetan |  | Season 7 (Rank 62) |
| Vault Survivor |  | Season 8 (Rank Unknown) |
Conclusion
The Small and Standard backpacks in Fallout 76 provide a way to amp up your carry weight, though the Standard Backpack is the preferred one for most players. Regarding utility, both backpacks can be considered your player’s must-have items. Good luck!
