Tick Pods in Arc Raiders are uncommon trinkets that come from one place only: Tick ARC units. These small spider-like robots live almost entirely indoors and like to drop straight onto your face. If you need Tick Pods for crafting or upgrades, the real task is learning where Ticks spawn consistently and how to clear them safely.
What Tick Pods are used for
Tick Pods are marked as Recyclable and Uncommon materials in your inventory. Each one weighs 0.25, stacks up to 5, and has a relatively high sell price for its rarity.
They matter for two reasons:
- Crafting materials: Recycling or salvaging a Tick Pod yields ARC Alloy and Chemicals, which feed into a wide range of workshop recipes.
- Workshop upgrades: Upgrading the Medical Lab from level 1 to level 2 requires 8× Tick Pod alongside other materials such as Cracked Bioscanner and Durable Cloth.
Because of that Medical Lab jump, Tick Pods are one of the first bottlenecks many players hit once they move past the very early game.
How Ticks behave and why they’re hard to spot
A Tick is a small ARC unit with low health and no armor plating, but it trades durability for speed and aggression.
- Appearance: Compact, spider-like machines that cling to walls, ceilings, and pipes.
- Primary attack: A fast lunge that sticks the Tick to your head, slowly draining health and shield.
- Audio cue: A distinct metallic shuffling or clanking when they move, especially in quiet indoor spaces.
- Typical group size: They rarely spawn entirely alone; small packs can ambush you in tight rooms or tunnel junctions.
Once a Tick latches on, holding the interact button shakes it off. It will then scramble along the floor and may try to jump a second time if you do not finish it quickly.
On the upside, Ticks are unarmored and can be killed in one or two hits by virtually any weapon or even your tool, as long as you catch them before they reach your face.
Where to find Ticks in Arc Raiders
Ticks are strongly associated with indoor spaces and higher-risk loot zones. You will almost never see them roaming open fields.
- Indoors only: Expect them in buildings, underground tunnels, treatment plants, and large interior facilities rather than outdoor encampments.
- Yellow and red loot zones: On the map, focus on areas marked with Medium (yellow) or High (red) loot value. These zones are more heavily defended and have a much better chance of spawning Ticks alongside other ARC units.
- Typical hiding spots: Corners of rooms, ceilings above doorways, wall-mounted conduits, and maintenance walkways.
Specific locations that are repeatedly good for Tick farming include:
- Dam Battlegrounds – water treatment facility: Move through the tunnels and control areas of the water treatment complex. Players routinely encounter multiple Ticks in a single room here.
- Dam Battlegrounds – hydroponic or dome-style complexes: Large indoor hubs with red loot value are prime Tick territory.
- The Blue Gate – underground and maintenance tunnels: Once this map is unlocked, its subterranean corridors and side maintenance tunnels often have Ticks clinging to pipes and supports.
- Control towers and interior objectives: Buildings marked with yellow or red loot on any map are always worth sweeping thoroughly.
How to reliably get Tick Pods
Step 1: Start a raid on a map with strong indoor spaces, such as Dam Battlegrounds or The Blue Gate. Check your map and identify at least one yellow or red loot zone that is primarily indoors (tunnels, treatment plants, domes, larger buildings).
Step 2: Move to that zone and head directly for enclosed structures rather than open yards. Prioritize water treatment facilities, underground corridors, control towers, and large multi-room complexes.
Step 3: As you enter each building or tunnel section, pause briefly and listen for the metallic clank or shuffle that signals Ticks climbing on walls and ceilings. Their sound is often easier to detect than their silhouette.
Step 4: Sweep each room slowly from bottom to top. Check corners, door frames, overhead beams, and pipe runs. Many Ticks start on ceilings or high surfaces, then drop or leap when you get close.
Step 5: As soon as you spot a Tick, destroy it before it lunges. Any firearm works since they are unarmored, but shotguns and rifles are especially effective when you are forced into close quarters.
Step 6: After each kill, walk up to the Tick’s body and loot it. Ticks can drop ARC Alloy, but you are specifically looking for the Tick Pod trinket in the loot window.
Every Tick has a chance to yield a Tick Pod, and repeated runs through these zones will quickly accumulate what you need for recycling or upgrades.
Combat tips: staying alive while farming Ticks
Even though a single Tick is weak, farming runs tend to put you in cramped interiors with multiple threats: other ARC units, turrets, and environmental hazards. A few simple habits make a big difference.
- Use armor-piercing, close-range weapons: Many indoor encounters mix Ticks with armored ARCs. Shotguns and rifles comfortably break armor and still overkill Ticks in one shot.
- Bring a movable shield or use cover: Ticks need a clear line to your body to latch on. Mobile shields, door frames, and large machinery can block lunges and create safe firing angles.
- Keep your load light: High mobility lets you sidestep lunges, backpedal out of ambushes, and reposition without getting cornered by packs of small enemies.
- Stock extra healing: Dedicated Tick runs usually mean letting a few through. Bring more healing items than you would for a standard raid so you can survive attrition inside longer facilities.
When a Tick does latch on, hold the interact button immediately to rip it away before it burns through too much health and shield. Once it drops off, finish it before it can reset and repeat the attack.
Recommended skills for Tick Pod farming
Skill choices can make Tick runs smoother by improving movement, survivability, and loot yield. Several lines stand out for this type of farming.
Mobility skills
- Marathon Runner: Helps you sprint between buildings and chase down Ticks that fall off and scurry away.
- Youthful Lungs: Lets you maintain higher movement pressure without running out of stamina mid-fight.
- Slip and Slide: Sliding into cover or past corners is useful when Ticks are mixed in with heavier ARCs.
- Nimble Climber: Speeds up vertical movement on ladders and structures, useful for reaching elevated interiors and catwalks.
Survival and loot skills
- Silent Scavenger: Reduces the noise you make while looting, which helps when you are trying to avoid pulling extra ARCs while you strip Tick bodies.
- Revitalizing Squat: Grants extra recovery during brief pauses, useful between rooms in long facilities.
- Agile Croucher: Makes crouched movement smoother in low, cluttered interiors.
- Looter’s Instinct: Improves your general awareness and consistency when searching for valuable items.
- Looter’s Luck: Increases the chance of finding better loot quality, which pairs well with repeated Tick clears in high-value zones.
Conditioning skills
- Used to the Weight: Lets you carry more gear without slowing down, so you can bring a fuller kit of weapons, shield, and healing.
- Gentle Pressure: Improves interactions under stress, including quickly opening containers and doors while enemies are nearby.
- Proficient Pryer: Speeds up looting and opening actions across a long run.
- Broad Shoulders: Expands your carrying capacity for crafting materials and loot, which matters when Tick Pods are only part of what you are taking home.
Turning Tick Pods into materials
Once you have a healthy stack of Tick Pods, you can either use them directly for upgrades or feed them into recycling.
| Action | Result |
|---|---|
| Recycle Tick Pod | Yields Chemicals and ARC Alloy |
| Salvage Tick Pod | Yields ARC Alloy |
| Use in Medical Lab 1 → 2 upgrade | Consumes 8× Tick Pod (plus other materials) |
Tip: If you are short on ARC Alloy, recycling spare Tick Pods is an efficient way to top up that resource while you are already running indoor raids for quests or other loot.
Once you understand that Ticks are an indoor, high-risk-zone enemy and not general overworld trash, Tick Pods stop being mysterious. Pick a map with good tunnel and facility density, route through yellow and red interiors, listen for the metal scuttle on ceilings, and clear every room methodically. The pods—and the ARC Alloy that comes from them—will follow.
