Workshop material opportunity cost
Which station tiers tie up the most vendor value, and which materials also appear in quest hand-ins?
Method
For each documented tier, multiply each required material quantity by its listed vendor sell price, then sum the values. Quest overlap is counted separately and never added to that tier's cost.
Full ledger
◈ 278,350
Vendor value of priced materials across 22 station tiers.
Largest single tier
◈ 34,000
Refiner · tier 3
Shared with quests
8 items
Keep separate reserves for hand-ins and upgrades you still plan to complete.
The practical call
If Refiner tier 3 is your next goal, hold its materials before selling surplus. Its listed inputs would sell for ◈ 34,000. That figure measures the sale value you give up by upgrading; it does not say the upgrade is worth less than the materials. Check your current station level in the workshop planner before using the full-catalogue totals below.
Tier ledger
Open my haul tracker →Ranked by the vendor sale value of the required materials. A quest badge means the same item also has a hand-in elsewhere in the catalogue; it is not part of this tier's price.
| Station tier | Materials to reserve | Sale value |
|---|---|---|
| RefinerTier 3 |
| ◈ 34,000 |
| Gear BenchTier 3 | ◈ 29,750 | |
| Utility StationTier 3 | ◈ 26,750 | |
| ScrappyTier 5 |
| ◈ 25,680 |
| GunsmithTier 3 | ◈ 22,750 | |
| Explosives StationTier 3 |
| ◈ 20,000 |
| Medical LabTier 3 |
| ◈ 19,000 |
| RefinerTier 2 | ◈ 13,120 | |
| GunsmithTier 2 |
| ◈ 11,320 |
| Gear BenchTier 2 |
| ◈ 11,200 |
| Utility StationTier 2 |
| ◈ 11,200 |
| Medical LabTier 2 |
| ◈ 10,320 |
| ScrappyTier 4 |
| ◈ 8,680 |
| Explosives StationTier 2 | ◈ 6,650 | |
| RefinerTier 1 |
| ◈ 5,850 |
| Utility StationTier 1 |
| ◈ 4,200 |
| ScrappyTier 3 | ◈ 3,840 | |
| Explosives StationTier 1 | ◈ 3,700 | |
| Medical LabTier 1 | ◈ 3,700 | |
| Gear BenchTier 1 |
| ◈ 3,000 |
| GunsmithTier 1 |
| ◈ 3,000 |
| ScrappyTier 2 |
| ◈ 640 |
Catalogue baseline 1.36.1, last source update August 19, 2026. This ledger uses documented workshop costs and vendor prices from that snapshot; it does not include new Frozen Trail Outpost research or upgrades. Completing earlier tiers, crafting a material, and finding it in a raid change what you personally need to buy or haul. The source register lists the catalogue provenance.
More studies in the Lab index.