Rick Flair
ARC Raiders promises to have five maps available on release. If you’ve ever played any games from the extraction genre, you know how important it is to know the map. Today, we’re covering the Dam Battlegrounds raid. It’s going to be your first experience in the game. This map will help you learn the ins and outs of the game and its mechanics. We’re here to explain everything you need to know about this map.
If you are already familiar with this map, though, and want to play on other locations, use our Dam Battlegrounds Raid Boost. Our specialists will take everything you need from the map and boost your inventory while you are busy with something else.
Read our other ARC Raiders guides:
Note: At Skycoach, you can Buy ARC Raiders Boost at the best prices with fast delivery. Use our special PROMO CODE (in green) hidden in this article for a 20% DISCOUNT.
Dam Battlegrounds Raid Guide
Dam Battlegrounds is the first map you’ll face in the game. Don’t be tricked into thinking that it’s going to be a chill experience. The fact that this map is on the smaller side increases the chance of encounters. Not to mention the ARCs that are perhaps a bigger threat than other players. Especially when you’re just starting out. This Dam Battlegrounds raid guide aims to cover most things you need to know about the map. We will talk about loot types, mini- and not-so-mini-bosses, and give you the best loot path. We will also explain the Harvester event and give you a list of extraction points. Let’s start!
Dam Battlegrounds Loot Guide
There’s a ton of different loot in ARC Raiders. So much, in fact, that covering all of it is a thing we’ll do in a separate guide. In this Dam Battlegrounds loot guide, we will explain the loot types, give the best places to loot, and share the best loot path.
Loot Types
Loot types in Arc Raiders are pretty varied, in comparison to other extraction shooters. This game is mostly about crafting your stuff instead of just buying it. Understanding the loot is essential to avoid overbloating your very limited inventory. Here are all the types:
| Type of Loot | Description |
| Nature | Used to upgrade Scrappy. Has sellables. Obviously, some medical items like healing bandages. Nature items can spawn anywhere on the map. |
| Industrial | Everything you can imagine drops here. Items are usually used to upgrade the workbench. Also contains some recyclables that give you the most craftable ingredients. Think of it as a loot for when you need to upgrade or craft something. |
| Security | Weapons, blueprints, attachments. It is very unlikely to find attachments outside of security areas. These are the map's biggest hot zones, so expect resistance there. |
| ARCs | This is a separate loot that can be found within the ARC machines. The ARCs contain very valuable items, for instance, used to repair higher-grade equipment. You cannot get this loot anywhere else except from the drones themselves. |
| Commercial | A mix of a few loot types. It contains some residential items, such as valuables or recyclables, that can be broken down into very useful components. |
| Medical | Healing items, craftables, and workbench upgrades. These should be your first priority to get on the game's release. |
| Mechanical | Components for crafting, upgrading, and repairing your gear. |
| Electrical | Advanced electrical components, sensors, wires, and whatnot. Usually, they're found inside the fuse boxes. |
| Technological | Small computers, processors, etc. Very useful for upgrades or selling. |
You shouldn’t pay attention exclusively to the rarity of the loot. Oftentimes, gray loot will bring you much more use, especially at the beginning of the game. Considering that your backpack is very small, you can quickly fill it with useless items. Prioritize getting what you need right now instead of what you might need in the future.
Best Places to Loot
In ARC Raiders, the best places to loot are marked on the map. They’re either green or red polygons, signifying the territory limits. Green locations, such as Water Treatment Control, Power Generation Complex, and Testing Annex, have moderate loot. Red locations, like Hydroponic Dome Complex, Control Tower, and Research & Administration, all contain the best loot in the game. The color of the locations also means the activity in this zone. Red zones are the ones where you may find the largest number of players & ARCs.
Interestingly, you don’t always have to go to these locations to get the best loot possible. There’s a chance it will spawn somewhere else. More than that, you can find a loot type in places where it shouldn’t spawn. For instance, Nature items in the Industrial zone. With all that said, here are the best places to loot on the Dam Battlegrounds map:
- Research & Administration: Less intense than Control Tower, despite being in the same building. Lots of Commercial and Technological loot. You may find a weapon case in the staff rooms on the second floor.
- Pale Apartments: Though not shown on the map, there’s a lot of Commercial loot, as well as some Electrical and Mechanical. A pretty chill spot, as it’s on the outskirts of the map.
- Dam Surveillance Room: It’s in the Control Tower. We made it a separate spot because it contains some of the best loot on the map. To get there, you’ll need a Dam Surveillance key. There’s always a guaranteed weapon crate spawn here.
- Control Tower Room: At the very top of it, there’s a room that is always a place for PvP. The reason is that in this room, you get 5 potential weapon crate spawns, as well as other rare materials and blueprints.
- Hydroponic Dome: It spawns Nature, Industrial, and Security loot. Some of the most important loot in the game, mind you. Your go-to for upgrades and rare weapon drops.
- South Swamp Outpost: A pretty chill spot to loot. You can often find a field crate unlock here.
Of course, the places listed here are the best for loot, but are they best for regular loot runs? Some of them, maybe. If you want to avoid most of the fights, the following chapter is for you.
Best Loot Path in Dam Battlegrounds
At least, this is what we use when we try to just casually run around and meet the least resistance. After we post this, this route may become much less chill than before, so use it while you can. It doesn’t exclude all combat, as you can always meet some people running around. Surprisingly, though, many people don’t really want to fight. You can just say that you’re friendly and they’ll let you go. With ARCs walking around, it’s not people you should worry about most of the time. Anyways, here’s the best loot path in Dam Battlegrounds:
- Starting at the bottom of the Control Tower: Tons of good loot. The keys can also spawn here. Note that the keys might be for other maps, not just for the one you’ve found them in. Watch out for other Raiders.
- Through Water Treatment Control: Many mechanical and industrial items. You can skip this if you don't need to upgrade anything right now.
- Rush to the South Swamp Outpost: There's a potential of getting a weapon crate in one of the domes there. Many medical supplies are just lying around. You can also find a field crate unlock place. Look around for them, as they usually spawn not far from the place and give you the best loot in the game.
- Hydroponic Dome Complex: Many potential weapon crate spawns there, which makes this place a warzone. Because of this, always go there last, and if it's still unlooted, you're in luck.
After that, just find the closest extraction point and return to Speranza. Speaking of extraction points. BLOG20
Dam Battlegrounds Extraction Points
Extraction in ARC Raiders plays an important role in the core gameplay. You cannot extract silently like in other extraction shooters. Instead, when you start the extraction point, there’s a loud, meowing sound. This way, everyone around you knows that you’ve launched a train to Speranza. This is where the majority of the fights happen. You can actually try to persuade people not to fight, unless they’ve been camping near it. There are four extraction points in Dam Battlegrounds in total. In no particular order, they are:
- Swampside Elevator: One of the more dangerous ones, as it is close to the Control Tower, where most of the players are. It is also frequently guarded by a Leaper. Use it only if your time is running out. But most of the time, it closes somewhere around the 20-minute mark since the start of the raid.
- Red Lakes Balcony Lift: Favorite place to extract for people who want to avoid fighting after the Control Tower. It usually stays open the longest.
- North Complex Elevator: Generally is safe, as not many people go there. Usually, it’s because the majority of the places worth looting are concentrated around the southern area of the map. Another thing is that going there means you’ll have to cross a vast open space with no cover.
- Swamp Extraction: Another extraction point that stays up for a long time. People who don’t closely follow the remaining time tend to extract from there. That means that people here have the fattest loot. If you are one of those people, before blindly calling the extraction, observe. There are many places where campers might hide. If you find them, kill them. No point in trying to say that you’re friendly. If you see other players going your way, though, try to talk them out of the conflict. Usually, those are the late birds who are stacked with loot just like you are, and they have no desire to risk it.
One important thing to remember - if you spawn in later into the raid, around the 15-minute mark, don’t try to loot. Most likely, all the places are already looted. As much as I hate to say it, try to camp other players next to the extraction points. The best place for that is easily Swamp Extraction.
Dam Battlegrounds Bosses
There are just three bosses in the Dam Battlegrounds: a goofy Leaper, the infamous Rocketeer, and the undefeatable Queen. All pose a significant threat, though one of them is much less dangerous than the others. Bosses almost always spawn near the extracts, except for the Queen. If you want to fight them, pay attention to the ARC Armor Penetration stat on your weapons. Some weapons are good against people, while others are good against ARCs. Alright, with that out of the way, let’s talk about bosses.
Leaper
This dude is fun to watch and fight against. Be very careful with it. It jumps VERY far. If you think you're out of its reach, think again. Once it's near you, it releases a shockwave that deals so much damage. You'll likely end up knocked after that. The tactic against it is pretty simple. Find some room where Leaper can't get through. Shoot its legs to reveal the weak spots. You can also target its eye. Note: You'll need a ton of ammo. Which means you'll make a lot of noise. So the main threat is not the Leaper as much as other players.
Rocketeer
The most dangerous mini-boss in Dam Battlegrounds. This piece of work killed the most players during playtests. The best tactic against Rocketeer is just not to fight it. But if you really need to fight it or have already been spotted, know that it'll be a hard battle. It'll fire a barrage of rockets that deal high damage that you, ahem, cannot dodge. Listen to the audio cues to avoid the missiles. Hide behind cover and just wait. After the rocket barrage ends, that's when you need to pop out and shoot its thrusters. Bear in mind that they're heavily armored. Not only is this ARC insanely difficult to deal with, but it's usually surrounded by other smaller ARCs like Wasps and Hornets. Almost as hard as fighting the Queen. Speaking of which.
Queen
Taking down the Queen isn't that hard. It just requires a lot of time, ammo, and preferably a team. It is always accompanied by a Rocketeer, so yeah. Fun times. Target the minions first, then shoot the glowing nodes. After you stagger the Queen, she will open up a hatch on her back to reveal her "brain". You can do that while she charges her laser or by shooting the weak spots on her legs. The loot from it is the best in the game, though, but it takes so long that you'll likely be attacked by other Raiders multiple times.
A good idea against bosses is to spam them with grenades. While killing them with guns is very much possible, it just takes too many resources. We do not recommend encountering them while you're in the early game.
Dam Battlegrounds Harvester Guide
The Queen itself is pretty docile, unless you attack it on purpose. The only case in which she gets aggressive is if you decide to do a Harvester mini-puzzle. This part of the article is a detailed Dam Battlegrounds Harvester Guide.
Harvester spawns near the Red Lakes, in the southeast part of the map. There, you can meet a Queen ARC, which is a giant spider-like drone. It guards the point where the puzzle takes place. There's a big turbine thing right next to it.
The turbine's doors open and close on a timer. Some time after entering the turbine, you'll hear a signal. After the signal, the turbine will begin to exhume fire in all directions. Occasionally, it may launch an electrical charge, which will kill your shields, but does no damage to your HP, so it is recommended to take them off beforehand. Be careful, as fire drains HP fast, so run out as soon as it starts.
Inside the turbine, there are elevators that take you to an upper "deck", where you'll find canisters. There are breachable spots from which you'll extract them. Once you extract a canister, return to the core in the center. You'll need to interact with it to open the slots in which you'll put the canisters. Once you've put all the canisters in, the yellow alarms will start blinking. Destroy them. This will open containers containing loot. They can also contain blueprints, which will let you create new weapons.
Once the containers are open, the core will stop the damage cycle. You can safely loot the innards of the turbine afterward. All you have to do now is get away from this spot. You can be sure that there are already pesky raiders waiting for you outside. Oh, and don’t forget to kill the Rocketeer before going to the Harvester! We probably should’ve said that in the beginning. Oh well, that’s gonna be a fun experience if you don’t read til here.
Dam Battlegrounds Tips & Tricks
This is the final part of this guide. Here we will share some ideas that did not fit in the main body. ARC Raiders seems very friendly towards newcomers, but don’t be fooled by its demeanor. This is still an extraction shooter, and if you die, you lose everything. In order to avoid that, check out our Dam Battlegrounds tips & tricks:
- Watch the Timer: If you spawn in and the time limit is around 30 minutes, that means that this is a fresh server, and people are just spawning in. That means there's new loot to be had. Once you hit the 15-minute mark, that stops new players from spawning in on the server. If you spawn in later in the game, around the 15-minute mark, your goal is to go for other players. Most likely, all the spots are already looted. Your best bet is to either go to hot zones or to wait for them near the extraction points.
- Look for ARC Surveyors: They're heavily armored balls with neat loot inside. You have to track them, and once they stop and release an antenna above them, that's when you wanna start shooting. Try using grenades for faster problem solution. Watch out as they can attack you.
- Don’t Be Greedy: When looting enemies, prioritize ammo and healing items. Once you're sure you're safe, go for other loot.
- Extract Cleverly: Pop smoke grenades when you extract from above-ground points to not get sniped. You can use the Raider Hatch key to extract faster and much safely. You can buy those keys from Shani for 6000 coins.
- Not Everyone is Hostile: Players later in the game might be more cooperative, as the chance that they have a lot of loot and not a lot of free space makes less sense for them to target other players. If you see some players near the extract, observe their behavior. You can use your voice chat or emote wheel to let them know you're friendly, and there's a chance they'll be friendly too. Remember - not every player is willing to take a chance of an encounter. The majority are there just to loot and extract.
- Move Mindfully: You run faster without a weapon equipped. Be careful, though, as in ARC Raiders, the danger is virtually around every corner.
- Take Your Time: Do not just run around. Though this game is much friendlier to aggressive gameplay than other peers, that doesn’t mean that it’s easier. Walk carefully, check every corner. If something feels wrong, stop and try to understand what it is.
With this set of tips, you’re almost certainly to perform better than the majority. Remember that there’s always something to learn, even in failure. The most important tip is not to get too frustrated if you die. You’ll find more items. Treat every failed extract as a lesson.
Conclusion
This guide is very extensive, although it barely touches aspects of the game. This is a very deep shooter that keeps you learning new things all the time. At first, it might seem overwhelming with all the things going your way. Take your time and learn, don’t rush. Carefully read all the tutorials the game provides you with. Games like these reward patience and smart outplays, so adapt. This was a Dam Battlegrounds guide, and you surely may expect more map guides to come. Good luck on your raids, and remember everything said here.
F.A.Q.
What's the best loot route on Dam Battlegrounds?
Bottom Control Tower → Water Treatment Control → South Swamp Outpost → Hydroponic Dome Complex → Extract at Swamp Extraction or North Complex Elevator.
What are the best places to loot in Dam Battlegrounds?
Research & Administration, Pale Apartments, Dam Surveillance Room, Control Tower, Hydroponic Dome Complex, South Swamp Outpost. These are the best places to loot, but not always the safest ones.
How to defeat mini-bosses in ARC Raiders?
Target their weak points. Usually, it’s either thrusters, legs, or eyes. Don’t forget to stock up on ammo.
Is Dam Battlegrounds beginner-friendly?
Relatively speaking. It doesn’t have all the mini-bosses and has more places to safely hide, but it’s smaller in size, which makes PvP encounters frequent.
What's the safest extraction point on Dam Battlegrounds?
Either the Swamp Extraction or the North Complex Elevator. Both of them are unpopular for extraction, so you might meet fewer people there. Expect ARCs, though.
