I've stopped counting the late-night runs I've burned in Buried Echoes, and it's always the same dumb punchline: I'm geared up to dodge alien war machines, but I'm still stuck hunting a brass candle holder like it's priceless. If you're early in Arc Raiders, you already know why this hurts. No holder, no workbench upgrade, and suddenly every raid feels like you're underdressed for the apocalypse. I caved and started treating it like a targeted farm, not a "maybe I'll get lucky" stroll, and even grabbed ARC Raiders Coins cheap once so I could keep my momentum without spending another whole evening on one missing piece.

Stop Looting Like It's a War Zone

The biggest shift was quitting the obvious places. The industrial lots and big commercial buildings look tempting, but they're busy, loud, and the containers lean "work stuff," not "home stuff." You want the boring, half-collapsed residential blocks in the Speranza Outskirts, especially the three-story walk-ups where everything feels abandoned in a hurry. The drone patrols can be rough, yeah, but the rooms are packed with the kind of furniture that actually spits out household junk: bedside drawers, little cabinets, random cupboards you'd normally ignore. You're not clearing rooms for enemies here. You're sweeping for clutter.

Basements Pay, If You Commit

I tested it because I didn't trust my own memory. Five runs, same route, south side, and I kept my rules simple: drop down, stay quiet, stay low, and don't get distracted by fights I don't need. Flooded laundry rooms, storage corners, the sad little space under stairs—those spots kept coughing up candle holders. The pattern felt consistent. If a room looks lived-in, messy, like someone left mid-routine, search it. If it's clean, open, office-y, just move on. You'll feel smarter the second you stop checking "nice" rooms.

The Weird Container Most People Miss

One more thing that helped way more than it should: the blue plastic bins tucked behind cafes and small eateries. People sprint past them like they're just scenery. Don't. They seem to pull from an "evac luggage" kind of loot pool, and that's where I've had the most ridiculous streaks. It's not glamorous. It's also fast. You can hit a couple of those bins, grab what you need, and be back on your route before anyone's even finished their first gunfight.

Get Out With One Win

This game's brutal in that quiet way—forty minutes of careful looting, then you get folded at extraction and you're staring at an empty stash again. If you're at that point where the grind feels personal, don't let pride trap you. Some players will shortcut the dead time by picking up items or currency through services like U4GM, then use their actual playtime for raids that feel exciting instead of chores, and that's a totally reasonable choice when you're just trying to get your hideout moving forward.