What to Keep, Sell, and Recycle in ARC Raiders

What to Keep, Sell, and Recycle in ARC Raiders

The item pool in ARC Raiders is massive, and the game does a poor job of explaining the long-term value of loot. Some items are critical for crafting, upgrades, or Expeditions, while others only exist to be recycled or sold. To make things more confusing, recycling items during a raid often gives worse results than recycling them in Speranza, and hoarding the wrong materials quickly fills your inventory.

This guide is designed as a loot management cheat sheet. Below, you’ll find clear tables showing what to keep, what to recycle, and what to sell in ARC Raiders, so you can avoid wasting rare materials and slow progression.

What Loot to Keep in ARC Raiders

Most items in ARC Raiders serve a purpose at some point, but some materials are far more valuable than they appear. These items are used in crafting, Workshop upgrades, Expeditions, and long-term progression, and many of them are surprisingly rare even when farmed intentionally.

As a rule of thumb:

• If an item is used for Workshop upgrades, keep it.

• If an item is required for Expeditions, keep it.

• If an item is annoying to farm on demand, keep it.

Below is a complete table of the best loot to keep in ARC Raiders.

ARC Raiders Loot to Keep – Full Table

High-Priority Exceptions

Always keep these, even if inventory space is tight:

• Fruits & Mushrooms

• Motors

• Cooling Coils

• Laboratory Reagents

• Rusted Gears

• Industrial Batteries

• Surveyor Vaults

They are rare, slow to farm, and often block progression.

ARC Raiders Recyclables List

Not every recyclable item is worth recycling. In most cases, recycling reduces item value by 30–60%, especially for high-rarity loot. However, some items exist purely to be broken down into materials.

Important rules:

• Always recycle in Speranza, not during raids.

• Salvaging in raids yields fewer components.

• Some high-rarity items are better sold than recycled.

ARC Raiders Safe Recyclables Table

These items are safe to recycle and are not required for quests or crafting.

What to Sell in ARC Raiders

There is no fixed sell list. Selling depends entirely on what you plan to do next.

Selling Guidelines

• Trinkets are always meant to be sold.

• If you don’t need the recycled materials, selling is better.

• High rarity does not mean high usefulness.

Example: Magnetic Accelerator

Magnetic Accelerators are Epic materials used for legendary weapons and Hullcracker. If you are not planning to fight Matriarchs, Queens, or farm Trials soon, holding onto them is pointless.

Selling them frees inventory space and provides Coins that can be used immediately for:

• Inventory upgrades

• Shield rechargers

• Consumables

You can always farm them later in Stella Montis Assembly Workshops.

Anti-Hoarding Rule

ARC Raiders heavily punishes hoarding. In practice, Uncommon and Rare materials are more useful than most Epic items for day-to-day gameplay.

Conclusion

Managing loot efficiently in ARC Raiders is difficult, especially early on. Mistakes will happen, but using structured tables and clear rules drastically reduces wasted materials and inventory overload.

With time, you’ll stop needing lists entirely — but until then, this cheat sheet will help you make the right decision when that purple item drops.

FAQ

What items should I always keep in ARC Raiders?

Fruits, Mushrooms, Motors, Cooling Coils, Laboratory Reagents, Rusted Gears, Rusted Shut Medical Kits, Industrial Batteries, and Surveyor Vaults.

What’s the difference between selling, recycling, and salvaging?

Selling converts items into Coins. Recycling breaks items into components in Speranza. Salvaging happens during raids and yields fewer materials.

Where do I recycle items in ARC Raiders?

You recycle items directly from your inventory. No workshop is required.

Which items are “trap” recyclables?

Motors, Cooling Coils, Laboratory Reagents, Rusted Gears, Industrial Batteries, and Rusted Shut Medical Kits.