New here, looking for some pointers

My rack is a TipTop Mantis, and this is what I have in it. I have been looking through the forums and researching a lot of modules, but am not 100% where to go next. I am considering adding something like a quad VCA, maybe Rene, and possibly Clouds. At some point I thing I want to get an Expert Sleeper ES-9 in there to sync to my DAW (though Yarns get that done for now). I know currently it is heavy on the Make Noise and Mutable Instruments side, so what should I be looking at?

My main goal with this rig is to experiment with sound, probably leaning more towards industrial, darkwave, and some synthwave, but the more I get into this, the more I also like the generative stuff as well.

I also have the 4MS Listen and ListenUP (on the way) so I can route external sounds (guitar, drum loops, bass lines, whatever sounds interesting) through it. Any help is appreciated.

Welcome. It looks like you are off to a good start, and VCAs will always be useful. Will you be doing all of your gate and CV sequencing from your DAW or Rene? If not, you may want to look into something like Malekko's Voltage Block for CV or ALM's Pamela's New Workout. I was hesitant to get PNW because I don't enjoy menu diving very much, but the menu system is really shallow and easy to navigate. It was a really valuable addition to my beginner system. Check out DivKid's YouTube video to see everything it can do. You may also find a small multi-effect unit valuable for reverbs/delays/etc. I see a lot of folks recommending the Expert Sleepers Disting Mk4 as an important multi-use effect and modulation source for small systems, but the menu diving on that has kept me away for now.
I'm pretty impressed with the Noise Engineering oscillators for industrial stuff. A lot of people really like their Basimilus Iteritas Alter and Manis Iteritas for industrial drums. The Loquelic Iteritas and Cursus Iteritas are really cool too.
I'm new to this too, so I'm still wrapping my head around good utility modules. Maybe the other folks here can comment on that. Like you, I was initially fascinated by the Mutable and Make Noise approach but I'm learning a ton every day. What I do know is that modulating your modulation sources is pretty fun, so something like a XAOC Devices Batumi may come in handy alongside your Stages (though PNW can handle a lot of LFO duties if you want).
Have fun and good luck.

Multi-function modules are nice to have in the beginning because they allow you to get a "taste" of everything and alternative set-ups.

For me... I really love having the micro versions of Temps Utile and Ornaments & Crime. The Disting Mk4 isn't a module you want to try and adjust in real-time. But if you're patient, it's a great Swiss Army Knife module that will let you explore different functionality that you might want to bring into your rack as dedicated modules.

I have the BIA and Manis Iteritas. They are okay... but not the be-all end-all modules. You will find it impossible to get back to "that awesome sound" you had a moment ago unless you're very attentive to EXACTLY where the knobs were. The sweet spot between sonic goo and sonic glory is often a fraction of a millimeter. It's also hard to get them to a particular pitch with a tuner due to all of the crazy harmonics. You won't be layering them with much.

I’ve had a similar experience with the Loquelic Iteritas Percido... Difficult to dial in sounds that really gel with the rest of a patch. It’s pretty wild in what it does though, and it is keeping me creative.
I’m going to take a look into Temps Utile. I’m not familiar with it. Thanks for the heads up.

I’ve had a similar experience with the Loquelic Iteritas Percido... Difficult to dial in sounds that really gel with the rest of a patch. It’s pretty wild in what it does though, and it is keeping me creative.
I’m going to take a look into Temps Utile. I’m not familiar with it. Thanks for the heads up.
-- farkas

You may also like Pam's New Workout as an alternative to Temps Utile. I would research both. I don not have PNW so I can't comment on which is better. But I do like my Temps Utile for Euclidean patterns, clock multiplying/dividing, and trigger/gate sequencing.