The Surge Coil is one of three new deployables added to ARC Raiders in the Flashpoint update (Patch 1.22.0), and it might be the most immediately useful of the bunch. Drop it near a doorway, a breach point, or a choke your squad is defending, and it periodically fires electric pulses that briefly stun any ARC or Raider that wanders into its 10-meter radius. With Shredders now appearing on every map after the Flashpoint patch, having a Surge Coil in your pocket can be the difference between a clean extract and a very fast death.
What does the Surge Coil actually do?
The Surge Coil is a Rare deployable that you place on the ground. Once set, it fires repeated electric pulses that stun anything inside its radius, including both ARC enemies and other Raiders. The stun radius is 10 meters, and you can carry up to 3 in your stash at once. Think of it as a set-and-forget trap: place it by a door while you loot a room and you'll get an instant heads-up when something walks in.
Compared to the Jolt Mine, the Surge Coil covers a larger area and hits both PvE and PvP targets, making it more flexible in practice. The Surge Coil can stun you and your squadmates if you're standing in its radius when it fires. Place it at a distance from your planned movement path.
Where to find the Surge Coil Blueprint
The Surge Coil Blueprint drops from containers during the Electromagnetic Storm map condition. Unlike the Dolabra blueprint (which requires the Closed Scrutiny event) or the Canto blueprint (which comes from First Wave Raider caches), the Surge Coil has no event-specific requirement beyond EM Storm being active. Any container type can drop it: lockers, desk drawers, cupboards, industrial crates, explosive containers. Open everything.
The Electromagnetic Storm runs on Dam Battlegrounds, Spaceport, and Blue Gate. Check the Topside map before deploying to confirm the condition is active. Confirmed drop locations on Dam include the Testing Annex, Water Treatment Facility, and Hydroponic Domes. Deltia's Gaming also found the blueprint inside the Electrical Substation on Dam. There is no single guaranteed spawn point, so the strategy is straightforward: hit as many containers as possible per raid.
Surge Coil stun pulse in action
How to load in efficiently
NintendoSmash recommends going in with a light kit and at least one Safe Pocket slot free. A completely free kit is not ideal because you join the raid late, which reduces the number of containers still available. A minimal loadout with one Safe Pocket reserved gives you the best balance of survival and extraction security.
The moment you find the blueprint, move it to your Safe Pocket immediately. EM Storm raids attract other Raiders, and losing the blueprint to a Rocketeer or a hostile player on the way to extraction is a painful mistake.
Blueprints are one-time finds. Once you extract the Surge Coil Blueprint, you can craft the item as many times as you want. You only need to find it again if a new Expedition resets your progress.
How to craft the Surge Coil
Once the blueprint is in your hideout, head to your Explosives Station Level 3 (Workbench). The crafting cost is low compared to other Flashpoint additions like the Dolabra or Canto, according to MetaForge's crafting breakdown.
Required materials:
- 1x Electrical Components (craftable at the Refiner, or purchasable from Celeste for Seeds)
- 1x Sensors (craftable at the Refiner, or purchasable from Celeste for Seeds; also found in areas tagged as Technological)
- 1x Hornet Driver (looted from Hornet ARC remains, a common enemy found on any map)
All three materials are easy to source. Hornets are common across every map, and both Electrical Components and Sensors can be crafted or bought outright. Once you have the blueprint, stocking up on 3 Surge Coils per raid is not difficult.
How to use the Surge Coil effectively
Placement is everything with the Surge Coil. A poorly placed Coil either stuns you or fires into empty space. After testing it across multiple raid types, here are the placements that consistently pay off:
- Doorways and corridors: Place it just inside a room you're looting. Anything that enters gets stunned before it reaches you.
- Assessor breach points: Drop one near the ARC wave spawn point during an Assessor event. The stun buys extra looting time before the wave reaches you.
- Extraction chokepoints: If your squad is holding a position while waiting for extraction, a Surge Coil on the most likely approach angle punishes any Raider who pushes.
- Shredder counters: Shredders are fast and hit hard in tight spaces. A pre-placed Surge Coil in corridors where Shredders commonly appear gives you reaction time you otherwise would not have.
Surge Coil crafting requirements
Combining Surge Coil farming with other objectives
Since the blueprint drops from general containers during EM Storm rather than a specific event, you can layer your farming. Run your normal EM Storm loot route, work on active quests, clear locked rooms with your keys, and pick up the Surge Coil Blueprint naturally along the way. You might also pull blueprints for other items that share the same drop condition.
For more ARC Raiders guides covering weapons, keys, quests, and enemy strategies, browse the full guides library at GAMES.GG.