Lemons and apricots are early-game bottlenecks in Arc Raiders. You’ll need them to push Scrappy to the next tiers and to craft a simple Fruit Mix, and they’re easy to miss if you’re looting the wrong places or at the wrong time. Here’s how to reliably farm both, plus every known use so you can plan your runs and upgrades.

Where lemons and apricots spawn (maps, biomes, and events)

Most of your haul will come from small fruit trees and bushes in swamp and lightly forested areas. Walk up to a fruit tree and press the interact button to shake produce loose; check the ground under the canopy as fruit can spawn there as well.

Area or context Primary source What to look for
Dam Battlegrounds (swamp) Small fruit trees/bushes Open wetlands with scattered trees; high fruit density but limited cover.
Spaceport Small groves, edges of complexes Clusters of shorter trees, including on the east side; check perimeters of buildings.
Buried City Trees in select pockets Occasional fruit-bearing trees in overgrown sections.
Ranger camps and yellow-flag microcamps Small ground baskets Baskets near tents/crates can spawn fruit; scan the ground around camp edges.
Residential clusters Ground spawns, nearby trees Lemons sighted near housing blocks and small courtyards.
Swamp on the dam Fruit baskets + trees Combine tree routes with basket checks to round out a run.
Map weather/event: Lush Blooms / harvest season Map-wide plant spawn increase Time your raid during these windows for the highest fruit density.

Tip: Soloing these routes works well. The terrain around swamps is exposed and noisy; stealthy movement lets you avoid fights and stay on the loop.

How to harvest efficiently (and get out with your haul)

  • Approach a small fruit tree or bush and press the interact button to drop fruit. Sweep under the canopy for extra spawns before you move on.
  • Run a light or free loadout when you’re fruit farming and extract as soon as you’ve hit your target count. The time saved compounds over multiple runs.
  • Use your Safe Pocket for a few pieces you can’t afford to lose. If a fight breaks bad before extract, you still bank progress.
  • Avoid prolonged gunfights in open swamp zones. These areas have poor cover and attract ARCs; detour, crouch-walk, or smoke off sightlines instead.

Best times to farm lemons and apricots

Fruits spawn on normal rotations, but they’re noticeably more plentiful during Lush Blooms and similar harvest-style events. These timed windows roll onto maps periodically (you’ll see more greenery and plants overall). If you only farm once a day, do it during this event.

If your usual swamp route is dry, pivot to the edges of major complexes (shorter trees are easy to miss) or sweep ranger camps for baskets to top off before extraction.

All known uses for lemons and apricots

Lemons and apricots feed straight into Scrappy upgrades and a basic consumable. Because apricots gate later Scrappy tiers, avoid using them as ad-hoc healing unless you have a surplus.

Category Requirement Result or effect Notes
Crafting 1× Lemon + 1× Apricot + 1× Prickly Pear Fruit Mix Simple early-game craft made from inventory.
Workshop upgrade 5× Lemons + 5× Apricots Scrappy II → Scrappy III Unlocks better passive scavenging returns.
Workshop upgrade 12× Apricots + 12× Mushrooms + 3× Very Comfortable Pillow Scrappy IV → Scrappy V Apricots become the bottleneck again later.
Quest 1× Water Filter + 3× Lemons + 1× Water Pump “Unexpected Initiative” objective Keep a lemon reserve for quest turn-ins.

Scrappy is your workshop scavenger that passively brings back base materials between raids. Investing fruit into his upgrades pays back in steady metal, fabric, rubber, chemicals, and higher rarities over time.

Simple, repeatable farming loop

  • Queue into Dam Battlegrounds and cut straight to the swamp. Walk tree-to-tree, interact, and sweep the ground for drops.
  • On your way out, hit nearby ranger or yellow-flag camps for a quick basket check.
  • No Lush Blooms active or fruit density is low? Swap to Spaceport and circle the eastern groves and building perimeters.
  • Stash a few lemons/apricots in your Safe Pocket, then extract. Repeat until you’ve banked 5/5 for Scrappy III or whatever target you’ve set.

Quick answers

  • Where are lemons and apricots? On small fruit trees and bushes in swamp and light forest zones; occasionally in small baskets around ranger camps. Dam Battlegrounds’ swamp and Spaceport’s shorter tree clusters are consistent spots.
  • What are they for? Upgrading Scrappy (notably II → III and later IV → V for apricots), crafting Fruit Mix, and select quest turn-ins.

Plan your runs around event windows, prioritize tree routes over aimless looting, and upgrade Scrappy early. The faster you get him to work, the less you’ll have to hunt for the basic components that slow everyone else down.