How Do I Break Down Armor?

Breaking Down Items

Breakdown crafting allows you to deconstruct items into their component materials. This is one of your most important tools for resource management.

How to Break Down Items

Default Hotkey: Press ? (question mark key) while holding an item to open the breakdown menu.

What You Get

When you break down items, you receive valuable materials such as:

• Metal Fragments - From breaking down metal armor and weapons
• Leather - From breaking down leather armor and gear
• Cloth & Bandages - From breaking down clothing and fabric items
• Bone Fragments - From breaking down bones and bone items
• Kindling - From breaking down wooden items (useful for starting campfires)
• Specialized Materials - Many other material types available - See the Breakdown Recipes spreadsheet for the complete list

Why Breakdown Matters

1. Inventory Management - Convert bulky items into compact materials to stay under carry weight limits
2. Resource Recovery - Get valuable materials back from unwanted gear instead of selling it
3. Crafting Supply - Build up material stockpiles for blacksmithing, leatherworking, and other crafts
4. Early Game Income - Break down found items for materials you can sell

Tips

• Break down old or damaged gear regularly to free up inventory space
• Metal fragments and bandages are very valuable - collect them
• Cloth and leather scraps are surprisingly valuable - don’t waste them
• Use breakdown to manage weight during long adventures
• Check the Breakdown Recipes spreadsheet to see exactly what each item breaks down into

For more details on crafting and resource management, see Raw Materials and Crafting System Overview.

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