Backpacks were first added to Fallout 76 in early May 2019 alongside an all-new faction known as the Pioneer Scouts. The Pioneer Scouts may be gone, but their intrepid legacy lives on, and you’ll need to prove your worth to the remaining robot scout leaders to earn your first backpack (and the rank of Possum Scout). Here’s everything you need to know about how to get backpacks and backpack mods in Fallout 76.
How to Get Backpacks, Backpack Mods in Fallout 76 & What They Do
Demonstrate Pioneer Scout Values
To start your Possum Scout journey, you’ll need to interact with one of the Pioneer Scout posters available at train stations or at your CAMP (if unlocked). Or, you can simply head straight to Camp Lewis in the Toxic Valley and speak to the Mr. Handy there.
Scout Leader Jaggy, as he’s known, will provide you with The Order of the Tadpole questline and eventually your first backpack.
There are four different parts to this quest, each asking you to complete a Boy Scout-inspired task that works to improve the Appalachian wasteland. Each part varies in difficulty and time consumption. Let’s start with the easier ones:
“Kindness”: For this part of the backpack quest you’ll need to revive a fallen ally. Group up with a buddy (or stranger), lend them a helping hand when their down, and then allow them to do the same for you. If you really want to speed up the process, simply jump off a cliff!
“Helpfulness”, and “Bravery”: These subsections of the backpack mission are fairly straightforward fetch quests. Follow the quest markers and instructions to retrieve or accomplish the tasks described and you’ll be good to go.
“Growth” Is Tough
This is the most difficult and time-consuming portion of the backpack questline. To demonstrate “Growth” you’ll need to earn three Tadpole Badges by completing challenges scattered throughout the map. You can scroll through the available challenges by heading to the game’s main menu, clicking on Challenges, and then the World tab.
Each Tadpole Badge challenge has multiple parts, and while some might be easier than others, overall each one is about as time-consuming as the next. We recommend you go with the one best suited for your skills, or that simply seems the most fun. In our experience, we did find Archer, Athlete, and Swimmer to be a bit easier than the others.
Each one of these Tadpole challenges, while tedious at times, will be straightforward in nature. You’ll be asked to craft items, kill enemies, beat timed goals, fetch loot, and/or use these tools to complete subsequent other tasks.
Pop Quiz, Hot Shot
Regardless of which Tadpole challenges you decide to take on, you’ll first need to pass a knowledge exam for each one before you can get to work.
The exams for all of the challenges can be taken at a terminal in Camp Adams– a small location in the foothills northeast of the Nuka-Cola plant.
You’ll need to get all five questions right on the exam, and the questions will change each time as they are randomly selected from a larger pool. Good news though: you can retake the exam as many times as you want.
Be prepared, the exam questions are not based on Fallout 76 knowledge, but real life information. Google will come in handy to complete these exams, unless you’re already a skilled entomologist or Eagle Scout when you’re not playing video games.
You Did it!
Once you’ve completed the 3 world challenges you need, head to any of the scout leaders you’ve encountered along your journey to receive your reward of Possum rank! …Oh, and your first backpack too!
The most valuable aspect of backpacks in Fallout 76, as you might’ve expected, is the increase in carry weight that they provide. The level 1 backpack you first receive will add 10, scaling up to the level 50 sack which will add 60 extra carry weight points.
How to Craft Backpacks and Get Backpack Mods
To craft higher level backpacks or backpacks you purchased from the Atomic Shop you’ll need to have completed the Tadpole quest above. Next, you’ll need the required materials and the required character level. In order to mod backpacks in Fallout 76 you’ll need plans.
Mod plans can be purchased with Tadpole Badges at the Pioneer Scout vending machines in Camp Lewis. There are two vending machines at this location, one that accepts Tadpole badges, and one that accepts Possum badges.
You can also acquire mods by completing special in-game events. We expect that Bethesda will continue to add new backpack mods in future updates.
You can get yourself more Tadpole badges in the same way you got the ones needed to earn the backpack in the first place– by completing world challenges! Thankfully, new tasks (known as Possum challenges) are added to the game after you earn your first backpack.
If you’d like, you can pick and choose through the available Possum tasks to expedite the process of modding your backpack. However, many of the requirements in the challenges are things you’ll happen upon naturally just by playing the game.
What Do Backpack Mods Do?
While you can craft new backpacks whenever you reach the required level, you can also mod your existing packs with plans you buy from the Camp Lewis vending machines. There are a variety of backpack mods in Fallout 76, and new ones are expected to arrive as future updates release.
Some backpack mods are purely cosmetic, while others add functional benefits like increased damage reduction, food refrigeration, Rad resistance, and other bonuses that armor usually provides. Read the in-game descriptions when purchasing plans to learn more about the function of each backpack mod.
Bonus Tips
- Backpacks will remain visible over outfits and armor
- Backpacks are unequipped when entering a set of Power Armor.
- Some of the utility mods you add will reduce your backpack’s carry capacity.
- The “Keep Out Box” backpack in the Atomic Store is a skin for the standard backpack and not a backpack itself.
That wraps up everything there is to earning, crafting, and modding backpacks in Fallout 76. Check out our Fallout 76 guide wiki for more answers to your questions.
