The top 15 best upgrades in Pacific Drive

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With 143 ways to upgrade your trusty family wagon, here are the top 15 best upgrades in Pacific Drive and why, having played for 70+ hours.

You might think you are pretty handy behind the wheel, but Pacific Drive has a nasty habit of proving you wrong. Unstable supernatural phenomena, deadly weather, weird creatures and vehicle damage all do their best to ruin your day.

Luckily, Pacific Drive features many upgrades. 33 for the Garage, 6 for Refine, 15 for Survival Tools, 14 for Lights, 22 for Car Body, 7 for Wheels, 8 for Expansion Racks, 4 for Car Storage, 7 for Fuel, 12 for Battery, 11 for Utilities and 4 for Engines, to be precise.

Available at the Fabristation within the Auto Shop, upgrades give you a greater chance of surviving the Olympic Exclusion Zone. Assuming you have what you need to unlock them.

So here we are my best upgrades for Pacific Drive. Feel free to leave your own suggestions in the video comments.

Also be sure to like and subscribe for more Pacific Drive content, including my pre-existing top 10 tips & tricks guide, need to know resource guide and full review.

Please note: This is the script from my YouTube video, click play above to watch or click here.

15) Steel Sheets

Not the most exciting start, admittedly. Steel Sheets are, however, absolutely worth unlocking because they form the basis of hardy Steel Bumpers, Steel Doors and Steel Panels (once also unlocked in the Fabristation).

For crafting component scavenger runs and even the main story to the Deep Zone, steel components can work nicely. It helps, too, that Scrap Metal used to make Steel Sheets is plentiful.

Once you can consistently craft Armoured, Insulated and Lead-Plated parts, consider leaving steel behind unless trying to stockpile crafting components. Those resistance bonuses can save your life.

Materials needed: 1 x Fabric, 0.2 x Stable Energy
Prerequisites: Basic Workbench
Material cost: 6 x Scrap Metal

14) Offroad / Puncture-Proof Tyres

While I would say Offroad tyres should be one of the first upgrades you get because of the greatly enhanced grip, it can be worth saying goodbye to pneumatic rubber entirely. Puncture-Proof tyres never go flat – and that can be invaluable.

They do not even cost that much to craft versus those trusty Offroad alternatives and grip is still reasonable away from tarmac. Just do not expect to go up hills quite as steep.

Materials needed: 1 x Fabric
Prerequisites: Advanced Workbench, Scan a Spike Puddle Anomaly, Research Gear
Material cost: 8 x Rubber, 8 x Fabric, 2 x Gear, 3 x ThermoSap Crystal

13) Matter Deconstructor

With Dumpster Pearls needing to be broken apart (once ‘repaired’) and the fact that sometimes it is best to recycle a part and start again (especially if permanently broken), the Matter Deconstructor is an essential upgrade.

It lives under ‘garage’ upgrades in the Fabristation and is constructed in the Auto Shop near the crafting table. Use the on-screen prompt button to feed it items and wait for the crafting components to pop back out. Collect and enjoy.

Pro tip: Use the Matter Deconstructor on a tool about to break to get back some of its material cost.

Materials needed: 35 x Scrap Metal, 4 x Gear, 4 x Electronics
Prerequisites: Craft Mat, Research Gear
Material cost: N/A for this type of upgrade

12) Outfitting Station

While Pacific Drive does not let you bask in fashionable glory in front of a mirror, Cyberpunk 2077 style, the Outfitting Station upgrade also comes highly recommended.

Yet another garage upgrade, the Outfitting Station lets you purchase clothing with environment protection and larger backpacks for increased item space. The resistance bonuses of said clothing are for acid, radiation, explosive, electric, piercing, anti-theft and falling.

To access the mid and top-level clothing and equipment, you need to purchase the subsequent item (Lead Apron for the Lead-Lined Labcoat, for example).

Materials needed: 7 x Scrap Metal, 15 x Plastic, 2 x Chemicals, 2 x Gas Cylinder, 3.8 x Stable Energy
Prerequisites: Research Gear
Material cost: N/A for this type of upgrade

11) Resource Radar

Yet another tasty gadget for my best upgrades in Pacific Drive list. The Resource Radar is absolutely essential for locating specific crafting components on scavenger runs or in your time of need.

Not only does it show you where stuff is and how far away, it tells you exactly what type of item you will find. For farming those item-heavy vans, rarer components such as Tree Candy or for locating LIM Magnetizers to make LIM magnets, it is invaluable.

Materials needed: 2 x Fabric, 1.3 Unstable Energy
Prerequisites: Basic Workbench, Unlock a Roof Rack, Research Circuit Board
Material cost: 6 x Scrap Metal, 3 x Plastic, 4 x 9V Battery, 1 x Circuit Board

10) Plasma Scrapper

In a game heavy on crafting items and the gathering of them, the standard Scrapper is essential. Unfortunately, it is not the fastest to break apart abandoned vehicle parts nor does it last very long.

That is where the Plasma Scrapper upgrade steps in because it lasts nearly twice as long (860 durability versus 1,600) and does more damage (23 versus 38) so you can scrap parts faster. It does not even cost that much to craft.

Materials needed: 1 x Fabric
Prerequisites: Basic Workbench, Research Gear
Material cost: 8 x Scrap Metal, 4 x Rubber, 4 x Plasma, 1 x Gear

9) Blowtorch / Olympium Torch

Two other marvellous upgrades, we have the Blowtorch and Olympium Torch. Both are used to repair car parts so you can survive longer out in the Olympic Exclusion Zone or get ready for another run.

Compared with Repair Putty, the standard blowtorch does a much better job. The issue is getting enough Marsh Eggs to build the Blowtorch and the Olympium Fragments to craft its longer-lasting Olympium Torch sibling, but later on that becomes less of an issue.

Materials needed: 1 x Fabric
Prerequisites: Advanced Workbench
Material cost: 12 x Scrap Metal, 4 x Plasma, 120 x Marsh Eggs, 4 x Olympium Fragment

8) Liberator MK.2

Yet another fine tool, the standard Liberator is useful for removing car parts from abandoned vehicles intact though with some damage sometimes. Not only does this mean you can access upgrades you may not have yet researched, it can be great for in-the-field part replacement.

The Liberator MK.2 does the same thing and does the same 20 damage. It is just that it lasts substantially longer, meaning it can be useful for more of an epic drive and you will not need to replace it as often.

Pro tip: Fire just once to reduce the damage done and aim between multiple parts to blast them all off with one shot.

Materials needed: 1 x Fabric
Prerequisites: Advanced Workbench
Material cost: 10 x Scrap Metal, 5 x Pressurized Cartridges, 4 x Plasma, 6 x Explosives

7) Pneumatic Locker

Another very worthy addition to my best upgrades for Pacific Drive list, the Pneumatic Locker. It is easy to run out of item space even if you have multiple lockers so get this upgrade when item management starts to become annoying.

Why? Because when applied to existing lockers it has what appears to be unlimited space. The downside is a less user-friendly user-interface for finding what you need, especially if not using a mouse.

Materials needed: 10 x Rubber, 15 x Scrap Metal, 4 x Glass Shards, 1 x Circuit Board
Prerequisites: Craft Mat, Research Circuit Board
Material cost: N/A for this type of upgrade

6) Turbolight Engine

Speed and power are not always the answer, but with radiation closing in you will be thankful for having both. The original engine is no slouch, however, the Turbolight really lets you blitz across the Olympic Exclusion Zone. Hence it being one of the best upgrades for Pacific Drive.

Crafted from ThermoSap Crystals, the Turbolight Engine is fast and fuel efficient enough to take you to the end of the game and beyond.

Materials needed: 3 x Fabric, 3.8 x Stable Energy
Prerequisites: Basic Workbench, Install the Scanning Antenna, Research Steel Sheet
Material cost: 15 x Copper Wire, 10 x Gas Cylinder, 10 x Steel Sheet, 42 x ThermoSap Crystal

5) Junction Re-Stabilizer

With the Junction Restabilizer, it is possible to re-roll a junction from the Route Planner so that it no longer has ‘high instability’. As in, the junction will not have scary status effects and will not glow that orangey red on the map.

Sometimes you may want to chase that high instability, especially if you need Unstable or Corrupted Energy anchors, but for long drives that re-roll can be a big helping hand.

Materials needed: 20 x Scrap Metal, 60 x ThermoSap Crystals, 8 x Plasma, 1.5 x Unstable Energy
Prerequisites: Craft Mat
Material cost: N/A for this type of upgrade

4) Augmented Trunk Storage

Not only does the Augmented Trunk Storage add additional boot, sorry, trunk space, it reduces the reliance on side and roof rack storage upgrades. That means you can prioritise battery capacity or fuel, which are preferable if you have lots of late-game upgrades, or even slap on the mighty Lazarus Device.

Materials needed: 30 x Fabric, 20 x Plastic, 10 x Carbonfibreglass
Prerequisites: Craft Mat, Research Carbonfibreglass, 1 x Corrupted Energy
Material cost: N/A for this type of upgrade

3) Matter Regenerator

I would also slap on the Matter Regenerator in the Auto Shop as soon as possible. Just after Offroad tyres, ideally, as you can place parts inside for repair during your next run into the Olympic Exclusion Zone.

In theory, you could have two of every wagon part and repair one set while using another. The reality is that every item has a limited shelf life and that sometimes it is more efficient to make a new part or scavenge one.

Need more space for part repairs? You can upgrade to the Expanded Matter Regenerator. There is even something called the Repair Station for automatic part regeneration but it is not so easy to get.

Materials needed: 30 x Plastic, 10 x Rubber, 6 x Chemicals
Prerequisites: Craft Mat, 0.3 x Stable Energy
Material cost: N/A for this type of upgrade

2) Junction Bypass

As the name suggests, the Junction Bypass is for when you want to bypass junctions. The reason it can be so effective is that it can shorten journey times by skipping highways between junctions, helping you take less damage and use less fuel.

For getting to the Mid-Zone and Deep Zone to gather crafting materials, you will be very thankful for this particular upgrade. To use it, you do not have to press or do anything. It does its thing automatically as you drive to your destination.

Materials needed: 20 x Tree Candy, 4 x Glass Shards, 40 x Plastic, 2 x Circuit Board
Prerequisites: Craft Mat, Research Circuit Board
Material cost: N/A for this type of upgrade

1) The Lazarus Device

Lastly for my best upgrades for Pacific Drive list, the Lazarus Device. Anyone who has played this game will know the most painful moment is dying when you have spent time collecting loot.

Fortunately, the Lazarus Device upgrade lets you live life in the Olympic Exclusion Zone on your terms. Well, kind of. Before you die, it makes you invincible until you finish your current run.

All you have to do is fit it on a side rack. It does not need battery power and works automatically. In fact, based on my testing it works even when damaged or totally destroyed.

Just be mindful that while you cannot die, your trusty wagon can and will if you spend too long sunbathing in 10k radiation. Losing your engine, for instance, leads to a long and tedious teleport walk situation and repairs galore. Trust me.

To unlock the Lazarus Device you need to scan a Remnant Ghost, which means dying then returning to your vehicle ‘corpse’ to scan what is left. You can use this technique to retrieve lost items from the trunk and maybe even car parts.

Materials needed: 3 x Fabric
Prerequisites: Advanced Workbench, Scan a Remnant Ghost, Unlock a Roof Rack, Research Circuit Board
Material cost: 12 x Plastic, 8 x Plasma, 2 x Circuit Board, 120 x Marsh Eggs