Enriched items are the lifeblood of your progression, Bret. While common loot is merely fuel for your wallet, these rift-touched artifacts—marked by their distinctive blue frames—are the only way to anchor yourself in this shifting reality.
In the current launch build, you don’t "sell" items to a merchant in the traditional sense. You take them to the Refiner in your Workshop.
The Two Rewards of Refining
When you feed an enriched item into the machine, it yields two things:
- Credits: The standard currency for basic needs. Enriched items provide a significantly higher payout than "dull" versions.
- Chronotraces: These are the yellow memory tokens (they look like heavy-duty USB sticks). This is why you refine. Chronotraces are the exclusive resource used to research and permanently unlock blueprints in the Replicator.
The Completionist’s Path: Blueprints
For a veteran like you, the goal isn't just surviving a raid; it’s mastering the timeline.
- The First Extract: The first time you extract with a specific enriched weapon (like an AK-103 or a Vector), you will partially "unlock" its data in your Replicator.
- The Research Grind: To actually craft that weapon whenever you want, you must spend the Chronotraces you’ve gathered from refining other enriched junk.
- The Trap: Do not hoard enriched weapons you aren't using. If you have three enriched pistols taking up space, refine two of them immediately. The Chronotraces they provide are far more valuable than the physical steel sitting in your stash, especially since the "Self-Sacrifice" (prestige) will eventually take the guns anyway—but the blueprints (once fully researched) are much easier to reclaim.
What to Prioritize
- Enriched Junk: Things like cassette recorders, video tapes, and electronic parts. They have no tactical use; they exist purely to be melted down for massive Credit boosts and traces.
- Enriched Meds: If you’re flush with painkillers, refine the enriched ones. They give surprisingly high trace counts.
- Unwanted Gear: If you find a high-tier enriched gun but you’re a "rifle only" specialist, refine it. Use its "ghost" (the Chronotraces) to buy the blueprints for the gear you actually love.
The Refiner and Replicator were moved into the Workshop just before the launch six days ago. If you’re looking for them in the main Shelter hub where they used to be in the older files, you’re chasing shadows.