Materials

Materials are small elements that can be found from a variety of sources that can be used to maintain or enhance the abilities of your ship and SRV. They have three main purposes: Synthesis, Engineering, and unlocking specialized weapons and modules through a Technology Broker.

Materials do not take up space in Cargo Racks.^[1] Instead, materials have a separate inventory and are only stored in quantities that are small enough that they do not affect a ship's overall mass. Individual materials each have their own maximum storage capacity depending on quality: each G1 material is capped at 300, G2 at 250, G3 at 200, G4 at 150, and G5 at 100. Materials remain available when switching between vehicles, and in the case of vehicle destruction, they are saved by the pilot's escape system. Material Traders found at certain stations can exchange Materials within one category for a different quantity of another Material in the same category.

Material Categories

Materials can be classified into 1 of 3 categories.

Raw Materials

Naturally occurring chemical elements.

Manufactured Materials

Salvageable components.

Data

From scanning various sources.

Material Grades

All Materials are sorted into different grades representing their rarity, with rarer materials providing greater effects when used. Manufactured and Encoded Materials use five grades, from Very Common to Very Rare, while Raw Materials only use four, from Very Common to Rare.

Symbol	Grade	Rarity
	1	Very Common
	2	Common
	3	Standard
	4	Rare
	5	Very Rare

High-grade materials

Crystalline Shards produce Crystalline Clusters which, when shot from a SRV, drop high-grade materials matching the planet's composition. In other words, they drop the same material as Needle Crystals would in a volcanic site, but there are lots and lots of them. They've been discovered in the Sanguineous Rim and beyond.^[2]

Videos

HOW TO FIND RARE ENGINEERING MATERIALS ELITE DANGEROUS

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References

1. ↑ Dev Update (12/11/2015)
2. ↑ This, fellow Commanders, is the Antimony Mother Lode!

v • d • e Materials
Raw Materials	Carbon Iron Lead Nickel Phosphorus Rhenium Sulphur Arsenic Chromium Germanium Manganese Vanadium Zinc Zirconium Boron Cadmium Mercury Molybdenum Niobium Tin Tungsten Antimony Polonium Ruthenium Selenium Technetium Tellurium Yttrium Sources Asteroids Bronzite Chondrite Cargo Rack Crystalline Cluster Mesosiderite Metallic Meteorite Outcrop Thargoid Barnacle Barb Uses Engineers Synthesis Technology Brokers
Manufactured Materials	Basic Conductors Chemical Storage Units Compact Composites Crystal Shards Grid Resistors Guardian Power Cell Guardian Sentinel Wreckage Components Heat Conduction Wiring Mechanical Scrap Salvaged Alloys Tempered Alloys Worn Shield Emitters Chemical Processors Conductive Components Galvanising Alloys Guardian Power Conduit Guardian Technology Component Heat Dispersion Plate Heat Resistant Ceramics Hybrid Capacitors Mechanical Equipment Shield Emitters Thargoid Carapace Bio-Mechanical Conduits Chemical Distillery Conductive Ceramics Electrochemical Arrays Focus Crystals Guardian Sentinel Weapon Parts Heat Exchangers High Density Composites Mechanical Components Phase Alloys Precipitated Alloys Propulsion Elements Shielding Sensors Thargoid Energy Cell Weapon Parts Wreckage Components Chemical Manipulators Compound Shielding Conductive Polymers Configurable Components Heat Vanes Polymer Capacitors Proprietary Composites Proto Light Alloys Refined Focus Crystals Thermic Alloys Thargoid Technology Components Biotech Conductors Core Dynamics Composites Exquisite Focus Crystals Imperial Shielding Improvised Components Military Grade Alloys Military Supercapacitors Pharmaceutical Isolators Proto Heat Radiators Proto Radiolic Alloys Sensor Fragment Thargoid Organic Circuitry Sources Signal Sources Ship Salvage Mission Reward Uses Engineers Synthesis Technology Brokers
Encoded Materials	Anomalous Bulk Scan Data Atypical Disrupted Wake Echoes Distorted Shield Cycle Recordings Exceptional Scrambled Emission Data Pattern Gamma Obelisk Data Specialised Legacy Firmware Unusual Encrypted Files Anomalous FSD Telemetry Inconsistent Shield Soak Analysis Irregular Emission Data Modified Consumer Firmware Pattern Beta Obelisk Data Tagged Encryption Codes Unidentified Scan Archives Thargoid Structural Data Classified Scan Databanks Cracked Industrial Firmware Open Symmetric Keys Pattern Alpha Obelisk Data Ship Flight Data Ship Systems Data Strange Wake Solutions Unexpected Emission Data Thargoid Material Composition Data Thargoid Ship Signature Untypical Shield Scans Aberrant Shield Pattern Analysis Atypical Encryption Archives Decoded Emission Data Divergent Scan Data Eccentric Hyperspace Trajectories Pattern Delta Obelisk Data Pattern Epsilon Obelisk Data Security Firmware Patch Thargoid Residue Data Thargoid Wake Data Abnormal Compact Emissions Data Adaptive Encryptors Capture Classified Scan Fragment Datamined Wake Exceptions Guardian Module Blueprint Fragment Guardian Starship Blueprint Fragment Guardian Weapon Blueprint Fragment Modified Embedded Firmware Peculiar Shield Frequency Data Sources Wakes Ships Satellites Private Data Beacons Data Points Mission Rewards Ancient Ruins Guardian Structures Uses Engineers Technology Brokers