The Dolabra is a Legendary energy shotgun added to ARC Raiders with the Flashpoint update, and it's already one of the most coveted weapons in the game. It fires a wide cone of energy from the hip and collapses into a focused beam when you aim down sights, making it effective at both close and medium range. In PvP, the focused mode can destroy a heavy (pink) shield in two shots. Getting one requires finding the blueprint, extracting it safely, and then gathering a steep set of crafting materials.
Quick answer: The Dolabra blueprint drops from the three lootable containers on ARC Assessor platforms during the Close Scrutiny map condition. It is not a guaranteed drop — expect multiple runs.
Dolabra Weapon Stats
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Rarity | Legendary |
| Type | Energy Shotgun |
| Ammo | Energy Clips |
| Magazine | 8 rounds |
| Fire Mode | Semi-Auto (dual focus) |
| ARC Penetration | Strong |
| Durability | 100 |
| Workbench Required | Level 3 Gunsmith |
The Dolabra uses Energy Clips rather than standard shotgun shells. You can craft Energy Clips from Advanced Arc Powercells and Batteries, or buy them from Tian Wen for 3,000 coins each. Hipfiring produces a wide electrical cone ideal for clearing clustered ARC enemies, while holding the aim button concentrates the shot into a tight beam that punches through heavy armor. There's a brief wind-up effect similar to the Jupiter when aiming, so timing the transition between fire modes takes practice.
Where the Dolabra Blueprint Drops
The blueprint drops exclusively during the Close Scrutiny ARC Operation, a major map condition introduced with Flashpoint. Close Scrutiny rotates hourly across all Rust Belt outdoor maps. During the event, large ARC machines called Assessors descend from the sky periodically — roughly every five minutes — and mark their landing spots with a tall red beam of light visible across the map.
Each Assessor has three breaching points, located at the ends of its arms. The containers become accessible once the platforms extend over them. You interact with them using the "breach and search" prompt. If another player has already breached a container, it changes to just "search." Once all three containers on an Assessor have been fully looted, its red beam disappears.
The drop is not guaranteed on every container, but the blueprint appears to be relatively common compared to other Legendary schematics. Some players have found it within a handful of containers, while others have opened twenty or more without seeing it. Multiple Assessors can be active on the map simultaneously, so keep scanning the sky for new red beams throughout the match.
Surviving the Assessor Approach
Assessors are surrounded by Vaporizers, Rocketeers, and other hostile ARC units. Vaporizers in particular appear in groups of two or three and deal devastating damage to anyone caught in the open. Breaching a container also triggers reinforcement waves, so stacking breaches without clearing enemies between them is a fast way to get overwhelmed.
Step 1: Equip a Photoelectric Cloak before deploying. The cloak renders you invisible to ARC enemies and turns the Assessor approach from a firefight into a controlled looting run. Pair it with smoke grenades to break the line of sight with ARC patrols while you breach.
Step 2: Locate the Assessor by following the red beam in the sky. Check your minimap for the objective icon and choose whichever Assessor has the least player activity around it — Close Scrutiny draws heavy foot traffic.
Step 3: Throw smoke on the Assessor platform before you start breaching. Activate your cloak and work through the three containers one at a time. Clear or avoid each reinforcement wave before triggering the next breach.
Step 4: The moment the blueprint appears in your inventory, move it to your safe pocket and head for extraction. Do not linger.
If you don't want to fight the ARC enemies directly, a viable (if risky) tactic is waiting for other players to draw aggro from the Vaporizers and then moving in to loot containers while the fighting is happening. Expect PvP encounters either way — everyone on the map is heading for the same spots.
Dolabra Crafting Requirements
Once you've learned the blueprint at Speranza, you need a Level 3 Gunsmith Station and the following materials to craft the Dolabra:
| Material | Quantity | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Shredder Gyro | 3 | Dropped by Shredders on Blue Gate, Buried City, Spaceport, and Dam Battlegrounds |
| Magnetic Accelerator | 3 | Found in Stella Montis, dropped by Matriarchs/Queens, or crafted from 2x Advanced Mechanical Components + 2x ARC Motion Cores |
| Vaporizer Regulator | 2 | Dropped by Vaporizer ARC enemies during Close Scrutiny only |
The Dolabra is notable for being the first Legendary weapon that doesn't require a Queen or Matriarch core. That said, the crafting cost is still significant. Vaporizer Regulators only drop during Close Scrutiny, and they're also needed for the High-Gain Antenna project, so every player farming the Dolabra is competing for the same limited enemy drops.
Gathering Each Material
Shredder Gyros
Shredders now spawn across most outdoor maps following the Flashpoint update, though they appear only intermittently on Dam Battlegrounds. They're not especially tough — a Hullcracker kills them in two to three shots if you aim for their thruster on the underside. You can also kite them around cover using weapons like the Il Toro, or even melee them to death near walls and pillars if you're short on ammo. If you've been stockpiling Shredder Gyros from earlier play sessions, they'll finally have a use beyond recycling into Mechanical Components.
Magnetic Accelerators
These are Exodus-tier materials most commonly found as loot in Stella Montis or as drops from Matriarchs and Queens. You can also craft them at your workbench from 2x Advanced Mechanical Components and 2x ARC Motion Cores if you'd rather avoid boss encounters.
Vaporizer Regulators
Vaporizers only appear during Close Scrutiny, making their Regulators the bottleneck material. The Vaporizer functions like a mini-boss with a deployable shield that activates in response to stun weapons (Showstopper, Hornet Driver), homing weapons (Seeker, Wolfpack), and possibly energy weapons. The strategy is to trigger the shield, wait for it to go on cooldown, and then deal damage with heavy weapons like the Hullcracker or Jupiter. Hitting the Vaporizer's red eye with the Jupiter takes roughly two clips. Wolfpack Grenades work well once the shield is down.
PvE vs. PvP Performance
The Dolabra's Strong ARC Penetration rating and wide hipfire cone make it effective against groups of smaller ARC enemies — Sentinels, Poppers, and Fireflies go down quickly. Against tougher ARC targets, though, it burns through Energy Clips fast. Early player testing suggests Fireflies take four to five shots, which adds up given the eight-round magazine. The weapon shines most in PvP, where the focused ADS beam can break a heavy shield in two hits. The fire rate is fast enough to get both shots off before an opponent can dodge-roll away. For PvE-focused runs, you'll likely want to pair the Dolabra with a conventional weapon that's more ammo-efficient against standard ARC.
The Dolabra represents a meaningful addition to ARC Raiders' endgame weapon pool — a Legendary that's demanding to obtain but doesn't gate itself behind the Matriarch or Queen boss fights that have frustrated players for months. The Close Scrutiny event and its Assessors create a focused, high-stakes loop where the blueprint, the crafting materials, and the PvP chaos all converge in the same map condition. Bring your cloak, bring your smokes, and put that blueprint in your safe pocket the second it drops.