Materials Cheat Sheet

This is a basic list of all materials found in the game.

Introduction

This is intended to be a full list of all of the materials found in the game, with an idea of where to find them and what they're used for. It may not be comprehensive. Please let me know in the comments if anything is missing.

It's worth mentioning that the order on these things is sort of grouped in a way that makes sense in my head, but probably looks like madness from the outside. I apologize for that, but only a little.

You are, of course, forewarned that this will contain spoilers. They are not marked. Read at your own peril.

Basic Materials:

Scrap Metal: The basics of the basics, practically everything that you break down will give you some of this, and it's used in almost everything. I find I get a ton of it just breaking down car bits, but there's probably a lot of other options.

Glass Shards: I find I never have to worry about glass shards, but in a pinch if you need some, they're very common when breaking down plasma generators with the impact hammer. That said: you should typically have more than you use. I think glass is mostly used to make bulbs (which you can get ready-made, and lots of them).

Plastic: Plastic is used in too many things to list, and common in trash, dumpsters, and various containers. For later-game plastic needs, scrapping Crude panels and doors on car wrecks gives a good bit of this.

Duct Tape: Has a light side, a dark side, and binds the universe together - Duct Tape is something you always need some of on runs to craft Sealing Kits or Mechanic Kits. I find you get a lot of it in ARDA trailers or by breaking down Crude parts on wrecks.

Rubber: Mainly used in tires and tire-related things, but a few of the personal upgrades in the Outfitting Station call for it, too. Easily gotten by scrapping tires, but also found lots of containers.

Fabric: Used in many things, but particularly a bugaboo for finishing out things in the Outfitting Station - I find fabric most commonly in houses and ARDA trailers, in dressers or backpacks, but another great source in the later game is breaking down decals you have a lot of and don't like.

Pressurized Cartridges: Commonly found in Hazmat Lockers in ARDA trailers, your most common use of these will be for the hand-vac or flare guns.

Gas Cylinder: Similarly found mostly in Hazmat Lockers. Impact and later Magnetic Hammers call for them, as do any engines.

Chemicals: In addition to being common in Hazmat Lockers, you can get these by breaking down unwanted paints. Chemicals are most used in Repair Putty, and will be your big bottleneck there.

Copper Wire: Used in many electrical applications, and most commonly found in electronics in the world. (radios, lab computers, televisions), but you also tend to see one when breaking down a Plasma Generator.

9V Battery: Used in a lot of electronic upgrades, I run through them making flashlights most commonly, but these are very common breaking down electronics out in the world (radios, lab computers, televisions, that kind of thing).

Electronics: Commonly found breaking down electronics, go figure. A few things call for them, but the most common one you'll be making is Circuit Boards.

Plasma: Found almost exclusively by breaking down Plasma Generators with the Impact Hammer. Plasma Generators are usually found attached to ARDA trailers and towers, or to Spark Tower anomalies. You get more if you use the Magnetic Hammer, later. Commonly used for the Plasma Scrapper, but a number of later car bits or Outfitting Station upgrades call for some.

Lead Platelet: Found exclusively on Radiation Shielding, which is the large rectangular frames full of little squares on racks you see around ARDA constructions, such as Pneumatic Tubes. In the Scorch you'll also see some of these around Thermosap Condensers. Lead is mostly used in anti-radiation upgrades and car parts, but you'll also use some making radiation protection in the Outfitting Station.

Crafted Stuff

These items are all learned from the Fabrication Station in the Refine section.

Gear: Made from 3 scrap metal, so easy to make, but also commonly found when taking apart off-road tires with the scrapper or plasma scrapper.

Bulb: Glass Shards, Pressurized Cartridges, and Copper Wire, but these are commonly found in Sodium Lights out in the world near ARDA constructions, and easily plucked out of them with a vacuum.

Steel Sheet: 6 scrap metal per. Easy to make, but commonly broken down from Steel or Armored parts on wrecked cars and squires.

Circuit Board: Plastic, Copper Wire, and Electronics. I've seen one of these on occasion from a dumpster pearl, but I don't think I've ever looted one in the wild.

Carbonfiberglass: Made from Plastic, Fabric, Glass Shards and Tree Candy. This is the primary use for Tree Candy, and Fabric will probably be your hangup here. Carbonfiberglass is mostly used for Outfitting Station upgrades and late-game tires and car parts that resist corrosive damage.

Lim Chip: Electronics plus six Olympium. Used for late-game parts and manufacturing. The bottleneck here is the Olympium, of course.

Mid-Zone

Marsh Eggs: Found only in the Mires, where they are collected from Salamander Nests, which are car wrecks covered in little black nodules with pink lights on them (the eggs are the pink). These are collected easily with either vacuum. Marsh Eggs are most commonly a requirement in repair items such as the blowtorch, in particular needing 600 for the repair station. You'll go through a fair couple thousand of these, more if you're liberal with using blowtorches.

Swamp Coral: Also found in the Mires. Swamp Coral spawns in bright pink nodules on towers out in the water in the Mires, and vanishes if you get close without shining a light on them. While there's other methods to light them up and collect them, I find using the Thermal Vac lights them as it collects them most easily. Swamp Coral has a part in a lot of middle-game light accessories, such as the biolantern or the bio headlights. You won't need quite as many as you need Swamp Eggs, but they're still pretty great.

Thermosap Crystal: Found in the Scorch, where they are broken off of Thermosap Condensers with the Impact Hammer. Thermosap Crystals appear as large red crystals on little black spindly graspy things. Thermosap is used heavily in armor and power applications, in particular you'll want lots for the Armored car parts and the LIM Shield, but you also need quite a few for the second-tier engine.

Tree Candy: Found on Twisted Embers in the Scorch, where it can be easily collected with any vacuum. Twisted Embers are little spindly looking trees that appear to be covered in smallish red crystals (the candy). Tree Candy is largely used for making Carbonfiberglass.

Deep Zone

Red Balloon: Found in the Smokestacks biome, on large red floating sphere collections called Beach Balls. Collected with a vacuum. You'll also usually get a bonus item if you fully collect a group (frequently Dumpster Pearls). Red Balloons are used in the Power Grip Tires, the Powered Bumper, and an explosion resist upgrade at the Outfitting Station. You won't need tons of these, but getting them isn't hard and the occasional Dumpster Pearl is a nice bonus.

Explosives: Found in Explosive Crates in either biome in the Deep Zone, though as a caution if you find yourself picking up a crate instead of looking into its inventory, throw it away immediately, as that's an anomaly instead. Explosives are used in the LIM Chip engine and the Liberator Mark 2, and you honestly could finish the game without needing any.

LIM Magnet: Acquired by placing Scrap Metal into a LIM Magnetizer, which is a special kind of Transmuter commonly found in either biome in the Deep Zone. LIM Magnets are mostly used to make the Magnetic Hammer, which you'll want for our next entry.

Olympium: Found only in the Red Spires biome of the Deep Zone, and rarely at that. Olympium appears as glowing purple nodules growing out of a large twisted column of cement and rebar. It is mined by hitting those nodules with the Magnetic Hammer, and you should get 2-4 Olympium per. This is used in very late-game upgrades for nearly everything, but you can beat the game without using any at all.

Outro and notes:

This was knocked together in about an hour or so overnight when someone asked on the subreddit. It is largely based on my personal experience and may show my personal biases. I make no apologies for this.

If I'm missing anything, or need more detail, or if you have questions, please comment and I'll do my best to address them. Thanks, folks.

[jazz3601]

you can also get lead from scrapping dust bunnies

[Bow Fox]

THIS is how I find out that all those Paints and Decals I had to put in Pneumatic Lockers are scrappable?! Gah!

Good guide though

[Titanic Stuff, And More!]

also, do magnetic hammers collect more thermosap crystals than impact hammers?

[Titanic Stuff, And More!]

I struggle with finding fabric and plasma generators (most of the structures I find usually have already broken ones)

[little579]

Although the hand-vac is the recommend tool for sodium lamps, you can use a scrapper on them as well for a pressurized cartridge and some broken glass. (I think you may get something else as well, don’t remember) This seems better than using the hand-vac since the pressurized cartridge is much more useful. (Make sure you scrap one that actually has a lamp in it, otherwise you won’t get the cartridge)

[Bardakani55]

they should make it so that you have to put a bulb or plasma on a transmuters part where its like its suckin up air

[Nikas Zekeval]

Depends on when you make that exchange. Several nice upgrades, including acid protection for both the Driver and Car need Carbonfiberglass. Trading excess plasma for it to get an early boost is nothing to scoff at.

[King Banhammer]

I feel like the plasma/tree candy exchange from pacemakers is a downgrade - you only really need tree candy for carbonfiberglass, which you honestly do not need all that much of, and also, tree candy is ready and abundant in the Scorch.

Meanwhile, plasma you need a -ton- of, and for lots of things.

[Deranged_Kitsune]

Tree Candy can be reliably collected by feeding Pacemakers anomalies Plasma. It's a 1 for 1 exchange.

[Optimore]

Glass Shards are easily available from the doors of wrecked vehicles, you can get Pressure Cartridges from sodium lamps by scrapping them instead of vacuuming them, and killing Tourists has a chance to "drop" (aka: blast in a random direction) either a piece of plastic or a piece of Thermosap. You can also get sap by scrapping the armor off Squires.

Great guide!