The A Prime Specimen quest in Arc Raiders sends you to find and loot an Arc Deforester, a massive cylindrical husk scattered across the Blue Gate map. The quest sounds simple enough, but the interaction mechanics are poorly explained in-game, and a persistent bug has left many players unable to complete it at all.
Quick answer: Bring two Arc Powercells to a Deforester husk on Blue Gate, interact with the sparking panel on the left side of the cylinder, dodge the fire to reach a second panel at the back, insert another Powercell, then climb to the upper platform and loot the final container.
Arc Deforester locations on Blue Gate
Three Deforester husks exist on the Blue Gate map. One sits near the Maintenance Bunker, another near Adorned Wreckage in the western portion of the map, and a third near Ridgeline to the east. These structures are large enough to spot when zooming in on the map itself, appearing as hollow cylindrical wrecks.
When you approach a Deforester, look for a sparking electrical panel on the inside left wall of the cylinder. That panel is your interaction point. If you see sparks but no interaction prompt appears, the Deforester may have already been looted by another player during your match, or you may be encountering the bug that has plagued this quest since the Headwinds update.
Activating the Deforester
Step 1: Obtain two Arc Powercells before heading to a Deforester. These drop from basic Arc enemies like Wasps, Hornets, Ticks, Pops, and Fireballs. You can also bring them from your stash if you already have some stockpiled.
Step 2: Approach the Deforester and enter the hollow cylinder. Locate the sparking panel on the left side and interact with it to insert your first Arc Powercell. This triggers intermittent fire jets inside the husk.
Step 3: Wait for the flames to pause, then run through to the back of the cylinder where a second panel awaits. Insert your second Arc Powercell here. This activates a new fire pattern and causes a platform to extend on the upper half of the structure.
Step 4: Exit the cylinder and climb onto the newly formed platform above. Dodge the flames one more time to reach a lootable container on the back wall. Searching this container completes the quest objective and shuts down the fire traps.
Why the Deforester interaction fails
Many players have reported reaching a Deforester with Powercells in hand, seeing the sparks on the panel, but receiving no interaction prompt. Several factors contribute to this problem.
Each Deforester can only be looted once per match. If another player reaches it first and completes the sequence, the interaction becomes unavailable for everyone else. The visual indicator is inconsistent, however. Some players report that the sparks stop when someone activates it, while others have seen fully sparking and flaming Deforesters that still refuse to accept interaction.
A bug also appears to affect players who interacted with a Deforester before the A Prime Specimen quest became active. If you activated one earlier in the season, the quest may not register your subsequent attempts. Loading in with a free loadout has reportedly helped some players work around this issue.
Timing matters as well. If you spawn late into a match, other players may have already claimed the Deforesters. Spawning early and heading directly to one of the three locations gives you the best chance of finding an available husk.
Troubleshooting tips
If the interaction prompt does not appear at one Deforester, check the other two locations on the map before abandoning the match. The bug does not always affect all three simultaneously.
Verify that you are actually holding the Arc Powercells when you approach the panel. Items can drop without notification, so double-check your inventory if the prompt fails to appear.
Some players have found success by loading in with a free kit rather than a full loadout. The exact reason this helps remains unclear, but it has resolved the issue for multiple users.
If you complete the full sequence, including looting the container at the top, but the quest does not register as complete when you return to Speranza, the bug may have affected your progress. Restarting the game has not consistently fixed this for affected players.
Quest rewards
Completing A Prime Specimen grants a Patrol Car Key and a Door Blocker. You do not need to extract successfully to receive credit for the quest, so once you loot the Deforester container, you can die or extract at your convenience without losing progress.
The Deforester interaction mechanic has existed in Arc Raiders for some time, but A Prime Specimen marks its first appearance as a formal quest objective. The combination of limited availability per match and the ongoing bug has made this one of the more frustrating quests in the Headwinds update, though persistence and early spawns can help you push through.
