In ARC Raiders, quests like "A Prime Specimen" are a good early test of how well you can handle the game's mix of combat, exploration, and environmental puzzles. Shani gives you this mission in Speranza, sending you into the Blue Gate sector to investigate ARC Deforesters—huge industrial machines left behind after the world fell apart. It's one of those objectives that sounds simple on paper but can get messy fast if you're undergeared or unfamiliar with the area
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The first step is collecting two ARC Powercells. These drop from common ARC enemies like Wasps, Hornets, Ticks, Pops, and Fireballs, so you don't need to hunt anything rare. You'll usually get them just by clearing enemies near your drop zone. It's smart to carry extras, though, since bugs or failed attempts can sometimes eat your progress.
Once you have the Powercells, your map will point you toward ARC Deforesters. These are massive, overturned cylinder-like structures scattered around Blue Gate. You'll find reliable ones near places like Broken Earth, Adorned Wreckage, or Barren Clearing. Each location runs the same puzzle, so it mostly comes down to which one is safer based on your spawn and how crowded the area is.
When you approach a Deforester, look for a sparking panel on the outer hull. Inserting your first Powercell powers the interior but also activates flame jets blocking the path. You'll need to time your movement carefully to slip through without taking heavy damage. After getting past the first set of flames, there's a second panel deeper inside that needs another Powercell. Activating it ramps things up, turning the fire into rotating hazards you have to weave through.
After both panels are powered, head back outside and climb up the structure. There's usually a ledge or debris path you can mantle to reach the top. Some require a bit of parkour—jumping gaps or sliding under wreckage—but nothing too extreme once you spot the route. At the top, you'll find the loot interaction point that completes the "Loot an ARC Deforester" objective.
Some players have run into glitches where the loot prompt doesn't appear. A common workaround is dropping extra Powercells from your inventory or stash to reset the interaction. If that fails, running the puzzle with a teammate can help—if they trigger the loot, it often completes for you as well.
Once the objective is done, you just need to extract safely. Any nearby extraction works, like Maintenance Bunker, but be ready for patrols since the noise from the Deforester can draw attention. Finishing the quest rewards you with items like the Patrol Car Key and a Door Blocker, both useful early on for mobility and base defense.
What makes "A Prime Specimen" memorable is how it teaches mechanics you'll see later—timed hazards, interior husk navigation, and resource prep. Bringing quiet weapons helps clear enemies without drawing too much heat, and visibility tools are useful if weather conditions get rough. Some players like to drop close to Deforesters and rush the puzzle, while others farm Powercells first and play it safer.
Either way, completing the quest pushes Shani's storyline forward and gives you more familiarity with Blue Gate, which becomes a key farming and mission area later
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. It's a solid early milestone that blends puzzle-solving with the survival tension ARC Raiders is built around.
