Advanced power cells sit in an odd spot in ARC Raiders’ economy: rare enough that you notice every drop, but common enough that it is easy to waste them on low-value uses. They are strictly a topside material, carry a high coin value, and tie the loot loop to higher-end ARC enemies rather than basic fodder.
Item basics and stats
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Category | Topside material |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Weight | 0.5 kg |
| Stack size | 5 |
| Sell price | 640 Raider Coins |
| Primary uses | Crafting, recycling, salvaging |
Functionally, the advanced cell is a higher-tier version of the basic ARC Powercell. It does not restore shields directly and cannot be crafted on its own. Instead, it feeds into other blueprints or can be broken down into standard cells and coins. That makes it a flexible mid-tier resource: something you either turn into ammo/shield tools or convert into generic power cells for broader use.
How to get advanced power cells
These cells only drop from specific, more dangerous ARC units. Regular low-tier enemies use standard power cells instead. To get the advanced variant, you need to fight the heavier, “named” forms of ARC hardware.
| ARC enemy | Role | Drop type |
|---|---|---|
| Sentinel | Armored frontline ARC | Can drop advanced cell |
| Bombardier | Explosive artillery ARC | Can drop advanced cell |
| Bastion | Heavily shielded ARC | Can drop advanced cell |
| Rocketeer | Rocket-armed ARC | Can drop advanced cell |
| Leaper | High-mobility ARC | Can drop advanced cell |
| The Queen | Large boss ARC | Can drop advanced cell |
| Surveyor | Rolling ARC unit | Listed as a drop source in some databases |
Because these enemies tend to appear in tougher encounters and events, advanced power cells are effectively a reward for taking on higher risk. They are also tagged as “Can be found in: ARC,” which means you will not see them in regular loot containers or human caches—only on ARC wreckage.
Relationship to standard ARC Powercells
The baseline ARC Powercell is a common topside material dropped by all ARC enemies. It has its own direct gameplay role: it doubles as a consumable shield fixer and as an ingredient in shield-recharger blueprints.
| Property | Advanced cell | Standard cell |
|---|---|---|
| Rarity | Rare | Common |
| Dropped by | Specific higher-tier ARCs | All ARCs |
| Direct shield use | No | Yes (repairs shield in a pinch) |
| Main purpose | Crafting, recycling | Crafting, shield item, workshop upgrade |
| Weight | 0.5 kg | 0.5 kg |
| Stack size | 5 | 5 |
| Sell price | 640 Coins | 640 Coins |
Standard cells can be consumed directly to restore shields and can be turned into Shield Rechargers with rubber parts at a Workbench, Medical Lab, or even in your inventory. They are also part of the cost to upgrade a workshop into a Refiner. Advanced cells, in contrast, sit upstream: they are turned into standard cells through recycling/salvaging or slotted into more specialized recipes.
Crafting recipes that use advanced cells
Advanced cells only appear in a small set of recipes, but those recipes matter because they either feed your weapons or sustain your defenses. The item itself cannot be crafted; it only enters the loop as loot from ARCs.
| Inputs | Workshop | Output |
|---|---|---|
| 1× advanced cell 1× Battery |
Workbench 1 | 5× Energy Clip (ammo) |
| 1× advanced cell 1× Electrical Components |
Medical Lab 2 | 1× Surge Shield Recharger |
These recipes frame advanced cells as a power source rather than a consumable: one unit of the material is enough to create multiple energy-based items. The energy ammo conversion is especially efficient, turning a single rare drop into multiple clips, provided you can afford the extra battery.
Recycling and salvaging outcomes
Every advanced cell doubles as a compact bundle of standard cells. Recycling or salvaging it splits that energy into basic ARC Powercells you can then use or trade.
| Action | Base item | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Recycling (Raider Den) | 1× advanced cell | 2× ARC Powercell |
| Salvaging top-side | 1× advanced cell | 1× ARC Powercell |
Recycling in the Raider Den is the more efficient option, as it converts one rare item into two common power cells and grants bonus Raider Coins equal to the base sell value. Salvaging in the field is less efficient—only one standard cell—but does not require a return to base.
Using standard ARC Powercells after conversion
Once broken down into normal power cells, the material opens several utility paths. Standard cells act as an emergency shield patch, restore a set amount of shield over a short duration, and can be combined with rubber parts to craft Shield Rechargers at multiple workspaces.
| Standard cell use | Inputs | Location | Output/Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct use | 1× ARC Powercell | Inventory | Repairs a portion of shields |
| Shield Recharger (bench) | 1× ARC Powercell 5× Rubber Parts |
Workbench 1 | 1× Shield Recharger |
| Shield Recharger (lab) | 1× ARC Powercell 5× Rubber Parts |
Medical Lab 1 | 1× Shield Recharger |
| Shield Recharger (on the go) | 1× ARC Powercell 5× Rubber Parts |
Inventory crafting | 1× Shield Recharger |
| Workshop upgrade | 5× ARC Powercell 60× Metal Parts |
Workshop | Upgrade to Refiner 1 |
Community testing shows that a power cell used directly restores about half of what a Shield Recharger provides. That makes them useful for topping up after fights with small chip damage, especially when ARCs and energy “balls” have just been cleared nearby.
Because an advanced power cell can become two standard cells through recycling, every rare drop translates into two mid-strength shield fixes, two Shield Rechargers (if you invest rubber parts), or a meaningful chunk of a workshop upgrade.
Practical priorities for advanced cells
When deciding what to do with these rare drops, the choice usually comes down to three questions: current ammo needs, shield stability, and progression goals.
| Situation | Recommended use | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Running energy weapons and low on ammo | Craft Energy Clips at a Workbench | High ammo yield from a single rare cell |
| Struggling to stay shielded | Recycle to standard cells and craft Shield Rechargers | Converts rare loot into multiple defensive tools |
| Working toward Refiner upgrade | Recycle to build a stockpile of standard cells | Standard cells are required for the workshop upgrade |
| No immediate crafting need, plenty of supplies | Sell or recycle at Den for Raider Coins | Each cell has a high coin value and extra tokens on recycling |
There is no quest-specific requirement or exclusive blueprint that forces you to hoard advanced cells indefinitely. They are best treated as a flexible resource: turn them into whatever your current run needs most, whether that is ammo, shields, or coins, with recycling in the Raider Den as the most resource-efficient transformation.
Handled that way, each advanced drop from a Bastion, Rocketeer, or Queen becomes a small decision point rather than just another green item in your backpack—and that decision can shape how long you survive on the surface before the next extraction.
