What is Fabric Used For?

Fabric is classified as a common basic material. Its primary uses fall into two categories:

Crafting medical supplies: Fabric is required for items like bandages, herbal bandages, and durable cloth. These items are essential in most missions because healing is limited and often slow without proper gear. In practice, I usually aim to have at least 50–100 fabric before a mission to avoid running out mid-round.

Slow self-healing: On its own, fabric can restore a small amount of health over time. Each unit of fabric provides about 0.4 health per second for 25 seconds. This is not a substitute for full medical items, but if you’re caught in a firefight without bandages, using raw fabric can give you enough buffer to escape or finish a mission objective.

Where Can You Find Fabric?

Fabric spawns in predictable locations, which helps when you need to stock up quickly:

Commercial areas: Stores and warehouses often have high-density fabric drops.

Medical facilities: Expect bandages and other consumables that can be recycled for fabric here.

Residential areas: Apartments, houses, and abandoned structures sometimes contain tattered clothes or blankets you can break down into fabric.

Most players tend to prioritize commercial zones early in a mission because they yield the highest quantity of fabric per scavenged container. Residential areas are better for top-ups or when searching for rare items like ARC thermolining.

How Does Fabric Recycling Work?

Recycling is one of the most efficient ways to maintain a steady fabric supply, especially if you’re farming for crafting or workshop upgrades. In practice, recycling works as follows:

Basic items to fabric: Bandages, tattered clothes, torn blankets, and similar consumables can be recycled into fabric. The quantity varies depending on the item. For instance, recycling a bandage usually yields 2 fabric, while a ruined parachute can give 10.

Higher-end items: Items like ARC thermolining and herbal bandages give more fabric when recycled (16 and 5 units respectively), making them worth saving even if you won’t use them in the mission.

Salvaged quantity: Some items also provide a smaller "salvage" amount in addition to standard recycling. For example, dog collars give 5 fabric as salvage and 8 as recycled units. This distinction is important if you’re trying to maximize material output for crafting.

From my experience, players often overlook items like deflated footballs or duct tape. They seem trivial, but recycling even these small items consistently adds up over time.

Crafting With Fabric

Fabric is the cornerstone for early- to mid-tier crafting. Here’s what you’ll usually use it for:

Bandages: Requires 5 fabric each. Can be crafted at a medical lab or directly in your inventory if you have the In-Round Crafting skill.

Durable Cloth: Needs 14 fabric at a refiner. This material is used in advanced crafting recipes and some workshop upgrades.

Herbal Bandages: Combines 14 fabric and one Great Mullein. Requires the Traveling Tinkerer skill to craft in the field.

A useful tip: Always keep a small reserve of fabric in your inventory specifically for on-the-fly crafting. Many players waste time backtracking to workshops, and having a couple of bandages ready can save a mission.

If you’re looking to stock up fast, you can also explore options to buy arc raiders items for cheap prices. Some vendors sell bulk fabric or recycled items at reasonable rates, which can save hours of scavenging if you’re focused on upgrading your workshop quickly.

Workshop Upgrades and Fabric

Fabric is also key to several workshop upgrades. Notably:

Gear Bench 1: Requires 30 fabric along with other materials.

Medical Lab 1: Needs 50 fabric and 6 ARC alloy.

Players often underestimate the impact of workshop upgrades. A single Medical Lab upgrade can drastically increase crafting efficiency, letting you turn basic fabric into bandages or durable cloth faster. In practice, I prioritize fabric-intensive upgrades first because they compound over time: the more you craft, the more materials you’ll eventually recover through recycling.

Practical Tips for Managing Fabric

Scavenge smart: Target high-density locations first. Commercial zones yield more fabric than residential spots.

Recycle everything: Even items that seem minor can be broken down for fabric. Players frequently leave deflated footballs, tattered clothes, or duct tape on the floor, which is wasted potential.

Balance crafting vs. recycling: Some players hoard raw fabric, thinking they might need it later. In practice, crafting small healing items when you can gives better mission survivability and frees up inventory space.

Monitor stack sizes: Fabric stacks up to 50 units per inventory slot. If you let it pile up too much without recycling or crafting, you risk wasting new finds.

Common Player Mistakes

Ignoring minor items: As mentioned, small recyclables like ropes or dog collars are often left behind, but they consistently add to your fabric stockpile.

Over-crafting at workshops: Some players craft all available items at once. This can deplete your fabric reserves faster than necessary, leaving you vulnerable in missions.

Neglecting inventory space: Fabric is light (0.1 weight per unit), but stacking too many units without crafting or recycling can fill inventory slots and block other critical items.

Fabric might be common, but it’s indispensable. The key to managing it effectively in Arc Raiders is understanding the balance between scavenging, crafting, and recycling:

Use fabric for healing and essential crafting.

Recycle all eligible items to maintain a sustainable supply.

Prioritize workshop upgrades that maximize crafting efficiency.

Keep an eye on inventory limits and stack sizes.

By approaching fabric management with a consistent strategy, you’ll reduce downtime in missions, improve your team’s survivability, and always have resources ready when you need them. For players who are serious about efficiency, understanding the nuances of fabric recycling isn’t optional—it’s mission-critical.

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