Arc Raiders: Dust on the Wires Quest Explained

Dust on the Wires is one of the more involved early quests in Arc Raiders, sending you across the Spaceport map to trace a missing scout patrol and safely extract a key intel item. While none of the objectives are mechanically complicated, they’re spread across dangerous territory with hostile ARCs and rival raiders in between. This guide breaks the quest down into manageable steps, gives route suggestions, and explains how to keep your Scout Patrol Note safe so you don’t lose progress.

This walkthrough is spoiler-light for story details and focuses on practical gameplay: where to go, what to interact with, and how to stay alive long enough to extract.

Quest Overview and Key Concepts

Dust on the Wires is a linear multi-step mission that you’ll pick up in Speranza. Shani asks you to retrace the last movements of a scout group at the Spaceport, re-broadcast their logs, and recover whatever evidence they left behind.

The objectives move you roughly in a large arc from the eastern boundary of Spaceport, across its central span, and toward the western Maintenance Hangar before you leave via an extraction point. You can complete the quest in a single run if you stay focused and avoid unnecessary firefights.

Preparation: Gear, Augments, and Mindset

Before dropping into Spaceport for Dust on the Wires, set yourself up for success. Arc Raiders is an extraction shooter, which means your gear is at risk when you die, and quest items often require a successful extraction to count.

Why a Safe Pocket Is Essential

The final step of the quest involves extracting with the Scout Patrol Note, a special quest item that can be lost if you go down before extraction. The safest way to protect it is to equip an augment that grants a Safe Pocket.

• Safe Pocket: A protected inventory slot that preserves its item even if you die before extraction, similar in concept to secure containers in other extraction games such as Escape from Tarkov.¹
• When to use it: The moment you pick up the Scout Patrol Note, move it into your Safe Pocket before doing anything else.

Design elements like secure storage are common in extraction shooters to give players a sense of progression even when they fail a raid. Research on player retention in online games highlights how incremental, guaranteed rewards (like protected loot) can offset frustration from losses and keep players engaged over time.²

Recommended Loadout

The Spaceport layout encourages mid- to long-range engagements, with plenty of elevated angles and open roads. Consider the following:

• Primary weapon: A reliable mid-range rifle or marksman weapon for open-ground firefights.
• Secondary weapon: A fast-handling SMG or shotgun for close quarters inside the Field Depot and Raider Tower.
• Healing: Bring multiple healing items; the route passes through contested areas where you may take chip damage from ARCs or other players.
• Utilities:
  • Grenades for flushing enemies from cover around the hangar.
  • Movement or defensive gadgets that help you disengage if third-partied.

Solo vs Squad Approach

Dust on the Wires can be completed solo, but a small squad has some advantages:

• Solo: Easier to stay unnoticed; play slower, avoid central chokepoints, and rely on stealth and positioning.
• Squad: One player can cover while another interacts with terminals and search prompts, reducing exposure time at objective locations.

Step 1–2: Re-sending the Log from a Field Depot

The first part of the quest happens on the eastern side of Spaceport, where multiple Field Depots are scattered near points of interest like the Security Checkpoint, Service Buildings, Communications Tower, and Rocket Assembly structures.

1. Choosing a Field Depot on the Eastern Edge

The quest allows you to visit any Field Depot in the eastern area. Practically, some locations are safer and more convenient than others because they line up with your later objectives near the Maintenance Hangar in the west.

Commonly used options include:

• Southern depot: Roughly between the Security Checkpoint and the Communications Tower. This is often the most efficient for the quest because it shortens the travel distance to the hangar later.
• Central-east depot: Closer to Service Buildings. Offers decent cover but can attract more traffic from other players.
• Northern depot: Near Rocket Assembly. Safer early on, but it adds extra travel time to your next objectives.

How to recognize a Field Depot:

• A compact building with an obvious antenna or mast on the roof.
• Usually contains a small interior room with loot containers and a desk.

2. Using the Field Radio Inside the Depot

Once you enter your chosen Field Depot:

1. Clear the immediate area outside the building to avoid being ambushed while interacting inside.
2. Head into the small main room. Look for a yellow-marked or otherwise highlighted terminal on the only desk in the room. This functions as the Field Radio.
3. Interact with the terminal to retransmit the scout group’s last log back to Shani.
4. Wait for the confirmation message or UI update; your quest tracker should advance to the next step.

In extraction games, objective interactions like this often lock you in place, so always time them after scanning sightlines, listening for footsteps, and ensuring you’re not being pushed by ARCs or other players.

Step 3: Reaching the Old Raider Tower

After you forward the log from the Field Depot, the quest directs you toward the western portion of Spaceport, where the Maintenance Hangar dominates the area. Your next goal is a small old Raider Tower just north of the hangar.

Traversing from East to West Safely

The journey from the eastern Field Depot to the western side is often the most dangerous segment of Dust on the Wires, because you’re crossing large stretches of map where ARCs patrol and other raiders are likely completing their own objectives.

Consider these navigation tips:

• Skirt the edges: Hug the outer perimeter paths rather than cutting straight through central plazas and chokepoints.
• Use cover chains: Move from structure to structure, using walls, containers, and vehicles as cover instead of sprinting across open tarmac.
• Fight only when necessary: Extraction shooters often reward disengagement. Save ammo and health for fights you can’t avoid.

Identifying the Old Raider Tower

The Raider Tower isn’t a massive skyline landmark; it’s more like a compact, rusted watchtower built from scrap, with stairs spiraling up the outside. It sits just north of the Maintenance Hangar, a bit removed from the main building.

To complete this step:

1. Approach the tower from the east or northeast, using vehicles and low cover to break line of sight from the hangar approaches.
2. Climb the exterior staircase or ladder to reach the top platform.
3. Inside, look for another highlighted terminal similar to the one in the Field Depot.
4. Interact with the terminal to resend the logs once more and advance the quest.

When you’re at height, be mindful that your silhouette is easier to spot at a distance. Finish the interaction quickly and avoid staying on the tower longer than necessary.

Step 4–5: Tracking the Scout Patrol at the Maintenance Hangar

With the Raider Tower objective completed, you’re directed to look for evidence of the missing scouts near the Maintenance Hangar, and then search their remains. These two objectives are close together on the southwest side of the hangar.

Finding the Patrol’s Traces

From the Raider Tower, descend and move toward the southwestern corner of the Maintenance Hangar exterior. You’re looking for visual signs of a skirmish and abandoned gear.

Typical cues near this objective include:

• Upturned or scattered carts and trolleys.
• Debris and equipment on a slight slope or along a road section.
• An on-screen interaction prompt (often something like “Transmit location”).

When you’re close enough, you’ll see the prompt appear.

1. Walk up to the cluster of overturned carts.
2. Trigger the interaction to send the location back to Shani.
3. Wait for the quest tracker to update to searching the scouts’ remains.

Searching the Remains and Getting the Scout Patrol Note

After transmitting the location, move slightly further south along the road or path. You’re looking for another overturned trolley—this time with a distinct visual marker like a blue cloth or tarpaulin and a barrel.

To get the quest item:

1. Approach the trolley with the blue covering and wait for the interaction prompt.
2. Interact to search the remains. A Scout Patrol Note should appear as a lootable quest item.
3. Pick up the Scout Patrol Note immediately to avoid losing it in crossfire or if other players show up.
4. Open your inventory and move the note into your Safe Pocket (if you have one).

From this moment, your primary mission is survival and extraction. You’ve done all the on-map quest work; losing the note now would mean repeating the hangar objectives in another raid.

Step 6: Extracting and Turning in the Note

With the Scout Patrol Note secured, your final step is to reach an extraction point and then hand the item over to Shani back in Speranza.

Choosing an Extraction Point

Extraction points are scattered around Spaceport’s perimeter. When planning your route out:

• Check the minimap: Identify the closest extraction point that isn’t directly through high-traffic central areas.
• Favor nearby exits: From the Maintenance Hangar, exits on the southern or western edge are often closest, but choose whichever has fewer enemy sounds or visible players.
• Don’t over-loot: This is not the time to get greedy. The note is more valuable than a few extra scraps of gear.

Surviving the Last Leg

Extraction shooters often generate the most tension as players converge on exits, and Arc Raiders is no exception. Game design research has shown that heightened risk near the end of a run can increase excitement, but also frustration if losses feel unfair.³ To tilt things in your favor:

• Heal up fully before approaching the extraction zone.
• Avoid firing unless you absolutely need to; gunshots attract attention.
• Use terrain—crates, vehicles, and elevation changes—to approach the extraction point from less obvious angles.

Once you’ve successfully extracted, return to Speranza and speak with Shani. Hand in the Scout Patrol Note when prompted to complete Dust on the Wires and claim your rewards.

Optimized Route Summary (Quick Reference)

If you want a condensed version you can mentally follow during a raid, use this quick route checklist:

• Spawn: Move toward the southern or central Field Depot on the eastern side of Spaceport.
• Depot: Clear the area, enter, use the Field Radio on the desk, then leave quickly.
• Cross-map: Head west using outer paths, avoiding central chokepoints and high-visibility routes.
• Raider Tower: Find the small scrap tower north of the Maintenance Hangar, climb it, and interact with the terminal.
• Hangar traces: Drop down, circle to the southwest corner of the hangar, and interact with the abandoned carts to transmit the location.
• Scout remains: Move slightly south to the trolley with a blue cloth and barrel, search it, and loot the Scout Patrol Note.
• Protect the note: Put it into your Safe Pocket immediately.
• Extract: Move to the nearest extraction point with minimal exposure, then return to Speranza and talk to Shani.

FAQ: Dust on the Wires in Arc Raiders

Do I have to use a specific Field Depot for the quest?

No. Any Field Depot on the eastern side of Spaceport will progress the quest as long as you use the Field Radio inside. However, depots closer to the center-south side of the map tend to offer a shorter route to the Maintenance Hangar.

What happens if I die after picking up the Scout Patrol Note?

If you die and the note is not in your Safe Pocket, you’ll generally need to repeat the steps near the Maintenance Hangar in a new raid to obtain a new copy. By keeping it in a Safe Pocket, you preserve the item even on death, in line with how secure containers work in many extraction shooters.¹

Can I bring friends and share the Scout Patrol Note?

Quest progression is typically tracked per player. Each squad member running Dust on the Wires will need their own Scout Patrol Note. Your teammates can help defend the area and escort you to extraction, but they can’t complete the quest for you.

Is Dust on the Wires required for story progression?

Dust on the Wires is designed as a more substantial early quest that expands the game’s narrative around Shani and the scouts. While exact progression requirements can depend on future patches and balance updates, completing it usually unlocks additional tasks and rewards, so it’s worth doing even if you’re mainly focused on loot.

What’s the best way to avoid PvP during this quest?

You can’t guarantee a PvP-free run, but you can reduce the chances by:

• Queuing at off-peak times.
• Favoring side routes and avoiding obviously high-traffic areas like central plazas.
• Keeping engagements short and relocating quickly after any firefight.

Final Thoughts

Dust on the Wires is a solid introduction to what makes Arc Raiders distinct as an extraction shooter: deliberate movement, objective-focused navigation, and the constant tension of carrying a valuable item to the exit. By preparing a Safe Pocket, planning a route that minimizes exposure, and staying disciplined about when to fight and when to run, you can reliably complete the quest in a single raid.

Once you’ve wrapped it up, you’ll have not only rewards from Shani but also a better understanding of the Spaceport layout and how to survive longer, riskier missions to come.

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Sneha TeteBeauty & Lifestyle Writer

 

Sneha is a relationships and lifestyle writer with a strong foundation in applied linguistics and certified training in relationship coaching. She brings over five years of writing experience to cuisinecraze,  crafting thoughtful, research-driven content that empowers readers to build healthier relationships, boost emotional well-being, and embrace holistic living.

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