The Combat Recon quest in ARC Raiders is an early, key mission from Shani, the Security Trader, set in the ruins of Buried City. It introduces players to essential reconnaissance tactics for surviving against ARC threats like the Bombardier, blending stealthy scouting with targeted drone takedowns. Completing the quest unlocks further challenges in Shani's storyline and rewards smart raiders with useful gear and cosmetic items ARC Raiders Items.
Players receive the quest shortly after their first raids, with Shani providing a pair of binoculars. Though simple, these are invaluable for initial scouting without attracting enemy fire. The mission takes place entirely in Buried City, where you must survey three specific cover locations before engaging Spotters—small recon drones that accompany the massive Bombardier ARC. These objectives can be completed across multiple drops, but efficiency comes from combining them strategically to reduce exposure.
Start at the Parking Garage staircases, a multi-level structure with minor loot and prime cover for assessment. Climb the exposed stairs and use your binoculars to scan for defensible angles overlooking nearby streets. Look for spots shielded from aerial view but with clear sightlines for ambushes. Interact briefly with each viable spot; the game confirms when you've identified suitable hides amid the concrete debris.
Next, move to the buses near Marano Park, a green area scattered with wrecked vehicles that double as natural barricades. Position yourself behind the largest bus husks and watch potential Bombardier patrol paths. The park's open layout funnels enemies predictably, making these spots ideal for mid-range engagements. Quick dashes between buses keep you safe while completing your scouting objectives.
The third location is the attics along Main Street, accessible via rickety ladders or rooftop jumps. These elevated positions provide overhead views, letting you spot windows or gaps that work as sniper nests without silhouetting yourself against the skyline. With all three covers scoped, Buried City becomes a tactical playground where you can plan your next moves.
For the offensive part, destroy two Spotters, the Bombardier's "eyes in the sky," which appear only when a Bombardier spawns on the map. These drones hover over key areas like Marano Park's center or Main Street's heart. Focus on one first if the other is out of reach. Use a heavy weapon like an AR or Fer rifle, as each Spotter goes down after two precise shots. Duck into nearby buildings after hitting them to avoid retaliatory mortars, then loot a Spotter Relay from the wreckage ARC Raiders Battle pass.
Secure the Relay, extract back to Speranza, and hand it to Shani to complete Combat Recon. Rewards include the Red Radio Renegade outfit color, five Firecrackers for distractions, and a Fireworks Box for extra utility. This quest reinforces the core raid loop of observe, strike, and evade, preparing you for Bombardier hunts while giving a deeper understanding of Buried City's layered threats.
Week 19 of ARC Raiders Trials started on March 9, 2026, bringing five new challenges that test map knowledge, combat skills, and loot hunting across several maps. Running until March 16, these trials reward points for actions like opening containers, damaging ARCs, and clearing swarms. Each trial requires 4,000 points for three stars and the chance to earn Epic blueprints. Map conditions like Locked Gate double your points, so timing runs carefully can help you hit the leaderboards without grinding endlessly ARC Raiders Coins.
The first trial, "Open containers inside the traffic tunnels," is only available on The Blue Gate map during the Locked Gate event at 02:00, 08:00, 14:00, or 20:00 UTC. Head straight to the central tunnels near the spawn, skipping side paths, and focus on the locked sections with 20+ containers. Use a lightweight setup like the SMG-45 with extended mags and a grappling hook for faster movement. Breach doors quietly to avoid alerting Rocketeers, then smash crates for 50–100 points each, especially under double-point conditions. A quick 15-minute run can net over 4,000 points, and doing it solo or in a duo helps manage enemies.
The "Search Raider Caches" trial works on any map but is easiest on Dam Battlegrounds or Spaceport during Lush Blooms (09:00 or 21:00 UTC on Dam). Glowing orange caches spawn in high-loot locations like bunkers or crashed dropships, usually guarded by Ticks. Listen for the humming cue to spot them from a distance. Bring a silenced pistol and proximity mines, hug walls to flank enemies, and hack caches for 200 points base (400 with modifiers). Chaining three to five caches per drop makes three stars very achievable. You can combine this with Swamp destroy tasks in Dam for extra points.
The "Damage Rocketeers, Leapers, or Bastions" trial is best on Stella Montis or Buried City, where these minibosses patrol in pairs. Bring burst damage weapons like the railgun or Showstopper grenade launcher. Stun them with grenades first, then deal 2,000+ damage per elite. Each hit gives 150–300 points, doubled during Night Raid events (check Spaceport at 01:00 or 17:00 UTC). Focus on Leapers in tight tunnels for clustered spawns. A squad of three can cycle through 10+ kills per run, easily hitting 4,000 points while taking down Ticks on the side.
"Destroy Ticks" is simple on Blue Gate or Dam, where nests spawn during Electromagnetic Storm (Blue Gate at 09:00 UTC). Ticks explode on death, so use AoE weapons like flamethrowers or cluster grenades from a safe spot. Each nest has about 20 Ticks, giving 1,000 points, and nests respawn every two minutes. Keep moving with jetpack boots to dodge attacks, and you can combine this with Bastion fights for extra points. Clearing three nests with modifiers can earn your three stars in one run.
Lastly, "Destroy ARC enemies in the Swamp (Dam Battlegrounds)" turns the flooded Dam into a kill zone, especially during Lush Blooms. Use a waterproof SMG and drone scanner to spot hidden Spiders or Hornets in murky water, focusing on clusters near central wrecks for 500 points each. Use elevated pipes to avoid taking damage and extract via boat for efficiency. This works well alongside Raider Caches in swamp shacks cheap ARC Raiders gear.
For maximum efficiency, chain maps: Blue Gate for tunnels and caches, Dam for swamp and Ticks, Stella for minibosses, and always sync runs to UTC event times for double-point multipliers. With 20–30 minute runs, you can three-star every trial, climb the ranks, and earn Uncommon-to-Epic loot, setting you up well for Expedition 3. Smart planning and timing will reward you more than brute force.
Pokémon TCG Pocket's Paldean Wonders expansion adds a cool extra layer with its secret missions. These aren't listed anywhere upfront—you only realize they exist once you start pulling the right cards. When you complete all four, you walk away with 36 Pack Hourglasses, 108 Wonder Hourglasses, 20 Shop Tickets, and a Mabosstiff emblem, which is a nice flex if you're pushing toward full completion. The whole thing revolves around the 131-card Paldean Wonders set and really pushes you to chase art rares, rainbow rares, and full art trainers instead of just filling the basic dex Pokemon TCG Pocket Items.
The first hidden objective, Paldean Wonders Museum 1, triggers when you collect six specific art rares: Fuecoco, Greavard, Gimmighoul, Paldean Wooper, Orthworm, and Maushold. Once you own all six, the mission just pops as completed. The rewards are solid—36 Wonder Hourglasses, 12 Pack Hourglasses, and 10 Shop Tickets—so it's actually a nice early boost. Art rares aren't impossible to pull, but Gimmighoul seems to dodge people more than the others, so a lot of players end up trading for that last slot.
Paldean Wonders Museum 2 is where things get expensive. You need all five rainbow rare ex cards: Meowscarada ex, Armarouge ex, Chien-Pao ex, Bellibolt ex, and Gholdengo ex. Rainbow rares are much tougher pulls, so this one usually takes either serious pack volume or smart trading. The reward payout is the same as Museum 1, which feels fair considering how much harder the requirements are. Chien-Pao ex in particular is always in demand because it fits well into aggressive Water builds, so it tends to move fast on trade boards.
After clearing both museum missions, Coin Collecting unlocks. This one focuses on Gimmighoul's art rare and Gholdengo ex's rainbow rare. It's basically a themed combo mission, and since Gimmighoul overlaps with Museum 1, a lot of players already have half of it done. The rewards match the previous missions, so it's another helpful stack of hourglasses and tickets. If you're missing Gholdengo's rainbow, though, expect to pay for it in trades.
The hardest mission by far is Trainers of Paldea. You need both the regular and full art versions of Team Star Grunt, Iono, Nemona, Arven, and Penny—ten cards total. Full arts are already rare, and some of these trainers are meta-relevant, so demand stays high. Finishing this one gives you the Mabosstiff emblem, which is purely cosmetic but definitely a status symbol. Most players leave this for last and slowly trade into it over time.
Alongside the hidden missions, Paldean Wonders also has visible themed collections that reward more hourglasses and tickets. Those at least give you a checklist to follow, while the secret ones feel like surprise bonuses for collectors who go deep into the set. Between both systems, you're basically encouraged to chase every corner of the expansion instead of stopping once your main deck is built.
If you're trying to clear everything efficiently, trading is huge. Focus on cards that overlap across missions, like Gimmighoul, and don't burn all your resources outside of events that boost pack flow. Art rares show up fairly often, rainbows are much rarer, and full art trainers can take real patience unless you're opening a ton of packs. Some players brute-force it in a few days, but most of us get there slowly through steady openings and smart swaps Pokemon TCG Pocket tool.
The secret missions make Paldean Wonders feel more rewarding. You're not just opening packs for random pulls—you're slowly unlocking hidden goals tied to the set's best-looking cards. When that final trainer full art drops and the emblem unlocks, it actually feels earned.
A Reveal in Ruins is one of the first quests in Arc Raiders that really teaches you what the game is about. Lance, the medic android back in Speranza, sends you out on what sounds like a simple supply run, but it quickly introduces the tension that defines the experience. Your goal is to head into Buried City, find an ESR Analyzer inside a pharmacy, and make it back out alive ARC Raiders Coins. There's no complex puzzle or combat requirement here, but the real challenge is surviving long enough to extract with the item.
You can pick up the quest from Lance after finishing some of his earlier medical tasks, which then opens Buried City as a drop option. Before launching in, it's worth keeping your loadout light. A dependable primary weapon, a few spare magazines, and basic healing items are usually enough. Mobility tools like a zipline or light shield can save you if things go sideways. Since the ESR Analyzer takes up inventory space, clearing room beforehand and putting it into your safe pocket right away is a smart move, especially if you're playing solo.
Once you're on the ground in Buried City, the key is choosing your route carefully. Pharmacies are marked by green cross signs, and several reliable ones tend to spawn around the outskirts rather than the busiest central areas. A popular and relatively safe option is near the Piazza Arbusto area, where the building is easy to spot and often less contested early in a run. Sticking to quieter edges of the map reduces the chances of running into heavy ARC patrols or other players looking for a fight.
When you reach the pharmacy, the ESR Analyzer is hard to miss. It usually sits out in the open on a counter or table and glows yellow, so there's no guessing or RNG involved. Getting inside can still make noise, though, and that can draw attention fast. Try to listen for ARC movement before breaching, and always have an exit planned, whether that's a nearby staircase, a roof access point, or a zipline you can deploy. Grab the analyzer, secure it, and don't linger too long unless the area is clearly quiet.
Extraction is often where things go wrong for newer players. It's tempting to cut straight through the city to the closest evac, but those routes are usually crawling with enemies after alarms or fights break out. Using vertical paths, rooftops, and debris to stay above ground-level threats makes a big difference. If ARC units start piling up, pulling them through tight interiors or dropping a decoy can buy just enough time to reach the extraction point and finish the countdown ARC Raiders Items for sale.
Completing the quest rewards you with useful medical upgrades and pushes Lance's storyline forward, unlocking tougher and more rewarding tasks later on. More importantly, it gives you a solid feel for Arc Raiders' core loop. You learn when to push, when to sneak, and when to leave without getting greedy. By the time A Reveal in Ruins is done, Buried City feels a little less intimidating, and you're better prepared for the higher-risk runs that come next.