With the new year in full swing, developer Embark Studios has officially released the first set ARC Raiders 2026 Trial Challenges that give players new tasks to complete in exchange for some potentially lucrative in-game rewards. As the year 2025 drew to a close, ARC Raiders players have embarked on their very first expedition and completely reset their characters and progression, meaning the second season is now here, along with the second week of Season 2 Trial Challenges.
For those who may have just picked up ARC Raiders in the recent winter sale and have no idea what trials are, they are just one of the many in-game opportunities players have to obtain gear and items to take Topside. Each trial, which changes every Monday, has a specific goal for the player. These usually involve destroying a specific type of ARC, exploring certain areas, or interacting with objects and items while you're up there. Players can attempt their Trials every match, but points are not added every game. Three stars can be earned per trial, each of which is achieved by earning 1000, 2500, and 4000 points per challenge. Each star is rewarded with a random Uncommon, Rare, and Epic piece of loot.
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Fans have often complained that the Trials challenges can get repetitive, so Embark decided to mix things up with last week's set ARC Raiders Trials by requiring players to throw snowballs at the Rocketeers. This objective added a whole new type of challenge for players, as the Rocketeer is one of the deadliest enemies in the game, with the ability to decimate players with just a few hits. Fortunately, the players were quick to use their initiative and stun the ARC with a Showstopper Grenade before blasting him with snowballs while he was incapacitated. It was still definitely one of the riskier challenges of the week, but it was definitely a fun way to keep players on their toes. Now, just a week later, players have to stock up on snowballs again, as the latest set of Trials challenges require players to throw them at Bastions this time.
How to complete ARC Raiders Week 11 Trials
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Stalker damage
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Throw snowballs at the Bastions
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Bastion damage
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Searching for an offer drop
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Plant harvest
Latest set ARC Raiders Trial Challenges are officially active the week of January 5th through January 12th. Players who want to collect as many points as possible will need to damage Goldilocks, throw snowballs at Bastions, damage Bastions, search for Supply Drops and harvest plants. Similar to last week's challenge, players will need to head to the Cold Snap map modifier to stock up on snowballs and then throw them at the Bastions. This deadly enemy type has a high rate of fire and can be found in the Buried City, Blue Gate, Dam Battlegrounds, Spaceport, and Stella Montis. As was the case with the Rocketeer, the best way to approach this challenge is to stun the Bastion with a Showstopper Grenade before unloading as many Snowballs as possible on it.
For the rest of the challenges, Goldilocks damage can be done on all maps, but they appear much more often on the likes of Spaceport or Blue Gate. The number of ARCs also increases in night raids, so it pays to jump into the map modifier for a better chance of seeing more gold diggers. When it comes to finding Supply Drops, players will need to find small call stations scattered around the map. These are much more common in Dam Battlegrounds and Buried City. Finally, plant harvesting can be done by collecting mushrooms, agave, fennel or moss. These again appear on most maps, but are more common on the spaceport.
It's shaping up to be a big week ARC Raiders players, as developer Embark Studios has returned from its Christmas break and is gearing up to release the first patch for 2026 on Tuesday, January 6th. The studio has already confirmed that it will be nerfing the most overpowered item in the game: the Trigger Nade, and has also hinted at a possible fix for players using macros to fire the Kettle at an extremely high rate of fire. Fans shouldn't expect any new content from the release ARC Raiders update, but with the new year now in full swing, Embark may soon reveal what its plans are for the next 12 months.
- Released
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October 30, 2025
- ESRB
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Teen / Violence, Blood
