Crude Explosives sit at the center of Arc Raiders’ explosive economy. They are an Uncommon, refined material used in multiple grenade recipes, launcher ammo, and even in upgrading your explosives workshop, so running out can slow progression quickly.
There are three main ways to stock up: looting Industrial and Security locations, crafting through the Refiner, and recycling specific items.
What Crude Explosives are used for
Crude Explosives are a lightweight (0.5) refined material with a stack size of 10 and a sell price of 270. They can be thrown on their own to create a small explosion, but their real value is as a crafting ingredient and upgrade cost.
They feed into a wide range of explosive gear and systems:
| Output item | Where crafted | Crude Explosives required | Other key ingredients |
|---|---|---|---|
| Explosive Compound | Refiner 2 | 2 | 2× Oil |
| Launcher Ammo (6x) | Workbench | 2 | 1× ARC Motion Core |
| Pulse Mine | Explosives Station 1 | 1 | 1× Wires |
| Seeker Grenade | Explosives Station 1 | 1 | 2× ARC Alloy |
| Shrapnel Grenade | Explosives Station 2 | 1 | 2× Steel Spring |
| Snap Blast Grenade | Explosives Station 2 | 2 | 1× Magnet |
| Trigger 'Nade | Explosives Station 2 | 2 | 1× Processor |
Crude Explosives are also required to upgrade Explosives Station 1 to Explosives Station 2, alongside Synthesized Fuel and Pop Triggers. That upgrade unlocks several higher-tier grenade recipes, so treating Crude Explosives as a priority material early on pays off.
Where Crude Explosives drop on the map
Crude Explosives are classified as Uncommon loot and are tagged for both Industrial and Security loot pools. That combination makes them relatively frequent in many topside locations, particularly where those tags overlap, and loot containers are dense.
They can appear in random crates, lockers, loot boxes, and breachable metal containers, but certain points of interest are noticeably more consistent. The locations below are especially useful when you want to focus on farming this item rather than picking it up passively.
Best Industrial and Security locations for Crude Explosives
The following table groups strong farming areas by map, with a focus on spaces that combine the right loot tags with a lot of containers in a compact footprint.
| Region | Point of interest | Why it’s good for Crude Explosives |
|---|---|---|
| Dam Battlegrounds | Hydroponic Dome Complex | High density of lockers, bins, and breachable containers in dome structures, with both Industrial and Security tags. |
| Dam Battlegrounds | Power Generation Complex | Industrial-heavy environment with metal crates that can roll Crude Explosives. |
| Dam Battlegrounds | Water Treatment Control | Indoor spaces packed with searchable containers in Industrial loot pools. |
| Dam Battlegrounds | Testing Annex | Research-style interiors with lockers and crates that benefit from the Security loot tag. |
| Dam Battlegrounds | Scrap Yard | Open Industrial zone with scattered crates and metal containers. |
| Spaceport | Container Storage | Rows of cargo containers and crates, ideal for quick sweeps. |
| Spaceport | Vehicle Maintenance | Compact, container-dense area with relevant loot tags. |
| Spaceport | Rocket Assembly | Industrial interior spaces with a mix of lockers and crates. |
| Blue Gate | Adorned Wreckage | Scattered containers and breachable metal crates tied to Industrial/Security loot. |
| Blue Gate | Warehouse Complex | Clustered warehouse buildings full of lootable containers. |
| Stella Montis | Loading Bay | Cargo-handling area with a high crate count. |
| Stella Montis | Lobby | Interior with lockers and Security-tagged storage. |
| Stella Montis | Lobby Metro | Transit hub with a tight, easily searched layout. |
Within these areas, check every locker, box, and especially breachable metal container. Metal crates in Industrial and Security spaces can roll Crude Explosives alongside Explosive Compound and Rubber Parts, so prioritizing them is usually worth the extra effort.
How to craft Crude Explosives in the Refiner
Looting will cover casual needs, but crafting offers a predictable way to generate large numbers of Crude Explosives, especially once your base automation is set up.
Crude Explosives can be crafted directly at Refiner level 1 using Chemicals.
| Input | Station | Output |
|---|---|---|
| 6× Chemicals | Refiner 1 | 1× Crude Explosives |
Method 1: Turn Scrappy’s Chemicals into Crude Explosives
Once Scrappy is upgraded, it can passively collect Chemicals during your runs. That passive income is the backbone of a steady Crude Explosives supply.
Step 1: Level up Scrappy until it starts generating Chemicals automatically into your workshop inventory. This removes the need to manually farm every unit of Chemicals from the field.
Step 2: Interact with the Refiner in your base and go to the recipe list. Select the recipe that converts 6× Chemicals into 1× Crude Explosives.
Step 3: Queue as many crafts as your Chemical stock allows, then hold the craft input (for example, holding the key prompt shown on screen) to rapidly produce multiple Crude Explosives in one session.
This method essentially lets you transform passive Chemical income into a constant trickle of explosives. For players who lean on grenades or launcher ammo, it is one of the most efficient uses of early-game Chemicals.
How to recycle other items into Crude Explosives
Recycling and salvaging give you another layer of control over your stock. Crude Explosives can be broken down into Chemicals, but the relationship also runs in reverse: several crafted explosives and materials can be recycled back into Crude Explosives.
Recycling Crude Explosives themselves
Recycling or salvaging Crude Explosives converts them back into Chemicals:
| Action | Input | Output |
|---|---|---|
| Recycle | 1× Crude Explosives | 3× Chemicals |
| Salvage | 1× Crude Explosives | 2× Chemicals |
That loop lets you correct overcrafting. If you push too many Chemicals into Crude Explosives and need Chemicals back for another recipe, recycling offers a partial refund.
Items that can be recycled into Crude Explosives
Several higher-tier materials and explosives break down into Crude Explosives when recycled. This is useful when you have surplus gear that no longer fits your build or when you are pushing a workshop upgrade and need raw explosives more than finished grenades.
| Item recycled | Crude Explosives gained |
|---|---|
| Explosive Compound | 2 |
| Laboratory Reagents | 3 |
| Pop Trigger | 1 |
| Seeker Grenade | 1 |
| Shrapnel Grenade | 1 |
| Trailblazer | 2 |
Think of these items as a reserve battery of Crude Explosives. If you need a burst of Uncommon explosive material for an upgrade or a new recipe, draining that battery through recycling can be faster than heading out on another dedicated loot run.
How Crude Explosives support your workshop upgrades
Crude Explosives are also part of the cost to improve your explosives crafting capabilities. Upgrading Explosives Station 1 to Explosives Station 2 consumes:
- 3× Synthesized Fuel
- 5× Crude Explosives
- 5× Pop Trigger
Because Explosives Station 2 unlocks recipes like Shrapnel Grenades, Snap Blast Grenades, and Trigger 'Nades, that single upgrade significantly increases the value you can squeeze out of each Crude Explosives stack.
Planning ahead helps. Treat the first 5–10 Crude Explosives you obtain as earmarked for the station upgrade rather than short-term grenade crafts, unless you are stuck on a specific encounter.
Efficient routines for staying stocked
Combining all of these methods turns Crude Explosives from a bottleneck into a resource you rarely think about:
- On topside runs, favor Industrial and Security-tagged locations with dense interiors such as Hydroponic Dome Complex, Vehicle Maintenance, and Warehouse Complex, and fully clear lockers and breachable metal containers.
- In your base, keep Scrappy upgraded and the Refiner busy converting surplus Chemicals into Crude Explosives whenever you log in or return from a raid.
- When your stash fills with grenades or explosives you no longer use, recycle items like Explosive Compound, Seeker Grenades, and Trailblazer to refill your Crude Explosives pool.
Handled this way, Crude Explosives become a flexible middle layer in Arc Raiders’ crafting system, feeding both your day-to-day loadout and the upgrades that unlock stronger tools for the next fight.
