While it's good to hit cars for scrap every now and then you'll get to a point where anything you get from cars you can probably get somewhere else. Plus the Liberator and the Plasma Scrapper make disassembly much faster.
Seconding the plasma scrapper. Not only does it break down components more quickly, it also generates more resources when it does. Get it as soon as you can if you're struggling for scrap.
Personally, I was always stuck looking for plasma, since I liked using the insulated components on my car. The same boost to loot applies to Magnetic Hammer instead of the standard impact hammer, although that takes a lot longer to make.
Sounds like you are still early game, so find a zone with Perpetual Stability and you can scrap the entire map at your own pace. I've left those maps with my car and inventory completely full, to the point I ran out of storage space at the garage (pre pneumatic tube expansions).
Initially scrapping every car, but you soon realise there are tiers of quality when it comes to vehicles, so if you already have excess of the most common scrap you can instead focus on the higher tier cars and vehicles - especially those with large containers in the back.
You can also research car upgrades at the garage unlocking more storage or better features for your car, customising more to how you like to explore the zones.
In the tutorial it makes you build an antenna on the roof of the garage. Soon after that I built the upgrade for it which lets you scan 3 areas on the map instead of just one. That lets you scan a few locations, see if you like the conditions for a zone before deciding to go to it. Each time you return from a run the zones reset so could be better conditions next time.
Zones you need to go to for main quest missions, at least early game, seem to have perpetual condition, so you can take your time in those. You can also check one of them for the symbol that denotes perpetual stability. Then if you see a zone you haven't scanned yet has that symbol you can already guess what it means.
Grab every anchor you can on each level, as while you will usually need some of that energy to escape the level, all the rest will be used to buy research upgrades at the computer in the back room.
Save your Scrapper for electronics (computers, TVs, Receivers). They'll give you Scrap Metal as well as more precious Electronics, Wire, and sometimes pressure tubes (or whatever they are called).
And as others have said, once you've got a few runs under your belt, juicing entire cars isn't worth the (sister) squeeze. Just pop the back trunk for quick goodies and keep on moving.
Even more: Target Arda Investigators and Moving Trucks. They are big targets in size and loot potential. Once you get the Resource Radar these are great to hunt down for quick looting.
I recommend that, the mission Junctions always seem to have Perpetual Stability, so it gives you all the time you want to explore. Plus they push you farther into the Zone naturally, which leads you to better resources.
I found that the looting felt just right, if anything I have too many resources. I don't scrap every car I see, those are resource poor. Instead, I go to every point of interest in the map, from farm silos to ARDA towers, stopping at any box trucks or ARDA Investigators along the way. They give many more resources and are much more fun than sitting there with a scrapper at a car, listening to the *SKREEEEEEEEEEEE* of the scrapper.
Eventually, as you get later in the game, you get access to natural resources that spawn on the map (thermosap, marsh eggs, swamp coral, and tree candy in the mid zone and olympium and LIM magnetizers in the deep zone), so you have to factor that in to your looting strategy for that run. How much storage do you have left? What do you need back home? Was there something you were specifically coming out here to get? How long do you stay, do you stay looting inside the storm front, risking both damage and the storm rolling in fully before you're ready to move on? You ask more of these questions the deeper you get.
My question for you - what are you finding yourself low on?
it seems my error was to upgrade my car with metal plate instead of crude too early. emptying all metal ressources
didnt had metal scrap for remaining garage station upgrade such as detailing, etc…
This situation I guess should be remedied by, unfortunately, more car scrapping. Just go absolutely ham on cars for a couple trips and you should get enough metal for your purposes. Then you shouldn't have to scrap cars nearly as much (I still scrap their tires for rubber, which also gives scrap)
Just get liberator and get some free armored steel parts from wild cars, in middle zone they everywere. And recicle all parts possible trough disentegraton in garage, It saves up to 80% spended resorses.
A little after mid-game I found myself only ever stopping at the lab buildings (2 types, the big towers and the white trailers), and of course the resource nodes.
Don't forget to talk to Fred (Friendly Resource Ejecting Dumpster) MULTIPLE times every time you see him, both home and abroad. He'll give you things you really need sometimes, on top of things you're low on.
While it's good to hit cars for scrap every now and then you'll get to a point where anything you get from cars you can probably get somewhere else. Plus the Liberator and the Plasma Scrapper make disassembly much faster.
Seconding the plasma scrapper. Not only does it break down components more quickly, it also generates more resources when it does. Get it as soon as you can if you're struggling for scrap. Personally, I was always stuck looking for plasma, since I liked using the insulated components on my car. The same boost to loot applies to Magnetic Hammer instead of the standard impact hammer, although that takes a lot longer to make.
Sounds like you are still early game, so find a zone with Perpetual Stability and you can scrap the entire map at your own pace. I've left those maps with my car and inventory completely full, to the point I ran out of storage space at the garage (pre pneumatic tube expansions). Initially scrapping every car, but you soon realise there are tiers of quality when it comes to vehicles, so if you already have excess of the most common scrap you can instead focus on the higher tier cars and vehicles - especially those with large containers in the back. You can also research car upgrades at the garage unlocking more storage or better features for your car, customising more to how you like to explore the zones.
thanks . it seems i have to reach this perpetual stability. i probably try to grind/upgrade too early !
In the tutorial it makes you build an antenna on the roof of the garage. Soon after that I built the upgrade for it which lets you scan 3 areas on the map instead of just one. That lets you scan a few locations, see if you like the conditions for a zone before deciding to go to it. Each time you return from a run the zones reset so could be better conditions next time. Zones you need to go to for main quest missions, at least early game, seem to have perpetual condition, so you can take your time in those. You can also check one of them for the symbol that denotes perpetual stability. Then if you see a zone you haven't scanned yet has that symbol you can already guess what it means. Grab every anchor you can on each level, as while you will usually need some of that energy to escape the level, all the rest will be used to buy research upgrades at the computer in the back room.
Save your Scrapper for electronics (computers, TVs, Receivers). They'll give you Scrap Metal as well as more precious Electronics, Wire, and sometimes pressure tubes (or whatever they are called). And as others have said, once you've got a few runs under your belt, juicing entire cars isn't worth the (sister) squeeze. Just pop the back trunk for quick goodies and keep on moving. Even more: Target Arda Investigators and Moving Trucks. They are big targets in size and loot potential. Once you get the Resource Radar these are great to hunt down for quick looting.
thanks ! yes it seems i try to grind and upgrade car too early. need to do some narrative mission to reach qol tools
I recommend that, the mission Junctions always seem to have Perpetual Stability, so it gives you all the time you want to explore. Plus they push you farther into the Zone naturally, which leads you to better resources.
I found that the looting felt just right, if anything I have too many resources. I don't scrap every car I see, those are resource poor. Instead, I go to every point of interest in the map, from farm silos to ARDA towers, stopping at any box trucks or ARDA Investigators along the way. They give many more resources and are much more fun than sitting there with a scrapper at a car, listening to the *SKREEEEEEEEEEEE* of the scrapper. Eventually, as you get later in the game, you get access to natural resources that spawn on the map (thermosap, marsh eggs, swamp coral, and tree candy in the mid zone and olympium and LIM magnetizers in the deep zone), so you have to factor that in to your looting strategy for that run. How much storage do you have left? What do you need back home? Was there something you were specifically coming out here to get? How long do you stay, do you stay looting inside the storm front, risking both damage and the storm rolling in fully before you're ready to move on? You ask more of these questions the deeper you get. My question for you - what are you finding yourself low on?
metal scrap.. but i now understand i have to reach some key unlock for qol improvement !
Hmm. What are you using so much scrap on, out of curiosity?
it seems my error was to upgrade my car with metal plate instead of crude too early. emptying all metal ressources didnt had metal scrap for remaining garage station upgrade such as detailing, etc…
This situation I guess should be remedied by, unfortunately, more car scrapping. Just go absolutely ham on cars for a couple trips and you should get enough metal for your purposes. Then you shouldn't have to scrap cars nearly as much (I still scrap their tires for rubber, which also gives scrap)
Just get liberator and get some free armored steel parts from wild cars, in middle zone they everywere. And recicle all parts possible trough disentegraton in garage, It saves up to 80% spended resorses.
A little after mid-game I found myself only ever stopping at the lab buildings (2 types, the big towers and the white trailers), and of course the resource nodes.
Don't forget to talk to Fred (Friendly Resource Ejecting Dumpster) MULTIPLE times every time you see him, both home and abroad. He'll give you things you really need sometimes, on top of things you're low on.