Wires are an uncommon “Topside Material” in ARC Raiders with a small carry footprint (0.25 kg, stack of 15) and a surprisingly big role early on. You’ll need six of them for Shani’s Trash into Treasure quest, and they’re also a core input for several entry-tier Gunsmith mods and advanced components. If you’re stuck staring at empty crates, the trick is knowing where to loot and what to break down.

Where to find wires (fast)

Target zones marked as Electrical or Technological on your map. On the Dam Battlegrounds, interior facilities consistently produce the best hit rate:

  • Power Generation Complex — check command/control rooms, server racks, and desks.
  • Control Tower and Research & Administration — facility hallways, offices, and labs.
  • Hydroponic Dome Complex — broad loot density across the complex.
  • Field Depots — the desktop computers inside can also contain wires and batteries.

Prioritize searchable tech: computers, server boxes, control consoles, racks, and metal cabinets lining interior corridors. You can pull wires directly from containers or pick up higher-tier tech that converts into wires back at base.

Get wires by recycling tech loot

You don’t have to find wires as wires. Many electrical and mechanical pickups scrap down into them. In your inventory, select an item to preview its salvage output before you commit. Consistently useful categories include:

  • Server and PC junk: fried motherboards, processors, cooling fans, heat sinks.
  • Electrical gear: power cables, handheld radios, tasers, portable TVs.
  • Industrial tech: industrial batteries and similar rare “blue/green” quality parts.

Fried motherboards and other rare electrical junk tend to yield the most wires per item. Power cables, fans, and heatsinks commonly break down into a smaller but reliable amount. Values can vary between builds, so let the salvage preview guide your choices.

Tip: You only need six wires for Trash into Treasure, so a single good facility clear or a batch salvage of tech loot is usually enough.

Buy wires from Celeste

If you’re unlucky with drops or in a hurry, the Celeste trader at base can sell you wires. Prices change with availability, but it’s a straightforward safety valve if a quest is blocking progress.

What wires craft (and why you should keep a stack)

Beyond questing, wires feed early modding and material upgrades. These are the confirmed, low-level recipes and conversions that use wires:

Recipe Workbench Output
3x Wires + 2x Electrical Components Refiner 2 1x Advanced Electrical Components
6x Metal Parts + 1x Wires Gunsmith 1 Compensator I
6x Metal Parts + 1x Wires Gunsmith 1 Muzzle Brake I
6x Metal Parts + 1x Wires Gunsmith 1 Shotgun Choke I

Higher-tier Gunsmith upgrades in the same families continue to use wires, so it’s worth banking a small reserve after you clear your quest log.

Recycle or salvage wires into rubber parts

Action Input Output
Recycle 1x Wires 3x Rubber Parts
Salvage 1x Wires 1x Rubber Parts

Use the full recycle when you’re converting surplus wires into base materials; it returns more rubber per piece than simple salvage.

Quick checklist to clear Trash into Treasure

  • Open the map; pick Electrical and Technological facilities like Power Generation, Control Tower, or Research & Administration. On Dam Battlegrounds, Hydroponic Dome also has strong general loot.
  • Loot interior tech first: server rooms, command rooms, computers, racks, and cabinets.
  • Extract with rare electrical/mechanical items if you don’t see wires directly.
  • At base, preview and recycle tech into wires until you hit six.
  • If you’re short, buy the remainder from Celeste.

Note: Turning in the quest doesn’t consume the items, so you can carry those same wires into a raid to help a squadmate if needed.

Once the quest is out of the way, keep hitting Electrical/Technological interiors for steady restocks. Wires are light, widely useful, and trade up cleanly into both mods and advanced components, so grabbing them never feels like wasted space.