Wires are an Uncommon-rarity crafting material in Arc Raiders that you'll need in large quantities throughout the game. They're essential for weapon mods, grenade traps, the Expedition project, and several quests — most notably the early "Trash into Treasure" quest from Shani, which asks for six wires and one battery. Despite being a basic material, wires have a reputation for being hard to pin down during those first few raids.
Quick answer: Head to Electrical and Technological areas on any map — particularly the Power Generation Complex, Research & Administration, and Control Tower on Dam Battlegrounds — and loot server racks, power distribution boxes, oscilloscopes, heaters, and generator fuse boxes. You can also recycle items like Power Cables (4 wires each), Portable TVs (6 wires), Cooling Fans (4 wires), and Toasters (3 wires) for a faster haul.
Where wires spawn on the map
Wires appear inside containers located in zones tagged as Electrical or Technological. On the Dam Battlegrounds map — the first map most players have access to — three named areas offer the highest concentration of relevant loot:
- Power Generation Complex — Electrical zone with high loot value
- Research & Administration — Technological zone with high loot value
- Control Tower — Another strong spot for tech-related containers
Inside these facilities, focus on the hallways and interior rooms. Computers, server boxes, metal cabinets, and other tech-themed interactables are your best bet. Field Depot locations scattered across the map also contain computers that can drop wires and batteries. On later maps, you unlock after several runs, look for Space Travel and Research on Buried City, or Fuel Control and the various Towers on Spaceport.
Specific scavenging sources for wires
Not every container drops wires directly, but certain interactable objects in the world have a much higher chance. These are the confirmed scavenging sources that can contain wires as a direct drop:
| Scavenging Source | Typical Location |
|---|---|
| Server Rack | Electrical / Technological buildings |
| Power Distribution Box | Electrical substations, power facilities |
| Oscilloscope | Research / Tech labs |
| Heater | Apartments, residential areas |
| Generator Fuse Box | Electrical substations, portable generators |
Electrical substations on Dam Battlegrounds deserve special attention. The portable generators found there are a reliable source, though the wires themselves can be easy to overlook among the other loot.
Recycling items into wires
Recycling is often the fastest and most reliable way to accumulate wires, especially early on. Many items you pick up in Electrical and Technological zones can be broken down at your base to yield wires. You can check what any item recycles into by right-clicking it in your inventory.
The table below lists every item that produces wires when recycled or salvaged in the field. Salvaging is done through the Actions menu while you're still on the map, while recycling happens back at base.
| Item | Wires (Recycled) | Wires (Salvaged) |
|---|---|---|
| Acoustic Guitar | 6 | 3 |
| Portable TV | 6 | 4 |
| Cooling Fan | 4 | 4 |
| Power Cable | 4 | 3 |
| Toaster | 3 | 3 |
| Damaged Heat Sink | 2 | 3 |
| Broken Handheld Radio | 2 | — |
| Broken Taser | 2 | — |
| Humidifier | 2 | — |
| Power Bank | 2 | — |
| Projector | 2 | — |
| Voltage Converter | 1 | — |
| Advanced Electrical Components | 1 | — |
| Processor | 1 | — |
| Sensors | 1 | 1 |
| Fried Motherboard | — | 5 |
A few standouts worth prioritizing: Power Cables yield 4 wires per recycle and are relatively common in electrical zones. Portable TVs and Acoustic Guitars each give 6 wires, making them the single best recycling targets if you come across them. Fried Motherboards cannot be recycled at base but can be salvaged in the field for 5 wires, so don't skip them during a raid.
Buying wires from Celeste
If looting and recycling aren't getting you there fast enough, the trader Celeste at your base sells wires directly. Purchasing wires from Celeste counts toward quest completion, so you can finish "Trash into Treasure" or any other quest that requires wires without ever finding them in the field.
There is one catch: Celeste's wire stock requires you to be at least level 7 before you can buy them. If you're still below that threshold, you'll need to keep running raids and earning experience until you hit the requirement. The cost is roughly 800 Arc Dollars for enough wires to complete the early quests, which is a reasonable price if you've been struggling to find them organically.
Quests and projects that require wires
Beyond "Trash into Treasure," wires remain in high demand throughout the game. Keeping a healthy stockpile saves time later.
| Quest / Project | Wires Needed |
|---|---|
| Trash into Treasure | 6 |
| After Rain Comes | 5 |
| Eyes On The Prize | 3 |
| Expedition project (Stage 2) | 30 |
Wires are also a core ingredient for crafting weapon mods at the Gunsmith — Compensators, Muzzle Brakes, Shotgun Chokes, Silencers, and Extended Barrels all require between 1 and 8 wires, depending on their tier. They're also used to craft Advanced Electrical Components at the Refiner and grenade traps at the Workbench if you have the Traveling Tinkerer skill.
Tips for efficient wire farming
The most productive approach combines direct looting with recycling. Deploy to Dam Battlegrounds, sweep through the Power Generation Complex and Research & Administration buildings, and grab every piece of tech you can carry — even items you don't immediately recognize as useful. Back at base, check each item's recycling output. You'll often end up with more wires from recycling than from direct drops.
If you're playing with friends, there's a useful quirk worth knowing. The items required for "Trash into Treasure" are not consumed when you turn them in. After completing the quest, you can bring those same wires and batteries into your next raid and drop them for a squadmate who still needs them.
Wires recycle into 2 Rubber Parts (or 1 if salvaged), so once you have more than you need, they're worth breaking down rather than leaving in storage. With a steady loop of raiding tech-heavy zones and recycling everything electrical, you should have no trouble keeping your supply stocked for the long haul.