Loot in ARC Raiders from Embark Studios has three exits: a trader buys it for coins, the recycler in Speranza breaks it down, or you salvage it quickly while you are still in the raid. The hard part is not the menu but the order of priorities, because a recycled item is gone for good. This guide covers the state of Frozen Trail 2.0 (8 October 2026). Store Update 2.1.0 from 13 October changes nothing about stash, recycling, selling or traders. Prices and material costs come largely from a community wiki and can be patched, so check the in-game preview.

Recycling in the raid and in Speranza

Salvaging in the raid yields fewer parts than recycling at home, but it frees backpack space immediately. Two wiki examples show the gap: ARC Alloy gives 2x Metal Parts when recycled but only 1x Metal Parts when salvaged, and an Adrenaline Shot gives 1x Chemicals plus 1x Plastic Parts at home against just 1x Chemicals in the raid. Anvil Splitter shows the gap best: the wiki lists 5x Amplified Fragments when recycled at home but only 2x when salvaged in the raid. It no longer drops since 2.0, so if you still have one, recycle it at home or sell it (7,000 coins per the wiki), unless Trophy Display still needs it (see below).

In practice, salvage bulky, low-value junk when weight or space is the problem, and carry the valuable pieces back to Speranza. To recycle, open your inventory, pick the item (right-click on PC) and choose the recycle option. The game shows the yield first, and the item description tells you what the item is needed for and whether it can be sold. Treat the preview as your last chance, because recycling cannot be undone. The Bronze Statuette, for example, cannot be recycled at all.

What you should keep

Keep anything that a workshop upgrade, a project or a quest will ask for. The wiki lists these starting costs, though its figures carry an older update note, and whether they still hold after 2.0 is not confirmed:

  • Gunsmith 1: 20x Metal Parts and 30x Rubber Parts. Level 2: 3x Rusted Tools, 5x Mechanical Components and 8x Wasp Driver.
  • Gear Bench 1: 25x Plastic Parts and 30x Fabric. Level 2: 3x Power Cable, 5x Electrical Components and 5x Hornet Driver.
  • Medical Lab, Explosives Station and Utility Station: each 6x ARC Alloy plus 50 units of a basic material at level 1.
  • Refiner 1: 60x Metal Parts and 5x ARC Powercell.

Higher workshop levels typically want parts dropped by ARC machines, such as Sentinel Firing Core, Bastion Cell, Leaper Pulse Unit and Rocketeer Driver. Our recommendation: never sell those for coins. ARC Alloy shows why. It sells for only 200 coins, yet recipes, workshop levels, projects and quests all ask for it.

Frozen Trail 2.0 added the Research Station, whose first level needs 3x Mini Pump, 35x Planks and 5x Battered Paperback. Planks also show up in outpost rewards, so they are a new keeper. The outpost itself is unlocked through a project; the wiki names it Sheltered Retreat, running since 8 October. The wiki page lists only the reward for its second stage, not the requirements, so we cannot tell you yet what to save for it.

Projects unlock permanently from raider level 20, and you can work on several at once. The Trophy Display project spans five stages, asks for many ARC parts (Wasp Driver, Hornet Driver, Leaper Pulse Unit, Bastion Cell and more) and pays 300,000 coins at the end. The wiki contradicts itself on whether it is permanent or temporary. Stage 3 also needs 3 Anvil Splitter. Scrappy, your rooster, has an upgrade that wants a Dog Collar, certain fruit, a Cat Bed and Very Comfortable Pillows, not metal.

Quests are the third drain. Clearer Skies wants 3x ARC Alloy, Trash Into Treasure 1x Battery and 6x Wires, Tribute To Toledo 1x Power Rod, and Doctor's Orders 1x Durable Cloth, 1x Great Mullein, 1x Syringe and 2x Antiseptic. According to the patch notes, 2.0 added 22 quests in total. The wiki's quest page does not say what happens if you sell a quest item, so keep them until the quest is done.

The Expedition project has been paused since 29 September 2026 and, according to the wiki, should return reworked in early 2027.

What you can sell

Trinkets, meaning collectibles and knick-knacks such as ship models and air fresheners, exist mainly to be sold. The wiki adds that some can be used in projects, but we found no concrete current requirement, so selling is a reasonable default. Values swing widely and do not depend on rarity alone: Leviathan's Crown Ship Model fetches 10,000 coins, the Velocity Ship Model 3,000, an Air Freshener 2,000 and the Wind Sprite Ship Model 1,000. The Bronze Statuette is a legendary trinket; it cannot be recycled, but Cassio accepts it for almost every trade during the Expedition pause.

Cassio replaced Ermal with 2.0 and takes valuables in trade. Per the wiki, he mainly wants high- and low-tier ARC materials, sometimes weapons (attached mods are removed) and, on a weekly rotation, particular trinkets. Per the wiki, Cassio belongs to the Nomadic Envoys, who trade goods for resources. Celeste trades for seeds, according to the wiki; Shani, Tian Wen, Lance and Apollo deal in coins. The currency Cred is gone, replaced by Reward Points.

Remember that traders sell for more than they pay: an Adrenaline Shot sells for 300 coins but costs 900 at Lance. Selling is for surplus, not for what you will need to buy back.

Managing your stash

Frozen Trail 2.0 added two stash tiers. The official maximum is now 328 slots, not counting expedition bonuses or space bought elsewhere. An older wiki sentence says 280, but the wiki's own table and the official patch notes agree on 328. The wiki lists a start of 64 slots with 24 more per tier, paid in coins. Costs climb fast: tier 2 costs 5,000, tier 10 costs 300,000, and the new tiers 11 and 12 cost 750,000 and 1,500,000. All tiers together: 2,925,000 coins. Each finished expedition once granted 12 permanent slots, and from raider level 25 Cassio offers a 12-slot extension paid in high-value ARC parts, though his stock rotates.

Since 2.0 you can also drop loot from containers straight onto the ground.

Common mistakes

  • Recycling items that a pending recipe or workshop upgrade still needs.
  • Salvaging in the raid when recycling at home would pay more.
  • Selling or breaking down items an active project still asks for. Release them only after the project stages are done.
  • Trusting old "junk lists". PCGamesN named Alarm Clock, Bicycle Pump, Broken Flashlight, Headphones, Portable TV, Power Bank and Remote Control as pure recycling fodder in March 2026, before 2.0. New projects may want them.

Rules of thumb

  • Short on materials with many upgrades ahead: recycle first. Enough material and short on coins: sell.
  • Keep quest and progression items; sell or trade trinkets and useless gear.
  • Keep ARC machine parts for the workshop and projects.
  • Salvage junk in the raid, bring valuables home and recycle them there.