Scrap is a type of resource in Astroneer that is obtained by shredding strictures and debris. It is a unique item in that it used as a type of currency that players can exchange for various natural resources at a trading outpost.
Scrap is valuable for saving time. If you need some ceramic and can’t find any clay or need some titanite, but don’t want to have to travel to another planet and have to search for it, you can spend some scrap at a trading outpost to purchase it. This guide will show you the best strategy that I have found for gathering lots of scrap with very little effort.
How Do You Get Scrap?
In order to get scrap, you will need to build a shredder. Shredders come in different sizes where the smaller size shredders are unable to generate scrape out of items that are too large.
When you have a shredder that is powered up, you will simply need to drop an item, structure or some debris onto the top of the shredder. Once the item snaps into the door at the top with the chewing teeth, it will get sucked in and it will start to generate a scrap nugget for you. Once the nugget is full, it will be ready for use.
Best Way To Get Scrap Quick And Easy
The biggest problem you will find with scrap is having to go out and search for debris. You can load up your rover with junk and bring it back to your base to be scrapped. This can be slow and more often than not, you are going to find platforms and items that do not fit onto your rover or you simply find too much and need to make several return trips for all of those damaged wind turbines. The solution to this is, the garbage truck!
This is the ultimate solution for gathering huge amounts of scrap in a matter of minutes with very little effort. You will find lots of resources, items and other cool bits as you explore too. Rather than bring the debris to your shredder, bring the shredder to the debris. This is a complete win!
There is of course some entry barriers to this. You will need to have progressed far enough in the game to be able to construct a medium battery or, ideally, an RTG. You will also need a large rover that you can place a large shredder on top of.
How To Build A Scrap Garbage Truck
The scrap garbage truck is the solution to all of your scrapping needs in Astroneer. In order to build it, you will need the following.
- 2 large rovers
- 1 cockpit
- 1+ medium battery (or RTG)
- Wind turbines/solar panels if you do not have an RTG
- A large shredder
- Storage structures
The first rover is going to be used for the cockpit, power generation and any optional storage for gathering any random resources and supplies that you come across when you are out exploring.
The second rover is going to be the trailer that contains the shredder and some storage slots for the scrap to snap to once a nugget has been generated from the shredder.
You should have a few extra slots that you can save for research items or just use for more storage. A single journey will allow you to gather a huge amount of scrap and also find lots of resources to bring back to your base for construction.
Powering Gateway Portals
The primary goal of the garbage truck is for collecting scrap, but it can also be used to power gateway portals. You are driving around with 2 rovers with power generation and supply built onto it. For the gateway chambers on Sylva at least, you should be able to activate them all without any trouble. Simply connect the power supply from one of the rovers to the gateway portal and you are good to go!