ARC Raiders High Gain Antenna Project Guide

The ARC Raiders High Gain Antenna Project was introduced as part of Patch 1.22.0: the Flashpoint update that also dropped the Vaporizer flying drone, the Close Scrutiny map condition, two new weapons, and Shredders on every map because apparently the game wasn't hostile enough yet. This is a community-driven project: everyone's contributions feed into shared global progress, which means your hard-earned Assessor Matrix is going into the same pile as someone who plays three hours a week and loots exclusively from civilian crates. Fair.

There are three stages. No countdown timer was announced at launch: but the previous Weather Monitor System Project ended abruptly with zero warning, so the recommendation to "take your time" should be treated as a joke. There is no grand completion reward for finishing all three stages. The rewards are stage-by-stage, and they are actually quite decent, which is the one thing this project has going for it before you start calculating how many Close Scrutiny ARC Operations you'll need to run.

NO EXPIRY DATE HAS BEEN CONFIRMED: but the previous project was silently terminated without warning. Start now, grind later is not a strategy. Start now, grind also now.

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The Stages

Three stages. Twelve total material requirements. A steadily escalating number of items that can only be found in the most dangerous map condition currently in the game. The developers have clearly put real thought into how to make you spend as much time in Close Scrutiny as possible. Mission accomplished.

ARC Raiders High Gain Antenna Project Guide | STAGE 01: STURDY BASE

Requirements

• ARC Alloy50x
• ARC Flex Rubber10x
• ARC Performance Steel10x
• Advanced ARC Power Cells15x

Rewards

1. Torrent (Tier 2)
2. Extended Medium Mag 3
3. Extended Barrel
4. Padded Stock

This is the "mercy" stage. Everything here drops from standard ARC enemies: Couriers, Probes, and the general ARC rabble you'd be killing anyway. The 50x ARC Alloy sounds like a lot until you realize you've been hoarding this stuff since week one. This is also the only stage that does not require you to interact with the new map condition, which means it's the only stage that doesn't feel like it was designed by someone who actively dislikes you.

Requirements

• ARC Thermal Lining15x
• ARC Coolant15x
• Vaporizer Regulator4x
• Assessor Matrix6x

Rewards

1. Bobcat III
2. Extended Light Mag 3
3. Vertical Grip
4. 3100x Raider Tokens

Welcome to Close Scrutiny. The Vaporizer Regulator drops only from the Vaporizer: the new flying laser drone that guards the Assessor and has "idiosyncratic attack patterns," which is the official way of saying its movement makes no sense. The Assessor Matrix drops from the ARC Assessor itself, a large stationary construct that lands on the map, holds its ground, and is surrounded by enough firepower to make most solo players reconsider their life choices. Thermal Lining and Coolant are uncommon but findable in larger ARC enemies, so those are fine. Everything else will require you to run Close Scrutiny repeatedly.

Requirements

• Surveyor Vault10x
• ARC Synthetic Resin20x
• Vaporizer Regulator15x
• Assessor Matrix18x

Rewards

1. Vita Spray
2. Photoelectric Cloak
3. Snap Hook
4. 400x Raider Tokens

Fifteen more Vaporizer Regulators. Eighteen Assessor Matrixes. On top of the ones you already spent in Stage 2. At this point the developers are not even pretending. The Photoelectric Cloak and Snap Hook among the rewards are legitimately excellent, and 400 Raider Tokens approaches the territory of meaningful currency. The Surveyor Vault can be scavenged from Surveyors (who also spawn more frequently during Close Scrutiny), and ARC Synthetic Resin drops from Sentinels, Shredders, Snitches, Spotters, Turrets, and Wasps: so at least that one has multiple sources. Bear in mind that Vaporizer Regulators and Assessor Matrixes can drop multiple per kill. You do not need exactly 15 kills for 15 regulators. Sometimes. If you're lucky.

Because you're going to need to cross-reference this at 2am while deciding whether that run was worth it.

Combined Assessor Matrix requirement across stages 2 and 3: 24x. Combined Vaporizer Regulator requirement: 19x. You're going to get very familiar with the Close Scrutiny map condition. That is the entire point.

The Close Scrutiny ARC Operation is the new major map condition introduced in Flashpoint: and it is explicitly not designed for casual play. Available on Blue Gate, Buried City, Spaceport, and Dam Battlegrounds (Stella Montis is excluded because the Assessor needs open sky to land, which is more logistical consideration than this guide expected from killer robots), Close Scrutiny fundamentally changes how a raid works.

When the condition is active, standard map loot drops dramatically. Crates, lockers, and civilian hotspots are largely empty. All reward density is funneled toward a single point: the ARC Assessor, a large stationary three-legged construct that descends from the sky, emits a vertical red beam visible from across the map, and proceeds to make the surrounding area significantly more lethal. This design choice guarantees that every squad in the raid is heading in exactly the same direction. Whether that excites or terrifies you depends on how much you trust the strangers you're running with.

The Assessor

The Assessor itself does not fight you. It cannot be destroyed. It just sits there, surrounded by unprecedented ARC patrol density and two groups of Vaporizer drones, waiting for you to make your approach. Three loot containers are accessible via its legs: you breach them, you loot them, and you potentially walk away with Assessor Matrixes and other high-value items. The operative word is "potentially." Bring the best gear you own. The Assessor is effectively a boss arena, not a scavenging point.

The Lore, Briefly

The ARC Raiders Flashpoint update follows the hurricane that temporarily distracted everyone from the underlying problem: the ARC are evolving, expanding, and apparently getting more creative. Shredders escaped confinement in Stella Montis and are now loose across every map. The new ARC Assessor: a large construct that drops into operational zones and runs unknown processes while surrounded by lethal patrols: has Celeste sufficiently concerned that she wants a permanent antenna overhead. The Vaporizer exists to protect whatever the Assessor is doing, which the game is deliberately not explaining yet.

The High Gain Antenna project is, narratively, seeding setup for the next major content drop: Riven Tides, due in April 2026, which promises a new map and a large new ARC unit. The aerial shapes spotted during the hurricane. The Assessor's unknown operations. The antenna you're building. These are all breadcrumbs, and Embark Studios is reasonably confident you'll chase them all the way through 24 combined Assessor Matrixes to find out what comes next.

Let's be honest: the ARC Raiders Raider Tokens are the real draw here. 500 total across all three stages is a meaningful chunk of cosmetic shop currency, and the weapon rewards are genuinely useful for the current meta rather than decorative consolation prizes. The Stage 3 rewards in particular: the Snap Hook, Vita Spray, and Photoelectric Cloak: are quality utility items you'd want in your loadout regardless of this project. The fact that they're locked behind 15 Vaporizer Regulators and 18 Assessor Matrixes is just the game's way of saying it respects your time without actually respecting your time.