Abiotic Factor portal expedition inventory checklist

Plan the return before portal entry

A portal expedition is not complete when the objective item is found. It is complete when that item, the surviving equipment, and the route knowledge reach a stable base or handoff point. Portal worlds can separate the player from ordinary facility storage and make a failed inventory plan expensive to recover. The outbound kit therefore needs a loot budget, an extraction trigger, and a second loadout for returning to a corpse.

This checklist does not replace a destination walkthrough. Use the relevant portal guide to identify access, hazards, tools, and the actual objective. Then use this page to fit those requirements into a recoverable inventory. The Backpack Route Planner calculates ordinary slot margin and checks one special-slot or mobility requirement.

Avoid a universal item list. A cold route, a radioactive collection route, and a first-clear combat route need different protection. The stable part is the decision order: access, survival, objective, repair, loot margin, return, and recovery.

Divide the pack into budgets

The categories are more important than a fixed count. A route with one required tool may leave more loot capacity than a route that needs several forms of protection. Write each stack on the packing list, then test it against the actual backpack total. Remember that Backpack totals already include the character's 12 base pockets.

Weight is a separate check. A plan can fit by slots and still enter a movement penalty before the first objective. Equip the full outbound kit at base, observe the live carry state, and remove optional weight before changing critical recovery supplies.

Build the outbound checklist

1. Open the destination guide and write the access requirement, known hazard, primary objective, and planned exit.
2. Select the minimum reliable combat and protection setup for that route.
3. Add food, water, healing, and condition recovery appropriate to the expected trip, without relying on a fixed completion-time claim.
4. Add repair support or a backup for equipment that the return path requires.
5. Reserve slots for the objective item before allocating ordinary loot space.
6. Choose a backpack from capacity and the required special utility. A radioactive item, perishable item, frozen item, hot food, or mobility obstacle may change the choice.
7. Count the remaining slots and declare the planned loot limit.
8. Equip the full list, check carried weight, and remove optional duplicates if the starting state is unsafe.
9. Tell co-op partners who carries access, objective, recovery, and protected cargo.
10. Enter only after everyone can state the extraction trigger and regroup point.

This procedure makes hidden assumptions visible. If the destination requirement is uncertain, the expedition is still in reconnaissance mode. Carry more recovery margin and plan to return after confirming the route rather than filling the pack for an imagined full clear.

Set checkpoints and extraction triggers

Use checkpoints that can be recognized without a timer. A landmark, opened shortcut, completed objective, safe room, or return portal is more reliable than an unsupported claim that a route should take a certain number of minutes. At each checkpoint, review health, conditions, equipment durability, weight, slot margin, and team position.

Extract when any declared reserve is crossed. That can mean the planned loot budget is full, the repair backup is consumed, the recovery margin is gone, or a special slot is occupied by the objective item. Finding more optional loot does not invalidate the stop rule. Returning with the objective protects both progress and the next run.

For first clears, treat route knowledge as an output. Record the access gate, safe staging point, major branch, and exit even if the expedition returns before the final objective. The next attempt can remove unnecessary supplies and use a more accurate loot budget.

Prepare the corpse-recovery loadout

The Inventory source states that death places main-inventory items in the player corpse while armor, gear, and hotbar items are retained. The Death source describes respawn behavior, including portal-zone entrance context. These rules make recovery possible, but a recovery trip can fail if the character returns with another full outbound kit.

Do not assume retained hotbar items are unaffected by death. Check their current condition before leaving the respawn point and repair or replace what the return requires. The recovery objective is the corpse, not the original expedition. After recovery, return and rebuild the route plan before attempting the main objective again.

Use explicit co-op handoffs

Co-op reduces some route risk but creates inventory ambiguity. Before entry, assign one owner for access items, one for objective cargo, one for special-slot items, and one for recovery space. A small group can combine roles, but every critical category still needs a named owner and backup.

At each checkpoint, use a short handoff call:

1. State whether the access item is present and usable.
2. State who holds the objective item.
3. Report remaining ordinary and protected slots.
4. Report whether emergency healing or repair reserves have been opened.
5. Confirm the next landmark and the extraction trigger.

If a player disconnects, dies, or must return, transfer the critical category at the safe checkpoint rather than in the next combat area. Do not split a set of access items across players unless the route source confirms that doing so is safe.

When the expedition plan breaks

• The portal is entered without the required tool. Return immediately if possible. Do not consume route supplies exploring a blocked path.
• Optional loot fills the objective slot. Drop or hand off the lower-priority loot before collecting the objective. The reservation exists for this moment.
• The pack fits but movement is already penalized. Reduce optional weight at the entrance. Slot math did not solve the weight constraint.
• Protected cargo exceeds special slots. Stop collection, assign it to a second protected carrier, or extract. Ordinary slots do not inherit protection.
• A teammate dies with access or objective cargo. Switch the group goal to recovery, identify the corpse owner, and free receiving capacity before moving.
• The corpse trip fails again. Shorten the recovery path, use co-op control, establish a safe intermediate handoff if available, and stop adding unrelated loot.

Close out the expedition

A complete expedition returns the objective or records a verified route finding, keeps the declared emergency reserve intact or explains why it was used, and restocks the next recovery kit. Unload protected cargo into suitable base storage, repair the equipment needed for another entry, and update the packing list from what actually happened.

This guide was checked for game version 1.4. Before using it after a major patch, verify destination access on Locations, inventory and death-drop behavior on Inventory, and respawn or corpse rules on Death. Do not preserve an old recovery assumption when the live game behaves differently.

Use the portal world comparison to choose a destination, the portal reset strategy to decide when a repeat collection run is worthwhile, and the repair workflow to restore the kit after return.