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ARC Raiders What to Keep vs Sell
ARC Raiders What to Keep vs Sell: Stash Rules and Upgrade Planning is a fast but complete stash guide built for players who keep running out of space. It is written for practical play, not theory: what to keep, what to sell, what to recycle, and how to plan upgrades so you stop hoarding items that never turn into progress.
Most stash problems come from the same three mistakes: keeping items because they look rare, overstocking basic materials you do not actually spend, and stockpiling extra weapons and armor you will never equip. If you follow a simple set of rules and an upgrade plan you repeat after every raid, you free space immediately, protect what matters, and stop losing momentum because your inventory is a mess.
What This ARC Raiders Stash Guide Covers
This guide answers the only questions that matter when your stash is full. You get a keep vs sell vs recycle framework that works at any stage of progression, personal stack cap rules that stop basic materials from eating your entire storage, and an upgrade planning method that forces every kept item to have a purpose. It also includes a post-raid cleanup script you can repeat without thinking, because the real reason stashes stay full is not lack of knowledge, it is inconsistency. Finally, it covers the mistakes that quietly refill your stash after a cleanup, and gives one fix per mistake so you stop the leak instead of sorting forever.
Stash Quick Checklist
This section exists because stash problems are not solved by reading rules once, they are solved by repeating a process. Use this checklist after every raid when you unload loot, and use it again before you commit to a new upgrade so you do not sell a required item or keep a pile of junk that will never be spent. The goal is not perfect sorting, the goal is predictable storage: you always have room to take loot, you always know what is protected, and you do not lose time negotiating with your stash after every run.
The checklist is intentionally ordered. Plan lock comes first because it decides what is protected. Stack caps come next because basic materials are the most common silent stash killer. Best kit and one backup prevents gear hoarding, high friction buffers prevent progress stalls, and the final conversion step turns clutter into space in the least risky way.
The Post-Raid Cleanup Script
Run the same script every time so you do not overthink. First, lock your next one or two upgrades and identify what they require, because this instantly tells you what is protected. Second, enforce stack caps on basics so common materials do not silently eat your storage. Third, keep only your best playable kit and one recovery backup so gear does not turn into trophies. Fourth, protect high friction components up to a sensible cap, because these are the items that stall multiple upgrade paths when missing. Finally, convert the weakest clutter into space by selling easy-to-replace items first and recycling only when the output parts solve a real shortage you are actively spending.
| Step | What you check | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Project lock | Is this item required for an active upgrade or craft I am actually pursuing | Keep only what is required plus a small buffer, mark everything else for sell or recycle |
| Stack caps | Am I holding more of this material than I can realistically spend soon | Cut basics down to your cap and liquidate overflow immediately |
| Best kit only | Is this part of my best playable loadout right now | Keep your best set and one recovery backup, liquidate the rest |
| High friction components | Is this hard to replace and used across multiple upgrades | Keep it up to a sensible cap even if you do not need it today |
| Space conversion | Is my stash still tight after the above steps | Sell low value clutter first, then recycle common items that convert into useful parts |
How to apply it: when you are unsure, do not guess based on rarity. Check your active plan first. If the item is not protected by a plan and it is not a high friction component, it is a liquidation candidate. If you need space fast, sell easy-to-replace clutter first. Recycle only when you can name a part shortage you are actively spending right now, otherwise you are converting clutter into different clutter.
Keep vs Sell vs Recycle Rules That Do Not Fail
Stash management gets easy when you stop judging items by rarity and start judging them by purpose. Every item in your stash should exist for one of three reasons: it completes an active upgrade plan, it is a high friction component that blocks multiple upgrade paths when missing, or it is part of your best playable kit with one backup to recover from losses. If an item does not satisfy one of those reasons, it is taking space away from items that actually increase your power and your consistency, and the correct action is to sell it or recycle it.
The common trap is keeping items because they might be useful someday. That logic is infinite and it will always fill your stash. Replace it with a strict test: if you cannot name the upgrade it supports and you cannot name the near window you will spend it in, it is not a keep, it is clutter. Selling and recycling are not failures, they are how you convert dead weight into space and usable resources.
Keep is for progress, not for vibes
Keeping is correct when the item converts into progress soon or prevents a predictable block later. That means it is required for the next upgrades you will actually start, or it is a component that repeatedly gates multiple paths, or it is gear you truly use. If you keep items without a plan, you will end up short on what matters because your stash is full of what does not. The rule is simple: plans protect items, not feelings.
Sell vs recycle is decided by what you are missing
Selling is the best default for easy-to-replace items when you need space and currency, especially if you are not actively short on specific crafting parts. Recycling is only better when the output parts solve a real shortage you are currently feeling and spending, not a theoretical shortage you might have later. A practical shortcut: if you are sitting on a surplus of the output parts, sell; if you are blocked by missing parts right now, recycle. Another shortcut: if an item is damaged and its shop value is low, recycling often makes more sense only when the resulting parts are the exact parts you are missing today.
| Action | When it is correct | When it is a mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Keep | Item is required for an active plan, is a high friction component, or is in your best kit plus one backup | You cannot name the upgrade it supports or you are keeping it just because it looks rare |
| Sell | Item is easy to replace and its main value is currency and space | You will need it for an active plan and replacing it later will slow progress |
| Recycle | Item reliably converts into parts you are short on and actively spending | You are already stocked on those parts and recycling becomes fake value |
Stack Caps: How Much to Keep Without Hoarding
The fastest way to free space is controlling basic material stacks. Players overstock basics because being short feels scary, but stash space is a real cost that slows progress every session. The correct approach is to set personal caps that match your upgrade speed, then liquidate everything above the cap. Your cap should be large enough that you can craft and repair without constant farming, but small enough that you always have room for high friction components and active project items. These caps are not a game setting, they are your rule so your stash stays functional.
Basics are capped first because they are the easiest to reacquire and the most likely to multiply quietly. High friction components get a buffer because missing them blocks multiple upgrades at once and wastes time. Project items are protected only when they are tied to an upgrade you will start next, because saving for a vague future is how stashes fill with items that never get spent. Gear follows the same logic: keep what you use, plus one recovery backup, and everything else becomes space and currency.
Upgrade Planning: Keep Plans, Not Items
The best stash rule is this: you do not keep items, you keep plans. If you cannot explain what an item is for, it is not a plan, it is clutter. The simplest planning method is choosing your next one or two upgrades, identifying the exact components they require, and protecting only those items plus a small buffer. Then you cap basics, keep your best kit, and liquidate everything else. This prevents the classic failure where you keep everything just in case and still cannot build what you want because your stash is full of unrelated junk.
A good plan is small and specific. It names the upgrade, it names the required items, and it tells you what is protected until completion. Everything outside that plan must justify itself as either a high friction component buffer or part of your best kit. When you apply this approach, your stash stops being a warehouse and becomes a tool: it holds what you will spend, not what you might spend someday.
The decision flow that prevents wasted space
Before you liquidate anything that looks important, ask whether it is required for the upgrades you will start next. If it is required, it is protected until the upgrade is complete, then it drops back to your normal cap. If it is not required, it must justify itself as a high friction component or as part of your best kit, otherwise it is liquidated. When you are deciding between selling and recycling, use the shortage rule: recycle only when the output parts solve a shortage you are actively spending right now, otherwise sell for currency and space. When you are deciding whether to keep extra copies, use the replacement rule: if the item is easy to replace on demand, keeping multiple copies is almost always worse than converting one copy into space and immediate progress.
Common Stash Mistakes and the One Fix That Solves Each
If your stash keeps filling up, it is almost never because you need more storage, it is because your rules are not strict enough to survive real play. Most players do a cleanup once, feel good for a day, then drift back into hoarding because they do not enforce caps, they do not lock a plan before sorting, and they keep extra gear and materials just in case until the stash is full again. This section stops that cycle by giving you a simple diagnosis: identify the behavior that refills your stash, apply one fix consistently, and your stash stays stable without constant re-sorting.
Read this section like a checklist of failure patterns. If one of these descriptions sounds like your stash, do not solve it with a bigger cleanup. Change the rule that creates the clutter, because the rule is what determines your stash size over time. Once the rule is fixed, your post-raid script stays fast and your storage stops collapsing between upgrades.
Why stashes stay full even after a cleanup
Many players do one big cleanup, then drift back into hoarding because they do not have caps and they do not lock plans first. Without a plan, everything feels possibly useful, so nothing gets sold. Without caps, basics fill the stash silently. Without a strict best kit rule, gear piles grow until the stash is full again. The goal is to remove those root causes so your cleanup stays permanent and your upgrades stop being blocked by storage problems.
| Mistake | Why it happens | One sentence fix |
|---|---|---|
| Keeping items because they look rare | Rarity feels like value even when the item is not tied to progress | Keep only items tied to an active plan or high friction components, liquidate the rest |
| Overstocking basic materials | Players fear being short later and fill the stash with stacks | Set caps for basics and liquidate overflow every raid |
| Keeping too many weapons and armor pieces | Gear feels hard to let go of even when it is never equipped | Keep best kit plus one backup, then sell or recycle older gear immediately |
| Selling project items by accident | Players do not lock a plan first, so everything looks optional | Pick your next upgrades first, then clean the stash using the checklist in order |
| Recycling for fake value | Players recycle items that convert into parts they already have too much of | Recycle only when you are short on the output parts, otherwise sell |
Conclusion
ARC Raiders stash management becomes simple when you stop hoarding and start planning. Keep items only when they complete an active upgrade plan, when they are high friction components that block multiple upgrade paths, or when they are part of your best playable loadout with a single recovery backup. Everything else is either currency or scrap value, and keeping it just in case is not safe, it is the fastest way to lose space and slow your progress.
The reliable method is a repeatable script you run after every raid. Lock your next upgrades, protect only the required items plus a small buffer, enforce personal stack caps on basics every time, and keep only your best kit plus one backup. Then sell easy-to-replace clutter first and recycle only when the output parts solve a real shortage you are actively spending. When you apply that process consistently, your stash stays usable, your upgrades stay on schedule, and your inventory stops fighting your progression.