Ascending the Mountain is a temporary, four-stage project in ARC Raiders that trades a long list of scavenged materials for weapons, gadgets, and a cosmetic charm. It went live on September 8th, 2026 and closes on October 5th, 2026, which gives you a short window to gather everything before it disappears. The hardest items to source sit in the later stages, so it pays to plan your farming runs early.
Quick answer: Reach account level 20 to unlock projects, then submit the required materials for all four stages before October 5th, 2026, to claim every reward, ending with the Tempest assault rifle and the Hot Air Balloon backpack charm.
Before you start: requirements and deadline
Projects only become available once your Raider hits level 20. After that, you can contribute to any number of active projects at the same time, and progress carries between raids. Ascending the Mountain runs for 27 days total, so treat the October 5th end date as a hard cutoff. Stages must be completed in order, and each one only opens after you hand in the previous stage’s materials.
Tip: Inventory and secure container space is tight, so write down the materials for your current and next stage and farm them together. That way you avoid dumping useful loot mid-raid because you ran out of room.
All four stages, materials, and rewards
The table below lists everything each stage asks for and everything it hands back. Rewards are granted the moment a stage is completed.
| Stage | Materials required | Rewards |
|---|---|---|
| 1 — Research High-Altitude Mechanics | 10× Mechanical Components, 6× Pop Trigger, 10× Explosive Compound, 2× Headphones | 1× Burletta IV, 1× Extended Light Mag III, 1× Silencer III |
| 2 — Begin Ignition Tests | 20× Wires, 8× Voltage Converter, 2× Sentinel Firing Core, 1× Rocket Thruster | 2× Wolfpack, 2× Deadline, 3× Trailblazer, 1× Crash Mat Blueprint |
| 3 — Implement Landing Capabilities | 2× Ruined Parachute, 10× Crash Mat, 5× Shredder Gyro, 3× Breathtaking Snow Globe | 1× Powered Descender, 2× Raider Hatch Key, 1× Rascal, 30× Launcher Ammo |
| 4 — Final Tweaks | 30× Sensors, 3× Broken Guidance System, 15× Advanced Electrical Components, 3× Vaporizer Regulator | Hot Air Balloon Charm, 1× Tactical Mk. 3 (Defensive), 1× Tempest, 1× Kinetic Converter |
The Crash Mat Blueprint from Stage 2 is worth noting, because Stage 3 then asks for 10 Crash Mats. Once you can craft them, that requirement becomes far less painful than hunting for pre-made ones.
Where to farm the Stage 1 materials
The first stage is the quickest to clear because its materials come from predictable spots. Here is where each one shows up.
| Material | How to get it |
|---|---|
| Mechanical Components (10) | Craft at the Refiner for 7 Metal Parts and 3 Rubber Parts, or loot areas marked “Mechanical” on the map. |
| Pop Trigger (6) | Destroy Pop Arcs and scavenge their remains. |
| Explosive Compound (10) | Search the Hydroponic Dome Complex on Dam Battlegrounds. |
| Headphones (2) | Loot random apartments across Buried City. |
Crafting Mechanical Components is usually faster than hunting for them, so if you already carry spare Metal Parts and Rubber Parts, batch them at the Refiner between raids.
The hard-to-find materials in later stages
The grind gets steeper from Stage 2 onward. Sentinel Firing Cores, Sensors, and Vaporizer Regulators are the items most likely to slow you down, and Stage 4 alone asks for 30 Sensors plus 15 Advanced Electrical Components. Start collecting these across multiple runs rather than trying to farm them all at once, and prioritize the rarer drops whenever you spot them, even if they are not for your current stage. Because progress is stored on your account, anything you bank now shortens the final hand-in later.
How to confirm a stage is complete
When you submit the last required material for a stage, the project screen advances to the next stage and drops the listed rewards straight into your inventory. If a stage will not close, the usual reason is a partial submission, so double-check the exact counts, since one missing item, such as a single Rocket Thruster or the second Sentinel Firing Core, will hold the whole stage open. Finish Stage 4 and the Hot Air Balloon charm, Tempest, Tactical Mk. 3 (Defensive) augment, and Kinetic Converter confirm you have cleared the full project.
With the deadline landing on October 5th, the main risk is running out of time rather than difficulty. Lock in the fast Stage 1 materials first, keep banking Sensors and the rarer components on every run, and you will have all four stages wrapped well before the project closes.
