Into the Fray is one of the first quests in ARC Raiders that pushes you into a serious boss-style fight. Trader Shani sends you topside to bring back a component from a Leaper, a fast, spider-like ARC that can delete you in seconds if you fight it in the open.
This explainer breaks down what the quest actually wants from you, where to look for a Leaper, and how to kill it with minimal risk so you can walk away with the Leaper Pulse Unit and your rewards.
Into the Fray ARC Raiders quest overview
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Quest name | Into The Fray |
| Quest type | Trader quest |
| Quest giver | Shani |
| Quest location | Any expedition map (objectives are global, not bound to one zone) |
| Main enemy | Leaper (high-threat ARC unit) |
| Key item | Leaper Pulse Unit |
| Previous quest in chain | Communication Hideout |
Once accepted from Shani, Into the Fray adds two simple but demanding tasks to your run:
- Destroy a Leaper
- Obtain a Leaper Pulse Unit
The challenge is not in the checklist; it is in surviving long enough against a Leaper to loot the Pulse Unit and extract.
Into the Fray objectives explained
| Objective | What you must actually do |
|---|---|
| Destroy a Leaper | Locate any Leaper on an expedition map and fully kill it. |
| Obtain a Leaper Pulse Unit | Loot the Pulse Unit from the destroyed Leaper's wreckage, then survive until extraction with the item. |
The quest tracks these in order: you need the kill first, then the item. If you die after picking up the Pulse Unit and fail to extract, you will have to repeat the process on another run.
Where to find a Leaper for Into the Fray
Into the Fray does not lock you to one map, but Leapers favor specific conditions and points of interest. They are high-threat ARC units and typically appear where the game already expects intense fights.
| Common Leaper spawn patterns | Notes |
|---|---|
| High Value Loot areas | Leapers often patrol or guard zones marked as high-value, where rare loot and tougher ARCs cluster. |
| Near extraction points | They can spawn around some extraction lifts, punishing greedy exits and ambushing Raiders leaving late. |
| Dam Battlegrounds – Water Treatment Control area | A frequently used farm spot; the elevator between the Water Treatment Control Building and the Research and Administration Building sees many Leapers depending on map rotation. |
On Dam Battlegrounds in particular, the area between Water Treatment Control and the Research and Administration Building is useful for this quest. That corridor includes
- An elevator that can serve as your extraction point after the kill.
- Several small bunkers and enclosed buildings near the fighting area.
Those bunkers are the core of the safest strategy for Into the Fray: exploiting the fact that Leapers struggle to get inside structures.
How to safely kill a Leaper (bunker method)
Leapers are built to punish open-ground players. They close the distance quickly with high, arcing jumps and can pin you with their long legs. You want to fight them from a position that removes their mobility advantage.
On maps where bunkers or sturdy buildings sit close to a likely Leaper spawn, you can turn the fight into a shooting gallery:
| Step | Action | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Gear up | Bring heavy ammo weapons and as many explosives as you can reasonably carry. | Leapers have a large health pool; explosives and heavy weapons cut the time-to-kill significantly. |
| 2. Approach a known Leaper zone | Head toward a High Value Loot area or the Dam Battlegrounds Water Treatment corridor, making sure you know where the nearest bunker doorway is. | Having a retreat path in mind prevents panic when the Leaper spots you. |
| 3. Trigger the Leaper | Move close enough or fire near ARC patrols until a Leaper locks onto your position. | You want the Leaper focused on you so it chases you toward your chosen bunker. |
| 4. Sprint into the bunker | Once the Leaper commits to engaging, immediately run inside a bunker or building and position yourself a few steps back from the entrance. | Leapers cannot properly enter small structures; the geometry traps them outside while you stay safe. |
| 5. Bombard the weak points | From just inside the doorway, spam explosives at the Leaper’s central “eye”, then follow up with heavy weapon fire when grenades run out. | The eye is an exposed, reliable damage point from that angle and easy to track when the Leaper is stuck. |
| 6. Re-aggro if it wanders | If the Leaper backs off, step out briefly and tag it with a shot, then retreat into the bunker again. | Keeps the fight on your terms without chasing it across open terrain. |
Alternative Leaper tactics without a bunker
Sometimes you will find a Leaper in a map pocket with no good buildings nearby. The fight becomes riskier, but the core principles stay the same: attack weak points, respect its jump, and keep cover in reach.
- Target leg joints first. Focusing fire on the knee-like joints of its legs can cripple its movement and make its attack arcs more predictable.
- Use Wolfpack grenades or similar cluster explosives. These chew through large enemies well and keep dealing damage even when you have to dodge.
- Watch its lunge animation. When the Leaper crouches and coils its legs, prepare to dodge sideways and break the line of sight behind terrain.
- Work from cover to cover. Avoid standing still in open fields; move between rocks, walls, or vehicles, peeking for brief damage windows.
This approach usually takes longer than the bunker strategy and demands more awareness, but it lets you clear the objective on maps that do not offer convenient enclosed spaces.
How to get the Leaper Pulse Unit and extract
Once the Leaper’s health bar is gone, the fight is not finished. Into the Fray will only complete once you recover the Leaper Pulse Unit and bring it safely back to Speranza.
| Phase | Action | Risk level |
|---|---|---|
| Looting | Search the Leaper’s wreckage and scattered parts for an interact prompt that gives you the Leaper Pulse Unit. | Moderate – nearby ARCs may still be active, and the wreck can draw attention. |
| Securing the item | Place the Pulse Unit into your Safe Pocket if your character has one available. | Low – this protects the item from loss on death, but the rest of your inventory remains at risk. |
| Extraction | Move to an extraction point and call in a lift, ideally the nearby elevator if you used the Dam Battlegrounds bunker route. | High – players and ARCs often converge on extraction zones. |
Back in Speranza, hand the Leaper Pulse Unit over to Shani. Only then will Into the Fray register as complete and unlock its rewards.
Into the Fray quest rewards
Finishing Into the Fray gives a mix of cosmetics and practical equipment. For an early game quest, this is a strong payout and helps offset the risk of repeatedly fighting Leapers while undergeared.
| Reward | Type | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Radio Renegade | Outfit (cosmetic) | Character appearance; no direct combat effect, but a distinct visual identity. |
| Burger Boy | Backpack charm (cosmetic) | Backpack flair; purely visual. |
| Vulcano III | Weapon | Gives you a concrete firepower upgrade to take into future raids. |
| Shotgun Ammo ×40 | Ammunition | Refills shotgun stock, useful if you lean on close-range weapons after this quest. |
These rewards also ease the ramp toward later ARC boss quests, including other assignments that ask you to hunt major enemies rather than standard patrols.
Where Into the Fray sits in ARC Raiders’ progression
Into the Fray sits after Communication Hideout in Shani’s quest line. By the time it appears, you will likely have spent many hours dodging large ARC threats like Leapers instead of facing them directly. This quest is the point where the game insists you stop avoiding them and learn how to reliably take one down.
The design is deliberate: Into the Fray forces you to engage with ARC weak points, explosives, and safe terrain usage, all of which are skills that matter more and more as you start taking on larger enemies and late-game bosses. Once you are comfortable farming a Leaper for this quest, most later Leaper encounters feel manageable instead of impossible.
Once you have turned in the Leaper Pulse Unit and claimed your rewards, you are better equipped–both mechanically and in gear–for the rest of Shani’s quests and the broader extraction loop. The next time a Leaper lands in front of you at an extraction lift, it will feel less like an impossible wall and more like free loot walking into your firing line.
