Inventory & items
Item labels on the ground
Hold Control while looking at dropped items to show name labels — much easier to spot scrap in dark layers.
Ctrl
Pick up and equip
Right-click and drag an item onto yourself, then onto a wear slot. Drag into the inventory center to use consumables.
Right-click
Merge stacks
Drag compatible items onto each other in inventory to combine scrap piles, bandages, and other stackables.
Favourite gear
Press F on bags, tools, and knives you want to keep. Favourited items are excluded from crafting ingredient pools so you do not rip up your only foliage bag by accident.
F
Containers extend carry space
Drag items into bags and backpacks to store more. Open drink containers should live inside bags, not hand slots — see liquid safety on the liquids page.
Crafting
Ground materials count
Items on the floor near you can be pulled into recipes — you do not have to pick up every scrap pile first.
Recipe lookup
Drag any item onto the crafting button to list every recipe that item appears in.
Pin a recipe
Use the pin button (bottom-right of the crafting menu) to keep one recipe highlighted in the corner while you gather parts.
First-time INT gain
You gain INT the first time you craft a recipe or use a blueprint. Haggling with traders and descending layers also raises INT.
Over-INT crafting
You can attempt recipes up to 3 INT above your level, but each step adds risk — see the crafting ladder page for exact failure odds.
Rip bags for canvas
Many fabric containers can be torn down through crafting when you need canvas or rope in a pinch.
Health & liquids
Shift-hover inspect
Hold Shift over any item or liquid to read the full description — including whether a barrel actually holds clean water.
Shift
Dressing limbs
Dressings show "Usable in health panel". Right-click drag them onto the injured limb in the health view.
ShiftRight-click
Fake barrels
Some world barrels lie about their contents — urine sold as lemonade, irradiated water as clean. Always inspect before drinking.
Trading
INT drives haggling
Higher INT improves trader negotiations. Deliberately haggling is a reliable way to grind INT between layers.
Sell weight, buy solutions
Traders pay for value density — sell processed scrap and surplus tools, buy medicines and liquids you cannot craft yet.
Difficulty changes odds
Paradise runs spawn traders far more often and start you with the best reputation; Relaxed keeps the normal trader rate but still improves your starting reputation. Desolate runs rarely offer trades.
Open containers seep in hand slots
Canteens, cups, and other open liquid vessels held in your hand slots can absorb environmental liquid — sewage, oil, irradiated water — and contaminate what you drink. Store them inside a bag or backpack instead.
- Shift-hover any drink or injection before consuming to read the real contents.
- Fake barrels exist — urine may read as lemonade, irradiated water as clean water.
- Pill bottles and syringes do not seep while carried in hand slots.
Liquids page → has the full callout with sealed vs. open container examples.