ARC Raiders Phantom Targets Project Guide: All Stages & Tips

Phantom Targets is the new ARC Raiders project introduced with Store Update 1.40.0. Shani has picked up discrepant surveillance data, and it's up to Raiders to investigate — starting with fixing up faulty antennas on cargo elevators and testing ARC parts in combat. This guide covers every stage with the best farming spots we've found so far.

What Is the Phantom Targets Project?

Phantom Targets is the latest Player Project, launched on August 4, 2026. The setup: Shani has noticed strange readings in the surveillance data but can't pin down the source. To triangulate the phantom signals, Raiders need to repair faulty antennas across the Rust Belt — and then take on the ARC with some unconventional strategies to test where the interference is coming from.

The project ships in two parts. Part 1 is live now; Part 2 lands with Update 1.42 on August 18, together with the Phantom Targets Event itself. For the full context of what else shipped alongside the project, see our Store Update 1.40.0 breakdown.

Stage 1: Upgrade Antennas on Cargo Elevators

Phantom Targets Stage 1 in the ARC Raiders in-game menu — upgrade three cargo elevator antennas

The first stage asks you to upgrade three antennas found on cargo elevators. If you're wondering what a cargo elevator in ARC Raiders actually is — it's the base type of extraction point, the big industrial lift you ride out of the map on. Since there's no fighting involved, I suggest going in with an empty or free loadout — you're just there for the antennas.

On the extraction point itself, there's an antenna mounted on the structure. Climb a little closer to it on the diagonal — up the sloping edges of the extraction point — and hit E to upgrade it.

Standing on top of a cargo elevator in ARC Raiders with the antenna upgrade prompt on screen

The upgrade animation looks like it failed — the faulty antenna is still visibly present afterwards — but don't worry, the upgrade did register. Check your project progress if in doubt.

You need three different antennas, so once you've upgraded one, the fastest approach is to surrender (hit Escape → Surrender) and re-queue on a different server. Alternatively, just run to the next extraction point on the same map and upgrade another antenna there.

Surrendering or getting killed does not impede your progress — that goes for the antenna upgrades and for all the damage tasks in Stage 2. Everything banks the moment you do it, so there's no need to extract successfully. Surrender freely.

Cargo elevators are mainly present on the Dam Battlegrounds map, which makes it the natural place to grind this stage. You can knock out several antennas in a single raid if you route between extraction points.

🗺️ View all extraction points on our interactive Dam Battlegrounds map →

The link above opens our interactive map pre-filtered to show only extraction points, so you can plan a route between cargo elevators before you drop in.

Stage 2: Test ARC Parts for Irregular Behavior

Phantom Targets Stage 2 in ARC Raiders — deal damage using Wasp Drivers, Leaper Pulse Units and Pop Triggers

Stage 2 leans into the "unconventional strategies" theme. There are multiple theories going around about the origins of the phantom targets, so Shani wants you to test various ARC parts in combat and check for irregular behavior. That means dealing damage to ARC enemies using three specific throwable ARC parts:

                        Stage 2 Requirements
                        Deal 500 damage to any ARC enemy using Wasp Drivers
Deal 1,000 damage to any ARC enemy using Leaper Pulse Units
Deal 50 damage to any ARC enemy using Pop Triggers

                    

How to Actually Use These Items

Pop Triggers, Wasp Drivers, and Leaper Pulse Units aren't used straight from your backpack. Drag them into your quick use slots in the top right of your inventory — the same slots where you keep bandages, shield rechargers, and grenades — then select them on the quick use wheel with the Q hotkey to throw them.

How to Farm Pop Triggers (Best Spot)

For the Pop Trigger requirement, head to the Water Treatment Control area of Dam Battlegrounds. The corridors between it and the main corridor — the one connected to the primary facility that leads into the floodgates — are littered with Pop ARC enemies and Fireballs.

Map view of the Primary Facility on Dam Battlegrounds where the corridors meet — the area with the most Pops and Fireballs

This creates a very convenient loop: kill Pops to harvest Pop Triggers, then throw those Pop Triggers at the other Pops to deal project damage and kill more Pops, which drop more Pop Triggers to keep the cycle going. You'll clear the 50-damage requirement in a single visit.

A Pop Trigger in the inventory when looting a killed Pop ARC enemy in ARC Raiders

Standing in a Water Treatment hallway on Dam Battlegrounds ready to deploy a Pop Trigger, with a Fireball ARC enemy in the distance

Don't confuse Fireball Burners with Pop Triggers! The Fireball Burners that drop in the same corridors are not part of this project — only Pop Triggers count. When I started this stage I burned through Fireball Burners first before realizing the project only tracks Pop Trigger damage.

How to Farm Wasp Drivers (Best Spot)

For the Wasp Driver damage, my recommendation is Buried City. Fire at Snitches to make them spawn Wasps, and of course kill any Wasps you come across anyway — then harvest the Wasp Drivers from their wrecks.

Buried City usually has two spots where the Bastion and Bombardier ARC spawn. Once you've stocked up on Wasp Drivers, throw several of them behind the big ARC and shoot the Wasp Drivers to detonate them.

Two things to know about Wasp Drivers: they do not explode on their own when thrown — you have to shoot them afterwards to set them off. And the pulse from a Bombardier or Leaper does not detonate them either; only your shots do.

Why big ARC targets are better: I first tried detonating Wasp Drivers on the Pops around Water Treatment, and accumulating the damage took far longer. The trick is that when you kill a small ARC with a large explosion, you can only ever deal damage equal to that enemy's remaining HP — all the overkill damage is lost. Bastions and Bombardiers are bulky enough to absorb the full blast, so every detonation counts for much more project progress.

Leaper Pulse Units

We haven't run into Leapers yet on this grind, so this section is still being tested — but the same logic applies as with Wasp Drivers. The requirement is a hefty 1,000 damage, and overkill damage on small ARC is wasted, so plan to use your Leaper Pulse Units on the Bombardiers and Bastions on Buried City. Their large HP pools let the pulse deal its full damage instead of losing everything past a small enemy's health bar.

Stage 3: Test Multiple ARC Destruction Methods

Phantom Targets Stage 3 in ARC Raiders — destroy ARC enemies using fire damage, energy damage, and launcher ammo

The third stage asks you to destroy ARC enemies using fire damage, energy damage, and launcher ammo. Compared to Stage 2 this is much more flexible — any weapon or gadget that deals the right damage type counts, so pick your favorite fire and energy tools and bring a launcher along.

Reward of Note: Powered Descender

One reward worth calling out is the Powered Descender, introduced with the Riven Tides map. It's a relatively hard item to find in the wild, so completing this stage is one of the more reliable ways to get your hands on one.

We're still working through this stage — tips for the fastest fire/energy/launcher setups will be added as we test them.

What's Next: Part 2 & the Phantom Targets Event

The second part of the Phantom Targets Project arrives with Update 1.42 on August 18, launching alongside the full Phantom Targets Event. We'll extend this guide with the new stages, requirements, and rewards as soon as they go live.

ARC Raiders Phantom Targets Project: All Stages, Best Farming Spots & Tips