Materials are not automatically “keep” items. Keep them when they feed a selected visible recipe, an immediate repair, or a current objective; sell or leave true surplus when inventory space and terminal money solve a more urgent problem. The workbench should prove each use, and every record needs a date because Beta recipes can change.
Currently documented material groups
Wood appears in community-captured wheel and wooden structure recipes. Scrap is shared across wheels, doors, windows, metal structures and reported utility recipes. Duct Tape, Springs, Rope, Empty Cans, Candles, and bars appear in some current community menu records. The exact complete use list is not first-party published.
Treat these names as lookup anchors, not permission to hoard every copy. Open the current recipe, record the quantities, and reserve only what the selected plan needs plus an agreed repair margin.
Build a material-to-purpose map
For each material, list the visible recipes that consume it, how many the selected crafts need, where it is stored, and whether the recipe is unlocked. Separate “documented use” from “possible future use.” A locked recipe can explain why a material exists without making it immediately useful.
When two crafts share Scrap or Wood, total them before spending. Make the mobility part first if failure would stop the bus, then storage or defense. This avoids finishing half of several projects and solving none.
Reserve for one plan at a time
Choose the next craft at the workbench. Move its materials into a protected storage group and tell the team the target. Everything else can be evaluated as sale cargo, but check whether the bus needs a repair reserve before selling.
Do not let multiple players reserve the same pile for different builds. A simple sign or spoken count is enough: “This Wood and Scrap are for one spare wheel.” The Recipes guide explains dependency counting.
Keep inventory space useful
Materials compete with fuel, ammunition, healing and objective items. If the selected recipe is locked or the required bench is far away, carrying every partial ingredient can make the current run weaker. Compare the cost of leaving or selling the material with the chance of finding it again.
Store dense, high-purpose materials in an organized place on the bus when storage is available. Keep loose objects away from attachment points and the driver. Before a terminal, move recipe materials away from sale cargo.
Verify sources without inventing drops
Record the building, container, enemy, terminal or event where a material was observed, but do not convert one find into a guaranteed source or drop rate. A random house can produce an item once without being its exclusive location.
Repeat observations across current servers and attach a date. If a source disappears after an update, preserve the old note as historical rather than sending players on a guaranteed route.
Empty Cans and objective conflict
Empty Cans can have crafting uses in community recipe records and an official badge purpose: Junk King asks players to pay Noodle entirely in empty cans. That creates a real tradeoff. A Junk King attempt should protect the required cans from crafting or sale until the NPC objective is complete.
State the current goal before consuming them. After the objective, reassess the remaining cans against visible recipes and terminal value.
Do not invent a Cure Potion recipe
The official Cure Fred badge proves the Cure Potion exists as an ending requirement. It does not publish ingredients or say the item is crafted at a workbench. Keep potion ingredients blank until the live interface or a reproducible current run supplies direct evidence.
A community rumor can be tested, but it should not consume rare materials in a guide’s name. Protect any actual Cure Potion found and follow the live item description.
Recover from a material shortage
Reopen the recipe and identify the exact missing material rather than searching for “crafting loot” broadly. Check bus storage and other players before detouring. Compare the detour’s fuel and combat cost with the value of the output. If the craft is optional, continue and wait for a better source.
If a material was sold accidentally, check whether the current terminal offers a replacement or whether another supported recipe can solve the same problem. Do not spend more than the item prevents.
Material record fields
Use name, category, currently documented recipes, selected quantity needed, source observations, terminal value, unlock dependency, storage location, check date and evidence status. Unknown full-use lists remain blank. This turns a pile of item names into a decision tool.
Evidence level: crafting existence and badge milestones are Official. Material names and recipe uses are Community reported from current menu captures. Complete uses, sources, values and quantities need in-game testing, checked September 18, 2026.