Find Power Cables in ARC Raiders by searching Field Depot drawers on Dam Battlegrounds and Electrical, Commercial, or Residential loot areas.
Office furniture and breachable server cabinets are useful search targets. You need the intact item for an early Gear Bench upgrade, so salvaging every cable as you find it can leave you short. Start with a location near your spawn, then check its surrounding containers before moving to another area. Dam Battlegrounds offers several specific depot locations to build that search around.
Where to search on Dam Battlegrounds
Start with the Field Depots, particularly their computer desks and drawers. Choose the closest cluster below instead of trying to visit every location in one raid. Other Raiders may already have emptied a depot, so keep a nearby alternative in mind.
Choose a nearby Field Depot
East of the Power Generation Complex
Find the Field Depot east of the Power Generation Complex and search the drawers in its computer desk. This is a specific furniture check, not a reason to clear the entire complex first.
Check cupboards and drawers in the nearby buildings before leaving the area. If the depot is empty, those surrounding rooms give you another set of containers without committing to a trip across the map.
South of the Electrical Substation
The next depot sits between the Water Towers and the Electrical Substation, south of the substation in the southwest of Dam Battlegrounds. Search its drawers, then inspect the sheds around the substation.
Prioritize those smaller buildings over a prolonged search of the substation itself. The depot and surrounding sheds are the more specific Power Cable search targets here.
Testing Annex and Red Lakes Balcony
If you spawn near Testing Annex, use these nearby checks:
- Search the Testing Annex itself.
- Check the Electrical Tower to its east.
- Visit the Field Depot west of Testing Annex, in the Red Lakes Balcony area.
Pick your direction from your starting position. You do not need to cross the map to the southwest depot before checking these local options.
If Light Bulbs are also on your material list, the ARC Raiders Light Bulb farming routes cover car searches and Field Depot checks on Dam Battlegrounds.
Which containers should you search?
Finish searching a room's drawers before moving to the next building. Offices can hold several relevant containers, while a large electrical facility can take longer to search without giving you as many immediate furniture checks.
Use this order as a practical search priority, not a guaranteed drop-rate ranking.
| Container | What to look for | Search advice |
|---|---|---|
| Office desks, cupboards, and drawers | Computer desks in Field Depots and furniture in office rooms | Check each searchable drawer before leaving the room |
| Breachable server cabinets | Tall server containers in electrical and office facilities | Breach and search them alongside nearby furniture |
| Lockers | Storage furniture in residential and commercial buildings | Include them when searching a suitable building |
| Utility Crates | Specific outdoor crate locations on Spaceport and Buried City | Add the nearby crate checks listed below |
Search beyond the desk drawers
A building does not need to be a power station to contain Power Cables. Homes and commercial premises are valid search areas, so keep checking suitable furniture when your first electrical location has already been looted.
Power Cable locations on other maps
You can collect cables while playing other maps instead of returning to Dam Battlegrounds for every attempt. Spaceport and Buried City have precise container checks, while Stella Montis offers several named areas with suitable furniture and consoles.
Spaceport
Start at Fuel Control, which has Electrical loot and several containers to search. A Utility Crate also sits southeast of the area, roughly halfway toward the Launch Towers.
Control Tower A6 is another option. Search its cabinets and desks, especially if you are already close enough to check it without making a long detour.
Fuel Control and its backup crate
Buried City
Buried City offers both commercial buildings and residential furniture searches. Choose a nearby location from this table rather than treating Space Travel as the only possible cable stop.
| Location | Where to focus | Reason to choose it |
|---|---|---|
| Piazza Arbusto | Commercial loot and the Utility Crate to its west | A named area with an additional outdoor crate check |
| Space Travel | Searchable containers inside the building | A Power Cable location, but a contested, high-threat stop |
| Santa Maria Houses | Lockers, drawers, and other household containers | A residential alternative to the larger commercial buildings |
| Plaza Rosa | Drawers, lockers, and other searchable furniture | A commercial option when you are already nearby |
Space Travel is worth checking when it fits your route, but do not make it a compulsory stop after securing the cables you need. Its high-threat designation makes it a different commitment from checking nearby residential drawers.
If you also need Cooling Fans, the ARC Raiders Cooling Fan farming routes identify the terminals to inspect in Space Travel.
Stella Montis
On Stella Montis, match your search to the furniture and equipment in each area. Communications and Assembly provide different container options, so checking only office drawers would miss other possible locations.
| Area | Power Cable search targets |
|---|---|
| Communications | Consoles and Industrial Crates |
| Assembly | Office Desks, Shipping Container Drawers, Industrial Crates, consoles, and workstations |
| Medical Research | Filing Cabinets, consoles, cabinets, storage racks, and supply carts |
| Lobby | Office Desks, Industrial Crates, suitcases, and supply carts |
| Business Center | Suitcases, trash bins, sofas, and supply carts |
Assembly offers several loot types
Assembly is a useful choice when you want several container types in one area. Communications provides a more equipment-focused search, while the Lobby and Business Center add furniture and luggage checks.
Blue Gate, Riven Tides, and Pendola Pass
These maps offer additional options if you are already deploying there. Use the named areas below to choose a search location, without assuming that every container will contain a cable.
| Map | Locations to check | Search focus |
|---|---|---|
| Blue Gate | Warehouse Complex | Office areas, including desks with multiple drawers |
| Riven Tides | Customs House and Hotel Panorama Azzurro | Electrical loot at Customs House, plus Commercial and Residential loot at the hotel |
| Pendola Pass | Commissary Supermarket, Old Town, and Researcher Lodgings | Commercial or Residential buildings and their searchable containers |
Hotel Panorama Azzurro is a high-threat area. If cables are your only objective, weigh that stop against checking a closer suitable building or extracting with what you already have.
How many Power Cables should you keep?
Gear Bench upgrade requirements
Keep your initial cables for the Gear Bench Level 2 upgrade. The upgrade from Level 1 requires the following materials:
| Material | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Power Cable | 3 |
| Electrical Components | 5 |
| Hornet Driver | 5 |
Check your stored materials before deploying. If cables are the last missing component, make collecting the remaining amount your raid objective instead of continuing to fill your inventory afterward.
If you want to combine your cable search with an Industrial Battery objective, the ARC Raiders Taking Stock quest guide covers battery locations across four maps.
Carry weight, selling, and recycling
Power Cable is a Rare recyclable. Each cable weighs 2 kg, and a stack holds 3, giving a full stack a total weight of 6 kg. Leave enough carrying capacity for your target haul before you start searching.
After completing the upgrade, choose what to do with extras based on the resource you need:
| Action | Result per Power Cable | Choose it when |
|---|---|---|
| Sell | 1,000 Raider Coins | You need coins more than crafting materials |
| Recycle at base | 4 Wires | You want Wires for crafting |
| Salvage during a raid | 3 Wires | You choose to convert the item before extraction |
If Wires are your goal, bring the cable back intact and recycle it at base for the larger return. If your Gear Bench still needs cables, leave them intact and stop selling or recycling until you have covered its requirement.
