I tested that spot in Arc Raiders that supposedly guarantees rare rusted parts, and my results were mixed

There's an observable phenomena in Arc Raiders that dictates the somewhat rare material that you used to easily find all the time will suddenly disappear from all maps once you actually need it. For me, that's Arc Raiders' rusted gears, a mid-level crafting material needed to upgrade the gunsmith bench.

The search has been going so poorly that I put rusted gears on the backburner while I focused on quests, convinced that pretending I don't care about rust nor gears would magically conjure them in the next dusty toolbox I opened. Then this morning, I saw an X post from Arc Raiders Hub with a ton of views telling of a place where the rusted loot flows like a rushing river:

"THIS PLACE GUARANTEES A RUST PART 9 OUT OF 10 TIMES YOU VISIT!" the hot tip proclaimed.

So I went topside to check it out myself. The spot in the video is the North Elevator of Dam Battlegrounds, a place that I've visited at least a hundred times before, but never picked apart for loot. Right next to the elevator are a handful of buses and cars. According to the tip, the breachable compartments on the back of these buses always contain rusted gears.

My results? While I did successfully secure three rusted gears and tools over a handful of visits to the bus hotspot, it's safe to say rusted gears are not guaranteed, certainly not 9 out of 10 times. They're considered a rare drop, and since the region they're in (Power Generation Complex) is only a "medium" loot value area, you'll sometimes pop a trunk just to find some uncommon mechanical components, metal parts, and oil.

But don't let that deter you too much—what the tip is right about is that buses and cars are the correct places to be looking for rusted gears. If you haven't already noticed, Arc Raiders' loot placement is more nuanced than just basic types like "residential" or "industrial." You're roughly more likely to find parts in containers that make sense—pillows near beds, syringes on pharmacy counters, and rusty gears in beaten up vehicles.

That logic is not always bulletproof (I've searched dozens of apartment dwellings and still can't find a consistent source of Very Comfortable Pillows for my chicken), but when it does apply, you've got yourself a repeatable plan of attack.

If I'd turned to the internet for my search sooner, I would have also noticed that our guides writer Rory wrote a helpful guide to finding rusted gears at a spot he found success with in Buried City, (and another to finding rusted tools). If you're desperate for gears and the buses are a bust, or you keep spawning 1,000 meters away from them and can't be bothered, give it a try on a much smaller map.

Arc Raiders Field Depots: Where to find 'em
Arc Raiders Field Crates: How to use 'em
Arc Raiders Greasing Her Palms: Cartographer
Arc Raiders A Reveal in Ruins: Buried City pharmacies
Arc Raiders The Root of the Matter: Room with a view
Arc Raiders Armored Transports: Loot patrol cars
Arc Raiders best skills: Survive the surface
Arc Raiders Expeditions: Retire your Raider