ARC Raiders Cargo Elevator Antenna: Phantom Targets Stage 1

The ARC Raiders cargo elevator antenna task was stage 1 of Phantom Targets: climb onto three Cargo Elevators on Dam Battlegrounds, Spaceport or Riven Tides and upgrade the antenna on top. It was the gentlest stage in the project and paid a Combat Mk. 3 augment for it. The project ended on September 6, 2026, so what follows is what the stage asked for and how it fit the rest of Phantom Targets.

Updated 2026-10-14: checked against the ARC Raiders Wiki's Phantom Targets page and Embark's 1.40.0 notes. The old guide credited the September 6 end date to Embark's patch notes (it comes from the wiki), gave console button prompts we couldn't source, and said Part 2 would be fire, energy-weapon and launcher tasks. Those were stages 2 and 3 of Part 1; Part 2 turned out to be a glitched Wasp hunt.

What the antenna stage asked for

Embark's Store Update 1.40.0 set it up in one line: Shani "has noticed some discrepant surveillance data", and Raiders should "Fix up faulty Antennas to triangulate the signals". The wiki's project page gives the exact task: upgrade 3 antennas "found on top of any Cargo Elevator", on Riven Tides, Spaceport or Dam Battlegrounds. Any mix of maps counted.

Embark teased it the day before on X.

📡 Tracing signal...

Phantom Targets have been spotted on Shani’s radar. Something is off. Tackle the first part of the new Raider Project tomorrow!

ARC Raiders (@ARCRaidersGame) August 3, 2026

Post: official ARC Raiders account on X, August 3, 2026.

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How the climb worked

Cargo Elevators are one of four kinds of extraction point, alongside metro stations, airshafts and Raider Hatches. You call one from its terminal, and the map shows a timer for when the terminal shuts down, per the wiki's Extraction Point page. The antenna sat on top of the elevator, so the task meant climbing an exit structure that other players already watch.

Map choice mattered less than it looked. Dam Battlegrounds and Spaceport each have four Cargo Elevators on arc-raiders.org's interactive maps, so all three antennas could come from one raid on either map if the lobby let you. Our advice at the time would have been the same as for any exposed objective: clear the area, climb with a squadmate watching the ground, and don't do it with a full bag you can't afford to lose.

If you want the extraction basics behind all this, the extractions guide covers every exit type, and the Dam guide and Spaceport guide cover those two maps.

Image: ARC Raiders promotional screenshot, Embark Studios.

What the reward was worth

The headline item was the Combat Mk. 3 (Aggressive) augment, with a Heavy Shield and a Vita Spray alongside it. For three climbs, that was the best effort-to-reward stage in the project. The later stages paid more on paper (stage 2 handed out an Aphelion, a Dolabra and a Jupiter), but they asked for real damage numbers with specific items. Our augments guide covers where Combat augments sit among the frames.

What came after the antennas

Phantom Targets had six stages in two parts, per the wiki:

1. Upgrade Cargo Elevator Antennas (this one).
2. Test ARC Parts For Irregular Behavior: damage with Pop Triggers, Wasp Drivers and a Leaper Pulse Unit.
3. Test Multiple Destruction Methods: fire damage, energy weapons against heavy ARC, launcher ammo against flying ARC.
4. Bring In Glitched Wasp Parts for Testing (Part 2).
5. Perform Final Tests on Glitched Wasp Parts (Part 2).
6. Conduct One Final Explosive Test (Part 2): 100 damage to flying ARC with Fireworks.

Part 2 arrived with Update 1.42.0 on August 18, when Embark revealed the source of the signal: "erratic Wasps". Our Phantom Targets Part 2 guide lists every stage's items and rewards.

Image: ARC Raiders promotional screenshot, Embark Studios.

Our take

The antenna stage was a tutorial for the project: go somewhere you already know, climb, press a button, collect a decent augment. It's gone now, but it's a good pattern to remember. When Embark's Player Projects open with an objective tied to extraction points, do it early in the raid before the lobby starts heading for the exits, not on your way out.

How we checked this

We checked this guide in October 2026 against the ARC Raiders Wiki's Phantom Targets and Extraction Point pages, Embark's 1.40.0 and 1.42.0 update notes, Embark's X post, and the Cargo Elevator counts on arc-raiders.org's maps. We didn't run the stage ourselves.

Related Reading

• ARC Raiders Phantom Targets Part 2: Stages and Rewards: the glitched Wasp stages and every reward in the project.
• ARC Raiders Extraction Guide: All 4 Types Explained: how Cargo Elevators, airshafts, metro stations and Raider Hatches work.
• ARC Raiders Other Raiders: Survive Player Encounters: how to handle other Raiders at contested exits.
• ARC Raiders Endgame Guide: What to Do After Frozen Trail: Trials, Gunsmith level 4 through the Outpost, Envoys stash space and the Expedition pause.
• ARC Raiders Maps Guide: every map, how it unlocks and what it's for.

References

• Store Update 1.40.0, ARC Raiders official site: Phantom Targets Part 1 and the date for Part 2.
• Live Update 1.42.0, ARC Raiders official site: Part 2 and the erratic Wasps.
• ARC Raiders on X: Phantom Targets teaser: official post the day before launch.
• Phantom Targets, ARC Raiders Wiki: dates, stages and rewards.
• Extraction Point, ARC Raiders Wiki: the four extraction types and terminal timers.
• Dam Battlegrounds map, arc-raiders.org and Spaceport map, arc-raiders.org: Cargo Elevator counts.