What is the Ruined Accordion?
The Ruined Accordion is classified as a Rare item in Arc Raiders. Its primary function is that it can be recycled into crafting materials. Unlike consumables or weapons, it doesn’t give you direct stats or abilities when you carry it around. Instead, it exists as a resource for building or upgrading other equipment.
In practice, this means it’s more useful if you like to craft items or maintain a stockpile of materials for upgrades. It doesn’t affect your combat abilities on its own, so you won’t see immediate in-game performance changes from just holding one.
Where Can I Find the Ruined Accordion?
The Ruined Accordion only appears in Residential locations. These areas are often full of common and uncommon items, so the accordion can be easy to miss if you’re only focusing on combat loot.
Most players report finding one or two per run, depending on the spawn patterns and how thoroughly they explore each building. Unlike high-demand resources that appear everywhere, the accordion is relatively sparse, so consider picking it up if your inventory allows.
What Does Recycling the Ruined Accordion Give Me?
Once you collect a Ruined Accordion, you can recycle it for materials. In practical terms, here’s what you get:
18 Rubber Parts
3 Steel Springs
If you choose to salvage it instead of recycling, you get a smaller return:
13 Rubber Parts
In day-to-day gameplay, most players prefer recycling because the extra steel springs can be valuable for certain high-level craftables. Rubber Parts are commonly needed for crafting gadgets, traps, or repair kits, so even if you don’t need steel springs immediately, having the accordion as a resource helps you stock up efficiently.
Do I Need to Keep a Ruined Accordion?
This depends on your priorities:
If you craft a lot: Definitely pick it up. The materials from recycling add up quickly, especially if you’re building advanced tools or repairing equipment in multiple missions.
If you focus on combat or fast missions: You can skip it. The accordion won’t help in fights, and its weight (3 units) could take up inventory space you’d rather use for ammo, medkits, or weapons.
A practical approach is to grab it when you have extra inventory space and skip it if you’re already carrying mission-essential items. Most experienced players end up with a few in storage just to recycle later, rather than needing one on every mission.
Can I Buy a Ruined Accordion?
Technically, yes. Some players don’t have the patience to scavenge or want to focus on other gameplay aspects. The game allows you to buy Arc Raiders items with real money, including rare crafting materials.
However, in practice, this isn’t necessary unless you want a shortcut. The accordion spawns often enough in Residential areas that dedicated scavengers can gather plenty over time without spending money.
How Does Weight Affect Inventory Management?
Each Ruined Accordion weighs 3.0 units, which isn’t huge, but it can add up if you’re carrying multiple rare items. Experienced players usually keep track of inventory by prioritizing:
Combat essentials first (ammo, medkits, shields)
Crafting materials second (accordion, scrap, etc.)
If you’re in a fast-paced mission, carrying too many heavy crafting items could slow down your loot runs. For slow, methodical scavenging sessions, weight isn’t a problem.
Is the Ruined Accordion Worth Selling?
Selling a Ruined Accordion will get you 2,000 coins. This is decent for early-game players, but later on, coins are often easier to get through missions than rare materials.
In practice, most players prefer to recycle it rather than sell. The crafting return is more valuable long-term than the short-term coin gain. Only sell if you are in urgent need of coins and don’t plan on crafting soon.
Here’s the takeaway from a practical perspective:
Utility: Recyclable for materials, no direct combat benefit.
Spawn: Found in Residential areas; moderately rare.
Inventory: Weighs 3 units; manageable but consider your priorities.
Recycling: Yields 18 Rubber Parts and 3 Steel Springs; salvaging gives 13 Rubber Parts.
Buying: Possible via in-game purchases, but not required.
Selling: Gets 2,000 coins; usually less efficient than recycling.
Overall, you don’t need a Ruined Accordion to succeed in missions, but it is useful if you want to stock up on crafting materials or prepare for upgrades. Experienced players often pick them up when convenient, recycle them in batches, and rarely regret carrying them along.
For anyone serious about crafting and building, the Ruined Accordion is a solid resource. For casual or combat-focused players, it’s fine to leave them behind and focus on more immediate mission rewards. Understanding when and why to collect items like this is part of effective inventory management in Arc Raiders.
