If you're trying to push a high Search Supply Drops score in ARC Raiders, Buried City is easily the best map to do it on. After running this challenge across different maps and routes, this is the one that consistently gives the fastest beacon checks and the cleanest rotations.

Buried City is small, vertical, and easy to read from high ground. You can spot most active beacon positions quickly, rotate between them without much downtime, and stay ahead of other players if you move decisively. Right now, it's also the only map where top-end scores can jump much higher because of a double-activation bug on some beacons.

Why Buried City Is the Best Map

This trial is all about speed. We are not farming crates first; we are racing to activate beacons before someone else does.

What makes Buried City so strong

From experience, larger maps give you too much dead time. On Buried City, you spend more of the run scoring and less of it searching.

How Scoring Works

The challenge is straightforward:

1. Find a radio beacon

2. Interact with it

3. Call in the flare

4. Get points for the activation

Important scoring note

At the moment, the points come from calling in the drop, not from searching the crate.

That means:

• If you activate the beacon, you get the points
• If another player gets there first, that score is gone
• During a 2x event, each activation is worth 1,600 points

This is why route speed matters so much more than looting.

Best Loadout for Solo Runs

You don't need to overbuild for this. A light kit ARC Raiders Items works better.

A quick practical note: I would not overpack here. In my own runs, expensive utility usually adds less value than simple movement and a clean extract. Close Scrutiny can get messy fast, and losing a heavy kit for a trial run never feels good.

The Current Double-Activation Bug

This is the part that affects leaderboard-level scores.

On some Buried City beacons, you can sometimes interact twice. After the first flare goes up, the prompt may still remain. If that happens and you activate it again, you can get a second score payout.

In normal conditions, runs tend to cap around 9,600 points. With the bug, scores can go higher. A run reaching 11,200 is realistic if the beacon RNG lines up and no one steals your route.

I'm not a fan of bug-dependent strategies in guides, but right now it's part of the reality of this trial, so it's worth documenting clearly.

Best Route Strategy

The winning approach is simple: get high, scan fast, move immediately.

What works best

• Start by taking high ground
• Look for beacon lights across the map
• Prioritize activation over looting
• Keep moving in a smooth loop
• Watch for other players' flares

If you see a flare go up across the map, that usually means you just lost potential points. In some cases, it may be more than one beacon's value if that location was bugged and could have been activated twice.

You can also use the in-game map once you're close enough to a beacon, but it's more of a backup tool than a primary one. Rooftop visibility is still the fastest way to read the map.

Buried City Supply Drop Beacon Locations

Each run usually gives 4 to 5 active beacons from this pool of 9 locations.

Once you learn these nine spots, the trial becomes much more consistent.

Gas Station Bug

The Gas Station beacon is currently the bad spawn to watch for.

What happens there

• The beacon appears
• You cannot interact with it
• You lose the points tied to that spawn

If you are pushing leaderboard numbers, this one spawn can ruin the ceiling of an otherwise great attempt.

FAQ

What is the best map for Search Supply Drops in ARC Raiders?

Buried City is the best map because it is compact, easy to scan from rooftops, and fast to rotate.

How many points does each supply drop give?

During a 2x event, each successful beacon activation gives 1,600 points.

Do you get points for opening the supply drop?

No. Right now, the points come from calling in the drop, not from looting it.

What is the highest realistic score on Buried City?

A strong normal run is around 9,600 points. With bugged double activations, runs over 11,000 are possible.

Which beacon is bugged on Buried City?

The Gas Station beacon is currently not interactable.

Final Takeaway

Buried City is the clear best choice for Solo Search Supply Drops because it lets us play fast, see more, and waste less time between beacon checks. If you stay on rooftops, keep your kit light, and focus on activations first, your runs become much more consistent.

The big scores come from clean routing, fast recognition, and a bit of luck with the current double-activation bug. Even without perfect RNG, this is still the most reliable map for putting up strong numbers.