ARC Raiders Vaporizer Guide | How To Kill

Embark Studios looked at all the flying enemies in Arc Raiders: the Rocketeer, the Wasp, the Hornet: and decided, collectively, that none of them were annoying enough. So they hired an engineer with a grudge against humanity and built the Vaporizer. Arc Raiders Vaporizer is the newest aerial ARC unit introduced in the Flashpoint update on March 31, 2026, and it exists for one singular purpose: to make you regret loading into a Close Scrutiny map with anything less than legendary gear.

Visually, it looks like a sleeker, shinier Rocketeer: which should already raise every alarm you have. The Vaporizer has considerable speed and maneuverability, more so than the Rocketeer, and can shield itself with an energy barrier just like the Matriarch does. Yes. It has a shield. A smart shield. One that it activates specifically when you try to throw grenades at it, because apparently the developers wanted you to feel personally targeted.

The Vaporizer Regulator: the component it drops: sells for 6,000 in-raid, recycles into one advanced electrical component and two arc circuitry, and is required to craft the legendary Dolabra Energy Shotgun. You need 19 of them for the High-Gain Antenna project. Read that again. Nineteen. Good luck.

The Vaporizer combines the strength of the Rocketeer, the fire-based attacks of the Firefly, the agility of the Wasp, and the existential irritation of the Hornet into one compact machine that hates you specifically. It makes previous airborne threats like the Comet and Firefly look like absolute jokes. This is not hyperbole. This is a threat assessment.

Where to Find It (You'll Wish You Didn't Know)

The how to find Vaporizer Arc Raiders question has a frustratingly simple answer. Vaporizers only spawn during the Close Scrutiny Major Map Condition: the first ARC Operation added to the game. These flying tanks are assigned to patrol and guard Assessors, the breachable probes exclusive to this map condition. The Assessors announce their position to the entire map by firing red beams into the sky, which means everyone, including the three other squads you forgot were on the map, will converge on the same location simultaneously.

You want loot? Go toward the red beam. You want to survive? Don't go toward the red beam. Pick one.

"Just spot the red beam in the sky.": every guide, cheerfully omitting the part where you get immediately laser-burned by a flying machine and three other players simultaneously the moment you arrive.

The new ARC threat, Vaporizer, is only found in the Close Scrutiny map condition in Arc Raiders, added to closely guard the Assessor probes containing lucrative resources. Occasionally: and this is your emergency exit if you are undergeared and tired of dying: you can find Vaporizer Regulators inside ARC Couriers. It is a rare drop, but searching couriers can save you some scorch marks if you are desperate. "Desperate" is a strong word. "Sensible" is another.

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Before we discuss how to kill the Arc Raiders Vaporizer weak spot, let's talk about what happens to you while you're figuring it out. The Vaporizer has three main attacks, all of them unpleasant, and a defensive ability designed to punish anyone who thought preparation was a substitute for suffering.

The Attacks

• Delayed Laser Blast (Single Target): A single-target delayed laser blast that tracks you similar to the Sentinel. When this hits, it obliterates your shield instantly and sets you on fire. There's a targeting lock animation. Use that quarter-second to say goodbye to your shield.
• Ground Sweep: It sweeps the ground with a continuous laser that leaves a lingering trail of flames, restricting your movement and punishing groups of raiders who cluster too closely. If your squad is bunched together, congratulations: you've created a barbecue.
• Laser Barrage (Multi-target): Vaporizers can also release a barrage of smaller lasers targeting various players at the same time, causing damage similar to that of the Aphelion Energy Rifle. For when one person suffering wasn't enough.
• Energy Shield: It carries a Matriarch-level energy shield. When this shield goes up, it negates all incoming damage. The silver lining: it cannot fire its lasers while shielded. Use that downtime to reload. You'll need it.

The shield is smart. It activates when you throw grenades or use the Hornet Driver. The Vaporizer has essentially been programmed to read your intentions and pre-disappoint you. It intercepts Wolfpacks and Seeker Grenades mid-flight. It sees your Hornet Driver and raises you a personal forcefield. At some point you have to respect the engineering even as you curse it.

Shooting the body of a Vaporizer while it's flying is how you lose ammo and patience simultaneously. Every significant component is armored, and Arc Raiders flying enemy weak point priority matters enormously here. There are three real targets worth your attention:

1. The Rotors (Primary Priority)

The Vaporizer stays airborne using eight small rotors: two per corner, visually similar to the ones on a Snitch. Your immediate priority is popping these rotors. As you destroy them, the machine loses its maneuverability and is forced to drop lower to the ground. Getting it grounded is step one. Everything else follows.

2. The Belly Core (The Juicy Part)

Once you've stripped the armor off the underside, you'll see it: a yellow canister directly beneath the chassis. This is the core. Raiders need to target its core, located in its belly, since it will take more damage there. It's awkward to hit because it's directly underneath the machine, which is also directly above you, which means you need to stop backing away and start shooting upward. Uncomfortable. Effective.

3. The Top (Risky, But Real)

Once you disable enough rotors and force the machine down, there is a weak spot on the very top as well. Getting on top of the Vaporizer to place a Deadline mine is, admittedly, an absurd proposition: but it works. If you can manage the gymnastics, the Deadline will one-tap this machine immediately. The stunt is optional. The satisfaction is not.

Do not shoot center mass while it's flying. You will waste ammunition, alert nearby players, and achieve nothing except giving the Vaporizer something to laugh about internally.

The best weapon to kill Vaporizer Arc Raiders debate is now mostly settled after a full day of testing. Here's the honest breakdown. Note that "honest" here means "includes the part where all of them have a significant flaw."

One more thing: the Deadline mine Vaporizer Arc Raiders one-shot remains completely intact this update. Plant it on top, watch the fireworks. It is, as always, beautiful. It is also completely impractical in a chaotic four-Vaporizer warzone, but nobody said you couldn't try.

For those who prefer their guides in actionable form rather than extended sarcasm: though you'll get both: here is the complete Arc Raiders Close Scrutiny event strategy for dealing with Vaporizers without dying embarrassingly.

1. Find cover immediately. It is impossible to fight against a Vaporizer without cover, as the new ARC threat instantly sets you on fire with its laser attack. Without cover, you will be dead on the ground in seconds. A concrete wall. A building. Anything. Treat the open field as a death declaration.
2. Bring a squad if at all possible. While it is possible to fight a Vaporizer solo, gathering your squad is highly recommended. Since it is a new arc with an unpredictable attack pattern, the more the merrier. Spread out so you're not sharing the same laser beam.
3. Target the rotors first. Eight rotors, two per corner. Use precise weapons. Once rotors are destroyed, the machine drops altitude. Now the fight is actually manageable.
4. Wait for the shield to drop before throwing anything. Wolfpacks, Hornet Drivers, Showstoppers: none of these work while the energy shield is active. The Vaporizer cannot fire while shielded. Use that window to reload and reposition, not panic-throw your expensive grenades into its face-forcefield.
5. Strip the belly armor, shoot the core. With a Hullcracker or Aphelion, players can strip the armor, then hit the core. With the right amount of hits to the exposed core, the Vaporizer goes down significantly faster.
6. Stay mobile at all times. Constant movement is non-negotiable. The Vaporizer's attack patterns are more unpredictable than other ARC enemies, so staying stationary for more than a second is a mistake. Stop treating the floor like it owes you something.
7. Collect multiple loot sections. When the Vaporizer dies, it drops in multiple sections: at least two or three separate loot nodes. Don't just grab the main body and run. You're here for the Vaporizer Regulators and you need all of them.

Pro tip, completely unasked for: when four Vaporizers are spawning in the same area simultaneously and three other squads are converging on the same red beam, perhaps: and this is radical: perhaps consider not soloing the event in blues and an Anvil.

Assuming you did not get set on fire, shot mid-air, third-partied, burned off a roof, auto-locked by a machine that spotted you from forty meters, or otherwise destroyed: you get loot. Specifically, the Vaporizer Regulator drop Arc Raiders is what you came for, and it is exactly as valuable as advertised.

You need a whopping 19 Vaporizer Regulators to complete the High-Gain Antenna project. Once you know how to get them, you'll understand why that's described as "ambitious." The word the author was searching for was "sadistic," but "ambitious" also works if you're feeling charitable toward the developers this week.

The Dolabra Energy Shotgun blueprint Arc Raiders is locked inside the Assessors that the Vaporizers are guarding. Which means: no killing Vaporizers, no blueprint, no shotgun. The Vaporizer has been assigned specifically to stand between you and the thing you want. Embark's sense of humor is consistent, at least.

Quick Reference: What Not to Do

For the people who skimmed the guide, which is fine, here is every mistake in compact form. Arc Raiders Vaporizer tips beginners should be laminated and kept nearby:

• Do not stand in the open. Ever. Not for a second. Not to get a better angle. Get behind something.
• Do not shoot center mass on an armored flying target and expect results. You will run out of ammo before it runs out of health.
• Do not throw grenades while the energy shield is active. It will catch them like it's expecting them. Because it is.
• Do not solo this without legendary-tier weapons and a full healing loadout. The game will not respect your bravery.
• Do not stand next to your squadmates. The ground sweep laser converts clusters of players into a single, efficient tragedy.
• Do not ignore other players converging on the same Assessor. This is extraction: someone will absolutely take your kill and your Regulator the moment the machine dies.
• Do not forget to loot all drop sections. Multiple nodes. Check twice before extracting.