Wasp Driver is one of the early, rare materials that quietly gates important upgrades and a key Shani quest in ARC Raiders. It looks like a small canister charge, but it is both a combat tool and a crafting ingredient, so knowing where to get it and when to keep it is important.
What the Wasp Driver is and what it does
Wasp Driver is a Rare, recyclable item carried by ARC aerial units. It has a weight of 0.6, stacks in threes, sells for 1,000 Coins, and deals 80 damage in a 5‑meter radius when detonated. It can be thrown on the ground and will explode when shot, damaging both ARC units and Raiders caught in the blast. After detonation, it leaves behind a Damaged Wasp Driver.
Recycling one Wasp Driver yields ARC Alloy and Electrical Components, while salvaging it gives Electrical Components only. That makes it a flexible way to convert surplus drops into upgrade materials once cthe re quest and workshop requirements are covered.
Which enemies drop Wasp Drivers
Wasp Drivers come from ARC, specifically from two enemy types:
- Wasp – the primary, near‑guaranteed source of Wasp Drivers.
- Courier – can also be scavenged for Wasp Drivers.
In practice, killing Wasps and looting their wrecks supplies most of what you need. Players consistently see a Wasp Driver in the loot almost every time a Wasp goes down, to the point where it is effectively treated as a guaranteed drop from that enemy type.
How to identify Wasp enemies
Wasps are flying ARC drones. They carry a mini‑turret and stay airborne using four thrusters. Visually, they are lighter and less menacing than Hornets, with white armor plating and a compact silhouette.
A quick way to confirm you are looking at a Wasp rather than another drone is to ping the target and check its name. The Codex under the Raider menu also shows a reference image and basic information for Wasp if you need a visual refresher.
Hornets and Snitches often share airspace with Wasps, especially around larger objectives. Hornets are the darker, more aggressive fliers equipped with a heavy gun and stun grenades, while Snitches are the unarmed scanners that call in reinforcements. Focus on the white‑armored, turreted drones when you are farming Wasp Drivers.
Best locations to farm Wasps for Wasp Drivers
Wasps spawn in several regions, but a few patterns make farming easier:
- Dam Battlegrounds – Wasps are very common here, often patrolling overhead in small groups. Running loops through open areas and near major structures quickly adds up Wasp kills and, therefore Wasp Drivers.
- Buried City hospital window farm – At the hospital in Buried City, Snitches flying outside can be used to repeatedly spawn Hornets and Wasps. Drawing their attention while you stand inside a room with an open window causes one Hornet and one or two Wasps to fly in toward you. This typically happens for two waves per run, giving a compact, repeatable indoor farm.
How to get Wasp Drivers from Wasps (basic loop)
Step 1: Enter a region where Wasps are known to spawn, such as Dam Battlegrounds or the Buried City hospital area.
Step 2: Identify flying ARC units with white plating and a small turret, then ping to confirm they are tagged as Wasps.
Step 3: Bring the Wasp down by shooting its thrusters or center mass until it is destroyed.
Step 4: Once the wreck falls, move in and loot it. A Wasp Driver will be in the loot almost every time.
Step 5: Repeat this loop, prioritizing any Wasp you see. After a short session focusing on them, it is common to have more Drivers than you immediately need.
How to safely fight Wasps while farming
Farming Wasp Drivers goes faster when you are not constantly burning through healing and armor. A few patterns help keep the fights efficient:
- Aim for thrusters – Each of the Wasp’s four thrusters is a weak point. Breaking them throws the drone off balance and makes it easier to finish without eating full turret bursts.
- Use cover deliberately – Wasps continue firing even as they wobble or fall. Peek from behind walls, roof edges, or interior corners instead of trading in the open.
- Control add spawns – In areas like the Dam Battlegrounds, Wasps rarely fly alone. Expect Hornets or ground units to be nearby and clear or kite them before settling into a farm loop.
If you use the Buried City hospital setup, let Snitches outside tag you from the window, then fall back inside. This funnels the spawned Wasps and Hornets straight into a kill zone you control.
Using Wasp Drivers for Shani’s “The Trifecta” quest
Shani’s early questline includes a step that directly uses Wasp Drivers. After finishing her earlier quest “Down to Earth”, she offers “The Trifecta”. That task focuses on three ARC machine types and their signature parts.
To complete “The Trifecta”, Shani expects the following items:
| Item | Quantity | Source enemy |
|---|---|---|
| Wasp Driver | 2 | Wasp, Courier |
| Hornet Driver | 2 | Hornet |
| Snitch Scanner | 2 | Snitch |
Once you have the required counts, you hand them to Shani in the security area. Completing “The Trifecta” grants a Raider Hatch key for quick returns, two defibrillators to revive fallen Raiders, a key to the Dam Control Tower with strong loot behind it, and the orange camo origin color cosmetic.
Using Wasp Drivers to upgrade the Gunsmith
Outside of quests, Wasp Drivers matter for workshop progression. Upgrading the Gunsmith from level 1 to Gunsmith 2 requires a bundle of basic scrap plus a sizable number of Wasp Drivers.
| Input items | Workshop | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 3× Rusted Tools, 5× Mechanical Components, 8× Wasp Driver | Gunsmith 1 | Gunsmith 2 |
That eight‑Driver requirement adds up quickly, especially if you are doing the quest at the same time. Plan to stockpile at least 10 Wasp Drivers before triggering the upgrade to avoid having to interrupt your crafting flow for more farming runs.
When to recycle or salvage Wasp Drivers
Once quests and upgrades are handled, Wasp Drivers turn into a flexible resource sink.
- Recycle when you want ARC Alloy and Electrical Components together. This is the best option if you are pushing higher‑tier crafting and need Alloy in particular.
- Salvage if you only care about Electrical Components and want to keep ARC Alloy gains for other items. This is useful when Electrical Components are the bottleneck in your recipes.
Because Wasps become common and Wasp Drivers drop so frequently once you are moving through mid‑tier content, it is safe to treat any excess above your personal reserve as fodder for recycling or salvage.
The main friction with Wasp Drivers is not rarity but awareness. Once you know that Wasps and Couriers are the only enemies that matter, that Dam Battlegrounds and Buried City’s hospital are reliable hunting grounds, and that each Wasp kill almost always hides a Driver in its wreck, the material stops being a bottleneck. From there, it becomes another lever for Gunsmith progress, Shani’s quests, and a steady stream of ARC Alloy and Electrical Components whenever your stash starts to run low.
