ARC Raiders: 5 Essential Crafting Materials to Hoard Early

In ARC Raiders, you’ll find a large number of crafting materials. While completing Vendor Quests and making high-level items, a few key resources quickly become scarce. They aren’t always hard to find, but because everyone needs them, they disappear fast if you’re not actively collecting them.

Okay, fellow Raiders, listen up! Some crafting materials are seriously limited, and you’ll burn through them way faster than you expect. I’ve put together a list of stuff you should start stockpiling right from the beginning. Trust me, you’ll want to have a good supply to upgrade your workbenches, craft the best weapons, and breeze through the Expeditions Project without any frustrating shortages. Hoard wisely!

Sensors

Needed To Craft Lots Of Useful Items

Can be farmed, but they run out quickly
In mid/late game, players will burn three Sensors per round

You can find sensors in most tech-focused areas, by dismantling ARC Probes and reusing their parts, and sometimes by looting Snitches. However, sensors become rare as you progress and unlock advanced technologies, weapons, and equipment, particularly the Raider’s Hatch Key, which is essential for late-game survival. Getting sensors becomes harder as you level up, especially in challenging areas like Blue Gate and Stella Montis.

If you run out of Sensors, you’ll need to revisit the Dam Battlegrounds or Acerra Spaceport to collect more. However, these areas are often crowded with other players and hostile enemies, making it difficult to gather enough without being attacked. While the best way to find Sensors is by exploring control rooms in the Dam Battlegrounds, you can also buy them from Celeste using Assorted Seeds. You can get these seeds by finding loot or collecting them from Scrappy the rooster in the Workshop. Remember, you’ll need 20 Sensors to complete Stage 3 of the Expeditions Project, so it’s a good idea to save up that many beforehand.

Durable Cloth

A Must Have At All Times

Needed to craft advanced healing items
Hard to farm in bulk

In the late game of ARC Raiders, you won’t be able to heal without Durable Cloth. It’s a crucial item found as random loot throughout the maps, with higher chances in Medical, Commercial, Industrial, and Technological areas. Even just collecting enough to complete the Expedition Project (35) will be difficult, and that’s before you consider that the best healing items – Herbal Bandages and Sterilized Bandages – also require Durable Cloth to craft.

Okay, so listen up, these components are super important. Seriously, the further you get into the game, the harder they are to find, so grab them whenever you see them. I’ve had the best luck farming them in the Dam Battlegrounds, specifically inside the main building of the Hydroponic Dome Complex – there are tons there. You can carry up to five stacks, which is great, but be careful! Each stack weighs 0.25, and getting overencumbered will leave you a sitting duck. I usually try to get five stacks and then get out. Honestly, you can never have enough of these things, so scoop up every one you can before you extract – trust me on this.

Electrical Components

Nothing Works Without Them

Not so scarce, but they run out fast
Required to craft Advanced Crafting Mats

Whether you’re crafting better weapon attachments, advanced gadgets, explosives, or Raider tools, you’ll need Electrical Components – or their upgraded versions. You can make these in the Refinery, but you’ll go through the resources quickly. It’s best to aim to extract from each raid with 2-3 full stacks of Electrical (or Mechanical) Components, but knowing where to find them is key.

Generally, the best places to find Electrical Components are electrical hotspots and industrial areas. However, skilled players also know that you can sometimes get a good amount from rare and epic recyclables. You’ll need these materials to upgrade your Gear Bench and Utility Station, and at least 30 for the Expeditions Project before the next server reset. Getting a consistent supply of Electrical Components can be tricky right now, but you can get more by recycling parts from these ARC enemies: Wasp Drivers, Hornet Drivers, and Snitch Scanners.

Mechanical Components

Used To Craft Most Weapons, And Upgrade To The Next Tiers

Players will need hundreds by the time they reach the end-game
Required to craft and repair weapons

Mechanical Components are a crucial crafting resource players will constantly need. They’re essential for making most Tier 2 weapons and their attachments, and also used to create Advanced Mechanical Components, which are then needed for more powerful weapons and gear. While you can craft them with a Refiner, it’s often not efficient, draining your basic resources without a great return. Eventually, players primarily use Mechanical Components to make Advanced Mechanical Components, making it smart to keep a large supply on hand.

Players combine two Mechanical Components and two Steel Springs to create one Advanced Mechanical Component – you’ll get 50 for every 100 you attempt, and they disappear quickly! These components are essential for crafting most Tier 1 Gear and Gadgets, upgrading your Workshop, and building or repairing Tier 2 and 3 Weapons. They’re a resource that vanishes fast, so keeping a good supply is crucial. You can find them by dismantling Machinery in Industrial and Technological Points of Interest, or by recycling Rare Salvage. Remember, storing too many low-quality materials will leave you with less space for more advanced components, so be selective about what you hoard – Mechanical Components should be a high priority.

Gun Parts

Without These, Advanced Gun Crafting Is impossible

A must-have to craft most weapons
An absolute rarity, and their blueprints are hard to find

Okay, so Gun Parts – Light, Medium, and Heavy – are seriously hard to come by in ARC Raiders. I’m constantly needing them, but they just don’t drop often. You find them in those Commercial POIs, but it feels totally random, making it super tough to farm. You can craft them, but that’s another headache – you need three different blueprints, and those are also random drops! Celeste sells a few each day, which helps a little, but when you start needing them for crafting and repairing those higher-grade (Rare, Epic, Legendary) weapons, the cost really adds up. It’s a real grind!

Here’s how to prepare for the endgame in ARC Raiders: First, make it a daily habit to buy all nine Gun Parts from Celeste. Second, focus on collecting Blueprints until you have the three needed for Medium, Light, and Heavy Gun Parts. Then, save these parts – they become very rare later in the game! Luckily, Celeste also sells Complex Gun Parts (Epic Grade), which are used to craft Legendary Weapons, and these are easier to find in higher-level areas. Getting them won’t be easy, but you won’t need nearly as many as the basic Gun Parts.

2025-11-20 02:06