Do I lose out on loot if I let Shell Walkers reattach their cargo?

Question

I know that if I leave Dead Machines about for Scrappers and Glinthawks they will come up and process/destroy the loot.

When I fight Shell Walkers what I always do is remain hidden as I destroy the camp that hold their Cargo, wait for them to reattach it by using their arm and then destroy the arm, generally by then they are weakened enough to quickly dispatch. I generally check the cargo after I've killed off all the machines in the area.

However, I am wondering if I am losing out on loot by waiting until I clear the area via them reattaching the cargo, similar to how I can lose loot if I don't loot the dead machines before Scrappers or Glinthawks get to them?

Answer 1

From experience, no. It might seem like a crate on the ground, left behind by the Shell Walkers is apparently more valuable than the ones that are carried, but I believe that's just random chance. I have not found anything about the loot spawned in the crates.

However, what I do know, and what I can verify is that if the crates are actually destroyed, (either by attacking the crate itself, or meleeing the Walker to 0HP) the loot is then lost.

If the crate is destroyed, nothing can be recovered from it. Meleeing the machine with the crate on top will almost certainly yield no additional rewards.

Source