Loot in Arc Raiders is noisy by design. Scrap, components, ARCs, and then there are the oddities: cat beds, rubber ducks, pillows for a rooster — and Lance’s Mixtape (5th Edition). The mixtape sits in an awkward spot between meme item and serious money: it’s an epic trinket that weighs almost nothing and is worth a flat 10,000 coins.
That naturally leads to the question players keep asking: is Lance’s Mixtape just a high-value sell, or does it secretly matter for quests and progression?
Arc Raiders Lance's Mixtape (5th Edition): core facts
Within the current live version, Lance’s Mixtape (5th Edition) is a straightforward piece of loot with a very specific profile.
| Property | Details |
|---|---|
| Item type | Trinket |
| Rarity | Epic |
| Category icon | Diamond-shaped “Trinket” icon |
| Flavor text | Lance has scattered multiple copies around the Rust Belt |
| Where it appears | Residential and commercial loot zones |
| Acquisition | Scavenging (found as world loot) |
| Stack size | Up to 3 per inventory slot |
| Weight | 0.2 |
| Sell value | 10,000 coins per tape (30,000 coins per full stack) |
Functionally, the mixtape behaves like other valuables marked as trinkets: you can extract with it, store it in your stash, or sell it for its listed value. Trinkets cannot be recycled into materials, so there is no crafting angle here.
Is Lance’s Mixtape a mission or crafting item?
Right now, Lance’s Mixtape (5th Edition) is not required to complete any existing quests in the live game. Players who have finished the full questline, including late missions like “Armored Transport,” report never needing to hand in a mixtape.
That sets it apart from a small set of other trinket-type items that do show up in progression:
| Item | Role |
|---|---|
| Cat bed | Needed for at least one quest or hideout-related objective |
| Very soft pillows | Used for the chicken/rooster and expedition-related needs |
| Light bulbs | Required in small quantities for projects or expedition tasks |
| Other trinkets (e.g., rubber ducks, snow globes) | Primarily decorative or sellable, not widely used in quests |
| Lance’s Mixtape (5th Edition) | High-value sell item; no documented quest or recipe usage |
Some confusion comes from earlier test phases, where more trinkets were experimented with as mission requirements. That history leads to rumors that the mixtape will eventually be needed, but within the current quest set, it is not a gating item.
In other words, if you are worried about soft-locking yourself by selling the mixtape, that is not a risk in the game’s present state.
How Lance’s Mixtape fits into expeditions and stash value
Even without a direct quest use, the mixtape can still play a role in one specific system: stash value toward expedition resets and skill point rewards. Players are watching this closely because end-of-cycle rewards may scale based on how much value you have stored.
For that narrow purpose, Lance’s Mixtape is actually one of the best items in the game:
- It stacks up to three per slot for a total of 30,000 coins of value.
- It weighs only 0.2 per tape, making it efficient to extract.
- It drops in common residential and commercial areas, so it isn’t tied to a single rare POI.
There is still some uncertainty in the community about whether the game counts only the sell value of items in your stash, or also tallies raw coins you are holding when determining expedition rewards. If coins themselves fully count, then holding tapes instead of just hoarding currency becomes less important. If stash value is the only metric, then tapes are one of the cleanest ways to inflate that number.
Either way, the mixtape functions as a flexible “value brick” you can liquidate whenever you want: keep it to pad stash value, or sell it instantly for coins when you need to buy something.
Bedroom decoration and cosmetic value
Trinkets in Arc Raiders have a small but noticeable cosmetic role: some of them appear as physical objects in your Raider’s bedroom in Speranza when they sit in your stash. Players have confirmed this behavior for items like:
- Cat bed (appears on the floor).
- Rubber duck.
- Epic snow globe.
Moving trinkets into and out of your stash triggers different decoration layouts in the room, reshuffling shelves and small props. The mixtape itself is more subtle; players have not consistently identified a clear placement for it the way they have for the cat bed or snow globe.
This means Lance’s Mixtape has at least a light cosmetic role as part of the trinket system, even if its specific model is harder to spot. For collection-minded players, that alone can be a reason to keep at least one copy in permanent storage.
Sell Lance’s Mixtape or keep it? Practical decision guide
Once the myths are cleared away, the decision comes down to your current stage in the game and what you enjoy doing.
| Play situation | Best move | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Early game, short on coins | Sell immediately | 10,000 coins is a big jump toward stash expansions, key upgrades, and more forgiving loadouts. |
| Mid game, stable income, quests not finished | Optional: keep one, sell extras | You gain liquidity from selling duplicates while satisfying any “collector” urge by holding a single tape in stash. |
| Late game, all quests done | Use it as a value store | Stack tapes for compact stash value (30k per slot) and liquidate only when you need to fund specific purchases. |
| Preparing for an expedition reset | Keep until you know the reward rules | If stash value matters, full stacks of mixtapes are extremely efficient; if coins also count, you can safely sell. |
| Cosmetic and lore-focused player | Keep at least one in stash | The mixtape is part of Lance’s personality and the broader Rust Belt flavor; it fits a “trophy shelf” approach. |
One important detail: trinkets cannot be recycled into materials. Your realistic options with Lance’s Mixtape are:
- Extract it and sell it for coins at a trader.
- Extract it and park it in your stash as a value or cosmetic piece.
- Leave it behind on the map if you need the inventory space for other loot.
Because money is relatively easy to farm with targeted “sell everything” runs that net 10–15k in a few matches, many players eventually treat mixtapes as luxury padding rather than something to hoard desperately. The typical pattern is: keep a few early on out of caution, realize they are not blocking any missions, then feel comfortable selling later finds.
How mixtapes compare to other high-value trinkets
Lance’s Mixtape (5th Edition) is not the only valuable oddity you can find in the Rust Belt, but it has a specific niche.
| Trinket | Main use | Quest relevance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lance’s Mixtape (5th Edition) | Sell for 10,000 coins, stash value, light cosmetic | None in current quests | Stacks to 3 for 30k value; very efficient per slot. |
| Cat bed | Quest requirement and room decoration | Yes | Shows visibly in your room when stored. |
| Very soft pillows | Chicken/rooster and expedition-related needs | Yes | Reported as relatively hard to find for some players. |
| Light bulbs | Projects and expedition objectives | Yes | Required in small numbers; easier to replace than pillows. |
| Rubber duck, snow globe, other epics | Decorative, sellable | Generally no | Good for flavor and stash screenshots, but expendable. |
The mixtape’s standout trait is how cleanly it converts into currency: no partial turn-ins, no recipe thresholds, just a flat 10k. That makes it more forgiving to “panic sell” than items like pillows, which may be rare and specifically needed for objectives.
Viewed without the speculation, Lance’s Mixtape (5th Edition) is simple: a well-paying, low-weight trinket with a bit of personality and potential value as a stash asset. It doesn’t gate any quests in the current build, so you can safely treat it as flexible currency. Hold one if you like Lance’s flair, stack a few if you want tidy stash value for expeditions, and don’t feel guilty if you cash the next one in for a badly needed stash expansion.
