It is wild how quickly a specific item can become a bottleneck. Whether it's upgrading your Medical Lab, or grinding out the massive Trophy Display Project, earning 3M ARC Raiders coins, Surveyor Vaults have quickly become the most sought after item in ARC Raiders.

We have refined two strategies for securing Surveyor Vaults. One is perfect for solo players who want a more passive experience, while the other is for squads who want to actively hunt the highest contestable targets on the map. Here is how we do it.

Strategy 1: The Courier Strategy (Best for Solos)

As you're chasing the big rolling bots, I'll let you in on a secret most players miss: Surveyor Vaults also spawn in crashed Arc Couriers.

When playing solo, this is easily the best way to farm Surveyor Vaults. You can avoid fighting a boss that runs away, and you can often loot them before other players even realize the vaults are there.

The Increased Spawns Advantage

Have you ever paid attention to the Weather in Metaforge? When an Electromagnetic Storm occurs, there are significantly more Arc Couriers.

Here's how we implemented it:

1. Timer: Use the Metaforge website to track Electromagnetic Storms.

2. Smokey View: When you first join the game, look for a black smoke. That means there is a new courier.

3. Map Check: If there is no smoke, it may still be unlooted. Check your map in the game. If you are within 50 meters to the courier, you will see the icon.

Recommended Route:

We recommend hitting the route between the Scrap yard and the Red Lakes on the Dam Battleground map. These areas are courier hotspots.

Pro Tip:

If you spawn into a raid and don't see any couriers nearby, do not waste 20 minutes running across the map. Surrender (extract or reset) and go again. It sounds harsh, but volume is the only way to beat the RNG.

Method 2: Hunting Surveyors (Best for Squads)

If you want a near-guaranteed drop chance, you need to go directly to the source: the Arc Surveyors. These are the massive, peaceful bots rolling around the map.

Locating the Target

Finding them is usually the easy part. Look for a bright blue beam of light shooting straight into the sky.

Buried City: Our favorite map for this. It is smaller, meaning less running between potential spawns.

Blue Gate: The top side is very open, allowing you to spot that blue beam from almost anywhere in the Village area.

The Combat Strategy

The moment a Surveyor senses danger, it tries to escape. It doesn't fight back; it runs. This means your loadout is critical. Do not bring a free loadout for this task—you will not have the DPS (Damage Per Second) to stop it.

Effective Weaponry:

Anvil 4 / Renegade: High stopping power.

Betina 4: Fast fire rate to shred armor.

Grenades: Seeker Grenades or Blaze Grenades are essential.

The Takedown:

Crawl up to the Surveyor while it is stationary. Wait for the outer shell to open (exposing the core). Chuck your grenades immediately. Once the armor breaks, it will start rolling frantically. You need to chase it while reloading—this is why we tell you to bring Adrenaline Shots. You cannot afford to run out of stamina during the chase.

Crucial Looting Tip:

When you destroy a Surveyor, debris flies everywhere. Loot every single piece. We have found up to 3 Surveyor Vaults from a single Defeat, but they weren't all in the core—they were scattered in the armor scraps.

Advanced Tips & Reality Check

Even using offline methods, you can only farm vaults every couple of hours, with RNG decided rewards, and higher tiers vaults that get rewarded are not guaranteed. Expectations must be set.

The Feast or Famine Reality

You might spend 30 uninterrupted minutes looking for vaults and score none, then tomorrow you will look at two vaults in the first box you loot. Completely discouraging dry spots is bad.

The Metaforge Advantage

Use the external event planners. Set up emergent timers for fast hours of the Electromagnetic Storm. If you are in a fresh hour, you will almost always get to a fresh raid with untouched Couriers.

Safety First

When you find a vault, put it in your Safe Pocket right away. If you must, play super slow to do this, and do this. If you wait to pocket a vault camper hunting. Vaults are too valuable.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Can I get Surveyor Vaults from Probes?

A: Zero, your aim is Couriers. Track and focus that vault and probe icon. Don't waste time on Probes.

Q: Do Surveyors always drop a Vault?

A: Not always. You can beat a Surveyor and get no vaults, although that is quite rare. On the other hand, they may get as many as 5 vaults if they get super lucky.

Q: Is it worth farming these in a Free Loadout?

A: For the Courier method? Yeah, you just run in, look at the boxes, and run out. For the Surveyor Hunting method? I would say no. If you are using a starting pistol or a low-level SMG, you probably won't be able to destroy the bot before it rolls away.

Final Thoughts

Acquiring Surveyor Vaults is about the right blend of patience and prep. High-adrenaline Surveyor chases in the Buried City are a preference for some, while others like the stealthy, low key approach of looting Couriers in a storm. Whatever the method you are using, repetition is vital.

The Trophy Display Project is not time restricted. You don't have to kill yourself to get everything in a single weekend. Burn your Adrenaline as you see fit, and keep an eye out for the black smoke on the horizon. Good luck raiders.