Three slots: the civilian inventory loadout guide

Your inventory is three slots, and every item page on this wiki leads with the same question because of it: does this earn one? Here's the frame that answers it — and the default loadout that's hard to argue with.

The default: knife / exit / flex

1. 01

   Slot 1 — a grab-escape knife. Non-negotiable. Most civilian deaths are grabs, not damage, and a pocket knife / ice pick / butterfly knife breaks a grab almost instantly, once. It's the seatbelt slot. (Unlock the Pocket Knife as a free starter via Lynda level 10.)

2. 02

   Slot 2 — your exit contribution. Whatever your team's chosen escape route needs and doesn't have: bolt cutters, a key, the fuse, the repair kit, gas. If you don't know what the plan needs, that's the actual problem — ask.

3. 03

   Slot 3 — flex. Situational value: a stack of lawn darts (3 per slot) for grab interrupts, a flare gun for blinding and the police-badge trick, soda for stamina, a healing item if you're the escort.

What never earns a slot

• Batteries — widely rated not worth carrying; the flashlight you find has enough juice for its moment.
• A second melee weapon. Weapons live in the world; pick them up where you fight. Carrying two is carrying one dead slot.
• Healing as a default. Most deaths are grabs — healing matters mainly for clearing the injured slow-movement state. One team healer is plenty.

Slot discipline in play

• Rare finds outrank plans. An Ancient Amulet or Fragile Hourglass is worth reshuffling for — hand your exit item to a teammate rather than leaving a relic.
• You drop everything on death, highlighted on the map — so a stacked inventory dying in a far corner is a team problem. Exit-critical items don't always highlight reliably for teammates; call what you're carrying. Reported
• Escaping with a weapon deletes it from the match. Drop weapons at the exit for whoever's still inside. Reported