Backpack Battles is a new, addictive game that tests the player’s ability to put together the best backpack build in PvP. In this game, you can buy and sell items at different prices, and also combine them to create more powerful recipe items. It offers a variety of items that come in different shapes, attributes, and rarities. You can choose a class and try powerful strategies such as critical hits, poison damage, or unhealing. The game features two modes: Ranked and Unranked, where you can test your skills against other players’ builds. You may be on a losing streak and are wondering what are the best items in Backpack Battles and in what build do they shine? Which items are worth buying and when should I buy them? In this blog post, I will answer these questions and more, by presenting my Backpack Battles Tier List.
This tier list is based on my personal experience of hundreds of hours of ongoing gameplay, careful analysis, and feedback from other players on the Twitch platform. I ranked the items and weapons into S (the best), A, B and C (the worst), and explain the reasons behind my choices. Some items in the lower tiers B and C may be good or even great in early rounds but not in the late game. Let’s begin with the S-tier items!
Last update: December 2023
Backpack Battles Tier List: S
WEAPONS Tier S
BLOODTHORNE
Bloodthorne when paired with Vampiric Gloves or normal Gloves can do tons of damage very quickly. I have had great results with the Ranger class and Yggdrasil Leaf, but it can be run in a variety of builds.
CURSED DAGGER
Cursed Dagger is the best way to give your weapons critical chance and accuracy when playing the Reaper class. You want to speed it up as much as possible in order to apply the most debuffs on your opponent. It can support a Lightsaber by applying blind on your rival. It works well in poison builds too.
FALCON BLADE
Falcon Blade attacks twice on hit, making it great for activating Gooberts or gem effects. It also speeds up items that are next to it, so it pairs well with most items in the game.
LIGHTSABER
Lightsaber can defeat an opponent in seconds if you have hearts that it can convert into blind. This weapon works great with Light Goobert due to its blind effect. There are several different strategies with Lightsaber, for example pairing it with Darksaber or Ripsaw.
STAFF OF UNHEALING
Staff of Unhealing might be the strongest weapon on this Backpack Battles Tier List, it makes any healing item such as Goobert or Healing Pots do damage whenever they heal. Even your Bananas will deal damage. Make sure to feed it a lot of mana via Blueberries, Mana Orb and/or Manathirst and speed it up as much as possible.
Backpack Battles Tier List – OTHER ITEMS Tier S
ACORN COLLAR
Acorn Collar is a staple in most Ranger builds due to the fact that critical hits can be devastating in the late game when there is plenty of clover. The more you have, the less clover you need, but I recommend running 2 or 3 Acorns at the most. If you run Goobert, it can be harder to find spots to place your Acorns, though.
BOOK OF LIGHT
Book of Light, when supported by fast mana generating items such as Mana orb, protects you from incoming damage for a couple of seconds. This might not seem like a long time, but in the last rounds it protects you from heavy critical attacks dealt with powerful fast weapon builds. I recommend having 2-3 Books of Light and 2 Mana Orbs for the late game.
FANNY PACK
This bag is an excellent way to speed up your weapons (and other items) without spending much gold. Aim to place 2 weapons/items on each one if possible. This may be the most underrated item on this Backpack Battles Tier List.
GLOVES OF HASTE
Gloves of Haste are great when you need to speed up an item/weapon (Bows and Bananas for example). They are also a part of powerful recipes such as Falcon Blade, Vamipiric Gloves and Claws of Attack.
MANA ORB
Mana Orb can help generate a ton of mana, without taking up more than 1 space in your backpack! Not only will you see several of these epic accessories in powerful builds such as Staff of Unhealing and Critwood Staff but also in builds that run Book of Light for defense.
POTION BELT
You will see this legendary bag a lot in your late round battles, since Potions are even more effective (and sometimes devastating) when placed on them.
Rainbow Goobert Megasludge Alphapuddle (Ranger class)
The most powerful item on this Backpack Battles tier list, Rainbow Goobert is nearly impossible to defeat, but good luck making it. If you haven’t made this recipe yet, I recommend doing it in the unranked mode.
Rainbow Goobert Omegaooze Primeslime (Reaper class)
The hardest recipe item to make is also the strongest. It can be fun trying to make it, but also frustrating.
STRONG HEROIC POTION
You will see this legendary potion a lot in the later rounds of your Backpack Battles games. Strong Heroic Potion generates stamina and 1 empower to support your weapons. During its creation, it absorbs a Banana, freeing up space in your bags for other items.
STRONG PESTILENCE POTION
This legendary potion is a staple in poison and debuff builds that run Death Scythe and/or Darksaber. It also frees up some space in your backpack by absorbing a Fly Agaric during its creation.
VAMPIRIC GLOVES
This godly item is a staple in Bloodthorne and other builds due to it generating 6 vampirism (once) after a few seconds. It also triggers connected items 35% faster, so it is usually placed next to a strong weapon. You receive these important benefits within just 2 bag spaces!
Backpack Battles Tier List: A
WEAPONS Tier A
BLOOD HARVESTER
To be honest. I haven’t seen this unique weapon in the shop or in battle much, but I will definitely test it if I do. For now, I will place it in the A tier.
CRITWOOD STAFF
Critwood Staff is an epic ranged weapon that is not seen much in Backpack Battles, but can be lethal in the right build.
CROSSBLADES
Crossblades is not that easy to make, but can be a powerful support weapon if you do.
DARKSABER
Darksaber becomes stronger with each debuff applied, so it works well with items such as Lightsaber (blind), Cursed Dagger, Poison Dagger, Poison Goobert and many more. I have it in tier A because I have better results with the normal Lightsaber.
DEATH SCYTHE
One of the largest (and awkward to place) weapons on this Backpack Battles Tier List, Death Scythe doubles the amount of poison that is generated by items next to it. Thus, it can be lethal when paired with Pestilence Flask, Poison Gobert, Pandemonium, Mr. Struggles and/or other similar items.
FORTUNA’S GRACE
This legendary ranged weapon is very strong when paired with the right supporting weapon in a critical hit build. It has a long cooldown so be sure to speed it up with items such as Gloves and/or Fanny Packs.
HUNGRY BLADE
I have seen Hungry Blades in the last rounds doing very well without needing to convert to a Bloodthorne.
MAGIC STAFF
Magic Staff is an epic ranged weapon that uses mana to power itself up over time. It can be powerful in the middle rounds if you have sufficient mana production to support it. It is a part of the devastating Staff of Unhealing weapon and also the Critwood Staff.
MANATHIRST
Manathirst is a staple in Unhealing builds due to its mana production and relative ease of creation.
RIPSAW BLADE
Due to the amount of Bloodthorne builds out there, Ripsaw Blade is not uncommon to see in the middle and later rounds. It can hold its own in the right build or support another weapon in a hybrid build.
RUBY CHONK
This godly ranged pet weapon is exclusive to the Reaper class and not so easy to make because it requires the Holo Fire Lizard card. If you are able to create it though, make sure you speed it up as much as possible, since it in turn speeds your items up, even itself.
VILLAIN SWORD
This unique weapon is rarely seen in Backpack Battles and is pretty strong in the middle rounds when complemented with other weapons, for example multiple daggers.
OTHER ITEMS Tier A
BLOOD AMULET
A Blood Amulet provides a quick buff to your weapons at the start of the battle but its real value comes from combining it into very strong recipe items such as Vampiric Gloves and Blood Goobert.
BLOOD GOOBERT
This legendary vampiric pet is great for lifesteal and unhealing builds, but takes up 4 bag spaces.
CAP OF RESILIENCE
This epic helmet item is great when facing lightning-fast critical hit builds that try to defeat you in a few seconds (there are many out there these days). You can run more than one for even more defensive chances.
CARROT
Carrot is a food that shines in builds that have plenty of clover production, periodically creating empower! It also removes debuffs and is a part of the Carrot Goobert recipe.
CARROT GOOBERT
This nature pet creates temporary empower but requires fast weapons to be effective. It also removes debuffs from you.
DEMONIC FLASK
This Reaper class potion can be devastating in a poison/debuff bomb build and is also needed to create Darksaber and the Staff of Unhealing.
DJINN LAMP
Djinn Lamp, when activated, adds a devastating +27 damage to a connected weapon. However, you will need certain items in order to meet the necessary conditions for this to happen. For example, you will need armor producing items such as Flute or Steel Goobert.
You can also run it just for its buff production and/or fast activation speed. I usually pick it up when on sale and/or if I am running a Djinn Lamp build.
GOOBERT
Goobert is a versatile rare pet that is part of several recipes and has a healing effect. If you have the space, you should definitely pick at least one up, especially when it is on sale in the shop. It activates fastest when connected to weapons. On the other hand, it takes up 4 bag spaces, and can get in the way when trying to place other items next to your weapons, such as Piercing Arrow, Acorn Collar or Gloves of Haste. Remember to lock it by right-clicking with your mouse, so that you don’t merge it into an unwanted recipe by accident.
HEALTH POTION
This standard Health Potion heals you when activated and also removes some poison. It is much more useful when paired with other potions on double Potion Belts. In an unhealing build it becomes a weapon.
HEROIC POTION
This legendary potion activates when you have no stamina left, gaining stamina and 1 empower. Heroic Potion is great when you need to deal a lot of damage with weapons in a short period of time.
JYNX TORQUILLA
Jynx, the bird provides a nice speed-up effect on several items/weapons, but needs many precious seconds to activate several times. Also, it can be tough to fit in your backpack effectively. It removes clovers too, but not enough to make a big difference in the late game.
LEATHER BAG
This is the standard bag for Backpack Battles, 4 spaces for 4 gold.
LIGHT GOOBERT
Light Goobert shines in Lightsaber and unhealing builds, but requires a Lightsaber to create and takes up 4 bag spaces.
LUCKY CLOVER
This rare accessory only produces 1 luck at the start of the battle, but in critical hit builds with Acorn Collar, this can make a big difference. Also, it can counter blind. Lucky Clover is a part of the Lucky Piggy recipe.
LUCKY PIGGY
I am warming up to Lucky Piggy due to its +1 gold, +2 clover and +trigger chance effects. I find that gold and space management is crucial in Backpack Battles and so I frequently find myself running 1-2 of these epic accessories in my builds.
PESTILENCE FLASK
This epic potion is most effective in a specialized poison build. Make sure to have multiple potions positioned on double Potion Belts.
POISON GOOBERT
Poison Goobert is great for poison and fatigue builds that do damage over time. It can be paired with a Death Scythe for double effect.
PROTECTIVE PURSE
Protective Purse is a very useful bag due to its versatility and low cost. It is great for when you need to place a small item in a specific position in your backpack. I recommend having at least 1-2 of them.
RUBY GEMSTONE
One of the best gemstones on this Backpack Battles tier list, Ruby has a life stealing effect when slotted on a weapon and increments your healing when on armor/shields. You want to place it on your strongest weapon for the best results.
SAPPHIRE GEMSTONE
A Sapphire gives your weapon a chance to attack directly, thus it can be effective when facing armor potions/builds. It also has a buff and debuff effect that can help certain other builds.
SHIELD OF VALOR
This legendary holy item is great for defending against those fast-attacking weapon builds that are everywhere nowadays. It also boosts any item that generates armor next to it, such as Stone Skin Potions.
STEEL GOOBERT
This legendary pet is good in the middle rounds but falls off late in the game. It is slow to activate and it can be tough to trigger quickly when your weapon is normal shaped. However, weapons with peculiar shapes can both activate and be buffed by Steel Goobert at the same time. For example, Thorn Whip and bows. This pet can be used to generate the necessary armor for Djinn Lamp’s +27 damage effect.
STONE SKIN POTION
Stone Skin Potion is a defensive item that converts health into armor. It can be buffed with a Shield of Valor next to it, but is vulnerable to weapons that can bypass armor and attack you directly.
STRONG HEALTH POTION
Created by combining a Health Potion with Healing Herbs, this epic item can become a weapon in unhealing builds.
STRONG STONE SKIN POTION
This legendary potion is great at keeping you alive while you take your opponent’s health down. However, it requires 2 Stones to be next to it for its creation.
TOPAZ GEMSTONE
The other best gemstone in the game in my opinion, Topaz makes your weapon attack faster or generates stamina when slotted on armor or a shield. Weapon attack speed is crucial in most builds, especially when used to activate other items such as Gooberts, Piercing Arrow, Mana Orb, etc…
Backpack Battles Tier List: B
WEAPONS Tier B
ARTIFACT STONE: COLD
This unique ranged stone weapon can be thrown multiple times with Bag of Stones but I don’t see it as a huge threat. I have not had good results with it during my testing.
BLOODY DAGGER
Bloody Dagger probably needs to be in a vampiric build to work best, and this somewhat limits its usefulness. Also, there are better recipes for Blood Amulet, such as Vampiric Gloves and Blood Goobert.
BOW AND ARROW
This epic ranged weapon can be very strong during early rounds, and is also a part of the Fortuna’s Grace recipe. Its peculiar shape can be placed on multiple Fanny Packs for added attack speed and it’s usually easy to place an Acorn Collar next to it. It pairs well with fast weapons such as Wooden Sword, Hero Sword, Falcon Blade, etc…
CLAWS OF ATTACK
This combination of Gloves + Walrus Tusk can be very strong in the right build. Due to its synergy with spikes and its empower production, it is pretty versatile.
EGGSCALIBUR
I need to test Eggscalibur more, but so far it seems less powerful than the higher tier weapons. It also takes up a lot of space in the backpack due to the food around it.
FANCY FENCING RAPIER
A great middle round godly weapon, Fancy Fencing Rapier gets stronger over time but misses a lot. Another downside is that it counters Piercing Arrow’s critical chance effect because it removes your clovers. Higher tier weapons get stronger much faster than Rapier, thus lowering this item in the tier list.
HERO LONGSWORD
This legendary weapon is good support in the middle rounds but falls off later in the game.
HERO SWORD
Hero Sword can be good support in early and even middle rounds, but also falls off in the late game.
PANDAMONIUM
When I run Pandamonium, I usually have a short run, but I have seen opponents play it successfully in poison builds along with Death Scythe.
POISON DAGGER
Poison Dagger needs to be in a specific build to work well, such as poison or debuff, and this somewhat limits its usefulness.
PUMPKIN
Pumpkin is a unique ranged weapon that looks cool but has not proven to be effective during my testing mainly due to its very slow cooldown.
RUBY EGG/RUBY WHELP
Obtained from the Ruby Egg item, Ruby Whelp, a godly ranged pet weapon requires no stamina to attack but is slow to create (2 rounds in your backpack) and slow to attack. Also, it takes up 4 bag spaces.
SHOVEL
Shovel is pretty good early in the game and also very popular. I have seen players who still have it in their backpack in the late rounds. It “digs up” a free low-cost item for you after every battle, from cheap gems to godly bags. It has a chance to inflict blind on your opponent, so some players run it with Lightsaber.
SPECTRAL DAGGER
If you have extra mana laying around, then Spectral Dagger can use it to deal extra damage. This legendary melee weapon is faster than other daggers but lacks the speed needed for the endgame.
THORN WHIP
Thorn Whip is an epic melee weapon that generates a spike every time it hits, and deals +1 damage for each one. However, it’s slow, stamina hungry and is countered by Ripsaw Blade. The good news is that we can combine it with Hungry Blade and create Bloodthorne.
TUSK PIERCER
This legendary ranged weapon uses spikes to deal more damage. However, it is slow, weirdly shaped and countered hard by Ripsaw Blade.
OTHER ITEMS Tier B
AMETHYST GEMSTONE
You want to place an Amethyst on your fastest weapon so that it removes the highest number of buffs on your opponent. However, if you prefer to reduce your rival’s healing, you can place it on a piece of armor or a shield.
BANANA
This awkwardly shaped food item is very strong in the first rounds and can be combined with a Heroic Potion. Stamina production is crucial to most builds and the healing effect is a nice bonus. You will need to connect it with other foods to speed it up a bit.
BLUEBERRIES
This tiny food item is great for linking food or generating mana and clover. It has a relatively fast activation time that can help trigger items such as Goobert or Reaper’s Storage Coffin when nothing faster is available.
BOX OF RICHES
This rare accessory creates a free gem for you after each battle, and also allows gems to be offered in the shop. Once you figure out which gems are best for your build, it will be easier to know which gems to sell and when. Box of Riches works even better with Armor and Shield builds, where there are more slots to place the gems.
DECK OF CARDS
This is probably the most original item on this Backpack Battles Tier List. Deck of Cards is capable of being very strong, but the cards are awkward to connect together and take up a lot of backpack space. Also, the cards you are offered are random and have certain conditions that have to be met in order to be effective.
EMERALD GEMSTONE
When slotted in a weapon, an Emerald will have a chance to inflict poison. When placed on armor or a shield, it also has a chance to inflict poison when you are hit. This gemstone works best in a poison build for obvious reasons, but there are much quicker ways to inflict poison on an opponent (such as strong pestilence potions).
FANFARE
This legendary accessory has a great stunning effect, but in order to activate it you will need to have 5 small items in front of it. It will be a challenge to accomplish this. Also, its stamina removal effect gets much slower over time and is countered by Heroic Potions.
FLUTE
Flute is great in a Djinn Lamp build, but is too random and awkward shaped for most other builds.
FLY AGARIC
This rare food is great if you are going for a poison build and/or will combine it into Strong Pestilence Potions. It’s also okay for placing next to a Pan early in the game, but otherwise it’s cooldown is too long.
GARLIC
Garlic is very common to see throughout the game, it is great for buffing a Pan and counters vampirism in the initial rounds. It also has a nice armor generating effect. I frequently end up selling it for gold and/or bag space.
HOLY ARMOR
I am not a fan of Holy Armor due to its huge size. However, it can be effective as support in certain builds such as Lightsaber and some defensive builds.
MANA POTION
This rare potion works best in specific builds that require a lot of mana in a very short period of time.
PIGGYBANK
1 more gold per round might not seem like much, but it can mean the difference between buying that specific item you need, and having to sell something or having to wait. I am liking this item more and more as I test it. You can place it in storage for a round if you need to free up space. Also, you can free up space in your backpack by creating the Lucky Piggy recipe.
PINEAPPLE
While Pineapple has a good spike creating effect, it does not affect ranged weapons such as bows and can also be countered by Ripsaw Blade. Its healing amount is pretty small and it takes up 3 bag spaces. It works best in spike builds with weapons such as Thorn Whip or Bloodthorne.
SPIKED SHIELD
Spiked Shield is useful for countering fast attacking weak weapons such as Wooden Sword and Hero Sword. It creates spikes which can complement a Thorn Whip or a Bloodthorne, for example.
STAMINA SACK
This epic bag is a bit expensive for just 3 spaces, even when it gives you 1 stamina.
VAMPIRIC ARMOR
This legendary item generates 2 vampirism and periodically converts health into armor. Due to its size, it is not very popular and also it exposes you to weapons that attack your health directly.
WHETSTONE
Whetstone is needed to make Hero Sword and thus Falcon Blade, so it’s essential for those builds. Its +1 damage may not seem like much but can make a difference in the first rounds of the game, when connected to a Wooden Sword or Spear. It only takes up 1 space in the backpack, so I have no problem buying it on sale when there is nothing better and I don’t want to reroll.
Backpack Battles Tier List: C
Several of these items can be strong in the early and middle rounds but are pretty weak in the late game:
WEAPONS Tier C
BROOM
Broom can be effective in early rounds, especially if you have a Blueberry or another mana generating item. It is necessary if you are going for a Magic Staff or Staff of Unhealing build.
DAGGER
This weapon can be combined with some other items to make it stronger, but unmerged, it is very weak and also slow. On the other hand, it doesn’t need stamina to attack.
HAMMER
I almost never pick up this weapon due to its size, shape and low accuracy. Apparently, it was very strong in early versions of Backpack Battles, because it has been nerfed several times.
IMPRACTICALLY LARGE GREATSWORD
I have not bought or played this godly weapon much, and I haven’t seen opponents do well with it either.
PAN
Pan is very good early in the game and I frequently pick it up or reroll for it on round 1. It is part of several Backpack Battles recipes so it can become stronger for the middle game.
SPEAR
This rare melee weapon can be effective early in the game, but needs to be replaced as soon as you can with something stronger.
STONE
Stone is a common ranged weapon with low accuracy. I always buy Stones because you can sell them back to the shop for the same amount payed for them. I can sell them whenever I need gold, or place them in my backpack when I don’t.
WOODEN SWORD
Wooden Sword is a weak common weapon that is needed for a few strong recipes. Early on, it can be buffed with Whetstones, or paired with Bow and Arrow since it attacks fast. It is vulnerable to spikes and shields that remove your stamina.
OTHER ITEMS Tier C
BAG OF STONES
This rare accessory is used to make your stones attack more than once, but is pretty much useless in the current state of Backpack Battles.
CUSTOMER CARD
I am not a big fan of Customer Card because I see it upgrade commons and rares a lot, when I actually need legendary and godly items. It only takes up 1 space in your backpack though, so if you see it on sale and there is nothing better, you might want to pick it up for a while.
DRAGONSKIN BOOTS
These epic shoes generate 1 empower, but other than that are not very useful. You can pick them up on sale if there is nothing better to buy and you have some empty bag space.
LEATHER ARMOR
I almost never run this rare item in my backpack due to its size, but it can work in defensive builds and/or with gems in it.
WOODEN BUCKLER
This basic shield is great in the early rounds when you need to defend against Wooden Sword and other weak fast-attacking weapon builds. However, it takes up 4 bag spaces.
Final Thoughts
Backpack Battles is a strategy auto-battler game that requires you to combine items and use them wisely to defeat your opponents. In this post, I have ranked the best and worst weapons and items in Backpack Battles according to their size, ability, synergy, and rarity. Of course, these rankings are not definitive, and your experience with some of these items may be better or worse. However, we hope that this post has given you some insight into the different item mechanics and some ideas for your next battle. If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends. Thank you for reading and happy battling!