White Tier Backpacks No Longer Selectable in Equipment Tab

[Sterlong.5893]

Hi all,

As of the most recent expansion drop, I have not been able to swap to white tier backpacks (as in ones I've transmuted over basic backpack straps) in the equipment viewer.  They will show up in my inventory and I can select them manually there, but once I've equipped them if I swap out to any other backpack they will not even show up as an option to choose in the equipment selecting tab.  This is not a pressing issue but one that I have noticed hasn't changed over the course of the last few patches, so I thought it worth bringing up.  To reiterate, exotic and ascended backpacks do not seem to have this problem, only basics.

Edit:  This seems to be uniquely specific to the white tier backpack strap item.  As another user pointed out, attempting to buy the backpack straps from an armor merchant will cause the prompt "Your character cannot use this item.  Are you sure you want to make this purchase?" to appear.  There is no reason this should be the case, as backpack straps are neither level locked nor armor class locked.  

Edited November 17, 2023 by Sterlong.5893
Additional information concerning problem

[NeutralBurn.3829]

Same. Doesn't matter what character, what level. Cannot equip any of the generic 8 coppper backpack straps. Buying them from a vendor simply says "Your character cannot use this item."

[NeutralBurn.3829]

Follow up - submitted a ticket.

First GM requested a video showing the problem. Sent a video of the NPC saying I cannot use the item, then trying to equip it from inventory (no option to equip shown) and trying to equip from hero panel (does not appear as equipment choice).

Second GM followed up:
"Upon further checking, it appears that your character cannot use the item as seen in the video footage. Please know that the straps are intended to use for applying the texture of a higher level back item skin onto lower level characters. One would equip the Backpack Straps, open Hero panel, select Wardrobe, select the Back Item slot, and then select the skin they want to display."

🤨I know what they're for and how to use them, the problem is that they're not working. As shown in the video.

Edit: There is a workaround, but it's weird. You cannot equip the backpack straps from inventory any more. If you go to the equipment panel, they don't show up amongst your optional gear. But if you right click on the backpack spot, then go to "equip from inventory", you can then equip the backpack straps.

Which is weird, since no other equipment requires these steps, nor does it explain why the NPC says you can't use them.
 

Edited November 17, 2023 by NeutralBurn.3829
Found a workaround

[Teknomancer.4895]

58 minutes ago, NeutralBurn.3829 said:

Second GM followed up:
"Upon further checking, it appears that your character cannot use the item as seen in the video footage. Please know that the straps are intended to use for applying the texture of a higher level back item skin onto lower level characters. One would equip the Backpack Straps, open Hero panel, select Wardrobe, select the Back Item slot, and then select the skin they want to display."

🤨I know what they're for and how to use them, the problem is that they're not working. As shown in the video.

Support in this game has always been garbage, and submitting a ticket is rarely worthwhile. All they ever do is exactly what you show there; they just restate the problem that you reported, without offering any fix or resolution for it. It's like they get to troubleshooting Step 1, then just stop.

It's good that you found a workaround, because waiting on them to do anything about it would be a complete waste of time.

[Sterlong.5893]

3 hours ago, NeutralBurn.3829 said:

Edit: There is a workaround, but it's weird. You cannot equip the backpack straps from inventory any more. If you go to the equipment panel, they don't show up amongst your optional gear. But if you right click on the backpack spot, then go to "equip from inventory", you can then equip the backpack straps.

Which is weird, since no other equipment requires these steps, nor does it explain why the NPC says you can't use them.
 

Adding onto this to share that you can drag the item from your inventory into the equipment panel backpack slot and it'll equip it that way, too.

[NeutralBurn.3829]

Got another response from a GM:

Apparently, the official way to equip the backpack straps is: "...you would need to open the "Wardrobe" tab from your hero panel and not the equipment tab. Upon opening the wardrobe tab, double click the item "Backpack Straps" from your inventory and you should now be able to equip back skins on the character. "

It definitely wasn't like this before. Why do you have to open both inventory and wardrobe, just to equip something?

Still doesn't address why the NPCs state that none of my characters can use this item, either, lol.

[Sterlong.5893]

6 hours ago, NeutralBurn.3829 said:

Got another response from a GM:

Apparently, the official way to equip the backpack straps is: "...you would need to open the "Wardrobe" tab from your hero panel and not the equipment tab. Upon opening the wardrobe tab, double click the item "Backpack Straps" from your inventory and you should now be able to equip back skins on the character. "

It definitely wasn't like this before. Why do you have to open both inventory and wardrobe, just to equip something?

Still doesn't address why the NPCs state that none of my characters can use this item, either, lol.

This definitely isn't right considering literally no other item makes you do this.  A part of me wonders if they're phasing out white backpack straps, but I have no idea as to why they would.

[Healix.5819]

16 hours ago, NeutralBurn.3829 said:

Got another response from a GM:

Apparently, the official way to equip the backpack straps is: "...you would need to open the "Wardrobe" tab from your hero panel and not the equipment tab. Upon opening the wardrobe tab, double click the item "Backpack Straps" from your inventory and you should now be able to equip back skins on the character. "

It definitely wasn't like this before. Why do you have to open both inventory and wardrobe, just to equip something?

They're trying to tell you how to equip it and to change its skin, since the only purpose of this item is to apply a skin to it. To just equip it, you can simply double click it from the inventory.

[Sterlong.5893]

This is an issue again.  For about the past couple weeks I have not been able to locate backpacks transmuted onto the white backpack straps nor equip them from my inventory.