Laboratory Reagents are a rare, Medical-category pickup that shows up as loot and pulls double duty: it’s both a sellable item and a reliable way to convert weight into core crafting parts. If you’re pushing your Workshop, you’ll also need a small stash for a key upgrade.
Laboratory Reagents quick facts
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Rarity | Rare |
| Category | Medical |
| Weight | 3 kg |
| Stack size | 3 |
| Sell price | 2,000 |
| Primary source | Scavenging (loot) |
They occupy a modest amount of carry weight, cap at three per stack, and sit in the Medical bucket for inventory sorting and stash management.
Recycle vs. salvage: what you actually get
You can break Laboratory Reagents down two ways, with different outcomes.
| Action | Return | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sell item | 2,000 (no materials) | Highest coin return; zero crafting parts gained. |
| Recycle | 16× Chemicals + 3× Crude Explosives | Component value totals 1,610, which is 390 less than selling the item directly. |
| Salvage (in-raid) | 3× Crude Explosives | Partial return during a raid; Chemicals are not recovered. |
Chemicals are a staple input for ammo and explosives, so recycling a reagent into 16 units can be the faster route to craftable stock when your stash is low. If your priority is raw currency, selling the intact item yields the better payout.
Workshop upgrade: keep three on hand
Laboratory Reagents are required to push your explosives crafting station to its next tier.
| Upgrade path | Required items |
|---|---|
| Explosives Bench 2 → Explosives Bench 3 | 3× Laboratory Reagents, 5× Explosive Compound, 3× Rocketeer Driver |
Plan to reserve three reagents before cashing out or breaking them down. That avoids a late-session scramble when you’re otherwise ready to upgrade.
Inventory and value planning
- Carry calculus: at 3 kg each and a stack cap of three, a full stack is 9 kg. That’s light enough to justify hauling when you know you need Chemicals or an upcoming Explosives Bench upgrade.
- Currency vs. materials: selling a single reagent nets 2,000; recycling and selling the resulting parts totals 1,610. The conversion is best used when you need Chemicals or Crude Explosives more than coins.
- In-raid breakdown: if you dismantle during a raid, expect only 3× Crude Explosives back. Use standard recycling outside raids to capture the Chemicals.
What to do next
If you’re still building out Workshop tiers, bank three Laboratory Reagents first. After that, decide run by run: sell for 2,000 when you need coins, recycle when your ammo and explosives pipeline needs Chemicals, and only salvage mid-raid if you specifically need Crude Explosives on the spot.
