Phantom Targets is the timed Player Project where Shani asks you to sharpen the surface antennas and then batter ARC enemies with a very specific set of tools. The work splits into three stages, each with its own reward drop, and none of it requires a clean extraction. If you know exactly what counts and where to farm, you can clear the live portion in a handful of raids.
Quick answer: Upgrade 3 cargo elevator antennas, then deal 50 damage with Pop Triggers, 500 with Wasp Drivers, and 1,000 with Leaper Pulse Units, then destroy ARC with 1,500 fire damage, kill 3 large ARC with energy weapons, and down 20 flying ARC with launcher ammo. Surrendering or dying never wipes your progress, so bank each task and re-queue freely.
Phantom Targets project window and Part 2 unlock
Phantom Targets runs from August 4th, 2026 through September 6th, 2026. Part 1 covers all three stages described below and is live right now. Part 2 stays locked until August 18th, when it arrives alongside the full Phantom Targets Event. Because this is a temporary project, treat the deadline seriously and finish the stages you can rather than saving them for later.
One rule makes all of this much faster. Progress banks the instant you complete a task, so getting killed or hitting Surrender does not roll anything back. That applies to the antenna upgrades and every damage number in Stage 2. Feel free to surrender and re-queue whenever it saves time.
Stage 1: Upgrade 3 cargo elevator antennas
The first stage is pure travel. You need to upgrade three antennas mounted on top of cargo elevators, which are the large industrial extraction lifts. This only works on maps that actually have cargo elevators, so stick to Dam Battlegrounds, Spaceport, or Riven Tides. There is no combat involved, so drop in with an empty or throwaway loadout.
Dam Battlegrounds is the smoothest place to grind this because its extraction points sit close together. You can chain the Central Swamp Lift and the Water Treatment Elevator in a single run, then either travel to a third lift or surrender and re-queue to reset. Completing the stage grants a Combat Mk. 3 (Aggressive) augment, a Heavy Shield, and a Vita Spray, all of which help you survive the next stage.
Stage 2: Deal ARC part damage with Pop Triggers, Wasp Drivers, and Leaper Pulse Units
Stage 2 is the grind. Shani wants you to test three throwable ARC parts against enemies, and all three tasks can be worked in the same session. The catch is farming enough parts, since each one is looted from a specific ARC type.
| Task | Damage needed | Where to farm the part |
|---|---|---|
| Pop Triggers | 50 | Pop ARC in the Water Treatment corridors on Dam |
| Wasp Drivers | 500 | Wasps and Snitch-spawned Wasps on Buried City |
| Leaper Pulse Units | 1,000 | Dead Leapers |
These parts are not thrown from your backpack. Drag them into a quick use slot in the top right of your inventory, the same spot as bandages and grenades, then pick them from the Q wheel to throw them.
Pop Triggers (50 damage)
The low number hides how unreliable these are. Pop Triggers bounce off small dips in the terrain and can ricochet back toward you, so carry roughly 9 to 12 to be safe. The cleanest loop is the Water Treatment Control area on Dam, where the corridors are packed with Pop ARC. Kill a Pop, loot its trigger, then throw that trigger at the next Pop. You clear 50 damage and keep restocking at the same time. To grab a trigger without firing, bait a Pop into charging, dive over it as it lunges, and loot the wreck after it detonates behind you.
Note: Fireball Burners drop in the same corridors and do not count for this task, so do not waste them here. Keep them, though, because they feed the fire damage task in Stage 3.
Wasp Drivers (500 damage)
Buried City is the best hunting ground. Shoot Snitches to make them spawn Wasps, then down every Wasp you find and harvest the drivers from the wrecks. Aim for the Wasp’s center body rather than the rotors, since a clipped rotor sends it spinning off somewhere awkward to loot. Once you have a stack, throw several drivers behind a big ARC and shoot them to trigger a chain reaction. They do not explode on their own, and a Bombardier or Leaper pulse will not set them off, so only your shots detonate them.
Target the Bastion and Bombardier that spawn on Buried City. Big ARC absorb the full blast, while a small enemy only ever takes damage equal to its remaining health, wasting all overkill. Wait until the large ARC is next to your placed drivers before you shoot.
Leaper Pulse Units (1,000 damage)
You first need dead Leapers to loot these. A dependable takedown is to drop Jolt Mines, bait the Leaper onto them, then keep it burning with Blaze Grenades while it staggers. If you would rather shoot, hit its eyeball weak point with a heavy gun like the Anvil or Bettina.
Pulse Units have a long detonation delay, so a target that wanders off wastes the whole throw. The best marks are large, slow ARC in tight spaces, again the Bombardiers and Bastions on Buried City. Each detonation lands roughly 300 to 420 damage against big ARC, so around three good throws should finish the task. A popular alternative is luring a Shredder into the second-floor Port Authority room on Riven Tides, pinning it with a Showstopper, dropping your throwables, and closing the door so it cannot escape the fuse. Do not dump more than two Pulse Units into one Shredder or the rest is lost to overkill.
Clearing all three tasks awards 50 Raider Tokens plus three legendary energy weapons: the Aphelion, the Dolabra, and the Jupiter. Do not sell them. They are exactly what the next stage needs.
Stage 3: Fire, energy, and launcher destruction tasks
The final Part 1 stage is more forgiving because whole categories of gear qualify. You have three destruction tasks to complete.
- Deal 1,500 fire damage using Blaze Grenades, Fireball Burners, Firefly Burners, or the Flame Spray.
- Destroy 3 Bastions, Leapers, Vaporizers, or Rocketeers using energy weapons (Aphelion, Dolabra, Jupiter, or Equalizer).
- Destroy 20 flying ARC using launcher ammo weapons (Hullcracker or Rascal).
For the 1,500 fire damage, spend those saved Fireball Burners, which hit for the same as a Blaze Grenade and are far easier to stock. The Bombardier is the ideal target because it holds position when aggroed, so it eats the direct impact and keeps standing in the burning pool. Try to stick the ARC itself rather than the ground beside it. Roughly six Burners on a Bombardier is about 1,100 damage, so expect eight or so to finish. Weave in and out of cover between throws.
For the energy kills, the Jupiter is the standout. Engage a Rocketeer from long range with hard cover next to you and put around four shots into its thrusters. Bastions also work if you are careful: two shots to a leg immobilizes it, and hitting the top plating opens its central core. Skip Leapers here since they close the gap and jump on you before you can line up shots.
The launcher task is the simplest. Grab a Rascal, which is cheap to maintain and uses one Launcher Ammo per reload, then get close to Wasps and fire. It one-shots them cleanly. Stay away from Hornets and Fireflies for this. Finishing the stage rewards another 50 Raider Tokens, a Powered Descender, a Tier 3 Horizontal Grip mod, and a Snap Hook. The grip pairs well with the Aphelion you just earned.
All Phantom Targets rewards by stage
| Stage | Rewards |
|---|---|
| Stage 1 — Antennas | Combat Mk. 3 (Aggressive), Heavy Shield, Vita Spray |
| Stage 2 — ARC Parts | 50 Raider Tokens, Aphelion, Dolabra, Jupiter |
| Stage 3 — Destruction | 50 Raider Tokens, Powered Descender, Horizontal Grip, Snap Hook |
To confirm anything banked, open the Map and check the project objectives, since several tasks give no on-screen popup. The most common reason a task stalls is spending the wrong item, so double-check you are throwing Pop Triggers rather than Fireball Burners, and detonating Wasp Drivers with your own gunfire rather than an ARC pulse. With Part 1 wrapped, keep those energy weapons and the leftover fire items handy for when Part 2 opens on August 18th.
