Every item you pick up in ARC Raiders can be dealt with in one of three ways:
- Sell it for coins (great for “trinkets”).
- Recycle it in Speranza to convert it into crafting components.
- Salvage it during a raid (yields fewer and narrower materials than recycling back at base).
Open your inventory and use the item action menu to choose. Platform inputs:
- Open inventory: PC: press
TABin the Workshop; Xbox:Select/Back; PlayStation:Touchpad click. - Open item actions: PC:
Right‑click; Xbox:Y; PlayStation:Triangle. - Available actions: “Sell” and “Recycle” in the hideout; “Salvage” during raids and on the pre‑match loadout screen.
How to spot what to sell vs. recycle
ARC Raiders labels most items clearly:
- Trinkets show a small diamond on their icon and a “Trinket” tag. These exist to be sold for coins, with higher rarity generally worth more.
- Recyclables show a “Recyclable” tag in the tooltip and state which component(s) they break into. These are candidates to recycle at base.
Important nuance: item tooltips list crafting uses, but they don’t warn you about Workshop upgrades or quest needs. If you aren’t tracking an item for upgrades and it only has a “Recyclable” tag, it’s usually safe to recycle—but always check tracking (below) first.
High‑value trinkets and what they’re used for
Selling trinkets is a reliable early coin source. A few also factor into upgrades or quests—don’t offload those if you haven’t finished the requirement.
| Trinket | Sells for | Keep for |
|---|---|---|
| Lance’s Mixtape (5th Edition) [Epic] | $10,000 | — |
| Breathtaking Snow Globe [Epic] | $7,000 | — |
| Music Box [Rare] | $5,000 | — |
| Playing Cards [Rare] | $5,000 | — |
| Film Reel [Rare] | $2,000 | “Movie Night” (x1) |
| Cat Bed [Uncommon] | $1,000 | Scrappy Tier 4 (x1) |
| Very Comfortable Pillow [Uncommon] | $2,000 | Scrappy Tier 5 (x3) |
| Bloated Tuna Can [Common] | $1,000 | — |
Rule of thumb: sell trinkets freely unless you know they’re earmarked for Scrappy or an active quest.
What to keep early (and why)
Inventory space is limited, but a few categories are worth reserving room for from day one:
- Scrappy upgrade items. Scrappy auto‑gathers basic materials at higher tiers. You’ll need fruit and a few trinkets:
- Tier 3: Lemons (x3), Apricots (x3)
- Tier 4: Prickly Pears (x6), Olives (x6), Cat Bed (x1)
- Tier 5: Apricots (x12), Mushrooms (x12), Very Comfortable Pillow (x3)
- Seeds. Used as currency by a key trader. Don’t sell them; they directly fund important purchases.
- Basic materials. Metal Parts, Plastic Parts, Rubber Parts, Chemicals, and Fabric fuel nearly every early craft (ammo, shields, bandages, augments). Keep a healthy buffer.
- Enemy‑specific parts. Drivers, Cores, Cells, and similar drops are required to level stations. Start stockpiling these as you encounter Hornets, Wasps, Bastions, Sentinels, Rocketeers, etc.
- “Damaged” electronics and power items. Fried Motherboards, Damaged Heat Sinks, Industrial Batteries, Arc Motion Cores—these often look like scrap but are needed for tiered upgrades.
- Keys. Security and area keys frequently gate blueprints or strong loot behind doors and breaches.
- Shields and power cells. Shields are hard to replace mid‑streak; Arc Power Cells are the backbone of rechargers.
Workshop upgrades: materials to expect (save these)
Leveling stations unlocks stronger crafts and better survival tools. These are the standout requirements you’ll want to hang onto. Items listed here have been consistent needs; totals are per station tier.
| Station | Tier 2: notable items | Tier 3: notable items |
|---|---|---|
| Gear Bench | Power Cables (x3), Electrical Components (x5), Hornet Drivers (x5) | Industrial Batteries (x3), Advanced Electrical Components (x5), Bastion Cells (x6) |
| Gunsmith | Rusted Tools (x3), Mechanical Components (x5), Wasp Drivers (x8) | Rusted Gears (x3), Advanced Mechanical Components (x5), Sentinel Firing Cores (x4) |
| Medical Lab | Cracked Bioscanners (x2), Durable Cloth (x5), Tick Pods (x8) | Rusted Shut Kits (x3), Antiseptic (x8), Surveyor Vaults (x5) |
| Refiner | Toasters (x3), Arc Motion Cores (x5), Fireball Burners (x8) | Motors (x3), Arc Circuitry (x10), Bombadier Cells (x6) |
| Utility Station | Damaged Heat Sinks (x2), Electrical Components (x5), Snitch Scanners (x6) | Fried Motherboards (x3), Advanced Electrical Components (x5), Leaper Pulse Units (x4) |
| Explosives Station | Synthesized Fuel (x3), Crude Explosives (x5), Pop Triggers (x5) | Laboratory “Regents” (x3), Explosive Compounds (x5), Rocketeer Drivers (x3) |
Use tracking and tooltips to avoid costly mistakes
You can track resources needed for station upgrades or crafts. When tracking is active, items you need will display a small eye icon in the world and inventory. The Logbook view shows exactly which project is calling for the item.
- Track upgrade items early—even for tiers you haven’t reached yet—so you don’t offload rare components by accident.
- Hover any material to see its crafting uses; this helps you prioritize recyclables with clear downstream value.
Stash management that saves time (and coins)
- Batch‑sell. In the stash, hold Ctrl to multi‑select, then right‑click once to sell in bulk. Don’t sell one‑by‑one.
- Recycle at base, salvage in raid. Recycling in Speranza yields more components and better variety than salvaging mid‑raid. Salvage only when weight/slots force your hand.
- Don’t expand stash too early. Clearing out trinkets and true junk usually delays the need to spend coins on space.
- Keep one of each oddity. If you’re unsure about an uncommon item and space allows, keep a single copy until you confirm it isn’t tracked for an upgrade or quest.
Once Scrappy is maxed, you can freely sell leftover upgrade trinkets like Cat Beds and Very Comfortable Pillows.
If you build habits around tags, tracking, and a short “save list” for upgrades, you’ll stop second‑guessing every pick‑up. Sell diamond‑tagged trinkets, recycle clear recyclables at base, salvage only under pressure, and protect anything tracked for stations, Scrappy, or quests. Your stash—and your coin balance—will stay under control.
