Arc Raiders Outpost Guide
Arc Raiders Outpost: How to Unlock It and What It Does
The Outpost was added in the Frozen Trail update (2.0). It’s your own base to build, decorate and run research in, and it houses the Research Station. Every Amplified Weapon depends on it. You unlock it through a three-stage project called Sheltered Retreat.
💡 Quick answer
- Requirement: complete the Sheltered Retreat project in the Outpost tab. Its first step is photographing a farmland house, so bring a Camera (sold by Shani, crafted at the Workbench or found Topside).
- Stage 1: photograph a farmland house at Ruined Homestead, Blue Gate. You need a real Camera in your loadout.
- Stage 2: hand in 3 Planks, 5 Sheet Metal, 10 ARC Alloy and 3 Advanced Electrical Components.
- Stage 3: deal 800 damage to flying ARC and 300 damage to Bullies.
- Sources: arcraiders.wiki Outpost · Embark 2.0 patch notes
Sheltered Retreat: Step-by-Step
Stage 1: Research Topside Living Conditions
- Objective: photograph a surviving farmland house around the Ruined Homestead on Blue Gate.
- You need a Camera in your loadout, because looking at the house doesn’t count. Cameras are sold by Shani, crafted at the Workbench, or found Topside. Embark lists this camera requirement as a known issue, so it may change.
- Extract, open the Outpost tab and complete the stage.
- Reward: an Advanced Camera blueprint.
Stage 2: Gather Building Materials
| Material | Amount |
|---|---|
| Planks | 3 |
| Sheet Metal | 5 |
| ARC Alloy | 10 |
| Advanced Electrical Components | 3 |
Celeste trades the new furniture and building materials since 2.0. Reward: Red Light Stick blueprint.
Stage 3: Safeguard the Building Site
- Deal 800 damage to flying ARC (drones).
- Deal 300 damage to Bullies. Bullies live on Pendola Pass, which unlocks after 25 rounds, so plan for that.
- Bully tip: shoot the leg joints until they blow, which slows it badly, or hit the head while its shotgun opens the head armour. Explosives work too.
- Rewards: Hotel Chair Design, 15 Planks and 5 Durable Cloth. The Outpost is then permanently unlocked.
What the Outpost Unlocks
- Research Station: research blueprints, furniture Designs and Amplified Research.
- Rooms and floors: expand the Outpost with materials. Research Station levels need a matching Outpost level.
- Furniture: 100 Designs in total: 73 found Topside, 22 from Outpost upgrades, 4 exclusive to the Frozen Trail Pass and 1 to the Collector DLC.
- The Outpost isn’t walkable in 2.0. Embark has hinted that could come later.
Research Station Upgrade Costs
| Level | Requirements |
|---|---|
| 1 | 3× Mini Pump, 35× Planks, 5× Battered Paperback |
| 2 | 3× Calculator, 3× Raider Logbook, 5× Skulker Targeter |
| 3 | 3× Differential Microphone, 3× Exodus Technical Handbook, 6× Bully Fragmenter |
| 4 | 3× Thermal Shaker, 3× ARC Data Module, 1× Frigate Inductor |
Levels 2 and 3 need drops from the new Pendola Pass ARC: Skulker Targeters and Bully Fragmenters. Level 4 needs a Frigate Inductor from the ARC Frigate. Start banking these early.
Gunsmith Level 4 (for Amplification)
Amplifying a weapon also needs Gunsmith Level 4: 3× Radial Press, 3× Magnetic Accelerator and 1× Emperor Modulator. Together with Research Station 4, this unlocks the Amplified Weapons fifth tier.
Known Issues (Outpost)
- Furniture can clip through the structure or block selectable slots.
- Main-building lighting breaks on Low shadow quality.
- The camera can reset to the base room when you leave decorating view.
What to Read Next
- Amplified Weapons Guide — what the Research Station is for
- Frozen Trail 2.0 Patch Notes
- Skill Tree Planner