Inventory and Weight

A survivor’s backpack in Last Frontier isn’t a bottomless bag. The game constantly adds up the weight of everything you carry and compares it against your personal limit. Step over it, and the world will remind you of that before you even grab the extra loot.

How weight is calculated

Weight is tracked continuously: each item’s mass is multiplied by its quantity and summed into a total inventory weight. That total is compared against your carry limit. The moment the limit is exceeded, your character gains the “Overloaded” status — this is not a cosmetic icon but a real state flag that changes what you can do on the road.

Disassembly boxes, including stacks, weigh as much as their maximum material yield. Opening a box leaves your load unchanged or reduces it: the amount of materials depends on the abilities of the character opening it.

What the carry limit depends on

The main attribute here is Strength. The base limit is built from the character’s strength (each point of strength noticeably raises the ceiling), then bonuses from equipment and modifiers are added on top, and active effects work above that. That’s why two heroes with identical backpacks can behave differently: a strongman will haul a heavy find, while a lightweight scout will hit the ceiling sooner.

• Strength — the foundation of the limit; if you’re going after heavy loot, train strength.
• Equipment and modifier bonuses — raise the ceiling above the base.
• Travel abilities — certain abilities from the travel branch can raise the carry limit enough that the overload warning is cleared from the global map.

What happens when you’re overloaded

The main consequence is blocked pickup. If an item on the ground, in a container, or in loot won’t fit into your remaining limit, the server simply refuses the action: you’ll see an overload message, and the item stays where it is. There’s no hidden damage penalty or “dragging” of extras — the system doesn’t let you go over the limit at all.

That said, pickup can be partial. If a stack is lying on the ground and there’s only room for part of it, the game takes exactly as much as fits into the remainder (the remaining limit is divided by the weight of a single unit). When not even one unit fits, the pickup is rejected entirely.

• You grab an item that outweighs the remainder — refused, the item stays on the ground.
• A stack doesn’t fit entirely — you’ll take only part of it, up to the edge of the limit.
• Already overloaded — most pickup actions will be rejected until you lighten your load.

Overload on the global map

A journey is always a “get there and get back” calculation, and your load becomes part of the cost in time. When your active character goes over the carry limit, a warning marker LOAD lights up on the global map — a direct signal that you’re overloaded. You can remove it by lightening your load or by raising the carry limit with a travel ability.

Separately, there’s the SLOW marker — it’s tied to the group’s low speed on the map, not directly to overload. The group’s pace is built from the state of its members (and if working transport is in use, it’s set by the transport). So plan your load in advance: heavy loot is only worth it if you manage to bring it to a safe place.

Carried containers

A box and other carried containers can be taken along and filled with gear. The cardboard box is stocked by tech and general traders, and drops from desks and lockers on random-encounter maps and from human raiders. It weighs 300 grams itself and holds twelve slots.

A box hides no weight. Everything inside counts towards your total exactly as if you carried it in your hands: a container tidies your inventory but does not lighten the load. A trader will not take a box with anything inside — he pays for the box itself, and the contents would ride along with it. Player-to-player barter is not limited this way.

Equipment, slots, and storage

Broken weapons and armor automatically move out of equipment slots back into your inventory and can’t be worn until they’re repaired — worth keeping in mind when you’re figuring out what to take with you. And to keep your backpack from bursting with supplies, use the shared account storage: access to it runs through your active character using the usual container logic. It’s a handy place to leave what you don’t need on the current outing and to assemble a kit for your next goal — rather than carrying everything on yourself.

Regular crafting beside an accessible personal storage chest uses stackable ingredients from the footlocker without moving them first. Tools and materials inside nested boxes keep their existing rules. See Crafting Basics for details.