The Dolabra might be the most talked-about weapon to land in Arc Raiders since launch. A legendary energy shotgun introduced with the Flashpoint update, it fires a concentrated laser beam that can be widened for close-range blasts or tightened into a medium-distance shot, and it hits hard enough that players are already bracing for an inevitable nerf.
What the Dolabra actually is
The Dolabra sits in a category the community has started calling "budget legendary." That might sound like a knock, but it's actually a compliment. The three other legendary weapons in Arc Raiders require components from Queens and Matriarchs, which are among the hardest enemies in the game. The Dolabra, by contrast, pulls its crafting materials from Shredders and Vaporizers, which are dangerous but far more manageable targets.
Here's the thing: the weapon itself doesn't play like a budget option at all. It carries Strong Armor penetration, meaning it shreds both players and robotic enemies at close-to-medium range. The beam-narrowing mechanic when aiming down sights adds a layer of flexibility that most shotguns don't have. The main trade-off is that it accepts no mods and cannot be upgraded, which matters less when the base damage output is already this high.
Getting the blueprint from Close Scrutiny Assessors
The Dolabra blueprint does not drop from regular loot. It's exclusively tied to Close Scrutiny Assessors, the landing platforms that spawn during the randomly occurring Close Scrutiny map modifier. Every time you breach one of these Assessors and search it, there's a chance the blueprint appears. It's not guaranteed, so multiple runs may be necessary before it shows up.
warning
Assessors are extremely high-risk environments. If the blueprint drops, put it in your safe pocket before doing anything else. Dying on the way out means losing it.
The randomness here is deliberate. Embark Studios built the Flashpoint update around these modifiers as a way to drive higher-stakes runs, and gating the Dolabra blueprint behind them means players have to engage with the update's new systems to access its best reward.
Crafting requirements and ammo costs
Once the blueprint is secured, crafting the Dolabra requires a Gunsmith Level 3 workbench. If your workshop isn't there yet, that's the first priority. Beyond that, three types of components are needed:
The Magnetic Accelerators are the trickiest component for players who haven't upgraded their Refiner yet, since the Matriarch and Queen drop rates aren't reliable. Prioritizing the Refiner upgrade makes the grind considerably smoother.
Ammo is its own consideration. The Dolabra runs on Energy Clip rounds, which can be crafted from Advanced Arc Powercells and Batteries, or purchased from Tian Wen for 3,000 Coins per clip. That's not cheap. Players who rely on buying ammo rather than crafting it will feel the drain quickly, so stocking up on Powercells before committing to the weapon is worth doing.
Why the Flashpoint update made this weapon matter
The Flashpoint update brought Shredders to multiple maps and introduced Vaporizer drones as a new threat, which means the enemies required to farm Dolabra components are now far more present across the game than they were before. The update effectively created its own supply chain for the weapon it introduced, which is a tidy piece of design.
Players who are already running Close Scrutiny modifiers to deal with the new threats will naturally accumulate the components needed to build the Dolabra. The blueprint is the only real bottleneck, and that's entirely by design.
For everything else arriving in the current update, the Arc Raiders official news page has the full breakdown of Flashpoint content. You can also browse more guides covering Arc Raiders weapons, quests, and crafting systems as the post-launch content continues to roll out. Make sure to check out more:
