ARC Raiders Lore Explained

Speranza, the ARC threat and the story clues added in Frozen Trail.

Speranza and the ARC mystery

The lore guide uses official sources to describe the world of 2180, the survivors of Speranza and the unresolved origin of ARC. Frozen Trail adds Pendola Pass and the Outpost. Confirmed history is kept separate from theories.

Explore the ARC Raiders lore

History of the world

• ARC Raiders Lore Timeline: From the Collapse to Frozen Trail: Every era of ARC Raiders history in order, from the environmental collapse and the Exodus to the First Wave, Speranza in 2180 and the Frozen Trail story.
• The Exodus in ARC Raiders: Who Left Earth and What They Left Behind: What the game confirms about the Exodus, the people who left Earth, the launch sites and ports Raiders still loot, and where the trail meets the ARC mystery.
• The ARC in ARC Raiders: The Machines That Rule the Surface: ARC as a force in the story: two invasions, how the machines behave, the roster from Ticks to Queens, and the fallen Emperor and Frigate at the heart of Frozen Trail.

Mysteries and theories

• Where Do ARC Come From? The ARC Raiders Origin Mystery: What the game confirms about where ARC come from, the clues each update has added, and the questions about ARC's makers that are still open.
• The Biggest ARC Raiders Lore Theories, Rated by the Evidence: Eight popular ARC Raiders lore theories, each with the in-game clue it rests on and an honest rating of how well the evidence holds up.

Speranza and the Raiders

• Speranza in ARC Raiders: The Underground City Explained: Why the survivors of ARC Raiders live underground, what daily life in Speranza looks like in quest text, the Nomadic Envoys who visit, and what the Frozen Trail Outpost means for the city.
• Raiders in ARC Raiders: Who They Are and Why They Go Topside: The people who leave Speranza for the surface: where the name comes from, what they bring back, what the job costs, and how Frozen Trail turns them into pioneers.

Characters

• Celeste in ARC Raiders: Speranza's Leader Explained: Celeste leads Speranza's Raiders. She grew up fighting the First Wave, now holds a crowded settlement together, and in Frozen Trail she sends Raiders after the fallen Emperor at Pendola Pass.
• Shani in ARC Raiders: Head of Security and Speranza's ARC Expert: Shani runs Speranza's security and studies ARC. She gives the game's first quest, chases the strange signal for most of the story and helps Celeste trace it to Pendola Pass.
• Tian Wen in ARC Raiders: The Gunsmith Behind the Bulletproof Door: Tian Wen is Speranza's reclusive weapons specialist. She sells the guns, distrusts the Raiders who buy them, and carries the memory of her mother, the First Wave commander Major Aiva.
• Apollo in ARC Raiders: The Mechanic Who Made Speranza Home: Apollo is a traveling mechanic who has made Speranza his home for now. He builds the grenades, runs construction crews and keeps finding ways to make life underground a little better.
• Lance in ARC Raiders: The Android Medic With Missing Memories: Lance is Speranza's android medic, and he can't remember who he was before he arrived. His quests swing between supply runs for his clinic and the question of what he is.

Places

• ARC Raiders Rust Belt Lore: The Region Where the First Wave Was Fought: The ruined surface region Speranza lives off, where Raiders fought the First Wave for ten years. Its history, and what each map adds to the story.
• ARC Raiders Dam Battlegrounds Lore: The Alcantara Power Plant and the First Wave: The Alcantara Power Plant kept settlers alive in the age of Sunrise, then hosted the last battles of the First Wave. What is left there, and what the quests turn up.
• ARC Raiders Buried City Lore: The City Under the Sand and Who Lived There: A city from before the Collapse, swallowed by sand and partly uncovered by wind. What its streets, apartments and quests say about the people who lived there.
• ARC Raiders Spaceport Lore: Acerra Spaceport and the Exodus Launches: Acerra Spaceport is where the Exodus shuttles left Earth. A walk through its buildings, the staff who stayed, and what Speranza takes from it now.
• ARC Raiders Blue Gate Lore: The Gate, the Nomads and MANTIKOR: The Blue Gate opens the Rust Belt onto the mountains. Its quests and Codex entries tell of new Raider structures, a fresh fracture, nomads who bring down ARC and MANTIKOR's tunnels.
• Stella Montis Lore: The Sealed Mountain Facility in ARC Raiders: A research facility carved into the northern mountains and sealed by its last occupants. What Raiders found inside: androids, nervous researchers, MANTIKOR security and Exodus shipping files.
• Riven Tides Lore: The Twice-Abandoned Coast in ARC Raiders: A luxury harbor resort on the western coast, emptied once in the Exodus and again in the First Wave. Now Speranza uses the same open shoreline to watch for what comes next.

Frozen Trail

• Pendola Pass Lore: The Frozen Trail Story in ARC Raiders: Celeste and Shani followed a strange signal to an old Exodus transport hub beyond the Rust Belt, where an Emperor lies fallen. What Frozen Trail tells us, and what it keeps back.