ARC Raiders Currency Guide — Credits, Seeds & the Stella Montis Economy
Currency Quick Reference
| Currency | How Earned | Best Spent On | Key Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credits | Selling loot to traders | Gear replacement, consumables, mid-tier vendor stock | Always maintain a reserve for emergency re-kitting |
| Seeds | Daily missions, challenges, milestones | Blueprints, premium vendor items, rare components | Never spend Seeds on items also buyable with Credits |
| Crafting Components | Recycling, farming, looting | Crafting recipes — not a tradeable currency | Always have recipe bottleneck materials prioritized |
Credits — The Backbone of the Stella Montis Economy
Credits are the primary economic unit of the Stella Montis economy. Every piece of loot you extract and choose to sell converts into Credits at the appropriate vendor. Credits fund almost everything: gear replacement after losses, consumable restocks, mid-tier items from general traders, blueprint purchases from most vendors, and the repair costs for your armor at the workshop. Running low on Credits after a bad raid creates a progression bottleneck that can slow down your recovery significantly.
Credits are generated efficiently by understanding loot sell values. Not all items sell for equal Credits per unit of bag space. Mid-tier found weapons — items you don't need for crafting — often have the best sell-value-to-weight ratio. Consumables you've already stocked have diminishing marginal value and should be sold. Low-tier junk, as covered in the recycling guide, is typically better recycled than sold for Credits. Build an intuitive sense of sell-versus-recycle value that optimizes for whichever resource you currently need more.
Maintaining a Credits reserve is non-negotiable for consistent play. The reserve should cover at minimum two complete replacement loadouts at your current gear tier. After a run where you lose everything equipped, you should be able to immediately re-kit and re-deploy without waiting for another farming session. Players who spend every Credit immediately find themselves stranded after a bad run, forced to deploy with inadequate gear or wait for a friend to carry them. Emergency reserves aren't waste — they're operational continuity.
Seeds — Scarce Premium Currency
Seeds are significantly rarer than Credits and earned through different activities: completing daily missions, finishing weekly or event challenges, achieving specific milestones, and in some cases participating in particular game modes or events. Seeds do not come from selling loot — they require active engagement with the game's mission and achievement systems. Players who log in, farm materials, and sell loot without engaging with daily missions will accumulate Credits normally but generate Seeds slowly.
The scarcity of Seeds means every spending decision carries significant weight. The correct use of Seeds is focused almost entirely on blueprints — the crafting recipes that unlock new gear tiers. A blueprint purchased with Seeds today may enable dozens of crafts across your entire remaining time with the game, making it one of the highest-value purchases in the entire economy. Seeds spent on blueprints have compounding returns; Seeds spent on consumable items or replaceable gear have one-time returns.
Specialized vendors who accept Seeds often carry items that cannot be obtained through any other means in the game — rare crafting components in limited quantities, exclusive equipment variations, and the highest-tier blueprints. The Seeds vendor's stock should be your first stop when you have accumulated enough Seeds to make a meaningful purchase. Because stock rotates, missing a limited-quantity Seeds vendor item can mean waiting for its next rotation, which may be days or weeks away.
Daily Seeds-Earning Activities
- Check and accept all daily missions from the mission board at Stella Montis at the start of each session
- Complete at least one daily mission per session — they're designed to be completable in a normal raid run
- Review weekly challenges and plan session activities that progress multiple challenges simultaneously
- Milestone rewards are one-time but significant — check your milestone progress regularly and plan to complete them
- Certain trader reputation thresholds award Seeds — build reputation with key vendors through consistent purchasing
- Event-specific activities during limited-time events often provide Seeds at accelerated rates — prioritize events
Balancing Sell vs Recycle for Economic Health
The sell-vs-recycle decision is the central economic tension of every post-raid stash session. The correct split is not constant — it shifts based on your current needs. If your crafting queue is empty and you have abundant materials, selling for Credits is the right call. If you have Credits reserves but are bottlenecked on specific crafting materials, recycling the appropriate item types is correct even if the Credits return would be higher.
A simple framework: always sell items with poor recycling ratios (consumables, most found weapons) for Credits. Always recycle items with excellent crafting component output (wire scraps, spring cushions, industrial junk). For everything in the middle, ask whether you currently need Credits or crafting materials more urgently. The answer changes session to session, but having a clear current priority makes the decision immediate rather than agonizing.
Long-term economic health requires never fully depleting either your Credits reserve or your crafting material stocks. Burning all Credits on vendor gear leaves you unable to replace losses. Converting all loot to crafting materials and never selling means running low on Credits for trader purchases and repairs. The ideal state is a growing stash of crafting materials, a stable Credits reserve above your emergency threshold, and a Seeds balance that you're actively deploying on high-value blueprint purchases.
Credits vs Seeds Spending Priorities
| Purchase Type | Credits | Seeds | Which to Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic gear replacement | Yes — primary purpose | Wasteful | Credits |
| Consumable restocks | Yes — regular use | Wasteful | Credits |
| Mid-tier blueprints | Yes — if available | Possible — if not in Credit vendor | Credits if available |
| High-tier blueprints | Rarely available | Primary use case | Seeds |
| Premium vendor exclusives | Not accepted | Required | Seeds |
| Armor repairs | Yes — workshop repair cost | Never | Credits |
| Rare crafting components | Sometimes available | Better selection at Seeds vendor | Seeds vendor for rares |
Verdict: Use Credits for all daily operational spending: gear, consumables, repairs. Reserve Seeds exclusively for high-tier blueprints and Seeds-vendor exclusive items. Never spend Seeds on anything obtainable with Credits.
Frequently asked questions
What is the fastest way to earn Credits in ARC Raiders?
The fastest way to earn Credits is to sell high-value loot consistently: mid-tier found weapons, consumables you don't need, and items with good sell-to-weight ratios. Running industrial zones for mechanical and electronic components to sell (rather than recycle) during periods when you're material-flush also generates Credits efficiently.
Can you lose Credits or Seeds in ARC Raiders?
Credits and Seeds are stored in your Stella Montis account and are not lost when you die in a raid. Only equipped gear and carried loot are at risk during raids. Your currency is always safe in your hub account.
How many Seeds do you typically earn per day in ARC Raiders?
Daily Seeds earnings from completing missions and daily challenges are modest — typically enough to build toward a meaningful purchase over several days to a week of consistent play. This scarcity is intentional; Seeds are designed for careful, high-value spending rather than casual daily purchases.
Is there a currency limit (cap) in ARC Raiders?
There is no reported hard cap on Credits accumulation. Seeds may have soft caps during certain activities. Build healthy spending habits rather than hoarding — unspent Credits and Seeds provide no passive benefit and simply represent opportunities not taken.
Are there ways to earn Credits without raiding in ARC Raiders?
Credits come primarily from selling loot extracted from raids. Daily missions and challenges sometimes award small Credits bonuses. There is no passive Credits generation system — active raiding and selling is the only consistent income source for this currency.
Sources & verification
Coloured pills follow our four-tier source policy.
- ARC Raiders Community Wiki — Economy
- ARC Raiders fact-check pass — guide step re-tested in-game
Continue this guide path
- ›ARC Raiders Recycling vs Selling — Which Items to Keep, Recycle, or SellEvery item you bring back from a raid creates a decision: keep it, recycle it for components, or sell it for Credits. This guide gives you the framework and item-by-item breakdown to make the right call every time.
- ›ARC Raiders Recycling Guide — What to Recycle vs Sell vs KeepThe recycler at Stella Montis is one of the most underutilized tools for new Raiders. Learn which items to recycle for maximum crafting component value, which to sell to traders for Credits, and which to keep for your own use.
- ›ARC Raiders Trader Guide — Who to Buy From & Daily Stock TipsStella Montis is home to a network of traders with rotating stock and specialized inventories. Learn which vendors to prioritize, how Credits and Seeds work, and how to maximize your daily trader visits.
- ›ARC Raiders Looting Strategy — How to Fill Your Bag Fast & SmartEfficient looting is what separates consistent Raiders from players who struggle to progress. Learn how to triage loot, understand container types, manage inventory space, and route through zones for maximum value per raid.
- ›Supply Drop Farming Guide for ARC Raiders — Timing, Locations & RewardsSupply drops are the highest single-event loot opportunity in ARC Raiders. This guide covers spawn timing, map locations, contested versus safe approaches, and how to maximize your chances of extracting valuable rewards.