Deadline is one of ARC Raiders’ more unusually constrained items. It’s powerful enough to matter, simple enough to use, and irritatingly finite if you rely on buying it instead of crafting. The result is predictable: players who want to run multiple Deadlines in a session end up asking the same question first, and only later worrying about where it fits into their loadout.
Deadline in ARC Raiders: what it is
Deadline is a deployable timed explosive in the Quick Use category, with Epic rarity. You place it, a timer starts, and when the timer ends it detonates and damages anything within its radius.
Two constraints define how it plays. First, it can’t be disarmed. Second, you can’t trigger it early by shooting it once it’s deployed. In practice, Deadline is less like a “remote” trap and more like a short-fuse area denial tool that forces movement or punishes hesitation.
Deadline stats and item limits
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Rarity | Epic |
| Category | Quick Use |
| Weight | 1.0 |
| Stack size | 1 |
| Damage | 1,000 |
| Radius | 10m |
| Timer duration | 6s |
| Sell price | 5,000 Coins |
Can you obtain the Deadline blueprint?
Yes. Deadline is blueprint-locked for crafting, which means you need the Deadline blueprint to unlock the crafting recipe permanently in your Workshop.
Once you extract with a blueprint, you can consume it in the lobby inventory using the “Learn And Consume” option to unlock the recipe permanently.
How to craft Deadline (recipe and station)
Crafting Deadline requires Explosives Station 3 and the recipe stays locked until you learn the blueprint.
| Crafting requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Workshop | Explosives Station 3 |
| Materials | 3× Explosive Compound, 2× ARC Circuitry |
| Output | 1× Deadline |
| Blueprint required | Yes |
Buying Deadline: why the daily stock feels restrictive
Deadline is sold by Apollo, but the stock is limited. In patch 1.3.0, Deadline’s trader stock changed from 3 to 1, and its buy value increased to 15,000 Coins (with sell value adjusted to 5,000 Coins).
If you’re trying to use Deadlines as a routine part of play—rather than a special-case consumable—this stock limit is the whole problem. The blueprint is what turns Deadline from a rationed purchase into something you can treat like a build component.
Where Deadline fits into blueprint hunting
Blueprints are rare drops in ARC Raiders, with a low chance to appear in containers on average. Your odds improve when you focus on container types and activities that are known to be more blueprint-friendly.
- Raider containers like Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, Medical Bags, and Grenade Tubes have increased blueprint drop rates.
- Security Lockers have a higher-than-average chance to contain blueprints.
- Surveyors can drop blueprints when destroyed, making them worth detouring for if you can finish the fight and extract safely.
- Trials (unlocked from Level 15) can reward crates that may include blueprints, and rotate weekly.
- High-value loot areas tend to be better blueprint territory because they concentrate more worthwhile containers.
- Night Raids and Electromagnetic Storm events may increase rare blueprint spawn chances in containers.
Blueprint farming locations (by map)
If you’re planning your runs around blueprint density, these map areas are commonly treated as efficient routes because they combine high-value loot with a high number of containers.
- Dam Battlegrounds: Control Tower, Power Generation Complex, Ruby Residence, Pale Apartments.
- Buried City: Santa Maria Houses, Grandioso Apartments, Town Hall, buildings in the New District.
- Spaceport: Arrival and Departure Buildings, Control Tower A6, Launch Towers.
- Blue Gate: Pilgrim’s Peak, Raider’s Refuge, the Ancient Fort, and the Underground Complex beneath the Warehouse.
- Stella Montis: Medical Research, Assembly Workshop, Business Center; Western Tunnel for Security Lockers.
Recycling and salvaging Deadline
Deadline can also be broken down for materials. Salvaging returns components that overlap with its crafting needs, making it less punishing to experiment with if you’re managing stash space and materials at the same time.
| Action | Result |
|---|---|
| Salvaging | 1× Explosive Compound, 1× ARC Circuitry |
| Recycling | 1× Explosive Compound |
Deadline’s appeal is straightforward: a 6-second, 10-meter timed blast that can’t be disarmed and can’t be forced early. The friction comes from access. If you want to use it consistently—whether for clearing pressure points, controlling chokes, or simply keeping your runs predictable—the Deadline blueprint is the difference between “one per day” and “part of the kit.”
