Best Ways To Farm Surveyor Vaults And Defeat Surveyors In Arc Raider

Arc Raiders is filled with dangerous ARC enemies, but few are as unusual as the Surveyor. Unlike most hostile machines, the Surveyor does not immediately try to kill you and instead prioritizes escaping. This behavior makes it one of the more annoying enemies to deal with, but the payoff is absolutely worth the effort, as Surveyors drop valuable Surveyor Vaults, Mechanical Components, and ARC Motion Cores.

Because Surveyor Vaults are required to upgrade your Medical Lab, understanding how to hunt and destroy Surveyors efficiently is extremely important. Below is everything you need to know about defeating Surveyors and securing their highly sought-after Surveyor Vaults in Arc Raiders.

How To Defeat Surveyors

Surveyors are a rare ARC enemy that can be described as a large metallic sphere rolling across the map. From time to time, it will stop, open its armored shell, and fire a bright blue energy beam straight into the sky. This beam is your main indicator, as it reveals the Surveyor’s approximate location from a long distance.

Surveyors rarely remain stationary and will usually move between several points along a set path. The moments when they stop, expose their interior, and emit the blue beam are the best opportunities to deal damage.

Tip: Avoid chasing a Surveyor once it detects you. These machines are extremely fast and can roll out of bounds if the encounter happens near the edge of the map. Setting up an ambush at one of its stopping points is far more reliable.

When the Surveyor opens up, its core and antenna become exposed, which are its primary weak points. Use this window to fire your weapons or throw explosives directly at these components. In most cases, this initial attack won’t destroy it outright, so expect the Surveyor to flee while flashing lights and generating a lot of noise.

Unless you manage to corner it, you’ll need to follow the Surveyor and wait for it to calm down. Once it forgets about your presence, its lights will switch back to blue. The core will only ever be exposed when the lights are blue, so patience is essential when fighting this enemy.

Tip: You can also choose to engage the Surveyor immediately upon finding it, but be prepared to spend roughly two to three magazines of ammo depending on your weapon choice and squad size.

Effective weapons against Surveyors include the Arpeggio, Renegade, Anvil, and Bettina. Sniper rifles like the Ferro are also strong options if you can consistently hit the exposed core. Explosives are particularly effective, as three well-placed Snap Blast Grenades are usually enough to destroy a Surveyor completely.

Where To Find Surveyor Vaults

Surveyor Vaults can only be obtained by damaging and killing Surveyors. Unlike most ARC enemies, Surveyors shed pieces of their armored shell as they take damage. These fragments scatter across the area and are almost always lootable, with a good chance of containing Surveyor Vaults.

Since the armor breaks off throughout the fight, make sure to thoroughly search the surrounding area after the Surveyor is destroyed. On average, you can expect to find between three and five Surveyor Vaults if you loot every piece of armor left behind. With good luck, this can be enough Surveyor Vaults to fully upgrade your Medical Table in a single run.

Surveyors are capable of spawning on any map, but the most consistent results tend to come from Spaceport and The Blue Gate. The Blue Gate is often the better choice, as Surveyors frequently patrol near the Village in the northwestern part of the map. They may not appear immediately when you deploy, so finding a vantage point and watching for the blue beam is highly recommended.

Tip: Always place your Surveyor Vaults into your Safe Pocket as soon as you find them. This ensures you keep them even if you die before extracting.

Even after upgrading your Medical Table, Surveyor Vaults remain useful. They can be recycled into two Mechanical Components and two Arc Alloy, making them an efficient way to stock up on upgrade materials in a single run.

Finally, don’t hesitate to hunt Surveyors solo. While solo runs can feel intimidating, the Arc Raiders community is generally cooperative, and hostile player encounters are less common than expected. With careful positioning and patience, solo farming can be an excellent way to collect Surveyor Vaults. Happy hunting, Raider!