ARC Raiders Ascending the Mountain Materials Farming Guide

The Ascending the Mountain project is live from September 8 to October 5, and there are four stages to work through before you can collect the final rewards. The project asks for quite a few different materials, and some of them are much harder to find than others.

If you wait until the last few days to start farming, you can end up spending a lot of raids looking for one missing item. It is much easier to work on the current stage while keeping an eye out for materials needed later.

Here is a simple breakdown of each stage and where you should focus your time.

Ascending the Mountain Project Overview

Ascending the Mountain has four stages:

Stage 1: Research High-Altitude Mechanics
Stage 2: Begin Ignition Tests
Stage 3: Implement Landing Capabilities
Stage 4: Final Tweaks

The project also has some useful rewards, including the Powered Descender and Hot Air Balloon charm.

Before heading out, clear some space in your stash. You will pick up plenty of other loot while looking for project materials, so having room to spare makes a big difference.

It is also worth keeping rare materials in your Safe Pocket when you find them. If you already have something needed for the next stage, there is usually no reason to sell it just because you have not reached that stage yet.

Stage 1: Research High-Altitude Mechanics

The first stage is fairly straightforward, so this is a good time to start building up a supply of materials for later.

Look through general containers and areas with mechanical or technical loot. You do not need to run around the entire map checking every building. Pick an area with several containers close together, search it properly, then move on.

Pay attention to crafting requirements as well. Some materials are easier to make from common components than they are to find directly. If you already have the ingredients, crafting one can save you several unnecessary raids.

While working on Stage 1, keep any useful materials that appear in the requirements for Stage 2. This can save a lot of time once you move forward.

Stage 2: Begin Ignition Tests

Stage 2 is where the material grind starts to feel more noticeable.

Sentinel Firing Core and Rocket Thruster are two materials worth keeping an eye out for. If either one is still missing, focus your runs on areas with mechanical and industrial loot instead of searching random buildings.

Try to keep your farming route short. Search several containers in the same area before moving somewhere else. Running halfway across the map for one container usually is not worth the time.

Backpack space also becomes more important here. Do not fill every slot with cheap loot before you have finished checking the containers that can give you the project materials.

If you find one of the harder materials early in a raid, consider extracting rather than staying around for another fight.

Stage 3: Implement Landing Capabilities

Stage 3 requires another set of materials, including Ruined Parachute.

Buried City is a useful place to spend time during this stage, especially if you can find an area with plenty of containers close together. The goal is to get through as many useful loot spots as possible without wasting time traveling between them.

You can also continue picking up Stage 2 materials if you are still missing any. There is no need to make a separate trip for every single requirement.

Ruined Parachute and other less common materials can take several raids to turn up, so it is better to start looking for them as soon as you reach Stage 3 rather than putting them off.

Stage 4: Final Tweaks

The last stage can be the most annoying if you leave it too late.

You will be looking for materials such as Sensors, Vaporizer Regulator, and Advanced Electrical Components, so areas with electronic and technical loot should be your main targets.

This is also the point where unnecessary fights can really hurt your progress. If you are already carrying a rare project item, there is little reason to risk it just for a few extra pieces of loot.

Once you find something you have been farming for several raids, getting out safely should be the priority.

Tips for Faster Material Farming

Keep Future Materials

One of the easiest ways to reduce the grind is to start collecting future requirements before you actually need them.

If you see a material that is required in the next stage and you have enough storage space, keep it. You will be glad you did later.

Use the Safe Pocket

The Safe Pocket is especially useful for this project. Rare materials should go there whenever possible, particularly when you are playing solo or running a dangerous route.

Losing common loot is not a big deal. Losing the one rare material you have been searching for all night is.

Stick to Dense Loot Areas

You do not need to search every corner of the map. Find an area with several useful containers and make a route around it.

Short, repeatable runs are usually better than long runs where most of your time is spent traveling.

Do Not Take Every Fight

PvP can be part of the fun in ARC Raiders, but you do not have to fight everyone you see while working on a project.

If you already have the material you need, getting back to the extraction point is often the better choice.

Combine Your Objectives

If you are also working on Expeditions, Trials, or other objectives, try to complete them during the same raids.

A run that gives you project materials while also progressing another objective is much more valuable than a raid where you only search for one item.

Materials to Prioritize

Not every material deserves the same amount of attention.

Rare materials and ARC Raiders Items needed in the later stages should generally come first. Common components are usually easy enough to replace, while one missing rare item can hold up the entire project.

A simple rule is to keep anything that is difficult to find and already appears in a known project requirement. You can always sell common loot later when your stash starts getting full.

High-risk areas can be worth visiting when you are looking for a particularly rare material, but there is no reason to take unnecessary risks for common components.

If you are only missing a few basic materials, normal raids are often enough. Save the more dangerous runs for when you actually need better loot.

What to Do With Leftover Materials

Once you finish Ascending the Mountain, check your stash before selling everything you collected.

Some materials can still be useful for crafting or other progression. Keep the rarer and more versatile items first, then clear out the duplicates and low-value materials if you need storage space.

Ascending the Mountain is much easier when you treat it as a long-term farming project instead of waiting until the final week.

Keep useful materials when you find them, work on future stages early, and make your farming routes around areas with plenty of containers. The Safe Pocket is also worth using for anything rare, especially when you are carrying the material you have spent several raids trying to find.

The project runs until October 5, so there is still time to finish all four stages. Just do not leave the rare materials until the last few days.

If you are currently stuck on one of the materials, share which one you are missing. Other Raiders may have a better farming spot or route to recommend.

The U4GM Team