Field Depots are some of the many go-to spots for loot in Arc Raiders. You’re seldom guaranteed to find something game-changing here, but they’re valuable spots for topping off your ammo, collecting a fancy gadget or two, and accomplishing quests, feats, and Trials.
Accessing the goodies inside one is pretty straightforward: Find a Field Crate nearby, carry it to the Field Depot, deposit it, and loot. Oh and, uh, stay alive during this whole trip. Finding a Crate and then safely carrying it to the Depot can prove challenging enough, but there’s one particular Depot that has proven a reliable spot in my 75 hours of play, with good loot opportunities surrounding it to follow up with (or fall back on), and excellent visibility so you’re more likely to know if trouble is on its way.
The Field Depot on the southwestern corner of Dam Battlegrounds, in between the Electrical Substation and Water Towers, is what we’re talking about here. Like any place in Arc Raiders, you’re as likely to die here as you are anywhere else in this silly game, but there are a few key features of this location that I think make it a good go-to spot if you need a Field Depot.
Finding this spot is easy enough. You can identify the Field Depot from a variety of angles in the surrounding area thanks to its characteristic blue tarp and the satellite installation atop it.
This is what makes this particular location a favorite of mine: You can easily survey the area to get a sense of who and what is around. Sure, people can hide in any of the nearby Water Towers or in the Substation nearby, but A. so can you, and B. there’s enough wide-open space here that you can spend a minute or two observing the area to see if anyone’s around (and if you’re with a crew, it’s easier for someone to watch your back).
Crate locations are random in each match, especially as other players can lay claim to one if they find it before you do. But here you can find Crates in any of the Water Towers or just outside of them. You can usually also locate some north or east of the Electrical Substation a short distance away. You can also find a Crate near the Swampside Elevator, or in a few other areas northwest of this extraction site.
Personally, I’m wary of hunting and gathering near extraction points. Not only are there likely to be campers nearby, but often enough these areas are prone to high-stress situations that complicate things. Plus, the Swampside Elevator is often home to a Leaper.
So if you don’t find a Crate near the Water Towers or Substation, I’d suggest you pack it up and head to two other key locations nearby for loot.
These are also decent places to fall back on if things are FUBAR.
If you need to get the hell out of Dodge while near the Water Towers, my advice is to head southeast in general–heading into the swamps to the northwest is messy business (though the thick cover of the swamp can prove useful if you can make it there in time); the same is true of the extraction point and high-level loot areas northeast of this spot. The map ends a short distance away to the southwest, so the best thing to do is fall back southeast.
Taking a hike up the hill to the lookout spot just southeast of the Water Towers and Substation gives you an excellent vantage point of the Depot (it’s a good idea to stop here first if you’re approaching the Field Depot from the southeast), a zipline for a convenient getaway, and a solid chance for some grenades, a weapon, and ammo.
In fact, the loot that sometimes spawns here can be a better score than what’s in that Field Depot. You won’t get credit for any task that asks you to deliver a Crate to a Depot, but if you just need loot, hit this place up.
The Formicai Outpost is a killer location in general. It’s typically my go-to spot if I’ve suffered a few crushing losses. Not only is it a march to get up to it, but it’s wildly easy to secure as there’s only one way to easily and quietly enter (yes, you can probably jump your way up to it from the rocky outcropping on the north side of this section, but you’ll likely make a ton of noise doing so); it’s also filled with solid loot opportunities.
It’s not uncommon to find a weapons case here, as well as decent gadgets and grenades in its supply crates.
Just northwest of the Water Towers is a Raider hatch that can make for a breezy extract. You’ll need a key to use it, but such items are rather straightforward to craft once you upgrade the necessary workstation or unlock Traveling Tinkerer in the skill tree.
In writing this guide, I’ve shared some of my go-to routes on Dam Battlegrounds, a map I still feel is more likely to see PvP skirmishes than any other map given that new folks only have this map to play in for some time.
So here’s that warning: If I see you in this area, you get a “Hello” and a “Don’t Shoot,” and if you don’t reply in kind, buddy, I will shoot you. As I was working on this very guide, some joker hopped out of the rocks in the area and murdered me. Enjoy that well-kitted Arpeggio, pal. You’ll get what you deserve soon enough.
But okay, what about other Field Depot locations? In my opinion, they come with greater risks, and if you just need to check off a Field Depot deposit on a list or you need a quick ammo pick-me-up, you could make things worse for yourself. All the other locations on Dam Battlegrounds are a bit too close to extraction points or high-level loot zones for my risk assessment level.
Other maps, such as Spaceport and Blue Gate, are of a higher difficulty, so you’re likely to have a tougher time there in general. Buried City also isn’t much better; the smaller map means you’re more likely to encounter other players with tighter sightlines and less spacious areas to run to.
Happy hunting!
