Managing your inventory well in ARC Raiders really matters, because every raid fills your backpack fast and forces you to decide what to recycle, what to sell, and what to keep for upgrades. Recycling breaks items down into crafting parts—things like Metal Parts, Rubber Parts, and Electrical Components. Selling items gives you coins for vendors, while keeping certain pieces helps with workshop upgrades and higher-tier crafts ARC Raiders Coins. With a bit of planning, junk you pick up in raids turns into actual progress.
Anything marked with the wrench icon is usually safe to recycle right away. These give predictable materials like Rubber Parts or Metal Parts, and sometimes higher-tier alloys or wires. Common examples include Crumpled Plastic Bottles, Candle Holders, Deflated Footballs, and Garlic Presses, all of which convert into basic components. During raids, you can salvage duplicates or low-value pieces like Damaged ARC Motion Cores or Dried-Out ARC Resin to create space when weight becomes a problem. Salvaging inside raids gives fewer materials, but it's better than dropping something you might need.
Upgrading your Workshop is where materials really matter, so anything listed in upgrade menus should be kept until you're done with that tier. Residential upgrades might call for Rubber Parts and Dried-Out ARC Resin, while Medical and Exodus stations need specific items like Fabric, Expired Respirators, Advanced Electrical Components, or Speakers. Rarer recyclables like Cooling Coils, Headphones, or Portable TVs are valuable for these upgrades and should be stored until you're sure you don't need them. Scrappy quests also use items like seeds, chemicals, and fabric, so it's smart to keep a small stash rather than recycling everything immediately. Tooltips that show "Used in" are your best guide—items like Rusted Gear, Industrial Battery, and Fried Motherboard usually end up important for crafting later.
Selling is best for items with the diamond symbol in the Misc tab. These don't have any crafting value but sell for good money. Things like Faded Photographs, Rubber Ducks, Bloated Tuna Cans, Dart Boards, and Film Reels bring in reliable coins. Items like Empty Wine Bottles and Coffee Pots fall into the same category. Selling these trinkets gives you steady income for blueprints, ammo, and vendor upgrades. Just make sure you never sell anything with a wrench or an upgrade icon; those should be recycled or saved.
Quest items need more care. If you recycle them, you can lock yourself out of progress. Things like Motors, Laboratory Reagents, or Spotter Relays might look tempting to break down because of their high value, but they're tied to missions. Interactive maps help track where these items spawn, and once a quest is done, any duplicates can be recycled safely. It's usually a good idea to store a handful of potential upgrade materials before scrapping the rest, especially when you're pushing longer raids where weight limits matter.
Once you get into the flow of the game, you'll notice certain zones are better for certain resources. Residential and commercial areas give more sellable trinkets and basic components, while industrial zones are great for alloys and electronics. Recycling items at your base always gives better yields than salvaging inside a raid, so try to save the bulk of your breakdown for after you return home. Late-game crafting also benefits from holding onto rare recyclables until you've completed all workshop tiers, since you won't need them once those upgrades are finished cheap ARC Raiders Boosting.
Once you get used to the system, ARC Raiders' loot triage turns messy raids into a steady flow of materials, coins, and upgrades. With a bit of planning, you'll waste less, upgrade faster, and stay out on raids longer without constantly juggling inventory. Adjust your salvage habits depending on your squad and your goals, and your base in Speranza will grow surprisingly fast.
