Cooling Coils Farming Guide — Where to Find Them Fast in ARC Raiders

Cooling Coils — Quick Reference

What Are Cooling Coils Used For?

Cooling Coils are a mid-tier mechanical crafting component with two primary uses in ARC Raiders: weapon modification crafting and thermal armor system upgrades. On the weapon mod side, Cooling Coils appear in suppressor recipes, thermal barrel attachments, and several stability-improving mods that reduce heat buildup on sustained-fire weapons. If you run an automatic weapon build, these mods make a noticeable difference in mid-range sustained engagements.

On the gear side, Cooling Coils feed into thermal management modules for chest and helmet upgrades that improve resistance to incendiary ARC attacks. These become particularly relevant as you push into areas with fire-based ARC unit types. Stockpiling Cooling Coils early saves you a significant farming trip later when these upgrades become critical.

Cooling Coils are also a moderate-value sell item. Community reports suggest traders pay around 300–500 Credits per unit, making them a reliable secondary income source when you have surplus. However, if you are actively crafting weapon mods, hold at least a stack of eight to ten before selling any.

Where Cooling Coils Spawn — Key Locations

Cooling Coils are classified as mechanical components, so they spawn in mechanical and industrial context containers rather than electronic ones. The most productive container types are machinery nodes (the large mechanical equipment interaction points), metal supply crates in workshop areas, and ventilation control panels. Standard residential crates and basic supply boxes do not spawn Cooling Coils.

The Spaceport Engineering Bay is the single best location on the map. It contains multiple machinery nodes clustered in a compact area, making it possible to loot the entire relevant container pool in under three minutes if the area is clear. The engineering bay is on the ground floor of the Spaceport's west wing, accessible from the main concourse.

The Dam's cooling infrastructure — the pipe network and coolant management rooms near the lower-level water intake — is the second most reliable source. These rooms are less frequently visited by other Raiders, but ARC patrol density in the area is moderate to high. The trade-off is worth it for solo farmers who want to avoid player competition.

Spaceport Engineering Bay Sub-5-Minute Loop

Steps

1. Deploy to the Spaceport. From the entry point, move directly to the main concourse and turn west — ignore all loot on the concourse level to stay under 5 minutes.
2. Enter the Engineering Bay through the double-door marked with a wrench service icon. Clear or evade the two ARC light units that typically patrol the entrance area.
3. Loot the three machinery nodes along the north wall — these are the highest-priority Cooling Coil spawns. Interact time is roughly 2 seconds each.
4. Check the two metal supply crates in the central workshop area. These have overlapping spawns for Cooling Coils and Steel Springs.
5. Move to the ventilation control panel on the east wall of the bay — a secondary but consistent spawn point that's frequently skipped by other players.
6. Exit the Engineering Bay back through the double doors and head directly to the main extraction point on the concourse level. The total loop is approximately 4–5 minutes if you move efficiently.

Tips

• If the machinery nodes are already looted, someone else hit this zone early. Cut to the Dam as a secondary loop rather than waiting.
• The metal supply crates also commonly contain Steel Springs — this is an excellent dual-material farming loop.
• Bring at least one medkit — the ARC units near the Engineering Bay entrance hit harder than standard patrols.

Dam Cooling Infrastructure Loop

Steps

1. Enter the Dam from the lower access point. Follow the visible pipe infrastructure south along the lower dam wall.
2. Enter the Coolant Management Room A — the first door on the left past the pipe junction. It contains two machinery nodes and one ventilation panel.
3. Continue to Coolant Management Room B, deeper into the infrastructure. This room has the highest concentration: three machinery nodes and a metal supply crate.
4. Check the junction maintenance alcove between the two rooms — a single machinery node that is often missed.
5. Exit via the lower dam walkway and move toward the overflow extraction point for a quick extract.

Tips

• ARC Heavies patrol the pipe junction area — plan your route to enter Room A from the side, not directly through the junction.
• The overflow extraction is close, making this one of the faster extract routes in the Dam zone.
• Cooling Coil spawns here compete with Reactor Cores — both materials can appear in the same machinery nodes.

Recycling Sources for Cooling Coils

The recycler in Stella Montis can produce Cooling Coils from specific inputs. Community testing identifies ARC Cooling Units (dropped by larger ARC mechanical units), ventilation salvage components, and mechanical drone parts as the most reliable recycling inputs that output Cooling Coils. The recycling output is partially randomized, but these inputs consistently appear in the Cooling Coil output pool.

If you're doing heavy ARC combat in the Dam or industrial zones and collecting mechanical salvage, run it through the recycler at the end of each session rather than selling it outright. The Cooling Coil output from recycling can add two to four additional units per session to your supply, which compounds significantly over multiple farming sessions.

All Cooling Coil Sources — Summary

• Spaceport Engineering Bay machinery nodes (highest density, fastest loop)
• Dam Coolant Management Rooms machinery nodes (lower competition, moderate ARC threat)
• Industrial workshop metal supply crates across both main maps
• Ventilation control panels in the Spaceport and Dam restricted areas
• Recycling ARC Cooling Units, ventilation salvage, and mechanical drone parts
• Trader stock at mechanical components vendors in Stella Montis (limited per reset)
• Supply Drop high-tier crates (rare source, not reliable as primary)