What Is Fabric Used For?
Fabric is classified as a common material, but don’t let that fool you—it’s extremely important. In practice, here’s what you’ll use it for:
Medical items: Bandages and herbal bandages are the most common uses. Each requires several pieces of fabric.
Durable cloth: If you’re upgrading gear or crafting certain workshop items, durable cloth often comes into play.
Healing on its own: Fabric can be used to slowly restore health over time. It’s not a substitute for full healing kits, but in a pinch, it’s better than nothing.
Knowing this, you’ll see why keeping a constant supply is crucial. Most players quickly run out if they try to craft mid-round without preparation.
Where Can You Find Fabric?
In Arc Raiders, fabric spawns in three main zones:
Commercial areas: Stores and offices often have moderate amounts of fabric. This is usually where new players first learn to pick it up.
Medical areas: Hospitals, clinics, and labs can be lucrative. Expect slightly higher density here than in commercial zones.
Residential areas: Apartments and houses can drop fabric, but it’s less predictable. These are better for top-up runs rather than primary farming.
If you’re looking for efficiency, most experienced players rotate between medical and commercial areas rather than hitting residential zones first. The yield is more consistent that way.
How Do Players Usually Farm Fabric?
There are a few strategies that people use:
Scavenging: Walking the map and looting containers. This is straightforward but can be slow if you don’t know the spawns.
Recycling old items: Many items break down into fabric. Common examples include bandages, tattered clothing, and old tactical vests. Recycling is slower than scavenging initially but scales well if you have surplus items.
Purchasing: Vendors like Celeste sell fabric directly. This is convenient, but the cost adds up, so most players reserve this for emergencies or specific crafting needs.
One tip many players overlook: if you are struggling to keep your stock up, a
reliable place to buy arc raiders blueprints often also has material sales. Picking up a blueprint along with a small amount of fabric can save multiple runs.
Crafting With Fabric
Here’s a breakdown of what fabric actually makes in practice:
Bandage: 5 fabric per bandage. Can be crafted in a medical lab or on a workbench. Some players craft in inventory using the in-round crafting skill if they don’t have access to a lab.
Herbal Bandage: 14 fabric + 1 herbal plant. Requires inventory crafting with the traveling tinkerer skill.
Durable Cloth: 14 fabric, crafted at Refiner 1. This is mostly used for workshop upgrades or higher-tier crafting.
The key takeaway: fabric is almost always your limiting factor. Even if you have the other components, running out of fabric will stop production.
Workshop Upgrades and Fabric
Workshops are another big fabric sink:
Gear Bench 1: Requires 30 fabric + 25 plastic parts. This is a one-time upgrade that speeds up gear crafting.
Medical Lab 1: Requires 50 fabric + 6 ARC Alloy. Once unlocked, you can mass-produce medical items efficiently.
Most players prioritize the medical lab first if they focus on healing and sustain during missions. Gear bench comes next if crafting efficiency matters for your loadout.
Recycling Fabric: What Works Best
If you’re low on scavenged fabric, recycling is your fallback. Here’s what players find most effective:
Bandages, herbal bandages, and durable cloth are all reliable sources.
Tattered clothing, torn blankets, and old ARC linings are surprisingly consistent drops.
Some less obvious items like deflated footballs and dog collars also return small amounts of fabric. Not huge, but every bit counts if you’re optimizing.
Experience shows that stacking recyclable items and then hitting the recycler is often faster than looting more fabric from the map, especially if the spawn points are contested.
How Much Fabric Should You Keep?
Most experienced players aim for a stockpile based on typical crafting needs per session:
Bandages: 10–15 per player per session. That’s 50–75 fabric.
Durable cloth: Keep at least 30–50 on hand if you’re planning to upgrade or craft gear.
Workshop upgrades: Factor in any upcoming lab or bench improvements (50–80 fabric per upgrade).
A good rule of thumb: never go into a mission with less than 50 fabric in your stash if you plan to craft in-round. Otherwise, you’ll run out exactly when you need it most.
Common Player Mistakes
Over-prioritizing residential areas: Yields are inconsistent, and time is wasted.
Not recycling enough: Many players stockpile old items but forget that they can reclaim fabric.
Ignoring vendor purchases: Sometimes buying small amounts of fabric is faster than farming multiple areas.
Underestimating future crafting needs: Fabric may seem abundant at first, but once you start making herbal bandages or durable cloth, it disappears quickly.
Fabric is a foundational material in Arc Raiders. Its value comes not from rarity, but from its necessity in multiple crafting paths. The smartest players combine scavenging, recycling, and selective vendor purchases to keep a constant supply. Focus on medical and commercial areas, use recycling efficiently, and always plan your workshop upgrades around your current fabric stock. With these strategies, you’ll rarely find yourself stuck mid-mission without the materials you need.
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