ARC Raiders Blue Gate Guide: Keys, Locked Gate & Extractions

ARC Raiders Blue Gate is the last of the original four maps to unlock and the hardest of them. It opens after 18 rounds, rates a 4 out of 5 in normal conditions, and keeps its best rooms behind keys and, during Locked Gate, a four-code security door.

Updated 2026-10-14: rewritten against the ARC Raiders Wiki. The old version called the Blue Gate a starter zone, said Bastions guard the underground, claimed a Reinforced Reception augment spawn we could not verify, and recommended armor ARC Raiders does not have. Bastions are listed at the Outer Gates; the Reinforced Reception matters for its Locked Gate security code.

TL;DR: Unlock it after 18 rounds. Learn the four airshafts and four Raider Hatches, carry one of the four Blue Gate keys, and save Locked Gate for a squad: four security codes, a 40-minute raid, and no Raider Hatches.

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The map at a glance

The wiki calls the Blue Gate "a spacious map inside a large, mountainous valley" with "abandoned towns, fruiting orchards, and an underground complex full of deadly ARC machines."

For comparison, the Dam has no unlock and rates a 2, while Buried City and Spaceport rate 3. Our maps guide has the full list.

Image: The Blue Gate map by Cartotect, ARC Raiders Wiki (arcraiders.wiki). Game art is the property of Embark Studios.

Conditions: it only gets harder

Normal, Lush Blooms, Uncovered Caches, Harvester, Husk Graveyard and Locked Gate all sit at 4. Matriarch, Electromagnetic Storm, Night Raid, Cold Snap, Hurricane, Close Scrutiny and ARC Frigate push it to 5. Electromagnetic Storm also turns off every Raider Hatch and cuts the number of active return points, which matters more here than on most maps because four of the eight exits are hatches.

The four Blue Gate keys

All four come from Scavenging. If you take the Communication Tower Key to Pilgrim's Peak during Locked Gate, the wiki says two Rocketeers guard it.

Locked Gate: the four security codes

Locked Gate is exclusive to the Blue Gate. "A clandestine group has activated the Gate's emergency shutdown protocol," and the underground entrance stays locked until four security codes go into a console in the Gate Control Room.

1. Collect the four codes. One each from Raider's Refuge, Pilgrim's Peak, the Reinforced Reception and the Ancient Fort, found in containers at each location. At least one Reinforced Reception code spawns per round.
2. Watch your feet. Every code location is surrounded by Buried Mines.
3. Enter them in the Gate Control Room. The gate at Checkpoint opens once all four are in.
4. Plan your exit early. Locked Gate runs up to 40 minutes, with no active Raider Hatches and fewer return points.

The codes are Common items that only work during Locked Gate, so there is no stockpiling them. Splitting the four locations across a squad is the obvious play; solo, it is a long loop around the whole map.

Every way out

A Raider Hatch needs a Raider Hatch Key, stays open for roughly 10 to 15 seconds and has no shutdown timer. Downed Raiders can still use an extraction terminal. Our extractions guide has the rest.

Image: Extraction Points, ARC Raiders Wiki (arcraiders.wiki). Clockwise from top-left: cargo elevator, metro station, Raider Hatch, airshaft. Game art is the property of Embark Studios.

Bastions and Bombardiers

The wiki lists one Bastion spot on the Blue Gate, the Outer Gates, and three Bombardier spots: Raider's Refuge, Checkpoint and the Traffic Tunnel. Both are big machines with weak spots on their leg joints and a yellow cylinder on the rear.

The Bombardier's Spotters respawn after you destroy them, and the wiki notes it is vulnerable right after it fires. Since Checkpoint is where the Locked Gate opens, expect a Bombardier at the finish line. The enemy types guide covers both in full.

Our take

This is a research page built on the wiki's map and item data, not our own runs. The old advice to start here was backwards: the Blue Gate is the map you graduate to. Bring a key you can use, know which of the four airshafts is nearest, and check the condition before you queue, because a storm or Locked Gate takes the hatches away.

Related Reading

• ARC Raiders maps guide: every map, unlock and difficulty.
• ARC Raiders Dam guide: the first map, rated 2.
• ARC Raiders extractions guide: airshafts, hatches and timers.
• ARC Raiders enemy types guide: Bastion, Bombardier and the rest.
• ARC Raiders loot guide: what to keep, sell, or scrap: what to do with a key room haul.
• ARC Raiders best solo loadouts: kits for running it alone.
• ARC Raiders Matriarch guide: the boss condition that pushes the map to 5.
• ARC Raiders Riven Tides guide: the coastal map.

References

• The Blue Gate, ARC Raiders Wiki: unlock and condition difficulty, accessed 2026-10-14.
• Maps, ARC Raiders Wiki: duration, unlocks and difficulty, accessed 2026-10-14.
• Locked Gate, ARC Raiders Wiki and Electromagnetic Storm, accessed 2026-10-14.
• Reinforced Reception Security Code, ARC Raiders Wiki, accessed 2026-10-14.
• The Blue Gate map by Cartotect, ARC Raiders Wiki: exits and locations, accessed 2026-10-14.
• Blue Gate keys, ARC Raiders Wiki: Confiscation Room, Communication Tower, Cellar, Village, accessed 2026-10-14.
• Bastion and Bombardier, ARC Raiders Wiki, accessed 2026-10-14.
• Raider Hatch and Extraction Points, ARC Raiders Wiki, accessed 2026-10-14.
• ARC Raiders on Steam. Green Man Gaming (sponsored) also sells ARC Raiders keys.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you unlock the Blue Gate in ARC Raiders? Play 18 rounds. The Blue Gate is the last of the four original maps to unlock, after Buried City at 8 rounds and Spaceport at 12, and the wiki rates it 4 out of 5 in normal conditions.

What is the Reinforced Reception in the Blue Gate? A named location north of the Outer Gates. During the Locked Gate condition, its containers hold the Reinforced Reception Security Code, one of the four codes needed to open the gate at Checkpoint.

What is the Headhouse in the Blue Gate? A location in the middle of the map above the underground tunnels. The Confiscation Room, opened by the Epic Blue Gate Confiscation Room Key, sits in the Security Wing next to the Traffic Tunnel below the Headhouse area.

Do Raider Hatches work in the Blue Gate during storms? No. Both Electromagnetic Storm and Locked Gate list no active Raider Hatches and fewer active return points, so plan an airshaft exit under those conditions.

Where are Bastions and Bombardiers in the Blue Gate? The wiki lists Bastions at the Outer Gates, and Bombardiers at Raider's Refuge, Checkpoint and the Traffic Tunnel.