A Surveyor Vault is a rare item used to improve your crafting abilities and complete certain projects. You will need it to upgrade your Medical Lab to level 3, which is a station found in your Hideout. It is also a requirement for the first stage of the Trophy Display project. You can obtain Surveyor Vaults by looting arcs such as the Surveyor or Courier. Additionally, you can recycle them to gain crafting materials or salvage them for resources.
The Surveyor Vault is a rare ARC component in ARC Raiders that many players struggle to obtain, especially when playing solo. While Surveyor Vaults can drop from destroying ARC Surveyors, this method is slow, dangerous, and often unreliable. The easiest and most consistent way to farm Surveyor Vaults is by looting ARC Couriers during the Electromagnetic Storm event.
You will need a total of six Surveyor Vaults to fully progress.
Why You Need Surveyor Vaults
Surveyor Vaults are required for both quest progression and workshop upgrades. One Surveyor Vault is needed to complete the Mixed Signals quest. In addition, upgrading the Medical Lab to level 3 requires five more Surveyor Vaults, alongside Rusted Shut Medical Kits and Antiseptic. Because of the total amount required, relying on random Surveyor encounters can quickly become frustrating.
Why Not Hunt ARC Surveyors Directly
ARC Surveyors do roam the maps, but they are difficult to locate consistently and can be extremely punishing to fight alone. They are often contested by other Raiders and usually require significant ammo and planning to take down safely. For solo players in particular, this method is inefficient and risky compared to Courier farming.
Best Method: Electromagnetic Storm Event
The Electromagnetic Storm event dramatically changes ARC spawns across the map, causing large numbers of ARC Couriers to appear. These Couriers can be safely breached and looted and have a solid chance to drop Surveyor Vaults.
To avoid guessing when the event is active, use the ARC Raiders Event Timers page to plan your runs.
Step 1: Load Into Dam Battlegrounds During the Storm
When the Electromagnetic Storm is active, load into Dam Battlegrounds using a free loadout or a lightweight custom setup. You don’t need heavy weapons for this method, as the goal is to avoid combat entirely.
Once inside, open your map and begin moving toward the lower-left side of the map, around the Scrapyard and Old Battleground areas. This region consistently spawns multiple ARC Couriers during the storm.
Step 2: Locate and Loot ARC Couriers
As you move through the area, keep checking your map. ARC Couriers appear as distant icons, and you’ll often see black smoke marking their position. When you find one, approach carefully and breach it open.
Looting ARC Couriers gives you a chance at Surveyor Vaults and can also reward high-value components such as Sentinel Firing Cores, which are needed for other workshop upgrades. After looting, open your map again — new Couriers frequently spawn nearby during the event.
If you’re unfamiliar with common Courier routes, the ARC Raiders Interactive Map can help you visualise their usual paths.
Step 3: Manage the Storm and Extract Safely
While looting, stay aware of the storm’s electrical shocks and keep moving between Courier locations. You can often loot eight or more Couriers in a single run if you follow a clean route.
Once you’ve gathered enough loot — or secured a Surveyor Vault — extract immediately. Fast, repeatable runs are far more effective than trying to clear the entire map in one go.
Final Tips for Consistent Farming
This method is ideal for solo players because it avoids direct combat and conserves ammo. Free loadouts work perfectly, and skipping already-looted Couriers saves time since another usually spawns nearby. With a bit of patience, you can reliably collect all six Surveyor Vaults across just a few Electromagnetic Storm runs.
More ARC Raiders Resources
Trade and acquire hard-to-find resources on the Metaforge Marketplace — great for Surveyor Vaults, Mushrooms, Humidifiers, and more. Metaforge Marketplace — https://metaforge.app/arc-raiders/market
Track all your collected materials across runs and projects with the Item Tracker — perfect for Expedition and Hideout items. ARC Raiders Item Tracker — https://metaforge.app/arc-raiders/item-tracker
Plan and optimise your builds with the Skill Builder Tool — helps you configure augments and loadouts for efficient farming. Skill Builder Tool — https://metaforge.app/arc-raiders/skill-builder
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