ARC Raiders Hidden Bunker: Complete Spaceport Guide

The Hidden Bunker event on the Spaceport map is one of the most lucrative and hectic activities in ARC Raiders. It turns a regular raid into a server-wide race: squads scramble to power antennas, open an underground vault, and download as much high-value data as possible before extraction or elimination ends the run.

This guide uses the original GamesRadar coverage as inspiration but completely reworks the structure, explanations, and tips. Here you’ll find a fresh, step-by-step breakdown of how the event works, how to reliably enter the bunker, and how to turn those data terminals into consistent rewards.

Hidden Bunker Overview

The Hidden Bunker is a limited-time map condition that can appear on Spaceport. When active, the entire match gains access to a special underground complex filled with loot and data terminals once certain objectives are completed on the surface.

Unlike a small side activity, the Hidden Bunker changes how the entire raid flows. Antennas act as shared objectives and the bunker becomes a natural hotspot for PvP and ARC engagements once the doors open.

How to Know When Hidden Bunker Is Active

You can’t force the event to appear every time, so learning to quickly identify it saves you from planning around an objective that doesn’t exist in that raid.

Pre-raid and in-game indicators

• Match condition text: When you load into Spaceport, look for a mention of Hidden Bunker in the mission or condition description.
• Map markers: Opening your map reveals four antenna icons scattered across the Spaceport. These only appear when the condition is active.
• Server announcements: Once antennas start getting activated, you’ll see raid-wide notifications showing their progress and later confirming that the bunker is open.

Why the condition matters

Because ARC Raiders is designed as an extraction shooter where risk and reward are tightly linked, map conditions like Hidden Bunker temporarily increase the amount of reward available on the map. Developer Embark Studios has described their goal as creating tension and shared goals in a session-based PvPvE environment, where multiple teams chase the same high-value opportunities. The Hidden Bunker fits that philosophy perfectly by inviting cooperation and conflict around a single shared vault.

Finding and Reaching the Antennas

To open the bunker, all four antennas must be brought online and then used to send an unlock signal. Crucially, any combination of players and teams can help with this. Your squad doesn’t need to handle every single antenna alone, but you should assume others will be racing you.

Locating antenna icons

When the match starts, open the tactical map:

• Look for four distinct antenna icons, often placed on rooftops, towers, or other elevated sites.
• Their exact positions are randomized between raids, but they generally appear across different quadrants of the Spaceport to force teams to move.
• You don’t have to visit them in any particular order; the server only cares that all four are completed at some point.

Movement and traversal tips

Reaching some antennas can be difficult without the right tools. Various guides and players recommend ziplines and vertical mobility to make these objectives more accessible. In practice, this means:

• Bring ziplines in your loadout if your build allows.
• Use ladders, scaffolding, and stacked containers to climb.
• Approach roofs from the side with the most cover to avoid open sightlines.

Team roles around antennas

Antennas almost always attract attention. To reduce the risk of wipes, assign roles:

• Activator: Interacts with the antenna and stays close during progress phases.
• Lookouts: Watch angles, windows, and open ground for rival teams.
• ARC Wrangler: Focuses on dealing with ARC enemies that spawn when activation begins.

Step-by-Step Antenna Activation

Each antenna goes through a short but critical sequence. If you understand these phases, you can minimize downtime and avoid losing progress.

1. Initial activation
   Interact with the prompt on the antenna to begin the process. You’ll usually hear an audio cue indicating that the tower has powered up.
2. ARC spawn and defense
   When activation starts, nearby ARC units spawn and will converge on the area. You must defeat these enemies before you can finish the antenna. Depending on the raid difficulty and your loadouts, this may require heavy weapons or consumables.
3. Secure and return
   Once ARC are cleared, return to the antenna and interact with it again. A prompt such as “Send unlock signal” (or similar language) lets you complete that antenna’s contribution to the bunker sequence.

Once an antenna is fully resolved, it’s done for the entire server. Everyone benefits from the progress, even rival squads who had nothing to do with your effort.

Common pitfalls during antenna phases

• Leaving too early: If you run off after the first interaction, you may miss the final prompt and lose your chance to send the unlock signal.
• Ignoring vertical cover: Antenna sites often expose you to long sightlines. Use building corners and elevation to break silhouettes.
• Underestimating ARC waves: Treat these like mini-objective fights rather than random trash mobs; coordinate cooldowns and abilities.

When the Bunker Opens

After all four antennas are fully completed, the match enters the second phase of the event.

Server-wide announcement

Once the last antenna sends its unlock signal, a clear raid-wide announcement tells every player that the Hidden Bunker is now open. From this point forward, anyone can access the underground complex until the raid ends or they die.

Where to find the bunker

While the exact wording and markers differ, guides and player footage consistently show the bunker on the western side of Spaceport, set into a rocky field near key structures such as the Fuel Processing area or departure building. In practical terms:

• Open your map and look toward the western outskirts.
• Look for multiple rectangular entrance markers clustered together; these correspond to separate bunker doors.
• On the ground, search for reinforced doors built into rocky terrain or retaining walls, not standing buildings.

Multiple entrances and approach routes

The bunker typically has several entrances in the same general area. This design has two major consequences:

• Teams can enter from different sides, which makes camping a single doorway less effective.
• Audio cues can be misleading, since gunfire and footsteps echo through the complex.

As you approach, expect both ARC patrols and other teams converging from multiple directions. Consider holding off if you hear intense fighting inside; a third-party approach can be more profitable than diving into an active crossfire.

Inside the Hidden Bunker

Once you pass through one of the doors, you enter a tight, multi-room underground facility filled with loot caches and data terminals. The layout encourages close-quarters engagements and quick decision-making.

Environmental characteristics

• Tight corridors: Hallways limit long-range engagements and make grenades and explosives more effective.
• Interconnected rooms: Multiple paths between rooms enable flanking but also make it easy to get ambushed.
• Limited sightlines: Short lines of sight heavily favor shotguns, SMGs, and high-mobility builds.

Loot and resource crates

Inside the bunker you’ll find a mix of:

• Weapon crates: Potential upgrades or alternative weapons to adapt to the current firefight.
• Ammo crates: Crucial for extended fights against both ARC and enemy teams.
• Consumables: Healing items and utilities that keep you going through multiple engagements.

Because extraction shooters intentionally tie better loot to higher-risk zones, the bunker’s design encourages teams to weigh the value of continued farming against the danger of getting pinned down underground.

How Data Terminals Work

Data terminals are the heart of the event’s progression and often tie into weekly or seasonal trial objectives. There are eight terminals scattered around the bunker, each of which can be activated and farmed by any team.

Terminal interaction phases

Each terminal follows a simple cycle:

1. Idle / Ready
   The terminal is inactive but available. Many player guides reference a green indicator light when it’s ready to be used. Interact with it to start a download.
2. Downloading
   The terminal begins downloading data. While this is happening, you must stay close enough to keep the process going. Moving too far away or leaving the area can cause the download to fail, with some guides describing a red warning light and a lockout period.
3. Data retrieval
   Once the download completes, interact again to retrieve the data. The same terminal can be looted by multiple players or squads; only one player per team needs to interact to count for that squad’s progression, but others can still benefit.
4. Cooldown
   After successful retrieval, the terminal enters a cooldown. During this period, it will be unavailable; players report this lasting a few minutes before the terminal returns to the idle state.

Reading terminal light states

Based on community observations and video breakdowns, you can usually infer a terminal’s status from its indicator light:

Progression and rewards from data

Downloading and retrieving data typically grants:

• Experience to your account, enabling faster progression through seasonal tracks.
• Credit toward weekly trials or challenges involving the Hidden Bunker condition.
• Potential in-game currencies or materials depending on the current balance changes and seasonal design.

Efficient Bunker Farming Strategies

Because the bunker is a contested zone, efficiency is just as important as mechanical skill. These strategies help you get more data with fewer wipes.

Route planning

• Plan a circuit: Once you know the layout, establish a loop that passes all eight terminals in sequence.
• Track cooldowns mentally: If you fail or complete a terminal, note the time so you can come back roughly when it’s likely to be ready again.
• Adapt to enemy presence: If a rival team is clearly holding one part of the bunker, shift your circuit to the other side rather than forcing engagements you can’t win.

Squad coordination

• Divide roles: Have one player focus on terminals while others watch entrances and flanks.
• Use audio callouts: Because the environment is tight, sound is a powerful tool. Call out footsteps, doors, and gunfire directions.
• Share data opportunities: Remember that once a terminal’s download is complete, everyone can retrieve the data. Don’t leave teammates behind.

Risk management

Time spent in the bunker is time spent away from extraction points. As with other extraction shooters like those analyzed in live-service game design commentary, overstaying in a high-reward area dramatically increases the chance that you’ll lose everything on death.

Good risk management involves:

• Setting a limit: Decide before entering how many terminals or minutes you’re willing to commit before rotating out.
• Leaving after a big haul: Once your inventory is packed with key loot and you’ve hit trial objectives, consider extracting instead of chasing one more terminal.
• Staggered exits: If the team is split between terminals and exits, coordinate regroup points so no one moves alone through contested surface zones.

Loadout and Build Suggestions

While ARC Raiders’ balance will change over time, certain principles tend to hold for a close-quarters PvPvE environment like the Hidden Bunker.

Recommended weapon types

• Primary: High rate-of-fire rifles or SMGs for corridor fights.
• Secondary: Shotguns or hard-hitting sidearms for snap duels in tight rooms.
• Utility: Grenades for clearing angles, smoke for disengaging or crossing doorways, and mines for watching flanks.

Mobility and utility tools

• Ziplines to quickly reach antennas at the start of the match.
• Healing items to sustain prolonged bunker engagements.
• Recon tools, if available, to monitor entrances and reduce the chance of being surprised.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do all four antennas need to be activated by the same team?

No. Any combination of players and squads can complete the four antennas. Once a tower is fully resolved, it counts for the entire server and moves the bunker unlock progress forward.

Can I enter the bunker if my team didn’t help with antennas?

Yes. After the server-wide unlock announcement, every player in the raid can access the bunker regardless of who contributed to the antenna phase.

How many data terminals are in the Hidden Bunker?

There are eight data terminals inside the bunker. Each one can be activated, defended, and looted during the event, and they periodically reset after cooldowns.

What happens if I leave a terminal while it’s downloading?

If you move too far away during the download, the process can fail and the terminal will typically go into a short lockout with a red warning light. You’ll need to wait for it to reset or move on to another terminal.

Is it better to rush the bunker or clear antennas slowly?

This depends on your goals. If you’re chasing weekly trials or data, racing to antennas makes sense so you can maximize bunker time. If you’re just trying to survive and extract with decent loot, playing more cautiously and entering the bunker after the initial chaos may be safer.