Introduction
The A Dead End quest dropped with the Shrouded Sky update in ARC Raiders, and it sends you deep into the underground tunnels beneath Blue Gate. You'll be hunting for clues about Project Heartwood, navigating a notoriously hostile PvP zone, and racing to extract with a crucial item before someone else takes you out. The good news? This quest doesn't require any special map conditions, so you can jump in whenever you're ready. The bad news? The Security Wing is a hotspot for aggressive raiders, so preparation is everything.
Where to Find MANTIKOR's Underground Facilities
Your first objective points you toward the MANTIKOR underground facilities, which are tucked away beneath the Reinforced Reception POI on the Blue Gate map. You've got multiple entry points available, but the fastest route is taking the zipline down from the small structure near the Data Vault area.
Reinforced Reception POI
Once you're on the surface, look for the massive building with MANTIKOR written across it. Head inside and you'll find elevator shafts you can rappel down. The moment your boots hit the underground floor, this objective completes automatically.
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Bring an augment with a Safe Pocket before starting this quest. You'll need to extract with an item, and dying without it stored safely means starting over from scratch.How to Unlock the Security Wing Door
After descending into the tunnels, turn left and follow the blue line painted on the floor. This line leads you through a hallway with a reception desk and eventually to a large locked door with a red light indicator. To the right of this door, you'll spot a battery console with three empty slots.
Battery Locations
You need to collect three batteries to power up the door mechanism. Here's where they spawn:
Battery panel location
The tricky part? You can only carry one battery at a time. If you're running solo in a hostile lobby, this becomes a serious challenge. Squad players can knock this out in under a minute by splitting up, but solo raiders need to stay alert and move quickly between locations.
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Other players might already be working on this door. If you arrive and find it already open, count yourself lucky and head straight inside.
How to Search for Project Heartwood Records
Once the door opens, walk inside and head to the back of the room where a giant screen dominates the wall. On the right side of this screen, you'll find a computer terminal. Get close and you'll see a prompt that says Play Recording.
Heartwood terminal
Hold the interaction button until the recording finishes playing. This uploads the data you need and triggers your next objective.
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The recording provides lore context about Project Heartwood, but you don't need to watch the whole thing. Just hold the button until the progress bar completes.
Where to Find the Dusty Film Reel
Don't leave the room yet. Turn to the left side of the giant screen and you'll spot a reel recorder sitting on a small shelf. Approach it and interact to search the container.
Film Reel location
Here's the critical step that trips up new players: after searching, you need to interact again to actually pick up the Dusty Film Reel. If you just search and walk away, you'll leave empty-handed and have to come back.
Immediately transfer the reel to your Safe Pocket if your loadout has one. This guarantees you keep the item even if you get eliminated on the way to extraction.
How to Extract and Complete the Quest
With the Dusty Film Reel secured, it's time to get out. Head back through the underground tunnels and climb up the elevator shafts you rappelled down earlier. The Cliffside Airshaft extraction point sits conveniently close to Reinforced Reception, making it your best bet for a quick escape.
Extraction Checklist
Once you're back in Speranza, open the Traders menu and switch to the Quests tab. Navigate to Shani and hit the claim button to turn in the Dusty Film Reel.
danger
You must complete all five steps in a single round. If you die and lose the reel without a Safe Pocket, you're restarting the entire quest from the beginning.
Quest Rewards
After delivering the film reel to Shani, you'll receive:
- Warden Color: Patchwork Outfit (cosmetic)
- 2,000 Coins
The Patchwork Outfit gives your Warden a fresh look, and the coins help fund your next loadout. Not a bad haul for roughly fifteen minutes of work in a friendly lobby.
Tips for Solo Players in PvP Lobbies
Running this quest solo in an aggressive lobby is genuinely challenging. The Security Wing attracts plenty of traffic, and carrying batteries one at a time leaves you vulnerable. Here are some strategies that help:
- Use a Free Loadout to minimize risk if things go sideways
- Listen for footsteps before committing to battery runs
- Check if the door is already open before hunting for batteries
- Extract immediately after grabbing the reel, don't linger for loot
- Communicate with randoms if possible, sometimes cooperation beats competition
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Friendly lobbies make this quest dramatically easier. If you spot other raiders working on the batteries, consider helping them out. They might return the favor.