The D-pad holds four context pairs: Down is your backpack / quick rest, Left is your bottle and the barometer, Up is pitons and the flashlight, and Right is chalk and finger-tape status. PC defaults are the number keys 1–4. Alternate quick actions are toggled with L2 (LT on Xbox, X on PC). These four slots are your entire mid-climb toolkit — the full backpack only opens at a bivouac or while off belay on a piton.

Climbot crafts both. One piton costs two sets of piton scraps, which drop from failed placements, loot containers, and environmental pickups. Chalk is produced whenever you compost trash with Climbot. Both are meant to be used liberally — the crafting loop exists so you never hoard.

The three Troglodyte pitons first — they are indestructible and bite into any rock type, including the dense brown rock normal pitons cannot penetrate. After that, the glowing gloves (visibility in darkness and bad weather), chalk-bag upgrades, and new food recipes, all found by exploring troglodyte caves, temples, and villages off the main line.

The backpack is limited by physical space, not weight — every item occupies real room in the bag, so packing is a layout puzzle. Because space is tight, decide before each push: pitons and chalk for the wall, food and water for the day, tape for your fingers, and leave behind whatever only helps in perfect conditions.

Yes, and both are free to carry. The flashlight lives in the D-pad Up / L2 quick items and reveals holds in darkness, shadowed corners, and storms. The barometer (D-pad Left) reads coming weather so you can decide whether to climb or wait at a bivouac — critical because rain seriously degrades grip and cold makes piton placement harder.