How to Beat the Vaporizer in Arc Raiders

How to fight the Vaporizer, the flying ARC from the Flashpoint update: its attacks, where to shoot it, how to bait its shield, and when to walk away.

Published 31 March 2026. Updated 5 October 2026.

Understanding the Vaporizer

The Vaporizer is a large flying ARC drone added in patch 1.22.0, the Flashpoint update, on March 31, 2026. Embark says it stalks the areas around the Close Scrutiny operation, with devastating laser attacks and idiosyncratic attack patterns, and its own wiki page warns that engaging it without sufficient cover will quickly end in your demise.

Attack Patterns

Its laser leaves pools of burning fire wherever the beam lands. Game Rant documents three attacks: a delayed laser blast locked onto one player, a laser dragged along the ground that leaves fire behind it, and a barrage of smaller lasers aimed at several players at once. If you catch fire, dodge roll: GamesRadar says each roll cuts the burn short.

Where to Shoot It

The sources disagree, so carry all three. The wiki's infobox lists the thrusters as its weakness; its page text says shooting the underside knocks off a small rectangular panel and exposes the core; Game Rant says it has no exposed thrusters, only smaller rotors that slow it and drop it lower when broken. The outlets agree on the order: break the armor first, then hit what you exposed.

Bait the Shield

Throwing a seeking or projectile grenade, such as a Seeker Grenade or a Wolfpack, triggers an energy shield that blocks all projectile damage, small arms included. Once it drops, the Vaporizer cannot raise it again for a short time. The wiki's tactic is to trigger the shield on purpose, then spend your seeking and high damage weapons in that window; a grenade thrown into a shield that is already up is wasted.

Positioning and Cover

Seek shelter in a building or behind substantial cover before you engage. GamesRadar's advice is to fight from doors you can open and close, ducking in and out to deal damage, and it describes Vaporizers stalking in pairs and circling round to kill a player from behind, so watch your back as well as the one you are shooting.

When to Walk Away

The Assessor's loot does not require killing anything. Fight a Vaporizer for the Vaporizer Regulator, an Epic drop only it gives, two of which go into the recipe for the Dolabra; otherwise let it pass. The Vaporizer guide covers the loot, the loadout and every source in full.