The name says a lot. ARC Raiders is built around making short, risky trips to the surface, pulling meaning and materials out of whatever’s still standing, and then getting out alive. Quests like “What We Left Behind” are part of that loop: focused objectives that nudge you into the ruins to piece together small stories while you hunt for gear. There’s no traditional cutscene-led campaign here; narrative threads surface through these tasks, locations, and the items you bring back underground.

ARC Raiders context: what the game asks of you

The setting is a lethal future Earth patrolled by ARC machines. Raiders venture up from underground hubs for limited windows, scavenge, fight drones and heavies, and extract via elevators that don’t stay open forever. Maps range from a buried city shaped by dunes to industrial spillover around a crumbling dam and old spaceport structures. Movement is fast and vertical, gunfire travels, and a loud fight can draw the wrong audience—human or machine.

Where “What We Left Behind” fits the story

Story in ARC Raiders unfolds sideways. The world remembers the First Wave—when the machines arrived—and the Exodus, when shuttles lifted the lucky few and left the rest. Raiders now comb the Rust Belt for scraps of that era and anything else that keeps Speranza and other underground communities alive. A quest with a title like “What We Left Behind” leans straight into that theme: rummaging through remnants, connecting dots, and turning salvage into survival.

Expect a familiar arc: head to a marked search area, investigate points of interest, deal with resistance (ARC patrols, opportunistic players), secure the objective, and choose how and when to extract. The tension is less about a grand cutscene payoff and more about the choices you make under pressure—what you grab, what you drop, who you avoid, and when you leave.

How to approach search-and-recover quests

  • Travel light enough to loot: Keep inventory headroom for quest items. If you’re already full, you’ll waste time juggling under fire.
  • Work the vertical: Many interiors stack floors and catwalks; search up ladders, over broken bridges, and down service corridors. Elevation also helps break line of sight with ARC fliers.
  • Stay quiet until you can’t: Gunshots carry. If you must engage, finish quickly, reposition, and listen—distant fire often means incoming trouble.
  • Recheck the radius: If the objective isn’t popping, sweep the edges of the search zone again and look for interactables tucked behind furniture, safes, or consoles.
  • Plan your exit first: Identify two elevator options before you commit to the objective. Elevators can seal temporarily; knowing a backup route prevents a last-minute scramble.

Key mechanics that shape your run

Mechanic What it changes What to do
Safe Pocket Items placed here persist if you’re knocked out Reserve it for the quest objective or high-value loot
Elevator extraction Extraction points open/close on intervals Arrive with time to spare; have a second elevator in mind
Holstered movement Moving with your weapon stowed is faster Holster between fights to reposition or disengage
Sound propagation Combat draws players and ARC from far away Fight decisively, relocate, and avoid repeat engagements in place
APOLLO fliers Flying ARC rely on exposed thrusters Target thrusters to drop them quickly; finish before adds arrive
Sand and slopes Downhill movement can carry you far Use slides to break contact, but steer clear of fresh patrols

Loadout and inventory for quest safety

  • Bring one reliable primary and a flexible secondary: a mid-range rifle plus something that handles close quarters inside apartments, control rooms, or maintenance tunnels.
  • Carry one utility for fliers and one for groups: a damage burst for APOLLOs and a crowd control or area denial tool for rollerbots and drones.
  • Leave with room to spare: Enter at 60–70% inventory to avoid hard choices after you find the objective.
  • Use your Safe Pocket early: If you pick up a quest-critical item mid-raid, pocket it immediately.

Solo versus squad play

Solo runs reward patience and good routing; you’ll dodge more than you’ll brawl. In a squad, designate roles—one player watches the skyline and flanks, one handles interiors, one anchors the extraction route. Agree on when to disengage before the first shot is fired. Quests rarely require clearing everything; controlling noise and time-to-extract matters more than body count.

If the objective won’t complete

  • Rotate perspectives: Step outside, re-enter from a different door, and let the objective tracker refresh.
  • Sweep interactables: Consoles, lockers, safes, and crates can hide required clues or items.
  • Reset the fight: If ARC pressure won’t let up, kite them away from the objective, break line of sight, and return once patrols thin out.

ARC Raiders shines when a small task spirals into a story you tell later. “What We Left Behind” is built for that: you enter for a piece of the past, improvise around whatever the machines and other players throw at you, and leave with just enough to make the next run possible. Treat the objective as one item on your packing list, not the whole trip, and you’ll bring more back than you carried in.