The High-Gain Antenna is a three-stage player project added to ARC Raiders with the Flashpoint update (Patch 1.22.0). You donate materials across three construction phases — Sturdy Base, Data Logger, and Parabolic Dish — and receive weapons, attachments, gadgets, and Raider Tokens at each step. There is no grand completion reward for finishing all three stages; the payoff is entirely per-stage.
Quick answer: You need a combined total of 19 Vaporizer Regulators and 24 Assessor Matrixes across Stages 2 and 3, both of which drop exclusively during the Close Scrutiny map condition. Start farming those early.
High-Gain Antenna project deadline
No expiry date has been confirmed for the High-Gain Antenna project. However, the previous Weather Monitor System Project ended abruptly without advance notice, so treating the project as time-limited is the safer approach. You can begin stockpiling materials for later stages and store them in your stash before you reach those phases.
Stage 1 — Sturdy Base: Requirements and rewards
The first stage is the most forgiving. Every material here drops from standard ARC enemies you encounter during normal raids, so no specific map condition is required.
| Material | Qty | Where it drops |
|---|---|---|
| ARC Alloy | 50 | Any ARC machine; also obtained by recycling ARC materials |
| ARC Flex Rubber | 10 | High-tier ARCs — Bastions, Bombardiers, Leapers, Sentinels |
| ARC Performance Steel | 10 | High-tier ARCs — Bastions, Bombardiers, Leapers, Sentinels, Hornets, Surveyors |
| Advanced ARC Powercell | 15 | High-tier ARCs — Comets, Bastions, Bombardiers, Leapers, Sentinels, Hornets, Surveyors |
Stage 1 rewards: Torrente II (weapon), Extended Medium Mag III, Extended Barrel, Padded Stock.
Stage 2 — Data Logger: Requirements and rewards
This is where the Close Scrutiny map condition becomes mandatory. Two of the four materials — Vaporizer Regulators and Assessor Matrixes — only drop during that condition. The other two come from mid-tier ARC enemies and can be gathered during any raid, though Close Scrutiny's increased ARC density helps.
| Material | Qty | Where it drops | Close Scrutiny required? |
|---|---|---|---|
| ARC Coolant | 15 | Mid-tier ARCs — Comets, Fireballs, Pops, Sentinels, Surveyors | No |
| ARC Thermo Lining | 15 | Mid-tier ARCs — Comets, Fireballs, Pops, Snitches, Ticks, Turrets, Wasps | No |
| Vaporizer Regulator | 4 | Vaporizer drones (flying laser enemies near the Assessor) | Yes |
| Assessor Matrix | 6 | Loot containers on the ARC Assessor's legs | Yes |
Stage 2 rewards: Bobcat III (weapon), Extended Light Mag III, Vertical Grip III, 100 Raider Tokens.
Stage 3 — Parabolic Dish: Requirements and rewards
The final stage ramps up the Close Scrutiny grind significantly. You need 15 more Vaporizer Regulators and 18 more Assessor Matrixes on top of what you spent in Stage 2. Vaporizers and Assessors can drop multiple units per kill or breach, so the actual number of encounters may be lower than the raw item counts suggest — but plan for extended farming sessions regardless.
| Material | Qty | Where it drops | Close Scrutiny required? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surveyor Vault | 10 | Surveyors (large ball machines); also found in ARC Couriers | No, but Surveyors spawn more often during it |
| ARC Synthetic Resin | 20 | Sentinels, Shredders, Snitches, Spotters, Turrets, Wasps; also Baron and Deforester Husks | No |
| Vaporizer Regulator | 15 | Vaporizer drones | Yes |
| Assessor Matrix | 18 | Loot containers on the ARC Assessor's legs | Yes |
Stage 3 rewards: Vita Spray (consumable), Photoelectric Cloak (gadget), Snap Hook (gadget), 400 Raider Tokens.
Combined material totals across all stages
If you want to plan your farming runs in advance, here's the full picture of everything the project demands.
| Material | Total needed | Stages |
|---|---|---|
| ARC Alloy | 50 | 1 |
| ARC Flex Rubber | 10 | 1 |
| ARC Performance Steel | 10 | 1 |
| Advanced ARC Powercell | 15 | 1 |
| ARC Coolant | 15 | 2 |
| ARC Thermo Lining | 15 | 2 |
| Vaporizer Regulator | 19 | 2 and 3 |
| Assessor Matrix | 24 | 2 and 3 |
| Surveyor Vault | 10 | 3 |
| ARC Synthetic Resin | 20 | 3 |
All rewards at a glance
| Stage | Type | Reward |
|---|---|---|
| Sturdy Base | Weapon | Torrente II |
| Sturdy Base | Attachment | Extended Medium Mag III |
| Sturdy Base | Attachment | Extended Barrel |
| Sturdy Base | Attachment | Padded Stock |
| Data Logger | Weapon | Bobcat III |
| Data Logger | Attachment | Extended Light Mag III |
| Data Logger | Attachment | Vertical Grip III |
| Data Logger | Currency | 100 Raider Tokens |
| Parabolic Dish | Consumable | Vita Spray |
| Parabolic Dish | Gadget | Photoelectric Cloak |
| Parabolic Dish | Gadget | Snap Hook |
| Parabolic Dish | Currency | 400 Raider Tokens |
The total Raider Token payout across all three stages is 500, and the Stage 3 gadgets — particularly the Snap Hook and Photoelectric Cloak — are strong utility items worth the effort.
How Close Scrutiny works and why it matters
Close Scrutiny is the new map condition introduced in the Flashpoint update, and it's the single biggest bottleneck for completing the High-Gain Antenna. When active, it can appear on Blue Gate, Buried City, Spaceport, and Dam Battlegrounds. Stella Montis is excluded because the Assessor requires open sky to land.
During Close Scrutiny, standard civilian loot across the map drops dramatically. Almost all valuable rewards are concentrated around the ARC Assessor, a large three-legged construct that descends from the sky and emits a vertical red beam visible from across the map. The Assessor itself cannot be destroyed and does not attack directly, but it is surrounded by dense ARC patrols and two groups of Vaporizer drones.
Three loot containers are accessible at the base of the Assessor's legs. Breaching these containers is how you obtain Assessor Matrixes. Vaporizer Regulators drop from the Vaporizer drones guarding the area. Both items can drop in multiples from a single encounter, but the surrounding threat level is high enough that you should bring your best gear every time.
Farming tips for the hardest materials
Vaporizer Regulators (19 total): Vaporizers are flying laser drones that resemble Rocketeers. They spawn in groups around the Assessor during Close Scrutiny. Their movement patterns are erratic, so prioritize them from range if possible. Multiple Regulators can drop from a single Vaporizer kill.
Assessor Matrixes (24 total): Each Assessor has three lootable containers on its legs. A single breach can yield more than one Matrix, so efficient looting matters more than raw kill count. Approach with a squad whenever possible — the ARC density around the Assessor is punishing for solo players.
ARC Synthetic Resin (20 total): This material has the widest drop pool of any Stage 3 requirement. Sentinels, Shredders, Snitches, Spotters, Turrets, and Wasps all drop it, and it can also appear in Baron Husks and Deforester Husks. You can gather this passively across many raid types.
Surveyor Vaults (10 total): Surveyors — the large spherical machines — drop these. They spawn more frequently during Close Scrutiny, but they also appear in normal raids and can occasionally be found in ARC Couriers.
The High-Gain Antenna is shorter than previous projects like the Weather Monitor System, but the reliance on Close Scrutiny-exclusive drops makes it time-intensive in practice. Since no end date has been announced and the previous project disappeared without warning, the safest strategy is to start collecting materials now and prioritize Close Scrutiny raids whenever the condition rotates onto a map you're comfortable running.