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ARC Raiders ties almost every risky activity to one decision: get out alive with what you found. You leave Speranza for the surface, collect resources, fight or evade ARC machines and other Raiders, complete objectives, and use an extraction point to bring your carried loot home. Some quests are complete when you interact with an objective; others explicitly require you to extract while carrying a named item.
Separate systems run alongside quests. Topside activity awards XP for Raider levels and skill points, challenges award reputation for Raider Deck rewards, and an optional Expedition Project can reset much of your character and stash progress in exchange for persistent bonuses. Names, quest totals, and mechanics can change with patches, so use the live objective text and current Expedition screen when a detail affects a run.
What extraction means in ARC Raiders
Extraction is the end condition for a surface raid. From Speranza, you enter one of the available locations, gather materials, search containers, pursue missions, and decide how long to stay. The longer you remain, the more opportunities you have to finish objectives and find valuable loot, but you also remain exposed to ARC machines and rival Raiders. Cooperation is possible, yet another squad can still become a threat.
Reaching an extraction point and completing its departure sequence is what returns the loot in your character’s carried inventory to Speranza. Until that happens, the run is unresolved: an objective item in your backpack is not safely delivered merely because you picked it up. If you are eliminated before leaving, the haul you were carrying does not return as a completed extraction, and a quest that asks you to extract with an item will not receive credit.
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The game supports solo play and squads of up to three, according to the official gameplay FAQ. Group size changes how you approach a route, but it does not remove the extraction requirement.
The surface-raid loop, step by step
- Prepare in Speranza. Review the quest wording, check your available equipment and carry space, and decide which objective item must survive the trip. A quest that says “extract with” needs a route and a safe-pocket plan, not just an interaction plan.
- Go topside. Choose the location and enter the raid. The surface contains resources, mission targets, ARC activity and other Raiders. You can pursue your objective immediately or collect supporting materials first.
- Complete the required interaction. Visit the named place, search the specified container, deliver or recover an item, or destroy the required ARC machine. Read the on-screen confirmation; some objectives advance in stages and leave an extraction clause for the final step.
- Choose an extraction point. Extraction locations and their activation procedures depend on the map. A marked console, vehicle or other device may need to be activated before the departure countdown begins.
- Survive the departure. Stay inside the extraction area or follow the location-specific departure instructions until the sequence finishes. Enemies can still interrupt the attempt, and a successful interaction does not make you invulnerable.
- Verify the result. Back in the hub, check the quest panel and inventory. Quest credit, returned loot and the next objective should be visible before you assume the run counted.
Which quests require extraction?
Quest objectives fall into several practical categories. Location objectives ask you to reach a named site; search objectives require opening a particular container or finding an item; delivery objectives move an item to a specified destination; combat objectives require destroying a stated ARC type or number of machines. The same quest can combine several categories.
The wording determines whether extraction is part of the requirement. “Find,” “search,” or “destroy” may complete an individual stage at the point of interaction. “Extract with [item]” adds a separate condition: the item must remain with you until a successful departure. Do not assume that an interaction marker disappearing means the quest is finished.
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PC Gamer’s quest reference, updated May 1, 2026, reported 100 quests after the Riven Tides update. That is a dated count, not a guaranteed October 2026 total; later updates can add, remove or restructure quests. Treat the live quest list as authoritative.
Example: the Clean Hands quest
The October 8, 2026 Clean Hands walkthrough illustrates the two-stage pattern. In Pendola Pass, enter the Nomad Camp beneath the Railyard and search a bag to obtain the Equatorial Sundial. Carry the sundial to the top of the Old Town church and display it there. The quest then requires you to extract with the sundial.
The guide says the sundial can be placed in the safe pocket. That can protect the named item from ordinary backpack-management mistakes, but it does not replace extraction: you still have to leave the map successfully. For a Pendola Pass departure, the walkthrough describes activating the marked Gondola console and going to the point where the Gondola drops. This is a map-specific example, not a universal extraction method for every quest.
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How the progression systems differ
Quests are only one progression track. The table below shows what advances each system and what you receive.
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|---|---|---|---|
| Quest progression | Complete the listed location, search, delivery, combat and extraction conditions. | Advances the quest chain and its rewards; exact rewards depend on the current quest. | Missing a final extraction clause, losing a required item, or failing a multi-stage condition. |
| Raider level | Earn XP from activities performed topside. | Each level grants skill points for abilities such as mobility, stealth and carry capacity. | An unsuccessful raid does not turn an uncompleted objective into quest credit; consult the current XP result in the hub. |
| Challenges and reputation | Complete challenge conditions, such as destroying five Wasps. | Reputation unlocks rewards on the staged Raider Deck track. | Challenge progress is separate from quest completion and does not substitute for an extraction requirement. |
| Codex exploration | Explore the world and encounter ARC, locations and people. | Fills the in-game record and documents discoveries. | Unvisited or undiscovered entries remain incomplete until encountered. |
Raider XP, skills, challenges and the Codex
Raider level and skill points
Topside activities award XP toward your Raider level. On level-up, you receive skill points that can be spent on the skill system. The official FAQ gives mobility, stealth and carry capacity as examples of the kinds of abilities those points can improve. Because skills affect how far you can travel, how quietly you can move and how much you can carry, your build changes the risk calculation of every extraction route.
Challenges and the Raider Deck
Challenges are a separate source of progression. A condition such as destroying five Wasps awards reputation when completed. Reputation then unlocks staged rewards in the Raider Deck. A player can therefore advance the Raider Deck while making little quest progress, or finish a quest without satisfying a particular challenge; the systems should be tracked independently.
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Codex entries and maps
The Codex records ARC types, locations and people you encounter. The FAQ lists Dam Battlegrounds, Buried City, Spaceport, Blue Gate, Stella Montis and Riven Tides among the major locations. Map availability and names can change, so use the current in-game map when planning a route or trying to complete every entry.
Expedition Projects: the optional reset
An Expedition Project becomes available at Raider level 20. It is a player-chosen reset, not an automatic wipe. The published FAQ describes an eight-week cycle: seven weeks for preparation followed by a completion period in week eight. An incomplete project may continue until the next completion period. Before committing, read the active project screen because timing, requirements and rewards are tied to that specific cycle.
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What an Expedition resets
| Reset category | Effect |
|---|---|
| Raider progression | Raider level, skills and accumulated XP return to the project’s starting state. |
| Stored resources | Inventory items and stash contents are cleared. |
| Crafting | Crafting progress is reset. |
What remains available
| Retained category | What the FAQ says remains |
|---|---|
| Cosmetics and purchases | Cosmetics and purchased items are retained. |
| Account currencies and reputation | Raider Tokens and reputation remain. |
| Reward-track progress | Raider Deck progress remains unlocked. |
| Knowledge and access | Codex entries and unlocked maps remain. |
| Prior Expeditions | Earlier Expedition elements and their bonuses remain. |
Why complete an Expedition?
Each completed Expedition awards a unique cosmetic and account-level buffs that apply to the following cycle. The bonuses increase with consecutive completions up to a stated limit. You trade short-term character, stash and crafting progress for a long-term account benefit and a cosmetic reward.
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- Consider starting one when your current stash and build are expendable, you can devote time to the eight-week schedule, and the next-cycle buff is more valuable to you than immediate progression.
- Wait if you are midway through important quests, rely on stored crafting materials, or cannot meet the project’s completion window.
- Confirm first that the items you care about are listed as retained on the live Expedition screen; do not rely on an old guide for a changed season.
Patch-sensitive details to check
Official version 2.1.0 notes dated October 13, 2026 document two fixes relevant to progression. One addresses players being eliminated despite being inside the Pendola Pass Gondola while extracting. The other fixes loot-icon areas in Pendola Pass not counting toward the “Picking Up the Pieces” objective. If either symptom appears, confirm that the client is updated before abandoning a quest or repeating a run.
The official ARC Raiders site also lists a PvE matchmaking-toggle beta running October 13–20, 2026, with the stated 11:00 CEST start and end time. It is a time-limited test, not evidence of a permanent PvE-only mode. Matchmaking conditions can affect how much player opposition you meet, but they do not change the need to satisfy a quest’s extraction clause.
Practical ways to improve quest runs
Plan around the final condition
Read the entire quest before entering. If the last line requires extraction, identify the likely departure point and leave enough time, health and supplies to reach it. Do not spend every resource on optional loot before the named item is secure.
Separate “objective complete” from “run complete”
After interacting with a target, pause and reread the tracker. A new line such as “extract with” means the quest has advanced but is not finished. Keep the item in the protected location described by the current quest guidance, and avoid dropping or trading it while reorganizing your pack.
Use a conservative route when carrying a quest item
Once the required item is obtained, prioritize a known extraction route over additional containers. Other Raiders and ARC patrols can turn a short detour into a failed run. If the map offers several extraction options, choose the one whose activation steps and approach you understand rather than the one with the highest potential loot.
Verify after extraction
Quest credit and returned inventory should be checked in Speranza. If the tracker did not advance, compare the exact wording with what you did: a nearby location may not be the named one, a combat count may require a particular ARC variant, or the item may not have survived the extraction sequence.
Quick Recap
Common failure cases and fixes
- The item was collected but the quest is still active: look for an extraction clause and complete a successful departure while the item is carried.
- The extraction interaction failed: follow the map’s activation order, remain in the departure area for the full sequence, and retry after confirming the game is on the current patch.
- A Pendola Pass Gondola run ended in elimination: update to version 2.1.0 or later if available; the October 13 notes specifically address elimination during Gondola extraction.
- “Picking Up the Pieces” did not count a loot-icon area: verify the client update and revisit the affected Pendola Pass area, since version 2.1.0 lists a fix for that tracking issue.
- You lost progress after an Expedition: level, skills, XP, inventory, stash contents and crafting progress are reset by design. Check the retained categories before starting the project rather than treating the reset as a bug.
- A guide’s quest count or map list differs from yours: compare its publication date with the live game. The 100-quest figure was reported on May 1, 2026, and later content can change the total.
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