ARC Raiders drops an absurd amount of junk on you, and the game does a terrible job telling you what’s actually important. Between bench upgrades, quests, Expedition Projects, Scrappy, and story chains, it’s easy to scrap the wrong item and stall progression for hours. This guide fixes that.
It merges all quest items, bench requirements, Project needs, and progression bottlenecks into a clean list style so you can quickly find out:
- What must stay in your stash
- What’s safe to break down for parts
- What should be sold for coins instead of being recycled
- Which items you only need temporarily for upgrades, then can trash later
Items You Must Keep
If you keep nothing else, keep the items in this section. These are the things that progress quests, unlock bench tiers, or are needed for Expedition Projects.
Enemy / ARC Component Drops (Always Keep)
| Item | Why You Must Keep It |
|---|---|
| Leaper Pulse Unit | Required for quests, Utility III, and Expedition Project. |
| Hornet Driver | Needed for quests, Gear Bench II. |
| Wasp Driver | Needed for quests, Gunsmith II. |
| Rocketeer Driver | Needed for quest (Out of the Shadows) + Explosive Station III. |
| Snitch Scanner | Quest item + Utility II. |
| Surveyor Vault | Needed for Mixed Signals quest + Medical Lab III. |
| Sentinel Firing Core | Needed for Gunsmith III. |
| Tick Pod | Needed for Medical Lab II + quest (Small, But Sinister). |
2. Core Crafting / Refined Materials (Always Needed Later)
| Item | Use |
|---|---|
| ARC Alloy | Universal mid/late-game crafting. Needed in many high-tier recipes. |
| Electrical Components | Required for multiple upgrades + Expedition. |
| Advanced Electrical Components | Expedition + late gear upgrade. |
| Mechanical Components | Needed for multiple benches. |
| Advanced Mechanical Components | Needed for ARC enemy parts crafts + Expedition. |
| Sensors | Expedition + crafting. |
| Batteries | Needed throughout for upgrades & crafting. |
| Durable Cloth | Required for various crafts + Expedition. |
| Steel Springs | Needed for workshop items. |
| Wires | Required in major crafting chains. |
| Oil | Used in several upgrade paths. |
| Rubber Parts / Plastic Parts / Metal Parts | Always needed in bulk; don’t sell or recycle these base materials. |
3. Tools & Devices Needed for Bench or Project Upgrades
| Item | Use |
|---|---|
| Cooling Fan | Needed for Expedition Project. |
| Humidifier | Needed for Expedition Project. |
| Light Bulb | Needed for Expedition Project. |
| Water Pump | Needed for quests + general crafting. |
| Industrial Battery | Needed for Gear Bench III. |
| Damaged Heat Sink | Needed for Utility II. |
| Rusted Tools | Needed for Gunsmith II. |
| Rusted Gear | Needed for Gunsmith III. |
| Rusted Shut Medical Kit | Needed for Medical Lab III. |
4. Quest-Locked Items (Always Keep Until Quest Ends)
| Item | Use |
|---|---|
| Syringe | Quest: Doctor’s Orders. |
| Power Rod | High-tier quest/craft item. |
| Exodus Modules | Expedition-related. |
| Magnetic Accelerator | Expedition recipe item. |
Items Safe to Recycle
This is the bulk of stash bloat. These items exist only to generate basic materials like Metal Parts, Plastic Parts, Chemicals, Rubber Parts, and Wires.
| Item | Notes |
|---|---|
| Alarm Clock | Good source of plastic + processor. |
| ARC Coolant | Recycle for chemicals. |
| ARC Flex Rubber | Recycle for rubber parts. |
| ARC Performance Steel | Recycle for metal parts. |
| ARC Synthetic Resin | Recycle for plastic parts. |
| ARC Thermo Lining | Fabric return. |
| Bicycle Pump | Metal + canisters. |
| Broken Flashlight | Batteries + metal. |
| Broken Guidance System | Processor return. |
| Broken Handheld Radio | Sensors + wires. |
| Broken Taser | Battery + wires. |
| Burned ARC Circuitry | ARC Alloy return. |
| Candle Holder | Metal parts. |
| Coolant | Chemicals. |
| Cooling Coil | Chemicals + springs. |
| Crumpled Plastic Bottle | Plastic. |
| Damaged ARC Motion Core | ARC alloy. |
| Damaged ARC Powercell | Small metal return. |
| Damaged Fireball Burner | ARC alloy. |
| Damaged Hornet Driver | ARC alloy (not needed for quests). |
| Damaged Rocketeer Driver | ARC alloy. |
| Deflated Football | Rubber/fabric. |
| Degraded ARC Rubber | Rubber. |
| Diving Goggles | Rubber. |
| Dried-Out ARC Resin | Plastic. |
| Expired Respirator | Rubber/fabric. |
| Frying Pan | Metal. |
| Garlic Press | Metal. |
| Headphones | Rubber + speaker component. |
| Household Cleaner | Chemicals. |
| Ice Cream Scooper | Metal. |
| Impure ARC Coolant | Chemicals. |
| Industrial Charger | Metal + converter. |
| Industrial Magnet | Magnet + metal. |
| Metal Brackets | Metal. |
| Number Plate | Metal. |
| Polluted Air Filter | Fabric + oil. |
| Portable TV | Wires + batteries. |
| Projector | Processor + wires. |
| Radio | Speaker + sensors. |
| Remote Control | Plastic + sensors. |
| Ripped Safety Vest | Cloth + magnet. |
| Rubber Pad | Rubber. |
| Ruined Accordion | Rubber + springs. |
| Ruined Baton | Metal + rubber. |
| Ruined Handcuffs | Metal. |
| Ruined Parachute | Fabric. |
| Ruined Riot Shield | Plastic + rubber. |
| Ruined Tactical Vest | Fabric. |
| Rusted Bolts | Metal. |
| Rusty ARC Steel | Metal. |
| Spring Cushion | Cloth + springs. |
| Spotter Relay | Recycle for alloys/components. |
| Tattered ARC Lining | Fabric. |
| Tattered Clothes | Fabric. |
| Torn Blanket | Fabric. |
| Turbo Pump | Oil + mech components. |
| Toaster | Plastic + wires. |
| Unusable Weapon | Simple gun parts + metal. |
| Water Filter | Rubber + canisters. |
Items Safe to Sell for Coins
| Item | Sell Value |
|---|---|
| Bloated Tuna Can | 1000 |
| Breathtaking Snow Globe | 7000 |
| Coffee Pot | 1000 |
| Dartboard | 2000 |
| Expired Pasta | 1000 |
| Faded Photograph | 640 |
| Film Reel | 2000 (after Movie Night) |
| Fine Wristwatch | 3000 |
| Music Box | 5000 |
| Music Album | 3000 |
| Painted Box | 2000 |
| Playing Cards | 5000 |
| Pottery | 2000 |
| Poster of Natural Wonders | 2000 |
| Red Coral Jewelry | 5000 |
| Resin | 1000 |
| Rosary | 2000 |
| Silver Teaspoon Set | 3000 |
| Statuette | 3000 |
| Torn Book | 1000 |
| Vase | 3000 |
| Volcanic Rock | 270 |
| Rubber Duck | 1000 (after quest) |
| Empty Wine Bottle | 1000 (after quest) |
| Fertilizer | 1000 (after quest) |
| Agave / Agave Juice | Sell only unless Scrappy-5. |
| Apricot / Lemon / Olives / Mushroom / Roots | Sell after Scrappy unlock milestones. |
| Very Comfortable Pillow | Sell after Scrappy 5. |
Items to Keep Only Until a Specific Quest or Upgrade
Once you complete the relevant requirement, you can safely recycle or sell these items in ARC Raiders.
Quest-Limited Items
| Item | Keep Until… |
|---|---|
| Camera Lens | Needed for Movie Night quest. |
| Film Reel | Movie Night quest, then sell. |
| Deflated Football | League quest, then recycle extras. |
| Rubber Duck | Lance’s Tea Party quest, then sell. |
| Empty Wine Bottle | Pied Piper quest. |
| Syringe | Doctor’s Orders (extras may be recycled later). |
| Fertilizer | Unexpected Initiative quest. |
| Water Pump | Unexpected Initiative quest. |
Bench-Locked (Only Until You Unlock a Specific Upgrade)
| Item | Required For |
|---|---|
| Damaged Heat Sink | Utility II |
| Industrial Battery | Gear Bench III |
| Cooling Fan | Expedition Project |
| Humidifier | Expedition Project |
| Light Bulb | Expedition Project |
| Cracked Bioscanner | Medical Lab II |
| Rusted Shut Medical Kit | Medical Lab III |
| Rusted Tools | Gunsmith II |
| Rusted Gear | Gunsmith III |
| Toaster | Refiner II |
| Motor | Refiner III |
| Bastion Cell | Gear Bench III |
| Bombardier Cell | Refiner III |
| Pop Trigger | Explosive Station II |
| Synthesized Fuel | Explosive Station II |
| Laboratory Reagents | Explosive Station III |
| Projector | (Utility/crafting queue need) |
| Cooling Coil | Misc upgrade chain |
Enemy Part Items Used Only Until Specific Tiers
| Item | Keep Until |
|---|---|
| Wasp Driver | Gunsmith II & quests, then recycle extras. |
| Hornet Driver | Gear Bench II & quests. |
| Rocketeer Driver | Explosive Station III + quest. |
| Snitch Scanner | Utility II + quest. |
| Tick Pod | Medical Lab II + quest. |
| Leaper Pulse Unit | Utility III + Expedition. (Keep extras for Expedition!) |
| Surveyor Vault | Mixed Signals + Medical Lab III. |
