Resident Evil Requiem: How to Get All Inventory Upgrades Fast

Why Inventory Upgrades Matter (and How I Learned the Hard Way)

After spending my first 8-10 hours with Resident Evil Requiem, the thing that killed me more than any B.O.W. was my backpack. Playing Grace with only 8 slots, I constantly found myself staring at a red herb, an ammo box, and a key item on the ground, forced to pick only one. I even had to leave a crucial puzzle item behind once and backtrack through respawned enemies just to retrieve it.

The breakthrough came when I realized how early the game actually lets you expand both Grace’s and Leon’s inventories-if you know exactly where to go and what to bring. Once I had all four of Grace’s hip pouches and Leon’s single attaché case extension, the entire pacing of the game changed. I could loot properly, stock backup heals, and stop doing awkward inventory Tetris every two minutes.

This guide walks through, step by step, how to grab all four of Grace’s hip pouches in Rhodes Hill and the ARK, plus Leon’s lone case upgrade in East Raccoon City, as quickly and safely as possible. I’ll also call out the small details that tripped me up-like zombies that spawn on your return trips, and when certain areas become missable.

How Grace’s Inventory Works (and Why the Pouches Are Huge)

Grace starts with a strict 8-slot inventory. Each hip pouch you collect adds +2 slots, for a total of 16 when you’ve found all four. On paper that doesn’t sound like much, but in practice:

• 1 slot is usually taken by your current key item.
• 2-4 slots vanish to ammo stacks and healing items.
• Any extra weapon or grenade eats another slot each.

By the time I picked up the second pouch, I stopped having to dump items in the storage box every other room. By the fourth pouch in the ARK, I could comfortably carry a full combat loadout, a heal, and several key items without hitting the red.

The key is to grab each pouch as soon as the story lets you, before moving on to the next major zone. I’ll go in the order I now use on every playthrough.

Grace Hip Pouch #1 – Rhodes Hill Care Center Game Room

When I get it: On my second run, I made this my first real objective the moment the Care Center opens up properly. It’s the earliest inventory upgrade in the game and makes the next hour much smoother.

Where: Rhodes Hill Care Center – Game Room / Parlour (same area, different guides name it differently).

What you need:

• Access to the Care Center’s main floor.
• 3 Antique Coins collected from early Rhodes Hill (drawers, lockers, and a couple of optional rooms).

Step-by-step:

• From the Care Center Central Hall, follow the signs to the Game Room / Parlour – it’s the cozy room with arcade machines and a bar counter.
• On the wall or near the bar you’ll see a locked cabinet / machine that clearly calls out it needs coins.
• Interact with it and insert your 3 Antique Coins. Confirm with the interaction button when prompted.
• The cabinet unlocks and you can loot the Hip Pouch from inside.

Personal tip: On my first run I hoarded Antique Coins “for later” and walked right past this. Don’t do that. The extra two slots are worth far more than anything you’ll be tempted to buy with those first three coins.

Common mistake: Rushing the main objectives and leaving the coins scattered. Before you leave Rhodes Hill’s early section, sweep any side rooms off the main corridors. I usually do a quick lap with the map open in the pause menu, making sure I’ve checked every “room not yet fully explored” marker before pushing the story forward.

Grace Hip Pouch #2 – Rhodes Hill Care Center Filing Room (Level 1 Door)

The second pouch is still in Rhodes Hill, but it’s locked behind the security system. I missed this on my first playthrough because I never went back after getting the right wristband.

Where: Rhodes Hill Care Center – Filing Room / Archive Room in the West Wing.

What you need:

• ID Wristband Level 1 (you’ll obtain it as part of the main story after clearing the early East Wing objectives).
• A bit of ammo – a new zombie can spawn here on your return trip.

Step-by-step:

• Once you have the Lv.1 ID Wristband, backtrack to the Care Center West Wing.
• Look for a Level 1 Security Door leading into the Filing Room / Archive (it’s labeled on your map once discovered).
• Use the wristband scanner beside the door to unlock it and head inside.
• Be ready: on my run, a zombie that wasn’t there earlier wandered in as I looted. I now clear the room methodically before touching any items.
• The Hip Pouch is sitting inside this room, usually on a table or cabinet in plain sight.

Warning: This is the first “easy to forget” pouch. The game happily lets you continue the story without ever coming back here. I now mentally tie this room to “as soon as I get Level 1 security, do a West Wing sweep.”

Grace Hip Pouch #3 – Rhodes Hill Basement Treatment Room (Forklift)

This one caused me the most frustration because it’s tied to a subtle environmental interaction. I walked past that forklift area multiple times before realizing it was even a puzzle.

Where: Rhodes Hill Care Center Basement – near the Treatment Room.

What you need:

• Story progress to reach the Basement / Treatment area.
• The nearby Forklift Key, which is actually on the ground close to the forklift.

Step-by-step:

• From the basement corridors, follow signage (or your map) toward the Treatment Room.
• In the adjacent area you’ll find a forklift blocking access to a small office.
• Before anything else, look around the floor near the forklift – the Forklift Key is easy to miss. I had to pan my camera slowly along the ground to spot the glint.
• Interact with the forklift using the key to move it and open up the path to the office.
• Enter the now-accessible office; the Hip Pouch is sitting openly on a desk or table.

Personal tip: The basement can be a rough combat zone. I try to clear nearby enemies before fiddling with the forklift, because getting grabbed mid-interaction is an easy way to burn heals. If you’re low on ammo, kiting enemies around the forklift and using tight corners to slip past them is safer.

Missable risk: Once the story pushes you beyond Rhodes Hill, coming back here becomes either impossible or extremely inconvenient depending on route. Treat this pouch as your “Rhodes Hill exit check” – don’t leave the area for good until you’ve ticked all three pouches off.

Grace Hip Pouch #4 – ARK Bioweapon Storage 05 Container

The final pouch is deep into the game, in the ARK facility. By the time I got here on my first run, I was hurting from carrying late-game key items and extra ammo, so this upgrade felt like a breath of fresh air.

Where: ARK, in the Bioweapon Storage 05 room.

What you need:

• Story progress into the ARK’s bioweapon storage sector.
• The ability to interact with the large white Umbrella containers.

Step-by-step:

• Follow the ARK main objectives until you reach Bioweapon Storage 05 (it appears on your map with that label).
• Inside, look for the first large white locked container you can actually reach and interact with.
• On the side of this container is a small square white switch. Interact with it to open the container.
• Inside, on top of some crates, is the last Hip Pouch. Loot it and your inventory is now maxed at 16 slots.

Warning: The ARK has a couple of points of no return. I make a habit of hugging the walls and checking every interactable container in this sector before triggering any obvious “big” story moments (boss arenas, long elevators, etc.). Getting all four pouches in a single run is absolutely doable; you just need to stay curious here.

Leon’s Attaché Case Upgrade – East Raccoon City Central Camp

Switching to Leon feels liberating because his attaché case already gives you a generous grid compared to Grace. But there is one and only one upgrade, and it’s easy to overlook if you blast past the camp vendors.

What it does: Upgrades Leon’s case to roughly an 8×13 grid, giving you a noticeable bump in slots and making it much easier to carry extra weapons and ammo types.

Where: East Raccoon City – Central Camp, at the BSAA-style supply boxes (your in-world shop).

Cost: 4000 combat credits, earned from killing enemies and completing encounters.

Step-by-step:

• Progress Leon’s story until he reaches the Central Camp area in East Raccoon City.
• Power up the camp as the story requires (generators / main switch). Once done, the supply boxes become active shops.
• Interact with any supply box to open the shop interface.
• Scroll through the available items until you find the Attaché Case Expansion (8×13).
• Purchase it for 4000 credits.

Personal tip: On my first run I delayed buying this because I wanted weapon upgrades. That was a mistake. The extra case space effectively lets you carry more guns and ammo anyway, and reduces the number of times you have to sell or discard things you’d rather keep. Now I prioritize this upgrade as my first or second major purchase once I hit 4000 credits.

Important: There are no further case upgrades for Leon. Once you’ve bought this, you’re done – don’t waste time hunting for extra expansions that don’t exist.

Efficient Route: When to Grab Each Upgrade

Here’s the rough route I now follow every run, to minimize backtracking and stress:

• Early Rhodes Hill (Grace): Scavenge aggressively for 3 Antique Coins and unlock Hip Pouch #1 in the Game Room as soon as you can reach it.
• Post–ID Wristband Lv.1: Immediately swing through the West Wing Filing Room for Hip Pouch #2 before progressing further.
• Before leaving Rhodes Hill: Dive into the Basement Treatment area, solve the forklift puzzle, and grab Hip Pouch #3. Treat this as your “Rhodes Hill completion” check.
• Mid-late game ARK (Grace): In Bioweapon Storage 05, open the first white container and collect Hip Pouch #4, before triggering any obvious endgame sequences.
• East Raccoon City (Leon): Once at Central Camp, save up and buy the Attaché Case Expansion from the supply box as soon as you reach 4000 credits.

Following this order, Grace spends most of the game with at least 12 slots, and Leon gets his maxed case right as his section opens up. That alone shaved a surprising amount of frustration off my second run.

Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

Based on my failed attempts and backtracking marathons, these are the things to watch out for:

• Ignoring new enemy spawns on return trips – The Filing Room zombie caught me off guard the first time. When backtracking for pouches, move slowly and listen; treat each “cleared” hallway as potentially repopulated.
• Hoarding Antique Coins too long – The first pouch is the best early-game coin sink. The sooner you buy it, the more return you get over the whole playthrough.
• Forgetting the forklift key is on the floor – It blends into the environment. If you’re at the forklift and can’t interact, do a slow sweep of the ground for the key.
• Leaving Rhodes Hill without all three pouches – Some routes make backtracking a chore or outright block it. Before every big story beat (boss, cutscene-heavy choice, leaving by vehicle), take a minute to open your map and mentally check: Game Room, Filing Room, Basement office.
• Delaying Leon’s case upgrade – Extra case space means you can carry more sellable loot and ammo, which in turn accelerates future upgrades. It pays for itself quickly.

Closing Thoughts – Enjoy the Game, Not the Inventory Tetris

Once I knew where every hip pouch and Leon’s case expansion were, Resident Evil Requiem finally felt like the tension came from the enemies and puzzles, not from fighting the UI. Grace’s 16-slot max still keeps things tight enough to stay survival horror, but it stops feeling unfair. Leon’s single case upgrade, meanwhile, turns his segments into the flexible combat playground they’re clearly meant to be.

If these upgrades are collected in the order above, you’ll spend far less time running back to item boxes and far more time actually progressing through Rhodes Hill, the ARK, and Raccoon City. The game becomes about smart decisions, not about being punished for not knowing where a random pouch was hiding.

With your inventories expanded, you’re in a great spot to start optimizing other parts of your run: ammo routing, key item paths, and boss prep. If managing space stopped being the main stressor for me after doing this, it can for you as well.