Arc Raiders Master Boarding the Frigate Quest Guide

 

Complete Walkthrough Boarding the Frigate Arc Raiders

The Boarding the Frigate mission is an infiltration and sabotage operation that blends tight interior firefights with short outdoor approaches and a climactic final encounter. You’ll breach a heavily guarded vessel, interact with mission devices, survive scripted reinforcement waves, and extract. Success depends on timing, positioning, and resource pacing more than raw firepower.

Primary objectives

• Secure an insertion point and board the frigate.

• Reach and interact with the mission device (console, reactor, or data core).

• Survive the counterattacks and reach extraction.

Why this mission matters It’s a compact test of your mechanical skill, team coordination, and ability to adapt loadouts to mixed threats—infantry, shielded units, and drones. Mastering it improves your general combat sense for other missions.

Preparing to board

Role selection and team composition Choose roles that complement each other. A balanced team typically includes:

• Assault: High single-target DPS and mobility to lead breaches.

• Support: Healing or armor resupply and suppression to sustain pushes.

• Skirmisher: Close-range burst and flanking to handle shielded or clustered enemies.

If you’re solo, build for self-sufficiency: self-heal, mobility, and a reliable close-range option.

Loadout recommendations

• Primary: Versatile assault rifle with stability and magazine mods for medium-range fights.

• Secondary: Shotgun or SMG for tight corridors.

• Utility: EMP or stun grenades, a deployable shield or turret, and a medkit or healing drone.

• Armor mods: Damage reduction vs. energy weapons or sprint speed depending on your playstyle.

Why these choices work The frigate alternates between short corridors and small rooms where mobility and quick target swaps matter. A stable primary keeps you effective at mid-range while a close-range secondary wins hallway fights. EMPs and stuns are crucial against shielded units and drones.

Approach and insertion

Choosing an insertion point When multiple insertion points are available, pick the one with the fewest patrols or the one that leads most directly to the objective. If you can observe patrol patterns, time your approach to slip past clusters.

Exterior approach tactics

• Use cover and verticality to avoid being funneled.

• Eliminate isolated sentries quietly to reduce alarm risk.

• If alarms trigger, fall back to a defensible choke and reset.

Breach sequence

• Throw a stun or flash to disrupt defenders.

• Move as a unit through corridors; avoid splitting unless you have a clear flank plan.

• Clear rooms methodically: sweep left to right, check ceilings and vents.

A coordinated breach—stun, then frag, then entry—reduces initial casualties and prevents early reinforcement waves from overwhelming you.

Interior navigation and room clearing

Movement and spacing

• Avoid standing in long corridors where you can be shot from both ends.

• Use doorways as temporary cover but don’t camp them—grenades punish static play.

• Keep a staggered formation: one player watches left, another right, and a third covers rear approaches.

Room clearing pattern

• Enter, deploy a nonlethal stun, sweep the room, secure high ground if available.

• Use suppression to pin enemies while a teammate finishes them off.

Spawn behavior to watch

• Interacting with mission devices often triggers reinforcements within 20–40 seconds.

• If a console triggers a cutscene, prepare for immediate pressure.

Always have a grenade or two ready when interacting with mission-critical objects.

Enemy types and counters

The frigate mixes infantry, shielded units, and drones. Knowing counters turns chaotic fights into manageable skirmishes.

Infantry

• Light infantry: Fast, low health. Counter with burst fire and mobility.

• Heavy infantry: Slow, high health. Use explosives or armor‑piercing rounds.

Shielded units

• Deploy frontal shields that block direct fire. Counter by flanking, using EMPs, or crowd control to disable shields.

Drones

• Small drones: Fragile but numerous—AoE or rapid-fire weapons work best.

• Heavy drones: Tanky and often armed with energy beams—focus fire and use cover.

Quick counter reference

Enemy	Threat	Counter
Light infantry	Medium	Burst fire; mobility
Heavy infantry	High	Explosives; armor‑piercing
Shielded units	High	EMP; flank; stun
Small drones	Low	AoE; SMG
Heavy drones	Very high	Focused fire; cover

Use EMPs and stuns to neutralize the most dangerous threats quickly.

Objective interaction and timing

Before you interact

• Clear the area and set up a defensive perimeter.

• Assign roles: one player interacts while others watch flanks.

During interaction

• Expect scripted waves. Use area denial (mines, turrets) to slow them.

• Stagger cooldowns so someone always has a defensive ability ready.

After interaction

• Don’t assume the path back is clear—reinforcements often spawn behind you.

• Retreat in a controlled manner using smoke or flash to cover movement.

A common failure is rushing the objective without securing exits. Hold a fallback point and retreat if overwhelmed.

Boss and final wave tactics

The final phase often includes a named enemy or a heavy spawn wave with special mechanics.

Typical boss mechanics

• Telegraphed heavy attacks with clear windups—learn the dodge windows.

• Summons adds—prioritize dangerous adds that threaten formation.

• Phase changes—boss may become immune to certain damage types or change attack patterns.

How to win

• Coordinate ultimates during the boss’s vulnerability windows.

• Use EMPs or environmental triggers to break shields or immunity.

• Keep one player on crowd control to manage adds while others focus the boss.

Boss vs heavy drone comparison

Attribute	Boss	Heavy drone
Health	Very high	High
Damage	High with telegraphed attacks	High sustained
Mechanics	Phase changes; summons	Shielded bursts
Best approach	Coordinated burst	Focused fire; cover

Chain crowd control and damage windows to shorten the fight and conserve resources.

Solo versus co‑op strategies

Solo play

• Favor survivability: self-heal, mobility, and single-target damage.

• Avoid prolonged fights; use hit-and-run tactics and pick off isolated enemies.

• Deployables that distract or heal scale well for solo runs.

Co‑op play

• Assign explicit roles: breacher, anchor, flanker.

• Communicate spawn timing and objective interactions.

• Use complementary mods: one player carries EMPs, another carries healing.

Role comparison

Role	Solo viability	Co‑op value
Breacher	Medium	High
Support	Low solo	Very high
Skirmisher	High	High

Co‑op allows riskier plays because teammates can cover mistakes; solo runs demand conservative choices.

Movement, parkour, and vertical play

The frigate rewards vertical movement. Use jump packs, grapples, or ledge grabs to gain advantageous positions.

Vertical play tips

• Take high ground to control sightlines and reduce incoming fire.

• Use vertical movement to bypass choke points and flank shielded enemies.

• Be mindful of fall damage and limited cover on catwalks.

Parkour trick

• Sprint-jump and dash between decks to minimize exposure to multiple enemy angles.

Mastering vertical play shortens engagements and opens alternative routes to objectives.

Resource management and economy

Ammo, grenades, and medkits are finite. Treat them like currency.

Resource rules of thumb

• Conserve grenades for clustered spawns or shielded units.

• Use single-shot weapons for finishing blows to save ammo.

• Scavenge after fights; resupplies often appear near cleared rooms.

Consumable timing

• Use medkits only when you can’t safely retreat.

• Use armor boosts before entering heavy-combat zones.

• Save EMPs for shielded waves or heavy drones.

Good pacing prevents desperate retreats during the final wave.

Speedrun and efficiency tactics

If you want a fast clear, focus on route optimization and minimal engagements.

Speedrun checklist

• Choose the shortest insertion point.

• Skip optional rooms and avoid unnecessary fights.

• Use mobility augments and sprint mods.

• Coordinate a single player to interact with objectives while others clear a path.

Timing windows

• Learn spawn timers after each objective interaction to time sprints between waves.

• Use smoke or flash to buy seconds when crossing exposed areas.

Speedruns trade safety for time—expect higher risk but faster rewards.

Troubleshooting common problems

Alarms trigger too early

• Fall back to a choke and use area denial. Reassess your entry point next run.

Too many drones

• Equip AoE or rapid-fire weapons; use EMPs to disable heavy drones.

Boss immune to damage

• Look for environmental triggers or auxiliary devices that must be destroyed first.

Frequent wipes on final wave

• Rebalance loadouts for survivability and stagger ultimate usage.

These fixes address the most frequent failure modes players encounter on the frigate.

Advanced tactics and pro tips

• Bait and rotate: Lure reinforcements into a corridor, then rotate to a prepared kill zone.

• Ultimate chaining: Time ultimates so one player’s crowd control lines up with another’s high-damage window.

• Environmental kills: Use explosive barrels or ship systems to damage groups.

• Adaptive mods: Swap mods mid-run if allowed; switch to anti‑drone mods when drones dominate.

These techniques separate competent runs from elite clears.

Loadout templates

Solo balanced

• Primary: Assault rifle with stability mod

• Secondary: SMG with high fire rate

• Utility: Self-heal; stun grenade

Co‑op breacher

• Primary: High DPS rifle

• Secondary: Shotgun

• Utility: EMP; deployable shield

Support

• Primary: Suppressive LMG

• Secondary: Pistol with fast reload

• Utility: Healing drone; ammo resupply

Swap mods to match the mission’s dominant threats—drones, shields, or heavy infantry.

Small‑team choreography examples

Three‑player coordinated breach

• Player A (breacher) throws a stun and rushes the doorway with a shotgun.

• Player B (support) drops a healing drone and covers the rear.

• Player C (skirmisher) flanks and clears the high ground.

Fallback plan

• If overwhelmed, fall back to a pre‑designated choke with deployables and hold until cooldowns refresh.

Preplanning these choreographies reduces panic and keeps the team alive during scripted waves.

Visualizing the run (comparison and stats)

Time vs risk tradeoff

Approach	Average clear time	Risk level
Stealthy insertion	Longer	Low
Direct assault	Shorter	High
Speedrun route	Shortest	Very high

Resource consumption per difficulty

Difficulty	Medkits used	Grenades used	EMP used
Normal	1–2	1–2	0–1
Hard	2–4	2–4	1–2
Expert	4+	4+	2+

These tables help you choose the right balance between speed and survivability.

FAQ

What’s the best way to enter without triggering alarms Use stealth takedowns on isolated sentries and pick an insertion point with fewer patrols. If stealth fails, fall back and reset.

Can I solo the mission on higher difficulty Yes, but you must prioritize survivability and mobility. Expect longer fights and more resource consumption.

Which weapon type is most reliable A stable assault rifle with good magazine size is the most versatile for mixed engagements.

How do I handle shielded enemies quickly Use EMPs or flank them to bypass shields. Crowd control that stuns or roots also works well.

Is there a speedrun route Yes. The shortest insertion and skipping optional rooms is the core of any speedrun. Coordinate sprint windows and minimize interactions.

What if the boss summons too many adds Assign one teammate to crowd control and another to focus the boss. Use area denial to thin the add waves.

Final checklist before boarding

• Loadouts set: Primary, secondary, utility, and armor mods chosen.

• Roles assigned: Breacher, support, flanker.

• Consumables stocked: Medkits, grenades, EMPs.

• Fallback point chosen: A defensible choke near the objective.

• Vertical routes scouted: Grapple or jump paths identified.

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