Reduced to Rubble is one of the first quests that pushes Arc Raiders players deep into Blue Gate’s southern wilderness, and it does it with instructions that sound simple and feel useless once you’re on the ground: photograph a collapsed highway, then “follow the trail of destruction through the Broken Earth.” In a zone where almost everything is already destroyed, that line trips up a lot of people.
The quest is much more literal than it sounds. It hinges on three things:
| Step | Objective text | What you actually do | Key map cues |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Photograph the Collapsed Highway | Trigger a photo interaction at the broken span of the highway | “Highway Collapse” POI in Blue Gate’s southwest |
| 2 | Travel to Broken Earth | Walk east from the highway into the Broken Earth POI | Named area text “Broken Earth” on the map |
| 3 | Follow the trail of destruction through the Broken Earth | Head uphill, northeast, away from the obvious trench | Direction toward Ridgeline and Maintenance Bunker |
| 4 | Investigate the unknown ARC machines | Interact with a buried ARC wreck on a hilltop | Small machine icon between Broken Earth and Ridgeline |
Where to find Highway Collapse and take the photo
The first half of Reduced to Rubble plays out around the Collapsed Highway in Blue Gate’s southwest corner. On the world map, this point of interest is labeled “Highway Collapse.” If you don’t see the text immediately, zoom into the lower-left area near the southern checkpoint marker; the label appears once you’re close enough.
Once you’re in the area, you’re looking for the section where the highway has buckled down into the ravine. One end of the bridge sits high, the other has fallen at an angle toward the ground. The interaction prompt you need is not up on the asphalt but down by the debris.
Walk to the lower end of the broken span, drop to ground level in the gully, and move under the angled road. Near where the concrete meets the dirt, a yellow “take photo” prompt appears. Interact with it to capture the scene; the quest updates as soon as the photo completes.
There’s no separate camera item to bring for this. The interaction is context-sensitive and always available when you stand in the right spot at the Highway Collapse.
How to reach Broken Earth from the highway
After the photo, the quest shifts focus to Broken Earth. This isn’t a descriptive phrase, it’s a named location. On the Blue Gate map, Broken Earth sits southeast of the Highway Collapse, across the fields and olive groves that dominate this part of the zone.
From the highway gully:
- Climb back up to the surface level near the collapse.
- Face east and start moving toward the lower-right corner of the Blue Gate map.
- Cut through the olive groves and open ground until the area name “Broken Earth” appears on your HUD and map.
Once you cross into Broken Earth, the quest text changes to the more ambiguous step: “Follow the trail of destruction through the Broken Earth and investigate the unknown ARC machines.” This is where many players start running in circles.
Broken Earth trail of destruction: why everyone gets turned around
Broken Earth looks like a landscape that’s already been chewed up by ARC machines: trenches, shattered road, a dried riverbed, and a hillside gouged by something huge. The obvious instinct is to pick one of those scars and walk “down” it, as if you’re following where something smashed through.
That instinct is exactly what sends people the wrong way. The quest is keyed to where the destructive event started, not where the debris seems to flow visually. In practice, that means moving upslope, toward the origin point, instead of downhill with the rubble.
On the map, Broken Earth sits between three notable landmarks:
- Highway Collapse to the west
- Ridgeline further northeast
- Maintenance Bunker to the immediate west of the final wreck
The ARC wreck you need is not inside the deepest trench or at the lowest part of the dried-up river. It’s on higher ground, roughly halfway between the Broken Earth label and Ridgeline, directly east of Maintenance Bunker. That’s why players who follow the slope “down” along the carved channel keep missing it.
Exact path: from Broken Earth to the hidden ARC wreck
Once the HUD confirms you’re in the Broken Earth area, treat that as your starting line, not your destination. To reach the wreck reliably, use direction rather than vibes.
| From | Direction to move | Terrain cue | What you should see |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broken Earth label | Northeast | Up the hillside rather than down the trench | Rising ground and more rock outcrops |
| Near Maintenance Bunker | Due east | Leaving the bunker behind you | A large ring of scrap on a ridge |
| Scrap ring landmark | Slightly uphill toward the center | Broken metal legs and pipes | The giant ARC machine carcass |
Start by orienting yourself at the “Broken Earth” text on your map:
- Face northeast, toward where the Ridgeline POI sits on the map.
- Climb the slope instead of dropping deeper into any eroded channels.
- Keep an eye on the minimap for a small machine icon between Broken Earth and Ridgeline; that icon marks the wreck.
As you gain elevation, look for a distinctive ring of twisted metal and scrap atop a rocky rise. This structure sits right next to the buried ARC machine you need to investigate. If you can see Maintenance Bunker on your map, you’ve gone a bit too far west; pivot east until you line up roughly between Broken Earth and Ridgeline, then climb again.
Many players initially run west down the dry riverbed from the highway side, because that trench looks like a “trail of destruction.” The quest target lies in the opposite direction. When in doubt, remember: from Broken Earth, run toward Ridgeline, not away from it.
Investigate the unknown ARC machines and finish Reduced to Rubble
At the top of the hill near the scrap ring, the wreck comes into view: a massive, collapsed ARC machine, all legs, pipes, and exposed structure half-buried in the hillside. Reduced to Rubble’s final step is tied to this object.
To complete the quest:
- Approach the ARC carcass until a yellow interaction prompt appears.
- Climb onto the upper section of the machine if needed; the prompt often sits near one of the higher pieces of wreckage.
- Use the “Investigate” interaction when it appears.
The moment you trigger that interaction, Reduced to Rubble is marked complete. Extraction is not required for the objective to count, though you still need to survive long enough to bring your rewards home and turn the quest in underground.
When you do hand it in, the quest payout includes utility items such as a Zipline and multiple Barricade Kits and Door Blockers, and it also unlocks a follow-up quest in Shani’s investigation line called With a Trace. That progression is why Reduced to Rubble is worth muscling through, even if the navigation feels counterintuitive.
Once you understand that “Broken Earth” is a named zone, that the trail of destruction runs uphill on the map toward Ridgeline, and that the objective marker is a small machine icon between those landmarks, the quest stops being a maze. The trek across Olive Grove and Blue Gate’s southern edge is still dangerous, but at least you know exactly where you’re heading and why the game keeps insisting something somehow smashed its way up a hill.
