Pack Mule: How to change this perk into a "Oh yes please!"

FranticDan

FranticDan

Survivor
I have no idea if this has been addressed in the upcoming A21.

Here's how to make Pack Mule tempting to spend points on.
Instead of increasing the amount of open slots, each point of Pack Mule should increase the stack sizes across the board by 20%, maxing at 100%.

Imagine being able to carry double the healing, ammo, food, drink, etc, with 5 points into Pack Mule.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
That is nice.  I gave up on pack mule and just started using pockets on everything.  It can be nice to not "waste" a mod slot on pockets, but I generally don't even fill all the mod slots on a tier 5/6 armor anyhow because I don't really care about most of the armor mods.  Depending on how armor combined with clothing works in A21, this may or may not still be the case.  I definitely like the idea of higher stacking if you have more pack mule.

 
At 20% per point I probably still wouldn't take it but it would certainly be a more likely choice than it is currently, since I can already max slots with just pocket mods and as mentioned, it's not really a wasted slot when most armor mods are not needed.

If it was 3 points to max at a 100% bonus I would probably take it after I have the essentials out of the way. (Not sure how skills will work in a21 though since they're being reworked and you don't need to spec into sexual tyrannosaurus on every character, etc.)

 
I've always felt the overlap with pocket mods and pack mule are what ruins that perk for most people. What I've thought about? How about keeping pack mule the way it is (you can carry more without being over encumbered) and make pocket mods add to the number of slots you have available to you. Adding pocket mods would not affect encumbrance in any way. It just gives you more slots to store things. This would make pack mule more useful.

 
Dark_Shadow_231 said:
Increase the total number of available slots. I've done this with SMX hud, adds value to the perk and makes steroids far more useful.
Click to expand...
With all of the many different items you loot, space is already an issue until you have extra storage from vehicles and drones.  I wouldn't want to start out with fewer spots regardless if pack mule increased them.

 
45 inventory slots + 10 toolbelt is plenty enough for vanilla, especially with all of the cuts they've made over the alphas.
I will say I'm glad they increased it from 32 + 8. If anything, increasing inventory to 50 slots for the amount steroids opens up.
It's all about knowing what to take and what to leave behind, what is easy to obtain and what is harder to come by.

If you're looting and you're getting full, make a chest, only costs 10 wood, and mark it on the map to pick up the rest later.

With 1 point in this idea of pack mule, you'll be able to carry 6 bandages in 1 slot, 180 rounds of 7.62, 6 bundles of ammo (12 bundles for 9mm and 44), 12 red tea, 600 frames, 7200 coal. And the list goes on!

 
Yeah I actively love Pack Mule.  I don't take it on every build, but i find it very nice when i want to ditch pocket mods for more important mods.

 
warmer said:
I rarely have issues with stacks, its always about different item types for me.
Click to expand...
It is true that stacks aren't a problem with most items, but some items do end up with multiple stacks.  Even a couple spaces saved is useful.  I don't think we need to add more spaces and I definitely don't want to remove spaces when not using the perk.  This would say least give since value.  Maybe it could just be in addition to the current effect.  Slight improvement to make it a bit more valuable.

 
Riamus said:
It is true that stacks aren't a problem with most items, but some items do end up with multiple stacks.  Even a couple spaces saved is useful.  I don't think we need to add more spaces and I definitely don't want to remove spaces when not using the perk.  This would say least give since value.  Maybe it could just be in addition to the current effect.  Slight improvement to make it a bit more valuable.
Click to expand...
I can see a good reason for wanting more especially for things like bandages, but at the same time, those things are that way for balance sake and not realism. I mean you can have 5000 wood and build an entire house with a single stack of wood, but only 5 bandages?

It's all because of balance. I think in a PVP situation it becomes too powerful if someone was packing 2x the first aid kits in a single hot key as their opponent. 

 
warmer said:
It's all because of balance. I think in a PVP situation it becomes too powerful if someone was packing 2x the first aid kits in a single hot key as their opponent. 
Click to expand...
Well, they could prevent higher stacks in the quick slots, but I get your meaning.

 
Syphon583 said:
I've always felt the overlap with pocket mods and pack mule are what ruins that perk for most people. What I've thought about? How about keeping pack mule the way it is (you can carry more without being over encumbered) and make pocket mods add to the number of slots you have available to you. Adding pocket mods would not affect encumbrance in any way. It just gives you more slots to store things. This would make pack mule more useful.
Click to expand...
This is a great idea. Also, I know that realism isn't a huge priority in this game (duh, zombies), but it makes sense that pockets should allow more items to fit into the overall "storage" area, rather than reduce encumbrance - that should rightfully be a perk and bigger stack sizes do in fact increase carry weight.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Syphon583 said:
I've always felt the overlap with pocket mods and pack mule are what ruins that perk for most people. What I've thought about? How about keeping pack mule the way it is (you can carry more without being over encumbered) and make pocket mods add to the number of slots you have available to you. Adding pocket mods would not affect encumbrance in any way. It just gives you more slots to store things. This would make pack mule more useful.
Click to expand...


I could see getting rid of a row of inventory and letting pocket mods put it back. I kind of like that.

 
Nifty idea, OP, but how would that work work with moving items into containers?  Say I've maxed out the perk and have a stack of 600 9mm, then move it into a chest...would it split into 2 stacks of 300?  Could be a PITA to code, but that's not my area of expertise.

 
I think the pack mule perk would be really cool if it got rebalanced, I mean you can just find and/or craft pocket mods without having to put points into pack mule. Early on it can be useful because you might not have any pocket mods but later on it's useless because you will have a vehicle for storage and should have some pocket mods by then. The pack mule perk could also increase stack size with each point that you put into it. Could also auto sort items in your inventory so you don't have to.

These are just ideas that might make pack mule better.


Skill Level


Level Name


Effect Description


Strength Level


Buy


1


Disorganized


Who has time to organize their stuff perfectly? Carry three more items without being encumbered.


1


1 PT


2


Bag Lady


You know it's in there somewhere. Carry an additional three more items without being encumbered.


2


1 PT


3


Neat and Tidy


You know exactly where everything is. Carry four additional items without being encumbered.


3


1 PT


4


Shipshape


You just passed inspection, private. Carry four more items without being encumbered.


4


1 PT


5


Pack Mule


Now you are just showing off, you are either part mule or a strongman. Carry four more items without being encumbered.


5


1 PT

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Kazgrel said:
Nifty idea, OP, but how would that work work with moving items into containers?  Say I've maxed out the perk and have a stack of 600 9mm, then move it into a chest...would it split into 2 stacks of 300?  Could be a PITA to code, but that's not my area of expertise.
Click to expand...
Currently, shift clicking or using the sort buttons, they would split stacks. Manually moving items would retain their stack size.
So yeah, it could be exploited by manually moving items into containers, and other player could take advantage of it by manually playing items into their inventory.

It would need code to remove this exploit

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top