Arc Raiders Beginner Looting Guide: What to Pick Up and What to Leave
Quick Answer
Focus on Arc Fragments, Alloy Frames, and Bandages in your first runs. Avoid heavy items until you know your extraction route. Always sell Arc Fragments immediately — they stack, pay well, and slow you down late-run.
Step-by-Step Guide
Understand Item Weight vs Value
Every item has a weight and a sell value. Your carry capacity is limited. Before looting anything, mentally calculate value-per-kg. Arc Fragments weigh 0.1kg and sell for 180 — excellent ratio. Composite Plates weigh 2.0kg for 680 — passable but stack poorly.
Prioritise Arc Fragments in Early Zones
Arc Fragments spawn heavily around Construct Graveyard and Patrol Routes. They stack to 50, weigh almost nothing, and sell consistently. Fill a slot with a full stack before moving to heavier loot.
Always Take Bandages
Bandages weigh 0.1kg and stop bleed effects that will kill you if ignored. Keep a stack of 10 minimum. They're common enough to find anywhere and cheap enough that even experienced operators never skip them.
Learn the Med Bay Spawn
Every map has at least one Medical Bay. This is where Med Kits and Bandages concentrate. Learn the route to it early. If you can clear it without a fight, you can fund several more runs purely from the medical loot.
Don't Break Down Common Items Early
Breaking down Scrap Metal or Alloy Frames yields very little. Sell them whole. Breakdown is for situations where the component value is higher than the sell price — check the Stash Calculator before deciding.
Extract Before You're Full
Greed kills more operators than enemies. If you have a stash worth extracting, extract. Don't push deeper when you're already loaded. Use the Stash Value Calculator to know when your run is 'done'.
Pro Tips
- ▸Sort your inventory by weight before extracting — drop the lightest low-value items first if overloaded.
- ▸Arc Fragments from early zones fund better loadouts for Arc Nexus runs.
- ▸Med Kits are worth 1200 but worth more alive. Only sell surplus.
- ▸Crash Site reliably spawns Alloy Frames and Scrap Metal — good farming loop for crafting materials.