A Damaged Heat Sink is a rare, recyclable item in Arc Raiders. Its primary function isn’t as a weapon or a gear upgrade—it’s a material used in crafting and for upgrading your Utility Station in the Workshop.
Here’s what you need to know in practice:
Weight: 2.0 units per item, which is manageable but can add up if you carry multiples.
Stack Size: You can carry up to 3 per inventory slot.
Sell Price: 1,000 Coins each. Selling them is possible but often not the best use.
Essentially, a Damaged Heat Sink is a resource investment. You can recycle it for materials, or use it to upgrade your Workshop infrastructure.
Most players find Damaged Heat Sinks through scavenging. They usually appear in Technological loot nodes, such as Server Racks. Based on my experience:
Focus on high-tech zones and areas marked for electronic or mechanical loot.
They are relatively rare, so expect to search a few locations before you find enough for upgrades.
When scavenging with friends, splitting zones efficiently helps ensure everyone collects some without wasting time.
If you’re looking to supplement scavenging with crafting options, some players also turn to the marketplace. I’ve found resources like guides and forums suggesting the best place to buy Arc Raiders blueprints, which can sometimes include materials for items like Damaged Heat Sinks indirectly through crafting chains.
Recycling is where Damaged Heat Sinks really shine. If you don’t need the item for a Workshop upgrade, you can convert it into raw materials:
Recycling Results: Each Damaged Heat Sink yields 6 Metal Parts and 2 Wires.
Salvaging Results: If you choose to salvage rather than fully recycle, you get 3 Wires.
In practical terms:
Recycling is usually more efficient if you want general crafting materials for other projects.
Salvaging is situational. You might salvage if you only need wires for quick repairs or small upgrades.
In my experience, keeping a small stockpile of Damaged Heat Sinks is smart. You never know when you might hit a Workshop upgrade milestone, and having them recycled later can save time and trips across the map.
The Utility Station is the main structure where Damaged Heat Sinks are used. Here’s a breakdown of how they factor in:
Utility Station 1 → Utility Station 2 Upgrade
Cost: 2× Damaged Heat Sinks, 5× Electrical Components, 6× Snitch Scanners
From experience, the critical point is that you need them in pairs. It’s easy to overlook this, but trying to upgrade with only one Damaged Heat Sink will leave you stuck. Also, combining them with other required components like Electrical Components and Snitch Scanners is key—you don’t want to waste runs scavenging for just one type of item at a time.
Upgrading the Utility Station matters because it increases your overall crafting and support capabilities, allowing better equipment, faster repairs, and sometimes access to more advanced loot. This makes Damaged Heat Sinks a surprisingly strategic item despite being “just a material.”
Many players wonder if they should sell Damaged Heat Sinks for Coins. My advice based on experience:
Sell only if you have a surplus and no immediate Workshop upgrades planned.
Keep them if you’re upgrading Utility Stations, as they’re essential to progressing in base efficiency.
Selling gives you 1,000 Coins each, which is decent early on, but their value in crafting is often higher long-term.
A common mistake is to sell rare materials immediately, then find yourself short for an upgrade later. I’ve learned it’s generally better to store them until you’re ready for a Workshop upgrade or need Metal Parts.
Since Damaged Heat Sinks are stackable but heavy, inventory management is crucial:
Keep them in dedicated slots separate from consumables and weapons.
Collect them in multiples of two if your goal is upgrading the Utility Station to avoid incomplete upgrades.
Recycle in batches when you need crafting materials, rather than individually—it saves time.
A small trick: when scavenging, prioritize finding other components like Electrical Components or Snitch Scanners alongside Damaged Heat Sinks. This way, every run has a higher payoff.
Damaged Heat Sinks are rare but essential materials for Utility Station upgrades and crafting.
Recycling provides more value than selling in most cases, giving 6 Metal Parts and 2 Wires per item.
Scavenging high-tech zones like Server Racks is the most reliable way to find them.
Keep them in pairs if planning Workshop upgrades.
Use them strategically; they’re better stored for upgrades than immediately converted to coins.
In short, understanding Damaged Heat Sinks is about knowing when to hold, when to recycle, and when to upgrade. Treat them as a long-term resource, and you’ll see your Utility Station and crafting abilities improve faster than players who just sell them off.
By handling Damaged Heat Sinks this way, you can optimize both your scavenging runs and your Workshop progress. They might seem minor at first, but they’re one of those materials that pay off more than you expect if you manage them carefully.