Outbound Guide: Where to Find and Farm Scrap Metal

Quick Answer: Need Scrap Metal fast? Check the ground directly beneath Signal Towers in the early biomes to pick up dark metal debris, which generously yields three pieces per grab. Remember to stockpile this resource before driving into the canyon region, as the towers there switch to wood!

Resource management is the beating heart of your campervan adventure in Outbound. While basic materials like Everwood practically fall into your lap, hunting down Scrap Metal takes a bit more localized searching. You need it to upgrade your setup and craft essential tools, but wandering aimlessly won’t fill your inventory. Here is the absolute best way to secure all the metal you need to keep your RV journey rolling.

Hunting Down Scrap Metal Locations

Your primary hotspots for this resource are Signal Towers. You probably already visit these landmarks to download new crafting recipes for your camper, but they double as the best salvage yards in the game.

Look down at the ground surrounding the base of the tower. You are looking for chunky, dark metal debris scattered in the dirt. Grabbing one of these chunks doesn’t just give you a single piece of scrap. Instead, the game rewards you with three Scrap Metal per pickup. This is a huge time saver compared to the standard one to one ratio you get from harvesting things like fiber or wood.

• Primary Location: Base of Signal Towers
• Visual Cue: Dark metal debris scattered on the ground
• Yield Rate: 3x Scrap Metal per successful pickup

Maximizing Your Scrap Metal Farm

Running out of materials mid-craft is frustrating. If you are burning through your supply, you can easily farm more by exploiting the game’s respawn cycle. Gather everything around a Signal Tower, head back to your RV, and sleep through the night. When morning rolls around, the debris at the tower will have completely respawned and is ready for another harvest.

There is a massive catch you need to prepare for, though. Once you drive your van into the canyon biomes, the game throws a curveball. The Signal Towers in the canyons are built from wood. No metal towers means no metal debris. Because of this switch, you should hoard as much scrap as possible while exploring the first two zones to avoid tedious backtracking.

You can also stumble across scrap in campsite supply boxes. Keep an eye out for glowing campfires to spot them. These boxes drop randomized loot, meaning you might get stone or fiber instead, making them a nice bonus rather than a reliable farming method.

Essential Crafting Recipes

Prioritize your spending. It is incredibly tempting to deck out your camper with cool decorations immediately. Hold off on that. Focus your metal reserves on critical workstations and tools first. You should aim to keep at least 5 to 10 pieces stashed in your RV storage for emergency tool repairs or sudden upgrades.

Here is a quick breakdown of early game items that will drain your metal supply:

Make sure your tools and workstations are sorted before you start worrying about where to place your Owl Bobblehead. Keep farming those early towers, and you’ll never hit a bottleneck.

If you want to master every aspect of your campervan adventure, be sure to check out all of our other guides at Novus Vektra.