ARC Raiders Damage Hornets Trial: Max Score Guide

The ARC Raiders Damage Hornets Trial is exactly what it sounds like: go into a raid, shoot Hornets, accumulate score, extract alive. The game rewards damage dealt, not kills. A Hornet that crashes into a wall and explodes does not give you the score: you need to be the one dealing the damage. Keep that tattooed somewhere visible.

Trials rotate weekly and stack against a leaderboard. 4,000 score is your 3-star floor. Anything above that contributes to your ARC Raiders Trial rank and the promotion grind. The ceiling, if you're playing seriously, sits north of 40,000 on a good run.

Hornets give 180 score per full damage cycle during the day. Run any map with a 2x event modifier active: Locked Gate on Blue Gate or Hidden Bunker on Spaceport: and that becomes 360 per Hornet. The math for your 3-star Hornet damage score ARC Raiders then collapses to roughly 11-12 Hornets. That's it. One raid, any decent map, done.

For higher scores, the Snitch Scanner strategy ARC Raiders is what separates a 4,000-point extract from a 30,000-point raid. A Snitch that completes its alarm call spawns one Hornet and two Wasps before it dies. Stack Snitch Scanners (up to three per slot), run them continuously, and the map feeds you targets faster than you can shoot them. Each Scanner run can guarantee up to nine Snitches worth of free spawns.

How to Actually Shoot a Hornet

The Hornet has four thrusters: two armored at the front, two unarmored at the rear. For Trial purposes, ignore the thrusters entirely. Aim center mass. Thruster hits destabilize the drone and send it crashing: environmental collision damage counts for the Hornet, not for you. You lose score every time one of these things ragdolls into a wall because you got clever.

Hornet weak points ARC Raiders matter when you're trying to kill it fast in combat: not when you're farming score. The distinction is important. Here, you want sustained damage to the body. Use Medium or Heavy ammo for armor penetration. The Hornet's stun dart has a visible red laser wind-up and moves slowly enough to sidestep: don't let it freeze you while three more Hornets are inbound.

Do not do this

Shoot thrusters. Watch the Hornet spiral into a building. Watch 180 points evaporate because the environment killed it, not you. Repeat twelve times. Wonder why your score is low. This is how most people play this trial.

Loadout

The best loadout ARC Raiders Hornets Trial is not exotic. You need armor penetration, enough ammo to not run dry at minute twenty, and survival tools that don't require your full attention to manage.

• Anvil IV (preferred for fire rate) or RenegadePRIMARY
• Tactical MK.2SECONDARY
• Light Shield + 10× Shield Rechargers DEFENSE
• 160+ Heavy Ammo / 320 Medium Ammo AMMO
• 10–15 Bandages + 5–10 Adrenaline Shots SUSTAIN
• 2–5 Smoke GrenadesESCAPE
• 3–6 Barricade KitsPOSITION
• Snitch Scanners ×3 per slot if available SCORE ENGINE
• Ziplines for elevation access OPTIONAL

Hornets drop Medium Ammo on death, which partially refuels you mid-run. Bring enough to start the chain, and the map begins paying for itself. If you are running a free kit and aiming only for 3-star, bring Wolfpack Grenades instead and target a Rocketeer near the launch towers. Two Rocketeers at 2,420 points each will carry you to the threshold with almost no effort.

Almost any map can net you 3 stars. For anything above that, map selection is the most important decision you make before deploying. The 2x event modifier is not optional: it doubles every Hornet hit you land. Showing up without it is a personality flaw.

Blue Gate: Pilgrim's Peak

The northeast tower of Pilgrim's Peak is the single best Hornet farming location ARC Raiders on Blue Gate. Height gives you line of sight across the entire map, Barricade Kits seal the zipline access points, and Hornets and Snitches approach at range: letting you deal damage before they're even in stun range. One Locked Gate key spawns here, so expect occasional raiders. Most want the key and will move on. Tell them you're farming. Use your words.

Spaceport: Tower Coverage

On Spaceport with Hidden Bunker active, split your squad across the Trench Tower, Launch Tower, and Control Tower for maximum field coverage. Reaching the top of the Control Tower requires a Zipline to the window, then a Snap Hook to the roof. Don't forget the Snap Hook. You'll feel appropriately foolish standing at the window otherwise. As a bonus, Hornet damage inside Spaceport walls also counts toward the separate flying ARC enemies Spaceport Trial: two trials, one run, minimal regrets.

The Snitch Exploit (Not a Bug, Just Embarrassing for the ARC)

Priority mechanic

Never kill a Snitch silently. Aggro it, stay visible, let the alarm cycle complete. A fully alarmed Snitch calls in one Hornet and two Wasps: then dies. You get the spawn, the score, and the satisfaction of using a drone's panic response as a vending machine.

Kill all Wasps and smaller ARC in the area between Snitch alarms. ARC Raiders Snitch alarm spawn mechanics only trigger new threats when the map has room to send them. Clear the area, force the spawns, repeat. On a full 40-minute run with Snitch Scanners actively cycling, this loop produces 25,000–40,000+ score without requiring you to relocate or do anything particularly heroic.

Fast 3-Star: The Lazy Version

You want the Epic Crate and nothing else. Acceptable. Load into any map on an EM Storm or Night Raid. Find a Rocketeer: one near the Launch Towers on Spaceport works perfectly. Bait it, throw two Wolfpack Grenades. A single Rocketeer pays out around 2,420 points at 2x. Two of them nearly close the gap alone. Mop up the remainder with a handful of Hornets, extract, collect rewards, go live your life. The entire run takes about fifteen minutes if you don't die doing something unnecessary.

For ARC Raiders 3 star rewards weekly Trial, this is your path. The Snitch farming loop is for people who want rank promotion, not just loot. Know which one you are before you drop in.

Season 4 Note

As of the Riven Tides update and Season 4, the 2x modifier is no longer tied exclusively to specific map conditions: ARC Raiders Season 4 Trials have shifted toward objectives that don't require EM Storm or Night Raid as mandatory prerequisites for double points. Check the current weekly Trial parameters before assuming the modifier applies. The meta adjusts; this guide reflects the core strategy that remains effective regardless of seasonal tweaks.