A rucksack is not a normal backpack. It is used solely for the gathering of large quantities of resources (for the base) or items. These large quantities are not individual items such as coffee, a snack, or 9mm bullets, but are either stockpiles of general resources (food, ammo, materials etc.), or all the specific items that were in a survivor's backpack when the survivor died.
Rucksacks are larger green backpacks that visually are bigger than the large backpack. Having a rucksack still allows the survivor to carry a backpack.
While carrying a rucksack, the character's stamina will deplete rapidly during physical exertion, as if encumbered (regardless of the weight actually being carried). Rucksacks can be dropped and retrieved later. A character can only carry one rucksack at a time.
To turn in a rucksack, walk up to your home's Supply Locker while wearing the rucksack and it will be deposited automatically. You can only do this at your home base, not an outpost. Depositing a resource rucksack improves morale by 5-10 points, adds 25 influence, and increases your supply of the type of resource that the rucksack contained. The amount depends on the type:
- Food: 8
- Medicine: 8
- Ammunition: 5
- Fuel: 5
- Construction Materials: 15
Notes
The option to gather a resource into a rucksack is not available until the player reaches the Church of the Ascension, as directed by Lily.
Be careful not to exceed your home's resource storage capacity or you can lose the excess amount the next day.
Rucksacks left in or close to the player's home may be brought to the stockpile dropoff by a friendly survivor, making "emergency" stockpiling considerably more difficult.
Retrieving the rucksack dropped by a fallen survivor adds +2 morale but does not add any resources, only the items the dead survivor was carrying.