ARC Performance Steel looks like it should be a premium late‑game ingredient. In practice, it’s a compact way of carrying a lot of basic metal, and one of the more straightforward things to convert into crafting resources or cash.
ARC Performance Steel basics
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Item type | Recyclable material |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Category | Recyclable (Crafting Materials) |
| Weight | 1.0 kg |
| Max stack size | 3 per slot |
| Sell price | 1,000 Raider Coins per unit |
| Craftable? | No |
The description is blunt: it can be recycled into scrap metal and cannot be crafted. There is no bench recipe that consumes ARC Performance Steel directly, and it does not appear on quest, hideout, or project requirement lists. It functions purely as loot that you either sell or break down.
Where ARC Performance Steel drops
Performance Steel is tied to ARC itself rather than the human factions or general topside clutter. It appears in ARC‑themed loot and on certain ARC enemies.
| Source type | Details |
|---|---|
| Enemy drops | Leaper, Queen, Bombardier (ARC units) |
| Loot pools | ARC loot category (ARC caches, ARC activity rewards) |
| Map coverage | Any map where these ARC enemies or activities spawn |
You don’t need to farm a specific bench, trader, or container key for this item. If you’re consistently fighting ARC machines—especially the heavier types that drop named components—you will see Performance Steel in the mix.
Recycling vs salvaging Performance Steel
There are two ways to convert Performance Steel into basic materials, and the values are fixed.
| Action | Location | Output (per 1 unit) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recycle | Raider Den (workshop) | 12 × Metal Parts | Full component yield |
| Salvage | Topside, during a raid | 7 × Metal Parts | Reduced yield for on‑the‑fly conversion |
Metal Parts themselves are a basic material used in a long list of weapon, bench, and project requirements, so turning Performance Steel into parts is rarely a waste.
Recycling in the Raider Den also has a clear coin tradeoff. The raw item sells for 1,000 Raider Coins, while the 12 Metal Parts you get from recycling have a total sell value of 900 Raider Coins. Keeping it as a trade good is slightly better if you only care about money; recycling is better if you value Metal Parts more than the 100‑coin difference.
Inventory efficiency and value
Performance Steel is essentially a compressed bundle of Metal Parts.
| Item | Metal Parts gained | Sell value (coins) | Metal per kg | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARC Performance Steel (recycled later) | 12 | 900 (via parts) | 12 | Best strictly metal‑dense option |
| ARC Performance Steel (sold raw) | 0 | 1,000 | – | Best coin return for this slot |
| Typical metal scrap (e.g., Rusted Bolts, Metal Brackets) | 8 | 640 | 8 | Solid, but less dense than Performance Steel |
In a packed backpack, one stack of three Performance Steel weighs 3 kg and will eventually turn into 36 Metal Parts. That’s a lot of gunsmithing progress in just one slot. If you’re pushing deep into a zone and want to walk out with as much metal as possible, Performance Steel is one of the more efficient grabs.
Use in quests, hideout, and projects
Performance Steel sits in a special tier of ARC‑branded bulk materials—alongside things like ARC Coolant, ARC Flex Rubber, ARC Synthetic Resin, and ARC Thermo Lining—that exist to convert into large chunks of basics. Unlike topside materials such as ARC Alloy or Batteries, it is not flagged anywhere as required for:
- Quest turn‑ins
- Workshop or bench upgrades
- Expedition Projects
The practical outcome: keeping a stash of Performance Steel “just in case” does not unlock story beats, hideout levels, or project milestones. If you’re short on space or resources, it is safe to treat it as fuel for Metal Parts or as a straight coin drop.
When to sell and when to break it down
The item is flexible, but a few patterns make it easier to decide what to do with it.
| Situation | Recommended action | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Early game, basic materials bottlenecked | Recycle in Raider Den | 12 Metal Parts per unit accelerates gunsmith and refiner progress. |
| Mid game, benches caught up, coins tight | Sell raw for coins | 1,000 coins per unit beats selling the recycled parts. |
| During a raid, overweight and need parts now | Salvage topside | 7 Metal Parts is less efficient but frees weight immediately. |
| Endgame, focusing on high‑tier projects | Mostly recycle | Large metal demands make the 12‑part yield more valuable than the extra 100 coins. |
How Performance Steel compares to other ARC bulk materials
ARC‑branded recyclables share a pattern: each one maps to a single basic material type in generous quantities. Seen side by side, Performance Steel is the metal‑focused entry in this group.
| ARC bundle item | Rarity | Recycles into | Primary use | Safe to sell/recycle? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARC Performance Steel | Rare | 12 × Metal Parts | Weapon parts, bench upgrades, metal‑heavy projects | Yes |
| ARC Coolant | Rare | 16 × Chemicals | Explosives, chemical‑based crafting | Yes |
| ARC Flex Rubber | Rare | 16 × Rubber Parts | Grip, padding, rubber‑using recipes | Yes |
| ARC Synthetic Resin | Rare | 14 × Plastic Parts | Plastic‑driven components and housings | Yes |
| ARC Thermo Lining | Rare | 16 × Fabric | Fabric‑intensive armor and upgrades | Yes |
None of these ARC bundles is tied to story progression or hideout milestones. They exist to give ARC combat its own loot identity and to let you carry “metal,” “plastic,” or “rubber” in fewer inventory slots.
Practical loadout decisions
On a crowded run, you’re not choosing between Performance Steel and nothing—you’re choosing between it and some other loot. Since it’s both rare and metal‑dense, it usually wins out over common recyclables unless you urgently need a different base material.
- Prioritize Performance Steel over low‑value metal recyclables (Number Plates, basic brackets) when space is tight.
- If you already have enough Metal Parts banked and are chasing coins, treat Performance Steel as a 1,000‑coin ARC drop.
- Don’t hoard it long‑term in the stash; converting it into either coins or metal keeps your progression moving.
Handled this way, ARC Performance Steel stops being a mysterious purple brick in your inventory and becomes what it actually is: a reliable, flexible chunk of value you can turn into either a lot of metal or a neat pile of cash whenever you need it.
