Assessor Matrix is a new material added in Arc Raiders' Flashpoint update, and they're painfully hard to get. If you thought finding some Vaporizer Regulators was bad, buckle up, buddy. But you'll still have to get them, since the High-Gain Antenna project demands you find 24 of the suckers. That's a lot, by the way.

I'll cover how to get Assessor Matrixes below, as well as a few tips that'll help you actually grab them, as it's far easier said than done. Most importantly of all, bring strong Arc-slaying guns like the Hullcracker or Aphelion and plenty of healing.

How to get Assessor Matrix in Arc Raiders

You can only get Assessor Matrixes by breaching and looting the Assessor drop pods during the Close Scrutiny map condition. For now, at least, this event will always be active on one of the available maps at any given time.

Assessors are three-legged platforms that fall from the sky, and when they land, they'll emit red laser beams. Track one down, and you'll see that it has three breachable containers. Each one has a chance to spawn an Assessor Matrix, so you could get lucky and find three of them. Assessors also contain a variety of Arc materials and potentially even the new Dolabra blueprint if you're lucky.

However, Assessors are heavily guarded by Arcs and often contested by other players. While you could work together to take down the Arc guarding the cache, you also risk other players getting to the loot before you. What you can do to improve your chances is to:

• Use a Photoelectric Cloak to sneak in and out while breaching so you can grab the loot while other players are busy
• Throw smoke grenades while you're breaching a container to avoid Arc tracking you, letting you grab the loot and run
• Bring friends and strong gear like Hullcrackers and Wolfpacks to kill Vaporizers and other Arcs that spawn, and divvy up the loot between you

Nevertheless, you'll have to brave the Close Scrutiny event in search of Assessors one way or another, and it won't be particularly quick to collect everything you need.

Fragmented Logs is one of the most annoying quests in Arc Raiders, mainly because you're sent through some of Stella Montis' biggest deathtraps. It's not helped by the fact that the map is a maze. On the bright side, you don't need to complete it in a single run, so don't worry too much if you die midway through.

Below, I'll give you a step-by-step guide to beat Fragmented Logs, including where to find the Robotic Sandbox terminals, the conduit backrooms, and the main frame data.

How to complete Fragmented Logs in Arc Raiders

First things first, you will need one Electrical Component, which I recommend bringing with you to save time. You can craft them at a Refiner using plastic and rubber, recycle various tech and equipment (like Wasp and Hornet Drivers, Snitch Scanners, Looting MK.2, and so on), or search Electrical areas to find them.

Once you've got an Electrical Component, you're ready to complete the three Fragmented Logs quest steps on Stella Montis. These can be done in any order, but I'd recommend starting with the out-of-service terminal in Robotic Sandbox since this is the objective that requires the Electrical Component.

Repair the terminal in the Robotic Sandbox control rooms

To repair the out-of-service terminal, you need to head to either side of the Control Room between Robotic Sandbox A and B. There are various stairways leading to this area if you follow the signs, but if you're down in Robotic Sandbox A, you can ride the construction lift up the walkway.

Head inside the Control Room, and you'll find a computer that you interact with to repair using your Electrical Component. I used the terminal on the southeast side overlooking Robotic Sandbox B, next to the heptagon-shaped desk.

Enable power in a conduit backroom near Robotic Sandbox

Next, you need to head to one of the small offshoot rooms in the hallways downstairs by Robotic Sandbox A or B. I used the one near Robotic Sandbox B, labelled Control Room B2 above the door, since it's closer—it's on the ramp leading south from Sandbox B, near the Raider Hatch.

Enter the conduit backroom and you'll find a main power switch between what look like large server terminals. Pull the switch to complete this objective.

Boot the mainframe data terminal in Cultural Archives

The last objective is in the Cultural Archives on the far east of the map, which you can access via the Business Center or Atrium. You're looking for the small room that sticks out further east toward the centre of the Cultural Archives. Inside, you'll find a computer desk next to server boxes that you can interact with. If you've been to the Cultural Archives before, you'll know this place is infested with Shredders, so be careful.

You don't need to extract with anything, so find your nearest safe exit and get out of there. In return for your hard work galavanting across Stella Montis, Shani will give you three Showstoppers and three Trailblazers. It's not much, but they're sure to come in handy if you're taking on the new Close Scrutiny map condition.

This lapsed Arc Raiders player was not ready for the Flashpoint update. I hopped into a Blue Gate match with the new Close Scrutiny condition aiming to have a firsthand encounter with the Vaporizer, the fresh ARC drone unleashed topside.

Mistake! The first thing I witnessed upon emerging from spawn was the crimson glow of a raider flare. Just below the flare was a pair of Vaporizers, sized similarly to the Rocketeer, melting its next victim with blue laser beams. Another flare. These things live up to their names.

At least four other raiders in my friendly solo lobby had to come together to take it down while another went for revives. I would say the Vaporizer is basically a Rocketeer that shoots lasers, but this would disrespect its seemingly relentless armor, Matriarch energy shield, superior agility, and ability to melt multiple targets at once. The Vaporizer does not gradually hunt from a distance like its explosive predecessor, but darts across the sky, flanking at any opportunity.

Early encounters indicate the Vaporizer has two main moves. From a distance, there's a ranged laser blast that instantly vaporizes a light shield (ask me how I know this), eats a big chunk of health, and sets you and the ground on fire. Get close enough to really earn its attention, and it'll use the sustained laser beam guaranteed to kill unless you can break line of sight. Much like all of the big baddies, your only real chance against one solo is to to hug a piece of cover with a generous overhang and tear down its armor piece by piece.

During the Close Scrutiny event, the Vaporizers can spawn in packs of three around the Assessors, unique loot opportunities that drop from the sky every few minutes. My coworkers who play a lot more Arc Raiders than I do say you should pack like you're fighting a Queen: Wolfpacks, Hullcrackers, and way more healing items than you think you'll need. Even with all that in mind, I've never seen more PvE death and destruction than with Close Scrutiny. I definitely should have brought more than one stack of defibrillators.

While I wasn't aching for more bots capable of killing me faster than I can react, my understanding among Arc Raiders diehards is that this is exactly what they've been asking for. The current crop of Arc have become somewhat trivial for the folks who've been playing daily since October, so it tracks that a new bot that draws comparison to the dreaded Rocketeer would get their blood pumping again.

I got VAPORIZED! from r/ArcRaiders

Of course, I have no doubts Speranza's finest will work out how to trivialize the Vaporizer, given a few days. At least one has already tried the ol' rodeo Deadline maneuver to great success. Elsewhere in today's update, players are celebrating that free loadouts have finally been knocked down a peg.

Arc Raiders' new Flashpoint update brings a bushel of changes to shake up the state of Embark's robotic post-apocalypse: two new weapons expand the raider arsenal with SMGs and energy shotguns, a new airborne Arc enemy threatens players with an array of laser weaponry, and locked rooms will be stuffed with ever better loot.

But the best change in Flashpoint is a balm for a long-standing source of raider frustration: Late spawns. According to the version 1.22.0 patch notes, players are now more likely to be sorted into a fresh server if they embark from Speranza with their own loadout.

"As part of an ongoing look at free loadout usage and how it impacts the game, we're going to bias the matchmaking to put players with custom loadouts into fresh servers," Embark said in the patch notes. "This won't be a guarantee, as map choice, time of day, and region will still affect the number of players available to matchmake. This does have an effect on overall matchmaking times so we'll be keeping a close eye on it."

Since Arc Raiders' launch, late spawns have been one of the biggest possible bummers raiders can face. Nothing's as disheartening as loading into a match where 10 minutes have already passed, meaning you've risked your valuable gear just to enjoy the privilege of rummaging whatever scraps have been left by raiders who got first dibs on a map's worth of fresh loot containers.

Now, as long as you're not using a free loadout, that's an outcome that should be a lot less likely. Raiders with bespoke kits should have better odds of a good return on their gear investment, and while that could make life a little harder if you're relying on a free loadout, you should still have some time to stuff your pockets for funds to get back on your feet.

The implications and impacts of Arc Raiders' free loadouts have been the subject of regular discourse since launch, but it's unsurprising that we're seeing Embark tinker with its formula now that Marathon introduced its own competing vision of free loadout philosophy—one in which freebie-toting Rook players always join late and can only play solo.

While we'll likely see more adjustments in the future, Embark reiterated its intent for free loadouts in the Flashpoint patch notes:

"Free loadouts are primarily meant as a safety net for a player's personal economy. With these kits, those who play carefully should have enough to build themselves back up, accomplish a few tasks, or make a bit of progress."

Vaporizer Regulators, added in the Flashpoint update, are one of the most valuable materials right now in Arc Raiders. Why? Because you need a whopping 19 of them to complete the High-Gain Antenna project. Once you know how to get them, you'll understand why that's such an ambitious, daunting prospect.

Below, I'll explain where you can find Vaporizer Regulators and share some tips on how to actually collect them. I'll say right now, you will want to bring some high-end gear with you, including strong guns, shields, and consumables.

How to get Vaporizer Regulators in Arc Raiders

Clue's in the name, you can get Vaporizer Regulators by killing and looting Vaporizers. These are new Arc machines added in the Flashpoint update that commonly spawn during the Close Scrutiny map condition. And when I say commonly, I mean practically everywhere.

Vaporizers are large, aerial drones that often look like Rocketeers from afar, but come equipped with a laser beam that can set you and the surrounding area on fire. Like Rocketeers, you'll often find them travelling alone, but they can also spawn in packs, especially if you start breaching an Assessor, the unique loot locations that appear during the Close Scrutiny map event.

So, how do you kill a Vaporizer?

How to beat Vaporizers in Arc Raiders

Firstly, I recommend using high-end weapons like the Hullcracker, Aphelion, Dolabra, and Wolfpacks, since the Vaporizer can be very tanky. You should also bring plenty of strong healing consumables since the Vaporizer's fire damage is a pain to contend with, so you'll burn through your supply of healing items in no time if you're not careful.

Here are some tips for fighting the Vaporizer:

• Aim for the rotors around its rim to reduce their speed and mobility, and the core located on the underside
• Break line of sight using buildings, and peek in and out of cover to deal damage
• The Vaporizer's primary laser takes a second to charge before it fires, so start moving once you see it aiming the beam
• It will occasionally shoot a more targeted laser at multiple players at once, which you can avoid by getting behind cover before it fires
• It can activate a shield (similar to the Matriarch) that will negate all damage, so wait for this shield to lower before continuing to attack it

Given how tanky and lethal the Vaporizer is, I recommend bringing some friends along or teaming up with other players in your match if you're looking to hunt some. If you're fighting this flying demon with other players, make sure to spread out so you're not all caught in the same fiery blasts and wasting supplies.

The High-Gain Antenna is a new player project in Arc Raiders, added in the Flashpoint update. Similar to the Trophy Display project, you'll need to gather a bunch of different items to donate to the High-Gain Antenna project (including some brand-new materials) to construct your own Arc-detecting machine.

With Shredders escaping Stella Montis, Assessors revealing new operations, and the arrival of Vaporizers (their terrifying name matches their lethality), the Arc are seemingly evolving and expanding their efforts. There's no better time to get a clearer view of topside, then.

All Arc Raiders High-Gain Antenna steps

The High-Gain Antenna project has three stages for you to work through by donating various resources and items. It's theoretically shorter than other projects, like the Weather Monitor, but the materials you're required to find will take a lot of time to gather. Keep in mind that you can start gathering materials for later stages and store them in your stash.

Given the rarity and volume of Arc materials you need to collect, I recommend taking advantage of the Close Scrutiny map condition. This increases Arc material loot and spawns plenty of high-tier machines, including Surveyors, Vaporizers, and so on.

Here are all three stages, their required materials, and the rewards:

Sturdy Base (1/3)

Reward: 1x Torrente II, 1x Extended Medium Mag III, 1x Extended Barrel, 1x Padded Stock

Data Logger (2/3)

Reward: 1x Bobcat III, 1x Extended Light Mag III, 1x Vertical Grip III, 100x Raider Tokens

Parabolic Dish (3/3)

Reward: 1x Vita Spray, 1x Photoelectric Cloak, 1x Snap Hook, 400x Raider Tokens

There's no grand prize for completing the entire High-Gain Antenna project like there has been in the past, but the rewards you earn for completing each stage are pretty sweet at least. It's hard to argue with 400 Raider Tokens and a variety of rare attachments.

Is it necessarily worth going out of your way to complete this project if you weren't going to anyway? No. But if you're a completionist, then it's an extra bonus incentive.

As one of the two new weapons added in the Flashpoint update, the Dolabra blueprint is a pretty sought-after item in Arc Raiders right now. Not only is it a shiny new toy to play with, but it's also perfect for the challenging Close Scrutiny map condition, which is packed full of Vaporizers—they're just as scary as they sound.

So, how do you get the Dolabra for yourself? While you can kill other raiders who have it and steal the weapon, what you really want is the Dolabra blueprint so you can craft it yourself.

How to get the Dolabra blueprint in Arc Raiders

You can get the Dolabra blueprint by looting Arc Assessor dropships exclusive to the Close Scrutiny map condition. Assessors are the large platforms that fall from the sky periodically and emit a large red beam of light when they activate on the ground. Be warned though, these platforms are incredibly well-guarded.

As with all blueprints, it's not a guaranteed drop, but the Dolabra blueprint appears to be a relatively common reward compared to previous schematics. Plus, each Assessor has three containers that you can breach, giving you three chances each time.

To craft the Dolabra, you will need:

• Gunsmith level 3
• 3x Shredder Gyro
• 3x Magnetic Accelerator
• 2x Vaporizer Regulator

Legendary Shotgun (Dolabra) is Il Toro v.2 from r/ArcRaiders

Vaporizer Regulators are one of the new crafting materials from the Vaporizer Arc, which spawns commonly during Close Scrutiny map events. Likewise, Shredder Gyros are from Shredders, which can now be found on all maps, though only sometimes on Dam Battlegrounds. Lastly, Magnetic Accelerators are an Exodus material that is commonly found in Stella Montis, or by defeating Matriarchs and Queens.

That's quite a steep crafting cost, truth be told(especially as you'll need Vaporizer Regulators for the High-Gain Antenna project), but it's worth it. The Dolabra's main gimmick is how it changes firing pattern when you aim. When hipfiring, the Dolabra fires in a wide cone, but aim down sights and it'll be a more precise laser blast. It's perfect for taking down tough Arcs, especially the Vaporizer.

Close Scrutiny is a new map condition in Arc Raiders' Flashpoint update, and it might just be the most challenging one yet. Queens and Matriarchs are one thing, but the Close Scrutiny Arc Operation is a whole different beast, not least because of the new Vaporizer enemies spawning everywhere.

But thanks to the Assessors unique to this map condition, there's a lot of great loot up for grabs, providing you're up to the challenge. I'll explain Close Scrutiny below and what I'd recommend to make your runs successful.

Arc Raiders Close Scrutiny map condition explained

Close Scrutiny is a new map condition that can occur on all of the exterior maps (no Stella Montis, in other words), which has the following unique effects active:

• Assessors spawn periodically
• No active locked doors
• Decreased amount of overall loot
• Increased amount of Arc loot

Basically, your goal is to find and loot Arc Assessors, which are basically drop pods containing new Arc materials. While decreased overall loot is a pain, the enhanced Arc loot is valuable if you're searching for more robot parts. More specifically, Vaporizers and Surveyors spawn just about everywhere.

It's very much intended to be an endgame modifier given the difficulty and number of Arc that spawn. You won't get far without lots of healing items and strong weapons like the Hullcracker, Dolabra, or Wolfpacks. It's also much easier with a coordinated team, so grab some friends.

How to find and loot Assessors in Arc Raiders

Assessors are large, three-legged landing platforms that begin to spawn a few minutes into a Close Scrutiny match, and will continue to land over the course of the raid. You'll likely see them coming down from the sky, and when they land, they'll emit red beams of light that make it easy to track them down.

Race over to an Assessor and you'll find three containers that you can breach and loot by walking up the three legs—you'll have to wait for the platform to fan out if it hasn't already before you can breach it.

However, breaching the Assessor will trigger an alarm which will alert nearby Arc and spawn even more, including Vaporizors. Of course, other players will also hear the alarm and know you're trying to claim the prize.

Assessors are heavily guarded, so you can either approach them stealthily or go all guns blazing. Here are a few things I'd recommend to help you loot them:

• Use a Photoelectric Cloak to sneak in and out while breaching
• Throw smoke grenades while you're breaching a container to avoid Arc tracking you
• Bring friends and strong gear like Hullcrackers and Wolfpacks to kill Vaporizers and other Arc that spawn

So what do you get from Assessors that makes it worth the trouble? Assessors can contain:

• The Dolabra blueprint (the new energy shotgun)
• Arc materials
• The Assessor Matrix epic-quality resource (required for the High-Gain Antenna project)

Well, this is something you don't see every day: With Arc Raiders now three weeks from launch, developer Embark Studios has lowered the price of the game in several regions on Steam "to ensure a fairer experience for everyone."

You've probably noticed that our coverage of games typically includes pricing info in US dollars, pounds, and euros—and maybe Australian dollars if Shaun or Jody are on the job. But regional pricing on Steam supports an awful lot of other currencies, allowing for local costs that are, ideally, better for consumers in other parts of the world than converting to US dollars.

In reality, though, the system works out better for some gamers than others: Some regional prices end up being cheaper than a converted price, but others can be significantly more expensive.

The price of Battlefield 6 in Chinese yuan, for instance, is ¥268 according to SteamDB, which works out to a little under $38, quite a discount on its $70 price in the US; at the other end of the scale, though, are gamers in Israel, who are going to have to fork over 299 new shekels, which converts to nearly $92.

There will be variance in converted pricing on Arc Raiders too, but following this pre-release price shift, the gap is not as wide as it could have been.

"We've been working on reducing the price of ARC Raiders across multiple locations to ensure a more fair price point for all," Embark wrote on the Arc Raiders Discord. "If you already made the purchase in one of those locations, you will receive a refund automatically, though this can take a few days depending on the platform."

The price of Arc Raiders has been lowered in Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Peru, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Ukraine, Uruguay, and Vietnam, and you can see the change in action thanks to SteamDB's price history function: The cost in Brazil, for instance, went from R$235 to R$172, while in Vietnam gamers will pay 746000₫ instead of 1040000₫.

Global economic disparity means there will never be across-the-board equity with this sort of thing, at least until we do something about global economic disparity: Prices in some countries may be higher than others, but at the same time much lower (and thus much more affordable) as a percentage of disposable income. The elimination of regional pricing in Turkey and Argentina in 2023, for instance, resulted in price increases that had a particularly pronounced impact because the average minimum wages in those countries are so much lower than they are in wealthy Western nations.

Still, this is at least a little bit of movement in the right direction, and credit to Embark for doing it—if we're lucky maybe we'll see more publishers taking more care with their own regional prices in the future. Arc Raiders, by the way, is set to launch on October 30.