Shani’s “Deciphering the Data” quest in Arc Raiders sends you to Spaceport to push old-world computers well past their intended lifespan. The task is simple on paper: plug your Magnetic Decryptor into two working consoles and let it chew through ARC research data. In practice, both machines are buried in dark, cluttered interiors that are easy to overshoot if you don’t know exactly what to look for.
The quest plays out entirely in Spaceport and can be completed without extracting, so it’s a good candidate for a low-risk run with a free kit. You can also split it across multiple raids if you die or extract early; progress is saved after each successful console interaction.
Quest overview and requirements
“Deciphering the Data” is one of Shani’s early quests. The objective chain is straightforward:
- Travel to Spaceport.
- Use the Magnetic Decryptor at a console in the Fuel Control Building.
- After that console fails, use the Magnetic Decryptor at a second console in the Arrival Building.
- Return to Speranza and talk to Shani.
Rewards for turning the quest in include experience, three Defibrilators, and three Trailblazer grenades, which are particularly strong in tight PvP layouts such as Stella Montis.
There is no requirement to extract after using either console. Once the second decryption attempt is complete and the objective ticks over, you are free to leave Spaceport however you like or even die and still keep the quest progress.
First decryption: Fuel Control Building console location
The first half of the quest focuses on Spaceport’s Fuel Control Building. This structure sits close to the center–northeast of the map, in the same cluster of infrastructure as Rocket Assembly and the Launch Towers. Multiple descriptions place it either slightly east of the central Launch Towers or on the northeastern side next to Rocket Assembly; in both cases, you are looking for the Fuel Control Building label on the map.
Inside, Fuel Control is a dark industrial hall full of machinery and computer banks. The console you need is a single, interactable terminal at the far end of the room.
Step 1: Enter Spaceport, then navigate toward the Fuel Control Building near Rocket Assembly and the Launch Towers. Move around the exterior until you find an entrance marked for Fuel Control; one common route is a southwest door with “Fuel Control, authorised personnel only” printed nearby.
Step 2: Go inside and walk straight through the main room. Expect low lighting and rows of consoles and equipment on either side. Keep your flashlight on to make the lone interactive panel easier to spot.
Step 3: At the far end of the hall, look along the wall for a distinctive terminal you can interact with. Different descriptions mention this console as green or standing alone on a wall in a large console-filled room. When you are close, you receive a prompt to use the Magnetic Decryptor or decrypt the data.
Step 4: Interact with the console to trigger the decryption attempt. The machine fails partway through, and the quest updates with a new objective that sends you across Spaceport to the Arrival Building.
Once this interaction is complete, you never need to return to Fuel Control for this quest. If another player kills you on the way out or you choose to extract, the first half of the objective stays finished for future raids.
Second decryption: Arrival Building console location
The second console is deeper inside Spaceport’s Arrival Building. This structure sits on the northwest edge of the map, beyond the Launch Towers and roughly west of Fuel Control. You’ll usually cross open ground to get there, which makes you visible to both ARC units and other players.
The Arrival Building is a large multi-level terminal with a main lobby, staircases, and a grid of offices on the upper floors. Several descriptions agree that the console you need is on the top or second floor, in an office area on the west or north‑by‑northwest side of the building.
Step 1: From Fuel Control, move west toward the Arrival Building on Spaceport’s northwestern side. Plan your path so you spend as little time as possible in the wide sightlines around the Launch Towers, since this stretch is popular with snipers and opportunistic raiders.
Step 2: Enter the Arrival Building through any door. Some runs feature barricaded entrances that must be breached, but any interior route will progress the objective. Stay alert for Sentries, Pop Rollers, and Fireballs in the lobby; Sentries in particular can track you quickly with their blue searchlights and hit from long range.
Step 3: Once inside, find a staircase and head up to the upper offices. Different descriptions frame this as the top floor or second floor, but the key is that you are in the main office level above the lobby rather than the ground floor concourse.
Step 4: Use the corridors to move toward the west or north‑by‑northwest side of the floor. There are two main variants to watch for:
- In one layout, you pass through a doorway labeled “Passenger Registration,” then look left inside that area for a once‑barricaded door leading to a small office near a window.
- In another layout description, you circle the top floor until you find two parallel rows of machines or consoles tucked between pillars and cubicles on the west side.
Step 5: In both layouts, the interactive console is in a compact office-like space. If you are in the Passenger Registration variant, the room contains three consoles by a window, and you must use the middle one. In the two‑rows variant, step between the rows of machines and look to your right for a terminal marked out more clearly than the others, sometimes described as yellow‑marked.
Step 6: Approach the correct console and interact with it to run the Magnetic Decryptor again. This attempt completes successfully in gameplay terms, even if the story text mentions corrupted or destroyed data. The “Deciphering the Data” quest now counts as finished on the Spaceport side.
From here, you can exit using any working elevator or simply play out the rest of your raid. As with the first console, there is no need to extract for the quest to record your progress once the interaction has been logged.
Enemy and loot considerations in the Arrival Building
The Arrival Building is one of Spaceport’s denser PvE zones, and it also attracts other players running the same objective. A few patterns make runs here safer and more efficient:
- Sentry concentration: Sentries spawn frequently in the Arrival Building and combine with Pop Rollers and Fireballs to punish careless movement, especially in the main lobby and open stairwells. Watch for the distinct blue searchlight from Sentries before pushing through choke points.
- Sentinel Firing Core farming: Because Sentries appear so often here, the building doubles as a strong spot to hunt Sentinel Firing Cores, which you need to upgrade your Gunsmith Workbench to level three.
- Medical and upgrade loot: The upper floors and side rooms tend to contain medical supplies such as Durable Cloth and Syringes, along with rarer station upgrade items like Cracked Bioscanners and Rusted Shut Medical Kits.
Since you do not need to bring any found gear back for the quest to count, it makes sense to run a free or disposable loadout here. That lets you play more aggressively around PvE spawns and other raiders without worrying about losing key weapons or augments.
Turning in the quest to Shani
Once both consoles in Fuel Control and the Arrival Building have been used with the Magnetic Decryptor, the active objectives for “Deciphering the Data” disappear. The only remaining step is to return to the underground hub and hand the mission back to Shani.
Step 1: Finish your current Spaceport raid however you prefer. You can extract, die, or simply let the session end; the decryption progress is already recorded after the second console.
Step 2: Back in Speranza, head to Shani’s usual position among the monitoring equipment and screens. Interact with her to complete the dialogue for “Deciphering the Data.”
Step 3: Collect your rewards, including Defibrilators and Trailblazer grenades. Trailblazers are particularly effective in close‑quarters or vertical maps, where their explosive area can clear stairwells and small rooms.
Finishing this quest also pushes Shani’s questline forward and helps reinforce her role as the city’s information hub, tying into how she tracks ARC behavior and keeps the Tubers and Raider Hatches running.
Once you know exactly which consoles to use in Fuel Control and the Arrival Building, “Deciphering the Data” becomes a quick Spaceport errand that slots neatly into other runs. Treat Fuel Control as a short detour on the way to the northwest, watch for Sentries and snipers around the Arrival Building, and the rest is just a matter of finding the one terminal in each room that still has enough life in it to talk to your Magnetic Decryptor.
