Star Citizen Reclaimer Salvage Guide: RMC, Construction Materials & Cargo Workflow

 

The Aegis Reclaimer is designed for heavy salvage operations, but operating it effectively requires more than collecting material from a wreck. A complete salvage run can involve selecting a suitable target, recovering valuable components and cargo, scraping the hull for Recycled Material Composite (RMC), breaking down the remaining structure, packaging recovered materials, and transporting the load for sale.

These activities serve different purposes. Hull Scraping collects RMC, while Structural Salvage breaks down a wreck to recover construction materials. Component recovery and cargo handling create additional work that may be worthwhile depending on the target and contract.

The current RSI Ship Matrix lists the Reclaimer's 420 SCU of Cargo Capacity. This figure applies to the dedicated Cargo Room, not the combined capacity of every storage area aboard the ship. Salvaged-material capacity is accounted for separately.

The central principle of this guide is simple: a successful Reclaimer operation is a logistics process, not just a salvage-beam operation. The amount collected matters, but so do target selection, material handling, cargo organization, travel, and the time required to complete the sale.

This guide focuses on the practical salvage workflow. General ship specifications, crew information, acquisition prices, and ownership decisions belong in the main Star Citizen Reclaimer Guide.

The Reclaimer Salvage Loop at a Glance

Stage	Operational Goal	Main Output
Target selection	Identify a suitable contract or wreck	Salvage target
Component and cargo recovery	Inspect recoverable items before destructive processing	Components and cargo, when available
Hull Scraping	Strip material from the hull	Recycled Material Composite (RMC)
Fracturing	Break down the remaining vehicle structure	Fractured wreck
Disintegration	Process the structural remains	Structural-salvage materials
Material handling	Collect and package recovered materials	Transportable cargo
Logistics	Organize storage, transfers, and the return route	Consolidated load
Sale or delivery	Complete the relevant contract or sell the material	Contract completion or sale proceeds

Cloud Imperium Games introduced Structural Salvage for the Reclaimer and Vulture in Alpha 3.22, establishing the gameplay loop of breaking down abandoned ship hulls and processing them into saleable materials. The official Alpha 3.22: Wrecks to Riches release article provides the historical development context for this activity.

The workflow below is an operational framework, not a claim that every target exposes every recovery option or that every step is mandatory for every contract.

1. Choose a Suitable Target Before Starting

The first decision is not which salvage system to activate. It is whether the target justifies the time and risk required to process it.

Read the contract objective and identify what must actually be recovered or delivered. A job centered on a specified material quantity may call for a different approach from one where component recovery or cargo retrieval is also worthwhile.

For the Reclaimer, target selection should account for four questions:

• Is the target eligible for the intended salvage activity?
• Does it contain recoverable components or cargo worth inspecting?
• Is there enough useful hull material to justify structural processing?
• Can the resulting load be transported and sold without creating excessive logistical overhead?

These are editorial decision criteria, not official CIG scoring rules.

Confirm ownership and legality

An abandoned-looking ship is not automatically a legal salvage target.

Before beginning, verify the contract objective, target status, ownership information available in-game, and any relevant local restrictions. Do not assume that a wreck is legally available simply because it appears abandoned or has stopped moving.

Target eligibility can depend on the circumstances surrounding the vehicle and the current gameplay implementation. A single ownership label, mission category, or destruction state should not be treated as a universal guarantee of legality.

For an intact ship, inspect its condition before committing to salvage. A target that still has active systems may require additional preparation, and the available actions can differ from those used on a destroyed wreck.

Operational recommendation: Resolve target eligibility and mission requirements before committing the Reclaimer to a lengthy processing run. Avoid turning a potentially valuable wreck into a preventable fine or mission failure.

2. Recover Valuable Components and Cargo First

Before breaking down a wreck, inspect it for recoverable cargo and components.

Depending on the target and its current implementation, there may be opportunities to retrieve equipment or cargo rather than converting the entire vehicle into salvage material.

The exact recovery options vary by target. Do not assume that every ship exposes the same components or that every component can be detached.

A practical sequence is:

1. Inspect the target for recoverable cargo and equipment.
2. Identify anything the contract requires you to retrieve separately.
3. Recover items that justify the additional handling time.
4. Decide which remaining parts of the target should be processed through Hull Scraping or Structural Salvage.

This order distinguishes recovering an existing item from processing a hull into salvage material.

Component recovery is not automatically worthwhile on every wreck. The relevant question is whether the additional item value or contract requirement justifies the time needed to retrieve, store, and transport it.

3. Hull Scraping: Collect RMC

Hull Scraping removes material from a ship's exterior. Its associated material is Recycled Material Composite (RMC).

CIG's Alpha 3.18.2 release notes provide direct historical evidence for this mechanic. The notes document a fix addressing salvage lasers that did not fully provide RMC when scraping a hull. This establishes historical implementation context; it is not an Alpha 4.10.2 feature announcement.

RSI's Engineering Gameplay Guide provides additional context for RMC and its use in compatible ship-repair workflows.

For a Reclaimer operation, Hull Scraping is a separate workstream from Structural Salvage. The two systems should not be treated as interchangeable simply because both recover value from the same wreck.

Why scrape before structural processing?

Our recommended sequence is to inspect the target first, collect worthwhile RMC, and then assess the remaining hull for Structural Salvage.

This approach gives the crew a clear division of work:

• Recover items that need to remain intact.
• Collect hull material that can be obtained through scraping.
• Move on to structural processing when the remaining target justifies it.

The exact order may depend on the target, contract, and current state of the wreck. The objective is to choose the appropriate recovery method rather than assume every target should be handled identically.

Do not rely on old scraping-efficiency figures

Salvage balance can change between patches. In Alpha 4.2.1, CIG explicitly listed a reduction in Reclaimer Hull Scraping efficiency alongside efficiency increases for the Vulture and Fortune.

That change is documented in the official Alpha 4.2.1 patch notes.

This is historical balance information, not a measurement of current Alpha 4.10.2 efficiency. Older yield comparisons and scraping-time estimates should not automatically be treated as current results. This guide does not assign a fixed RMC rate or claim a particular number of minutes per target.

4. Structural Salvage: Fracture, Then Disintegrate

Structural Salvage breaks down the remaining structure of a wreck. The process has two distinct stages.

Fracturing breaks the target into structural chunks.

Disintegration processes those chunks to recover structural-salvage material.

CIG introduced this gameplay for the Reclaimer and Vulture in Alpha 3.22. Its official Wrecks to Riches release article describes the purpose of breaking down abandoned ship hulls and processing them into saleable materials.

Why the distinction matters

Fracturing and disintegration are not the same action. Breaking a hull into chunks is not the same as processing those chunks into recovered material.

For planning purposes, treat the sequence as a progression:

1. Confirm the target is appropriate for structural processing.
2. Complete worthwhile recovery work that depends on the target remaining intact.
3. Fracture the remaining structure.
4. Process the resulting chunks.
5. Organize the recovered material before moving to the next target or returning to logistics.

The exact available actions and target behavior should be confirmed in the current LIVE game. This guide does not claim that every target can be processed identically or that a particular fracture result is guaranteed.

Construction Materials are not RMC

RMC and Construction Materials (CM) are separate salvage outputs.

RMC is associated with Hull Scraping. Construction Materials are associated with the Structural Salvage process.

They should therefore be tracked as separate material categories when planning cargo, evaluating contracts, and preparing a sale. Do not assume that collecting one automatically satisfies an objective requiring the other.

The practical distinction is that Hull Scraping and Structural Salvage are different ways of recovering value from a wreck. Treat their outputs separately rather than assuming every salvage activity produces the same material.

5. Package Materials and Organize Cargo

Once material has been collected, the next challenge is turning the result into manageable cargo.

The Reclaimer's internal processing and storage arrangements are distinct from its dedicated Cargo Room. The ship's headline cargo figure does not describe every space used during salvage operations.

What the 420 SCU figure means

The current RSI Ship Matrix lists 420 SCU of Cargo Capacity for the Reclaimer's dedicated Cargo Room. This excludes the ship's separately described salvaged-material capacity.

CIG's The Shipyard: SCU and Cargo Capacity article, published on October 25, 2017, explains the distinction between conventional cargo space and space dedicated to storing industrially collected materials.

That historical article used 360 SCU as the Reclaimer's Cargo Capacity example at the time. The figure reflected the Ship Matrix listing in 2017; it is not the ship's current published capacity. The current RSI Ship Matrix takes precedence for today's specification.

The current 420 SCU figure should not be interpreted as:

• The combined capacity of every material-storage area aboard the ship.
• A guaranteed amount of RMC or Construction Materials produced by one wreck.
• The maximum amount of salvage material that can exist throughout the entire processing workflow.
• A measure of how quickly the ship can collect or package material.

The detailed distribution of the Reclaimer's individual cargo grids has not been independently verified for Alpha 4.10.2-LIVE.12881860. This guide therefore does not list individual grid sizes or present an unverified layout as confirmed specifications.

Capacity is not throughput

Cargo capacity describes storage space. Throughput describes how much useful work an operation completes over time.

A Reclaimer may have substantial space available, but the crew still needs to collect, organize, package, and transport the resulting material. A large load can be valuable without being quick to handle.

Plan the cargo around the next transfer, not just around the available space.

Keep the active work area usable, avoid placing containers where they obstruct necessary access, and consider whether the resulting load can be handled conveniently at the next destination.

Do not treat a full Cargo Room as the automatic objective of every run. The right stopping point depends on the contract, the material collected, and the practical demands of completing the operation.

6. Plan the Sale or Delivery Route Before Leaving

Collecting salvage material is only one part of the operation. The recovered goods still need to reach a destination where they can be sold or delivered.

Before leaving the salvage area, establish what the contract requires and check the current in-game options for selling the material you have collected.

The appropriate destination can depend on:

• The material type.
• Current available trading locations.
• The amount of cargo being transported.
• Travel distance and local risk.
• Whether the objective requires a sale or a specific delivery.

Market availability and commodity prices can change. Verify current terminal information before committing to a long route with a substantial load.

This guide does not prescribe a universally best selling location or fixed route because the best choice depends on the current market and the details of the operation.

Why unloading belongs in the plan

The salvage loop does not end when the final chunk has been processed.

The crew must still organize the output, transport it, and complete the sale or delivery. If those activities are left until the end without any planning, cargo handling can become the main remaining task.

A separate cargo ship may help an organized group move finished goods while the Reclaimer returns to salvage work. However, that arrangement also requires coordination, loading, rendezvous, and transfer time.

Logistics should be planned as part of the salvage operation rather than treated as an afterthought.

7. Divide the Work Across the Crew

The Reclaimer is a large industrial vessel with several distinct operational responsibilities. A crew can reduce unnecessary interruptions by deciding who handles each part of the workflow.

A practical division of responsibilities can include:

• Flight and positioning: Navigate to the target and maintain a suitable position for the active salvage task.
• Hull Scraping: Manage RMC collection while the target remains appropriate for scraping.
• Structural Salvage: Coordinate fracture and disintegration.
• Material handling: Keep the recovered output organized and the work area usable.
• Logistics: Track contract requirements, cargo movement, and the next destination.

These are editorial workflow recommendations, not official CIG crew assignments or a claim that every station can be operated simultaneously.

The advantage of dividing responsibilities is straightforward: one player can manage a task while another handles a separate part of the operation. Fewer interruptions can make the overall workflow easier to coordinate.

The appropriate division depends on crew size, target conditions, the contract, and the amount of material being processed. There is no single staffing arrangement that guarantees the best outcome for every salvage run.

Common Reclaimer Salvage Mistakes

Starting structural processing too early. Inspect the target for worthwhile recoverable cargo and components before committing to destructive processing.

Treating RMC and Construction Materials as the same output. Track the material generated by Hull Scraping separately from structural-salvage output.

Assuming an abandoned ship is automatically legal to salvage. Check target eligibility, ownership information, contract requirements, and local restrictions.

Confusing Cargo Capacity with total salvage storage. The published 420 SCU figure applies to the dedicated Cargo Room, not every storage area aboard the ship.

Leaving cargo planning until the end. Storage and transport affect how smoothly the operation can be completed.

Using outdated efficiency figures. The Alpha 4.2.1 balance adjustment is historical context, not a current Alpha 4.10.2 production benchmark.

Assuming a fixed aUEC-per-hour return. Results depend on target selection, material recovered, contract requirements, travel, cargo handling, and current prices. No single profit rate applies to every Reclaimer operation.

Alpha 4.10.2 Operational Note

RSI's Alpha 4.10.2 Known Issues page lists an issue where salvaging audio can loop continuously, even after the ship is powered down. The published workaround is to restart the game.

This is a general salvage-related issue, not a Reclaimer-only mechanic. Players encountering the problem should use the official workaround rather than assume that the behavior reflects the intended salvage process.

Our Reclaimer Salvage Workflow Recommendation

The Reclaimer is most useful when the crew treats salvage as a connected industrial operation.

Start with a suitable target. Recover worthwhile items before committing to destructive processing. Collect RMC through Hull Scraping, then assess whether Structural Salvage is appropriate for the remaining wreck. Organize the recovered material and plan its transport before leaving the area.

The important distinction is that collecting more material and completing more useful work are not the same thing.

A large load may be valuable, but its usefulness depends on whether the crew can handle it, transport it, and complete the required sale or delivery. The 420 SCU Cargo Room is part of that logistics picture, not a direct measure of salvage production.

For players who enjoy large-scale reclamation, the Reclaimer provides a dedicated platform for combining Hull Scraping and Structural Salvage. Its operational strength comes from coordinating these activities with cargo management rather than treating the salvage beam as the entire job.

For broader specifications, crew information, acquisition details, and ownership considerations, see the Star Citizen Reclaimer Guide.

If the ship fits your intended gameplay, you can also explore Reclaimer ship and upgrade options.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between RMC and Construction Materials?

RMC is associated with Hull Scraping. Construction Materials are associated with Structural Salvage. They are separate material categories and should not be treated as interchangeable when evaluating contract objectives or organizing recovered cargo.

How much cargo capacity does the Reclaimer have?

The current RSI Ship Matrix lists 420 SCU of Cargo Capacity for the dedicated Cargo Room. This does not include the separately described salvaged-material capacity and should not be interpreted as a total for every storage area aboard the ship.

Should I recover components before fracturing a ship?

Inspect the target first and recover worthwhile items when the target and available mechanics permit it. Make the recovery decision before committing to structural breakdown, rather than assuming the intact target will remain available for the same recovery options afterward.

Where should I sell recovered salvage materials?

Check the current in-game trading options for the specific material and contract. The best destination depends on availability, current prices, travel distance, and local risk. Historical route recommendations should not be treated as guaranteed current advice.

Does filling the Cargo Room guarantee better salvage returns?

No. Cargo Capacity measures conventional cargo space, not the amount of material collected or the time required to finish a salvage run. A larger load does not automatically mean a better return per player-hour.