The Turbine Compressor is one of the ARC Raiders materials players get stuck on first, and for good reason: it doesn't drop from crates, containers, or loose loot. It originates from a single source — the flying ARC Turbine, one of the game's tankiest airborne machines — so you either destroy one and scavenge it, or grab it off another Raider's Turbine kill. If you're building the Powered Descender or working the Expedition 4 project, you need these parts, and the ARC community is full of raiders in the exact same spot — a recent r/ArcRaiders thread was titled "I'm desperate for Turbine Compressors." This guide covers where the Turbine spawns, how to bring it down, how many Compressors you actually need, and the fastest way to stock up.
Quick answer: The Turbine Compressor is an Epic material that originates from the flying ARC Turbine enemy — you get it by destroying a Turbine and scavenging it (or by scavenging another Raider's Turbine kill). The Turbine appears mid-match — it falls from the sky and flips to slow its descent, usually with about 16–12 minutes left on the timer — and has roughly 4,000 HP. Bring it down by hitting its weak point (the spinning yellow "tanks" exposed under the deployed landing gear once it's grounded), then loot the Compressor. Each one sells for about 5,000 coins or recycles into 1× ARC Motion Core + 1× ARC Circuitry, and it's also used directly in crafting. Read on for the full spawn, kill, and farm breakdown.
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What is the Turbine Compressor in ARC Raiders?
The Turbine Compressor is an Epic-rarity recyclable material. "Recyclable" is a rarity/category tag — it means the item can be broken down for components — but it's not a restriction: the Compressor is also used directly in crafting (the Powered Descender) and as an Expedition contribution. According to the community-maintained ARC Raiders Wiki, it weighs 0.5 per unit, sells to vendors for around 5,000 coins, and was added to the game in Update 1.26.0.
Where it differs from most materials is the source. You can't pick it out of a supply crate as a common find — the Compressor is scavenged from a destroyed ARC Turbine, the large flying machine that patrols the Rust Belt. That single fact is why so many players hit a wall on it: they're searching loot rooms when they should be watching the sky.
Note that a recent patch changed the economy around it: Update 1.36.0 increased Turbine loot and removed Turbine parts from Couriers, so the Turbine itself is now the reliable source rather than incidental Courier drops — one more reason to learn the fight.
Turbine Compressor at a glance
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Rarity | Epic |
| Type | Recyclable material |
| Source | Destroyed ARC Turbine (scavenging) |
| Weight | 0.5 |
| Sell value | ~5,000 coins |
| Recycles into | 1× ARC Motion Core + 1× ARC Circuitry |
| Added in patch | 1.26.0 |
Where do you find the Turbine Compressor?
You find it by finding — and killing — an ARC Turbine. The Turbine is a heavy, armored airborne unit described on the wiki as "an imposing machine that drifts through the air across the Rust Belt, protected by heavy armor and electrified defenses that make it almost untouchable in flight." You'll spot it silhouetted against the sky, drifting slowly.
The key timing detail for farmers: the Turbine usually appears falling from the sky and flipping around to slow its descent once a match has roughly 16–12 minutes remaining on the timer. That means it's not there from the drop — you want to be alive, geared, and paying attention to the sky in the back half of the match. If you extract early every run, you'll never see one.
Because it's a mobile, per-match spawn rather than a fixed POI, the "location" that matters is the map and the clock, not a room. Drop into a raid you're comfortable surviving in for 8–10 minutes — the current live map, Riven Tides, is a natural place to hunt — keep your eyes up, and be ready to reposition toward the Turbine when it starts its descent.
How to kill the ARC Turbine (and get the Compressor)
The Turbine is genuinely dangerous, so approach it with a plan rather than blind aggression.
Stats and weak point
- Health: ~4,000 HP — one of the tankier ARC enemies, so you'll need sustained damage or a heavy weapon.
- Primary attack: cluster lightning missiles. On impact they trigger a lightning strike that deals very high damage and stuns you, similar to natural lightning or a Hornet's stun.
- Secondary trick: it will occasionally stop drifting and spray a small field of proximity mines onto the ground beneath it before showing armor cracks and beginning its descent.
- Weak point: the spinning yellow "tanks" inside the machine. These are only exposed through the gaps left by the deployed landing gear while the Turbine is on the ground — you cannot reliably hit them while it's in flight.
The safe kill method
The cleanest approach the community has settled on is range. Per the ARC Raiders Wiki, using a Jupiter from 150–200 meters away is an easy way to destroy the Turbine, because its lightning attack can't reach you at that distance and the Jupiter can pierce its heavy armor. If you don't have a Jupiter, wait for it to land — once it deploys its landing gear, pour fire into the exposed yellow core through the gaps.
Two survival rules that keep raiders alive:
- Never stand under it while it's spraying mines. Reposition before it descends, or you'll eat a proximity field on top of the fight.
- Break line of sight when it winds up cluster lightning. The stun is what gets people killed — a stunned Raider in the open is an easy kill for both the Turbine and any third party watching the fight.
Once it's down, walk up and scavenge the Compressor from the wreck. Scavenging the Turbine's core (+700 XP) and shell (+200 XP) rewards extra XP on top of the destroy bonus (+700 XP), so it's worth working the whole wreck rather than grabbing and running.
Best loadout for farming Turbines
Because the Turbine has ~4,000 HP and heavy armor, sustained penetrating damage matters more than raw fire rate. Prioritize this way:
- Heavy / armor-piercing primary. The Jupiter is the community pick precisely because it pierces the Turbine's heavy armor and out-ranges its lightning. If you have one, it's the safest tool for the job.
- A reliable mid-range rifle as backup for when the Turbine lands and exposes the yellow core — you want DPS you can dump into the weak point during the short grounded window.
- Healing and a stun-recovery plan. The cluster-lightning stun is the single biggest threat; carry enough healing to survive one bad hit and reposition rather than fight through it.
- Light on loot weight going in. The Turbine fight can attract third parties, and you want inventory space free for the Compressor (0.5 weight) plus the core and shell XP loot.
A good farm loop is: drop into a map you can survive in, gear up in the first half, then in the back half of the match watch the sky, engage the Turbine at range or on landing, loot it, and either extract or push for a second if one spawns.
How many Turbine Compressors do you actually need?
This is the part that turns a one-off kill into a farm. The Compressor gates two things most raiders want:
- Powered Descender — crafted at Utility Station 3 from 1× Power Rod + 1× Turbine Compressor (with the Powered Descender Blueprint). This is the low-quantity path: one Compressor per Descender.
- Expedition 4 project (Stage 3) — the big one. This stage calls for 5× Turbine Compressor, alongside 20× ARC Motion Core, 2× Exodus Modules, and 15× Speaker Component. Even between Expedition departure windows you can keep making personal Expedition/Caravan progress, so banking Compressors now isn't wasted if you missed the last window.
So if you're chasing the Expedition, you need five Turbine Compressors for that stage alone. Update 1.36.0 increased Turbine loot, but drop counts still vary, so plan for several Turbine kills (and expect to lose the occasional one to a third party who scavenges your downed Turbine first). That's a real time sink given the Turbine only shows up in the second half of a match — and it's exactly why the "desperate for Turbine Compressors" posts keep appearing.
Recycle vs. sell
If you over-farm or pull one you don't need for a project, you've got two options:
- Sell for ~5,000 coins each — solid, reliable income for an Epic.
- Recycle into 1× ARC Motion Core + 1× ARC Circuitry. Since Expedition 4 also wants 20 Motion Cores, recycling spare Compressors can quietly chip away at that requirement too.
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Fastest way to stock up on Turbine Compressors
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where do you get the Turbine Compressor in ARC Raiders? It originates from the ARC Turbine, the large flying machine that drifts across the Rust Belt. You get it by destroying a Turbine and scavenging the wreck — or by scavenging a Turbine another Raider has already downed. It isn't a normal crate find.
When does the ARC Turbine spawn? It typically appears mid-match, falling from the sky and flipping to slow its descent, with roughly 16–12 minutes remaining on the match timer. If you extract early, you'll usually miss it.
What is the ARC Turbine's weak point? The spinning yellow "tanks" exposed through the gaps in its deployed landing gear once it's grounded. You generally can't hit them cleanly while it's airborne, so either bring it down with a Jupiter from 150–200m or wait for it to land and fire into the core.
How many Turbine Compressors do I need? One for a Powered Descender (crafted at Utility Station 3 with a Power Rod), and five for Expedition 4, Stage 3. Since drop counts per Turbine vary, chasing the Expedition usually means several Turbine kills to bank five Compressors.
Can you recycle the Turbine Compressor? Yes — recycling one yields 1× ARC Motion Core + 1× ARC Circuitry. It also sells for about 5,000 coins if you don't need the components.
Is it worth farming Turbine Compressors? If you're building the Powered Descender or working through Expedition 4, yes — it's mandatory. Otherwise, each one is a reliable ~5,000-coin sell or a two-component recycle, so a Turbine kill is rarely wasted.
Facts verified against the community-maintained ARC Raiders Wiki (arcraiders.wiki) as of September 2026. Item values, project requirements, and enemy behavior can change with future patches.
