Treat large resource crates as checkpoints. Not for the loot inside—though the health and power upgrades matter—but for what they reveal. Each one sits next to something more valuable: a vendor, an FBC experiment, a secret organization hideout. Chase the crate, and you find the real prize.
Here’s every one worth hunting, zone by zone, and why you should use their map markers as bait.
If you chase the crate and ignore its surroundings, you're leaving triple the rewards on the table.
Central: The Construction Site Southeast of the Oldest House
Jump to the elevated platform on the left side of the building under construction. From there, reach the roof of the adjacent building. Enter the construction site through that roof. Inside, a large resource crate holds one power upgrade point.
The nearby ice cream truck vendor also has a health upgrade next to it—collect both in one trip.
West Incursion Zone: The Parking Garage Roof
Head to the northern parking garage. Climb to the top, then drop through the massive hole in the middle. At the bottom, complete the Incursion Fault side quest to unlock the gravity shift ability (lets you run up patterned walls). The large resource crate here is inside the garage near the quest reward.
The real value: this location is also the start of the “Complete Set” quest that ends with an artifact boosting power recovery by 50%.
Evacuation Zone: Rail Yard Street Station
Northeast of the Evacuation Zone, enter the building near the station. Fight through level 4 enemies to reach the Subway Vault side quest. Completing it unlocks the reach ability (grapple to spatial anomalies). A large resource crate sits in the vault room.
Don’t leave without checking the vendor truck just outside the station—another health upgrade crate waits there.
Downtown: The Auction House
Enter the auction house at the specific marker on the map. Pick up the bouncing speaker to start “The Complete Set” quest. The large resource crate here is in the back room of the auction house, accessible after you place all speakers and turn the volume up.
The crate itself yields a health upgrade, but the quest reward (an artifact that regenerates power) is the actual payout.
Park: Near the Mold Infestation
Inside the park zone, follow the mold-covered walls until you find a building with a red flashing vent. Smash it with the hammer or use fire to break through. The large resource crate contains a power upgrade point.
The vendor in this zone sells the molding bar artifact (grants immunity to infected status at the cost of 50% health)—worth the trip before the park resident fight.
Underpass: The Subway Tunnel
From the Underpass map marker, descend into the tunnel system. The large resource crate is at the end of a linear path guarded by shielded hiss. Use sharp damage (drill) to break shields quickly.
Power upgrade inside. The tunnel also connects to an FBC testing facility with another upgrade point.
The Prologue Arena: Return to the Artist’s Boss Room
After the opening credits, fast-travel back to the subway station near the Oldest House. Retrace the path from the prologue to where you fought the Artist resonant. The boss arena still holds a large resource crate with a power upgrade.
This is the easiest one to miss because the game never tells you to go back.
Why Treating Crates as Signposts Beats Hoarding Upgrades
The counterargument is obvious: health and power upgrades directly boost survivability, and you need every advantage in the early game. Fair. But each three health upgrades extend your bar by maybe one hit from an endgame enemy. Power upgrades give you one extra ability use. Those gains are linear.
What isn’t linear is the value of the secrets that cluster around these crates. The coffee cup artifact (heals outside combat) requires you to find its component near a crate. The reset items that let you respec your entire build? Often dropped by vending machines that only appear adjacent to crate zones. The testing facilities that award power upgrades are always within sight of a large resource crate marker. If you chase the crate and ignore its surroundings, you’re leaving triple the rewards on the table.
Use the Map in Reverse
The zone information screen shows large resource crates on the map once you reach certain zone levels. But you can flip this: find a crate marker, zoom in, and scan for nearby icons that haven’t appeared yet. Vendors, fast travel doors, and FBC experiment stations almost always spawn within 50 meters of a crate. The crate marker becomes a radar ping for everything else worth grabbing.
A Final Edge Case
After you defeat a resident and trigger a resonant cycle, the world respawns—but large resource crates do not refill. Each one is a single-use pickup. If you skip them before the cycle, that upgrade is gone for good. There’s no way to get a second health bar from the same crate. So prioritize them early, not as treasure, but as keys to the vendors and quests that actually scale with you.
- Where can I find the large resource crate in the West Incursion Zone?The large resource crate is on the parking garage roof, accessed by completing the Incursion Fault side quest to unlock the gravity shift ability.
- What happens to large resource crates after defeating a resident?Large resource crates do not refill after a resonant cycle, so you must collect them before resetting the world.
