What Is the Rotary Encoder?
The Rotary Encoder is a Rare crafting material. It is recyclable and has a stack size of 3. It weighs 1.5 and sells for 3,000 coins.
On paper, that sounds simple. In practice, what matters is what it turns into and when you actually need it.
You can find it through scavenging, especially in areas like Stella Montis. It is also listed as being found in Exodus. Like most rare electronics, it usually shows up in industrial or technical loot spots rather than basic containers.
What Do You Get From Recycling It?
This is the most important part.
When you recycle a Rotary Encoder, you get:
2× Electrical Components
2× Processor
If you salvage it instead of fully recycling it, you only get:
2× Processor
So in most cases, recycling is the better value unless you specifically need only Processors and nothing else.
Electrical Components and Processors are both used in a lot of mid- to high-tier crafting recipes. That makes the Rotary Encoder more valuable as a breakdown item than as something to sell immediately.
Is Rotary Encoder Needed for Any Quest?
Yes. You need 1× Rotary Encoder for the quest With A View.
If you have not completed that quest yet, keep at least one in your stash. Many players make the mistake of recycling or selling all of them, then later realize they need one and have to farm it again.
Once that quest is done, you are free to treat future Rotary Encoders purely as crafting resources or coin value.
Should You Sell or Recycle It?
This depends on where you are in progression.
Early Game
In early progression, coins feel tight. 3,000 coins per item can look attractive. But early game is also when Electrical Components and Processors are in high demand.
In my experience, recycling is usually the smarter move unless you are desperate for coins. The materials you get are harder to target-farm directly compared to earning coins through contracts and runs.
Mid Game
By mid game, Rotary Encoders become more of a crafting resource than a sell item. Most players at this stage are building weapons, attachments, and upgrading systems that burn through Processors.
Recycling is almost always the better long-term value.
Late Game
Late game players often value stash efficiency and targeted farming. At this point:
If you have excess Electrical Components and Processors, sell it.
If you are prepping high-tier builds, recycle it.
If stash space is tight and you already have plenty of electronics, convert it into coins.
It becomes situational rather than mandatory.
How Hard Is It to Farm Rotary Encoder?
It is rare, but not extremely rare. You will see it regularly if you focus on:
Industrial loot areas
Technical containers
High-tier scavenging zones like Stella Montis
The bigger issue is surviving extraction, not finding the item.
In practice, most players do not farm Rotary Encoder directly. They farm electronics-heavy routes and pick it up when it drops.
If you are specifically trying to complete the With A View quest, it is usually faster to focus on industrial POIs rather than random roaming.
Is It Needed for Crafting Specific Weapons?
Rotary Encoder itself is not directly used in crafting recipes. Instead, it is valuable because of what it breaks down into.
Processors are especially important in advanced weapon crafting and blueprint progression. If you are pushing toward higher-tier gear or trying to buy arc raiders Vulcano blueprint, you will likely feel the processor bottleneck more than the coin bottleneck. In that situation, recycling Rotary Encoders makes more sense than selling them.
Think of Rotary Encoder as a compact electronics bundle rather than a standalone crafting ingredient.
What About Weight and Stash Space?
Each Rotary Encoder weighs 1.5 and stacks up to 3. That makes it fairly efficient in your backpack during a run.
Compared to carrying four separate components (after recycling), it is actually space-efficient to extract with the encoder intact and recycle it later in base.
In stash management terms:
Keep 1 for quest (if not completed)
Keep a small reserve if you craft often
Sell excess if stash pressure is high
Most experienced players avoid hoarding more than 3–6 unless they are preparing for heavy crafting.
Is It Worth Prioritizing Over Other Rare Loot?
Not usually.
If you are choosing between:
High-value sellables
Quest items
Weapon attachments
Rotary Encoder
The encoder is mid-tier priority.
It is useful, but not something you should risk dying over if your bag is already strong. In a dangerous extraction situation, I would drop a Rotary Encoder before dropping:
A quest-critical item
A high-tier attachment
A weapon upgrade component
It sits in the “good but replaceable” category.
Common Mistakes Players Make
Here are a few patterns I have seen:
Recycling Before Checking Quest Requirements
Always check if you still need it for With A View.
Selling Too Early
New players often sell it for 3,000 coins and later struggle with processor shortages.
Salvaging Instead of Recycling
Unless you only need Processors, full recycling gives more overall value. Many players overlook that and lose out on Electrical Components.
So, Do You Actually Need Rotary Encoder?
Here is the practical answer:
You need 1 for the With A View quest.
After that, you do not need it directly.
You will need the materials it provides.
Whether you keep or sell it depends on your crafting goals.
If you are actively crafting electronics-heavy gear, keep and recycle it.
If you are low on coins and comfortable on components, sell it.
If stash space is tight, do not hoard large amounts.
It is not a must-have item, but it is definitely a useful one.
Final Advice From Experience
Treat Rotary Encoder as a flexible resource.
It is not rare enough to panic over, but not common enough to ignore. Keep one for quest safety, recycle most of them for steady material income, and only sell when you genuinely need coins.
If you play consistently and loot smart routes, you will see them often enough that managing them becomes routine.
