IMAGE_QUALITY_GUIDELINES: Use clear captures showing the Surveyor Vault item tooltip, Blue Gate's Village map label, a transmitting Surveyor with its shell open, ARC Courier markers near Scrapyard and Old Battleground, and the Medical Lab Level 3 upgrade menu. Combat images should show an Anvil and the Surveyor's exposed core, with ammunition and health indicators readable. The cover should feature the item tooltip, not repeat a body image. Keep map annotations separate from native interface markers, and label them as search areas rather than guaranteed spawns. No character ability or skill-tree imagery is needed.
CONTENT: Find Surveyor Vaults in ARC Raiders by looting rolling Surveyors or breaching crashed ARC Couriers. Start around the Village in northwestern Blue Gate for a direct hunt, or check Scrapyard and Old Battleground on Dam Battlegrounds during an Electromagnetic Storm for Couriers.
Your route depends on your gear. A Surveyor hunt needs armor damage and burst damage; Courier farming avoids that fight but still depends on random loot. Keep your finds for the Medical Lab Level 3 upgrade and Trophy Display stage one before selling extras.
Where to look for Surveyor Vaults
Treat these locations as search areas, not guaranteed spawns. Surveyors roam, while Courier farming depends on finding crashed drones during your raid.
| Map | Where to search | Main method | Reason to choose it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Gate | Around the Village in the northwest and nearby open outskirts | Hunt Surveyors | Open terrain makes their blue sky beam easier to spot |
| Dam Battlegrounds | Southwest, around Scrapyard and Old Battleground | Breach Couriers during an Electromagnetic Storm | The storm increases Courier spawns |
| Buried City | Move between Courier map markers and black smoke columns | Breach Couriers | A useful alternative for a Courier-focused run |
| Spaceport | Open areas around the map outskirts | Hunt Surveyors | Another option when searching for their periodic scanning beam |
A Surveyor Vault is a Rare ARC part, not a container you enter or unlock. If you're searching for locked storage instead, the ARC Raiders Security Breach lockers guide covers that separate loot route.
Search around the Village
How to spot a Surveyor
Reach high ground and scan the horizon for a vertical blue beam. The signal appears periodically, so an empty skyline during one glance does not rule out a nearby Surveyor. Watch for another transmission before changing your viewpoint.
Follow the beam to its base and look for a large metal sphere. Surveyors commonly travel through open areas near map edges, making the outskirts a better starting point than a room-by-room building search.
Avoid opening fire from your first distant sighting. A frightened Surveyor can roll faster than you can sprint. Approach for a controlled attack while it stops to transmit instead of starting a long chase with a weak opening shot.
How to destroy a Surveyor and collect its Vaults
Bring armor damage, a stun, and explosives
An Anvil with Heavy Ammo is a practical choice because it combines quick shots with high damage. The Ferro is another option. Heavy Ammo strips the Surveyor's armored shell, while light weapons struggle against it.
Pack equipment that helps you hold the target still or deal damage during a short opening:
- Showstopper: Immobilizes the Surveyor for approximately two seconds, creating a window to fire or throw an explosive.
- Wolf Pack Grenade: Can destroy a Surveyor with a direct hit. Aim while the target is stationary.
- Heavy Fuze Grenade: Provides explosive damage after you stun the target or catch it transmitting.
Keep a firearm ready even if grenades are your main damage source. If an explosive fails to finish the Surveyor, a follow-up shot can secure the kill before it escapes.
Wait for the exposed core
Attack during a transmission
The Surveyor's scanning animation provides your best opening: it stands still, opens its shell, and exposes its core.
- Wait for the scan. Line up your attack while the Surveyor is transmitting.
- Stun it if necessary. Use a Showstopper if it detects you and starts moving before you can deal enough damage.
- Hit the exposed core. Use your explosive or Heavy Ammo weapon during the stationary window, then finish with your firearm if it survives.
Surveyors usually flee, but they can ram you when cornered. Do not treat one trapped against a wall as harmless.
Search the detached shell pieces
The Surveyor sheds armor panels as it takes damage. Those panels are lootable and can contain Surveyor Vaults, so remember where you hit it before following an escaping target.
A Surveyor kill can yield one to five Vaults, with one or two being the usual return. Search the detached panels and the final remains instead of checking only the last piece you see. If it rolls away, collect the fallen parts before continuing the chase.
Surveyors also drop ARC Motion Cores. The ARC Raiders Motion Core farming guide covers other collection methods if you need both materials for progression.
How to farm Surveyor Vaults from ARC Couriers
Follow the Dam Battlegrounds storm route
An Electromagnetic Storm increases ARC Courier spawns, creating an alternative to chasing armored Surveyors. You can use a free loadout or a lightweight custom setup because breaching a crashed Courier does not require a Surveyor-killing weapon.
On Dam Battlegrounds, use this search sequence:
- Head southwest. Move toward the lower-left part of the map around Scrapyard and Old Battleground.
- Check your map while travelling. Look for nearby ARC Courier markers.
- Watch for black smoke. Smoke columns help you locate crash sites from the ground.
- Breach and loot each wreck. Skip Couriers that have already been emptied.
- Check the map again. More Couriers can appear during the storm, so reassess nearby markers after each stop.
Check southwest Courier sites
Courier contents are random. You can breach several without finding a Surveyor Vault, so this method trades the Surveyor fight for repeated searches. Electrical shocks remain a hazard during the storm, and other Raiders can still threaten your route.
Courier loot can also include Sentinel Firing Cores in ARC Raiders, which you need for the Gunsmith Level 3 upgrade. Check for those before closing the loot screen.
Choose another map or condition when needed
Outside an Electromagnetic Storm, Buried City is a useful Courier-focused alternative. Move between crash markers and smoke columns, breaching each unopened wreck you find. This avoids depending on a Surveyor encounter, though the Vault remains a random drop.
Two other map conditions can help with direct hunting:
- Close Scrutiny: Spawns groups of Surveyors guarded by Vaporizers. The Surveyors can call in ARC Assessors when they find valuable materials, so prepare for additional ARC threats.
- Night Raid: Raises drop rates for ARC cores, including Surveyor Vaults. Choose it when improving your loot odds is the priority.
Close Scrutiny offers more Surveyor targets, but its escorts make it a different commitment from attacking a lone roaming sphere. Bring the damage needed for the encounter before selecting it purely for the extra spawns.
How many Surveyor Vaults should you keep?
Reserve Vaults for these two progression goals before selling or recycling them:
| Progression goal | Surveyor Vaults needed |
|---|---|
| Upgrade Medical Lab from Level 2 to Level 3 | 5 |
| Complete Trophy Display stage one | 5 |
The Medical Lab upgrade also requires three Rusted Shut Medical Kits and eight Antiseptic. Set aside 10 Surveyor Vaults if both goals in the table are unfinished.
Reserve parts for Medical Lab
Each Vault weighs 1 kg and stacks up to three. A spare sells for 1,000 Raider Coins, or you can recycle it into one Mechanical Components and one ARC Alloy. Spend or reserve the parts needed for progression before converting extras into common materials.
Bring a Raider Hatch Key if you want a quick extraction option through a Raider Hatch after securing your target amount.
