Materials & Items#
Items in this game are finely sorted, but only one sentence really needs remembering: some things that look like clutter are the power ceiling itself. Internalize that one line and you avoid the most common category of loss.
Material Categories#
| Category | Example direction | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Upgrade materials | Common upgrade stock | Gear upgrades, Koo art upgrades |
| Special materials | Machine salvage, memory chips, cyberbrains and the like | Raise upgrade caps, unlock specific upgrades |
| Gatherables | Seeds, plant materials | Plant at base or use in crafting |
| Currency | Amber | Purchases and upgrades; overflow items auto-convert |
| Consumables | Healing items, food | Used in combat and at rest |
| Talismans | Equippable charms | Provide buffs; sellable after the update |
Memory Materials and Machine Salvage#
| Item | Function | Caution |
|---|---|---|
| Memory chips | Tied to specific upgrades or ability unlocks | Don’t treat them as clutter |
| Cyberbrains | Special material for mid-to-high-tier upgrades | Limited quantity, clear purpose |
| Machine salvage | Raises the weapon upgrade cap | Selling it locks your own power ceiling |
That third row is the most important line on this page. Weapon upgrades have a hard cap that common materials alone cannot push through; only these special materials raise it. Plenty of players casually sell salvaged mechanical scrap for cash early on, then hit mid-game with a capped weapon and a warehouse full of common stock.
Amber and Money#
Amber is the universal currency here. Two sources are worth noting:
- Gather amber nodes directly.
- After a partial update, overflow items auto-convert into amber - meaning surplus no longer needs manual cleanup.
On spending priority: cap raises and key unlocks first, consumables after. Consumables can be restocked anytime; the cap won’t wait for you.
Seeds and Food#
Seeds gathered in the field can be planted back at the purifying walker. This line pays out continuously: plant once, harvest several times, and the food supply gradually stabilizes.
Food is not decoration here - it feeds directly into Emma’s and Koo’s hunger bars. When neither is hungry, health regenerates automatically out of combat. The real value of this loop: trading farming for sustain.
Talismans#
Talismans are equippable charms that grant assorted buffs. One nuance is worth noting: this item type became sellable in a later version. So duplicates or ill-fitting talismans don’t need to be hoarded forever - but before selling, confirm it isn’t the keystone of some build.
The Never-Sell List#
| Item | Why it stays |
|---|---|
| Machine salvage and its kin among special materials | It IS the weapon upgrade cap; no amount of money buys it back |
| Memory chips and cyberbrains | Narrow-purpose and brutally hard to replace when short |
| Seeds | The long-term return on planting dwarfs their sale price |
| “Useless” old talismans | Sellable after the update means they hold value, but don’t liquidate before confirming your build |
How Materials Connect to Other Systems#
Materials don’t produce power by themselves. They become combat strength through three lines: the upgrade line (gear and weapons), the unlock line (skills and caps), and the supply line (food and consumables).
So this page compresses into one sentence: when you’re short on power, first check whether you’re capped, then check whether materials got sold by mistake.
Related Pages#
| If you want to know | Go read |
|---|---|
| How to break the upgrade cap | Weapons & Upgrades |
| Resource allocation order | Progression & Resources |
| The full collectibles list | Collectibles & Secrets |
Material Cheat Sheet#
| Material | Main sources | Use | Sellable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common upgrade materials | Enemy drops, zone gathering | Gear upgrades and art upgrades | Yes, but not when short |
| Machine salvage | Zone exploration, abandoned facilities | Raises the weapon upgrade cap | Not recommended |
| Memory chips | Zone exploration and specific enemies | Tied to ability unlocks | Not recommended |
| Cyberbrains | Mid-to-late zones | Special material for mid/high upgrades | Not recommended |
| Amber | Amber nodes, overflow conversion | Universal currency | It IS the currency |
| Seeds | Field gathering | Plant at base | Not recommended |
| Healing items | Supply points, gathering | Recovery in combat and exploration | Yes |
| Talismans | Enemy drops | Equippable buffs | Sellable after the update |
| Food | Gathering and base harvest | Restores hunger | Usually self-use |
Three Things That Look Useless but Are Critical#
| Item | Why it’s critical |
|---|---|
| Machine salvage | It IS the weapon upgrade ceiling. Without it, no amount of common materials pushes further |
| Seeds | Long-term returns after planting far exceed their sale price - the classic compounding resource |
| Old talismans | Sellable after the update, but an unremarkable one may be a build’s keystone - confirm before liquidating |
Inventory Management Advice#
| Principle | Explanation |
|---|---|
| When unsure, don’t sell | Materials have sharply defined roles; replacing a mistaken sale is expensive |
| Don’t manually clear overflow | Overflow auto-converts to currency after the update; save the time |
| Restock consumables as used | Camps and dragon-vein shrines are the main resupply points; no hoarding needed |
| Upgrade over purchasing | The same resources invested in upgrades usually outperform buying consumables |
Last updated: 2026-09-24.