Encumbrance, beginner advice

[PriesT]

I'm like 1-2 hours into the game, and after the first few encounters, all of my 4 characters are almost at level 4 encumbrance. So i was wondering, what do you vets do? And where do i get better backpacks for my whole team?

[Darbie]

Don't carry any regular gear. You unlock a group later that clears battlefields for you, so you don't have to carry that stuff around.

As far as better backpacks, you get them as you play. There is one somewhat early in a chest, and you get at least 2 as rewards for quests.

[sgauvin]

Let the scavengers work and get the heavy stuff for you.

You will get better bags later in the game but meanwhile, you should avoid getting any encumbrance.

[Arden]

What I do is drop the heavy gear somewhere and collect it when I'm done with the area. You should not stay at level 4 encumbrance though because you can get ambushed while travelling to town. Level 1 is fine.

And don't worry you will get strength and backpack items soon enough. Antiquarians are your friends for magical items and belts of strength/backpacks.

[Burninator]

Go to options under Game there is a drop down menu for encumbrance. You are using the 'home brew' Solasta version by default which is NOT the RAW version in D&D 5E. It is a much more punishing version. If you switch to the 5E/SRD version you will be able to carry 10X your STR in weight which is way more playable and less annoying.

[dhraiden]

Either let the scavengers take care of it eventually for you, or select the 'Tabletop' version of the Encumbrance rule setting from the Game Menu. The 'variant' version is needlessly punishing, as Burninator said - it's not even accurate to the tabletop rules, either.

[lejes]

Originally posted by Burninator:

Go to options under Game there is a drop down menu for encumbrance. You are using the 'home brew' Solasta version by default which is NOT the RAW version in D&D 5E. It is a much more punishing version. If you switch to the 5E/SRD version you will be able to carry 10X your STR in weight which is way more playable and less annoying.

OMG, this is such good advice and still uses the official rules.

[DiceWrangler]

Here is what I do:

1) Never pickup armor, shields, weapons or other heavy items that I do not need immediately. Let the Scavengers do that!

2) Frequently Use the Resort feature of the inventory window to help keep it organized.

3) Always move all items with the tag "Ingredient" to my designated "crafter" (even though I usually have multiple characters that can craft). The one exception being heavy Primed weapons and armor, I let my strongest character carry those until I can offload them; see tip below.

4) When in town move all heavy items that I want to keep, like Primed weapons and armor, to one of the "Stash" chests (in town).

5) When you find or buy an enchanted backpack, like a Bag of Holding, give it to your character with the highest strength because backpacks multiply your carrying capacity.

6) Try to always keep your encumbrance levels at "Light" so your characters do not suffer a movement penalty.

Some other tips:

The game tends to auto-equip gear that you do not always want to wear so check your "paper doll" window occasionally to confirm that you are not accidentally wearing a piece of valuable jewelry (that you could sell as loot) or an unidentified magic item.

If you have a Wizard with the Detect Magic ritual use it often and look for items with a "?" The question mark indicates the item is magical and should be identified with the Identify ritual. Also check "paper doll" slots for the reason mentioned above.

Sell most junk to Gorim in town as she usually has the best rates. Do not sell to the magic merchant on the other side of her marketplace stall -- he will offer much less. When your faction reputation is high enough it may be worth "shopping around" with the faction merchant to get a better price; though I am not sure if reputation makes a significant difference in what they pay.

Once you have completed the Scavenger's quests check their board wherever you see them and let them sell your loot for you.

[zero]

stop looting everything, if its not something you are going to readily use (ie gonna switch to the weapon you picked up) or is readily useful(scrolls, potions) leave it on the ground, unless it has a use beyond just "equipment" (crafting supplies, crating base items)

beyond that, you can buy backpacks that increase weight load, or find it.

[PriesT]

Nice answers all, thank you

[Melmak]

Not so far into the game i got 4 bags increasing weight i can carry. also i got fighter with with 19 starting strength so i got hauler for him and he has now 600 just to get to tier 1 treshold, havent gotten there yet despite hes collecting everything in sight kek.