ARC Raiders Frigate Guide: How to Board It, Every Section and the Cargo
The ARC Frigate is the hardest thing in ARC Raiders. It is a flying warship you have to climb onto, with Hydra turrets on every deck, a gale that throws you off the edge and power cores you have to break before it gives up its cargo. It is also one of only two places that drop the Amplification Modules every Amplified weapon needs
The Frigate at a glance
| ARC Frigate | |
|---|---|
| Type | ARC Operation, the top tier of map condition |
| Maps | Dam Battlegrounds, Buried City, Spaceport, The Blue Gate and Pendola Pass |
| Raid length | 35 minutes instead of 30 |
| Arrives | About 1 to 2 minutes into the raid |
| Map rules | No loot rooms, no Raider Hatches, less loot on the ground, fewer ARC on the surface and no ARC Turbines |
| Its attack | Dual autocannons, warned by a sound cue and blue lasers |
| Guards | Hydras, Rocketeers, Vaporizers, Fireflies, Hornets and Wasps |
| Prize | The Frigate Cargo and its Amplification Modules |
How to get on board
You can't climb or fly to it. The only way up is an ARC Reclaimer: a round drone that keeps dropping from the Frigate and hovering low over the ground or a rooftop
- Wait near where the Reclaimers come down. Stay clear of the autocannons: a sound cue and blue lasers on the ground come first
- Climb onto a Reclaimer and Disrupt it with your Raider Tool
- It raises its shield and flies back to the landing pads at the rear of the Frigate, with you on it
Don't shoot the Reclaimers. They have 830 health, a shield and carry almost nothing worth taking
The Frigate, section by section
The ship has six sections. The goal is to destroy every power core: when the last one goes, the Frigate drops its cargo
1. The Landing
Where the Reclaimers dock and where you arrive. Drop down to the walkways on either side to reach the Lower Atrium. Walk past the first entrance and a second, smaller one leads into a quieter corner of it
2. The Lower Atrium
An elevator needs two buttons held at once, or skip it with a Grappling Hook or Snap Hook. Past it are four Hydras, two active at a time. Shoot the yellow parts on the walls to make platforms appear. On the third platform each side, one Raider holds a button to extend a big platform and a second Raider holds another to lock it
This is where you meet the first 6 power cores. Four of them need three Raiders holding three buttons to be exposed, and doing so spawns two more Hydras on each side. The other two are reached through that second entrance from the Landing
3. The Upper Atrium
A walkway shaped like a stretched W around the atrium. No power cores here, but the breachable containers in its walls hold standard Frigate loot. The front opening leads to the Top Deck, and a room on each side at the rear has two more containers and three ways up
4. The Top Deck
The part that gives the Frigate its reputation. Wide open, almost no cover and 6 Hydras, three a side, with 14 power cores mostly at the rear
- Six cores overlook the atrium, three on each side, near the two rear Hydras
- The rooms with sloped doors next to the rear entrances keep filling with fire while their single core is alive
- The outer cores must be breached one by one before they can be shot
- A gale blows across each side and pushes Raiders toward fire traps. Breaking that side's cores switches the wind off
At the front, three ridges with raised airbrakes lead on. The two side entrances to the next section only open once all 20 reachable power cores are destroyed
5. The Cargo Hold
The line between the outside and the inside of the ship. Two Hydras wait in the front corners of the upper level, and two more wake up in the interior later. Shoot the yellow parts on the upper level to power the doors into the interior. The lower level is the safe spot: most ARC can't see you there, and it is where the Frigate Cargo sits
6. The Interior
The last power cores are inside, split in two halves, and you cross back through the Cargo Hold between them. Clear the ARC as you go, because the last two Hydras switch on when the first half is done. When the final core breaks, the Frigate releases its cargo. Go back to the Cargo Hold and open it
How to deal with the Hydras
- A Hydra is a heavily armored turret with three gun sections. Each section can track a different Raider
- Its back is unarmored. Let one Raider hold its attention while another shoots it from behind
- Use the hull for cover and take your shots when it stops firing
- Standing right in front of its middle means its guns can't aim at you, but it leaves you open to the wind, other ARC and other Raiders
Loadout and team
| Slot | Take | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Main gun | Hullcracker, Jupiter or Equalizer | Very Strong ARC armor penetration for Hydras and power cores |
| Second gun | Something for Raiders | Other squads board for the same cargo |
| Mobility | Grappling Hook or Snap Hook | Skips the elevator and gets you back up when the gale hits |
| Grenades | Wolfpack and Seeker Grenades | For the Rocketeers, Vaporizers and drones guarding the decks |
| Healing | Shield Recharger and a Defibrillator | Three Raiders hold buttons while Hydras fire. Someone will go down |
Go as three. Several stages need two or three Raiders holding buttons at the same time, and a solo Raider cannot open them
What the Frigate gives you
The Frigate Cargo is the main prize, and the cargo and containers on board are one of only two sources of Amplification Modules. The other is the Fallen Emperor on Pendola Pass. You need one to take a weapon to level 5 and unlock its Amplifications, and the Mk. has to match the weapon's rarity
| Weapon rarity | Module needed |
|---|---|
| Common | Amplification Module Mk. I |
| Uncommon | Amplification Module Mk. II |
| Rare | Amplification Module Mk. III |
| Epic | Amplification Module Mk. IV |
| Legendary | Amplification Module Mk. V |
Level 5 also needs Gunsmith level 4 and Research Station level 4. Celeste's Boarding The Frigate quest is the place to start: get on top of the Frigate and damage a Hydra, a Vaporizer and a Rocketeer. It hands you a Grappling Hook, a Seeker Grenade, a Barricade Kit and two Lure Grenades for the job
Frequently asked questions
How do you get on the ARC Frigate?
Climb onto an ARC Reclaimer when it hovers low, Disrupt it with your Raider Tool and ride it back up to the landing pads at the rear of the Frigate
Can you do the Frigate solo?
Not all of it. Several stages need two or three Raiders holding buttons at the same time, so go as a full team of three
How many power cores does the Frigate have?
Six in the Lower Atrium and fourteen on the Top Deck, twenty in all before the way inside opens, then more inside. Breaking the last one drops the cargo
What does the Frigate drop?
The Frigate Cargo and standard Frigate loot in breachable containers. It is one of only two sources of Amplification Modules
Where is a Hydra's weak spot?
Its back is unarmored. Let a teammate hold its attention and shoot it from behind
Can I use a Raider Hatch during the Frigate?
No. Raider Hatches and loot rooms are disabled for the whole raid, so plan to extract the normal way
Can a PRO squad clear the Frigate with me?
Yes. Our Frigate Clear covers the whole ship in one raid: boarding, every stage, the cargo pod and the extraction
Sources: the ARC Raiders Wiki (CC BY-SA 4.0), Embark Studios news and patch notes
