If you’ve ever been mid-exploration in Enshrouded’s mist-covered biomes, only to realize you can’t pick up that rare iron ore or legendary crafting material because your bags are full, you know how frustrating it is to choose between ditching valuable resources or cutting your run short. Learning how to get a bigger backpack in Enshrouded is one of the most impactful quality-of-life upgrades you can unlock early in your playthrough, and it doesn’t require grinding endgame content or beating tough bosses to get. I’ve put in over 120 hours of playtime across three different save files, and I’ve tested every method to expand your inventory, so you don’t have to waste time on dead-end quests or low-reward tasks.
How to Get a Bigger Backpack in Enshrouded: The First Inventory Upgrade Unlock
The first and easiest inventory expansion you can get is available within the first 5 hours of play, as long as you prioritize rescuing key NPCs for your base. You’ll need to first find and rescue the Carpenter from the ruins north of the starting Cindervault, which only requires a level 3 pickaxe and a basic set of stone or wood armor to complete safely. Once you set up the Carpenter’s workstation at your base, you’ll unlock the first backpack upgrade recipe, which adds 6 additional inventory slots to your default 16-slot bag.
The materials you’ll need for this first upgrade are fairly easy to farm, even for new players: 12 woven fiber, 8 copper ingots, and 500 gold coins. That means you don’t have to grind for rare drops or explore high-level Shroud areas to get more space early on. I usually rush this upgrade before I start exploring the Revelwood biome, because the extra slots let me carry far more foraging materials and crafting supplies without running back to base every 20 minutes.
Advanced Backpack Expansions for Mid-Game Players
If you’re wondering how to get a bigger backpack in Enshrouded that can hold enough supplies for long Shroud runs, these mid-game upgrades are exactly what you need. Once you’ve unlocked the first 6-slot upgrade, you can unlock two more backpack expansions as you move into the mid-game content around Revelwood and the Kindlewastes. The Tailor NPC, who you can rescue from a locked cellar in the northern Revelwood region, sells both of these higher-tier upgrades, which add 12 and then 18 extra slots respectively.
The second upgrade (12 slots) requires 20 woven silk, 12 iron ingots, and 1500 gold, while the third and largest standard upgrade needs 30 woven velvet, 18 steel ingots, and 3000 gold. A lot of players miss these upgrades because they don’t prioritize rescuing the Tailor, but it’s well worth the detour if you regularly find yourself dumping valuable resources to make space for new loot. You’ll also need to make sure you’ve upgraded your Carpenter’s workstation to at least level 3 before the Tailor will list these upgrades for sale, so don’t forget to keep your base NPC stations updated as you progress. I made the mistake of ignoring the Tailor for 20 hours of play on my first save, and I can’t overstate how much smoother my runs got once I unlocked the 18-slot expansion.
Bonus Tips to Maximize Your Inventory Space Between Upgrades
Even if you haven’t unlocked your next backpack upgrade yet, there are a few easy tricks to free up extra space in your current bag so you can carry more loot on every run. I use all of these tricks on a regular basis, and they’ve saved me from ditching rare materials more times than I can count:
- Store all non-essential crafting materials in your base chests before you head out on an exploration run. You don’t need 50 stone or 30 wood taking up space in your bag when you can find those resources almost anywhere in the open world.
- Use pocket upgrades from the Blacksmith to add 2 extra slots per pocket upgrade, up to 4 total pocket slots. These are cheap to craft early on, and they count as separate inventory space that doesn’t take up room in your main backpack.
- Sell or dismantle low-value gear and duplicate materials as soon as your bag starts to get full. Common grey and white weapons and armor sell for very little gold, so dismantling them for scrap metal and cloth is almost always a better use of space.
That last tip is especially important if you’re farming Shroud areas for rare drops, because you’ll usually pick up a lot of low-level enemy gear that isn’t worth keeping. I usually keep one or two empty slots open at all times when I’m exploring high-risk areas, so I don’t have to make a split-second decision to ditch a rare material if I stumble on it. You can also use the quick-stack feature at your base chests to automatically sort all of your materials into the right storage slots, which saves you a ton of time when you’re unloading after a long run.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Unlocking Bigger Backpacks
A lot of new players make avoidable mistakes when trying to unlock bigger backpacks that waste hours of their time or cost them extra resources. The first big mistake I see all the time is spending gold on temporary inventory upgrades from wandering traders instead of saving for the permanent backpack expansions. The temporary bags you can buy from traders only last for 30 minutes of playtime, and they cost almost as much as the first permanent upgrade, so they’re never a good investment long-term.
Another common mistake is skipping the required NPC rescue quests to unlock the upgrade recipes. You can’t craft or buy backpack upgrades from any source other than your base NPCs, so rescuing the Carpenter and Tailor as early as possible is non-negotiable if you want more space. You also don’t want to waste rare crafting materials on backpack upgrades before you actually need them. If you only play for an hour or two a week and rarely fill up your default bag, you can hold off on the higher tier upgrades until you start exploring the Kindlewastes, where you’ll find far more rare materials you’ll want to keep.
The only exception is if you’re playing co-op with friends, where you might be carrying extra supplies for the group, so an earlier upgrade can save everyone a lot of hassle. The biggest mistake you can make is assuming you have to beat endgame bosses to unlock bigger inventory space, which is a myth I see spread all over player forums. All three standard backpack upgrades are available before you even fight the first major story boss, as long as you prioritize rescuing the right NPCs.
Unlocking extra inventory space is one of the first upgrades you should prioritize in any survival game, and Enshrouded is no exception. You don’t have to grind for hours or beat tough content to get more space, as long as you follow the steps we’ve outlined above. Even a small 6-slot upgrade can make a huge difference in how much you enjoy your playthrough, cutting down on annoying return trips to base and letting you focus on exploring the game’s massive open world instead of managing your inventory. Whether you’re a brand new player just getting out of the starting area or a mid-game player looking to expand your storage for endgame farming, learning how to get a bigger backpack in Enshrouded will make every minute of your playtime far more rewarding.