Fossilized Lightning is one of the rarer materials in ARC Raiders, and it only appears when the weather turns dangerous. It sits in the Nature loot family, carries Epic rarity, and can either be broken down into explosives or sold for a high payout, so spotting it reliably is the entire challenge.
What Fossilized Lightning is
Fossilized Lightning is an Epic-quality Nature item that drops in the field during severe storms. It is a small, glassy-looking shard formed where a lightning bolt has hit the ground.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Rarity | Epic |
| Type | Nature |
| Weight | 0.25 |
| Sell price | 4,000 Credits / Raider Coins |
| Recycling yield | 3× Explosive Compound (recycle) / 2× Explosive Compound (salvage) |
| Spawn condition | Electromagnetic Storm modifier |
| Patch | Added in update 1.7.0 (Cold Snap) |
There is no quest, blueprint, or project that explicitly requires Fossilized Lightning right now. Its value comes from its high coin price and its conversion into Explosive Compound for bombs and mines.
How Electromagnetic Storms work
Fossilized Lightning only appears during the Electromagnetic Storm map modifier. This condition can be active on any of the main maps and changes the run in a few important ways.
- Frequent lightning strikes hit random points on the map and can heavily damage players and ARC units.
- Return / extraction points are reduced, so getting out safely is harder.
- ARC Probes, Couriers, and other ARC activity tend to be more common.
When this modifier is active, the sky darkens and you’ll see and hear regular thunderbolts slamming into the terrain. Those impact sites are exactly where Fossilized Lightning can spawn.
How to get Fossilized Lightning
Every piece of Fossilized Lightning comes from a lightning crater. The core loop is simple: wait for a strike, then reach the impact zone before anyone else.
Step 1: Queue into any map and confirm that the Electromagnetic Storm modifier is active. If it isn’t, extract or finish the run and requeue until you land in a storm instance.
Step 2: Once in an Electromagnetic Storm, stop sprinting blindly. Watch the sky and listen closely for thunder. Lightning strikes are telegraphed by bright flashes and a sharp sound cue when they hit.
Step 3: As soon as a bolt lands, note the direction and any landmark near the strike. You are looking for a patch of burnt or cratered ground at the impact site.
Step 4: Move toward the crater, but do not run straight through active strike zones. Approach from the side to avoid getting hit by follow-up bolts or caught by nearby ARC patrols.
Step 5: At the crater, scan the ground. When Fossilized Lightning has spawned, it appears as a distinct shard lodged in the scorched earth. Interact with it to loot the item.
Step 6: Repeat this pattern for the rest of the match, prioritizing safety and extraction. The spawn chance per strike is low, and runs usually yield zero or one shard, so consistency matters more than greed.
Drop rate and expectations
Fossilized Lightning has a low spawn chance in each crater. Multiple runs may pass without seeing a single shard, and even in a good storm you are unlikely to collect more than one piece before extraction.
The practical takeaway is to treat Fossilized Lightning as a bonus objective during Electromagnetic Storms, not your only reason to deploy. Combine storm runs with other goals like ARC Probe hunting, Courier interception, or general loot farming so the time investment still pays off even when lightning refuses to cooperate.
What Fossilized Lightning does
Once you extract with Fossilized Lightning and return to Speranza, the item has two immediate uses: money or materials.
- Sell for coins. Each shard sells for 4,000 Credits / Raider Coins, which sits near the upper range of item sell values in the game and requires no crafting effort.
- Recycle for explosives. Recycling yields three Explosive Compounds per Fossilized Lightning. Salvaging yields two Explosive Compounds. These are mid- and late-game crafting components for bombs, mines, and other explosive gear.
There is no current weapon or armor blueprint that directly lists Fossilized Lightning as an ingredient. Any utility today comes from its conversion into Explosive Compound and the quick cash it provides.
Sell vs. recycle: how to decide
Choosing what to do with Fossilized Lightning depends on where your account is in its progression and what bottlenecks you are facing.
When selling makes sense
Leaning on the 4,000 coin sell price is usually the right move when:
- You are still expanding your arsenal and need money for basic weapon upgrades, shield improvements, and stash space.
- You already have a comfortable stock of Explosive Compounds from other loot and recycling.
- Your current builds and playstyle don’t lean heavily on crafted explosives.
Because Fossilized Lightning requires no materials or crafting time to obtain, selling it is effectively pure profit on top of whatever else you pull from a storm run.
When recycling is better
Recycling for Explosive Compounds is more attractive when:
- You are building or maintaining bomb- and mine-heavy loadouts that regularly drain your explosive inventory.
- You are preparing for missions, events, or Expeditions that reward heavy explosive use.
- You are already sitting on plenty of coins, and the marginal 4,000 doesn’t move your economic needle.
Three Explosive Compounds per shard is a substantial yield, especially if you dislike farming these materials through normal loot rotation.
Long-term strategy for Fossilized Lightning
There is a strong case for stockpiling at least a few Fossilized Lightning pieces rather than dumping every shard the moment you return to Speranza.
- Future quests or limited-time events may ask for Fossilized Lightning directly, and having some in storage lets you complete those objectives immediately.
- New blueprints or projects can tap into Explosive Compound demand, making the recycling route more attractive later than it is early on.
- Storm spawn rates and crater density can feel streaky, so holding a buffer of the item smooths out those RNG swings.
A practical approach is to keep a baseline reserve in your stash and treat any extra shards as flex: sell them when you are short on coins, recycle them when you are short on Explosive Compounds.
Electromagnetic Storms are already some of the most dangerous conditions in ARC Raiders, and Fossilized Lightning is the game’s way of rewarding anyone willing to sprint into fresh impact craters. As long as you manage the risk and protect your extraction, the occasional Epic shard that drops from the sky becomes either a reliable cash injection or a steady stream of explosives for your next run.
