Apollo is back with another questionable engineering scheme in the “To The Skies” quest in ARC Raiders. To figure out how to shuttle raiders up and down the mountain toward Pendola Pass, he wants field data on a Prototype Ballistic Gondola. On paper, the quest is a simple scouting errand, but the log won’t explain a somewhat tricky fetch and repair objective that will waste your match if you deploy unprepared. You can complete this quest in a single raid if you prep beforehand.
Here’s how to scan ruined machine wrecks, collect rare parts from mechanical targets, and patch up a downed Gondola to complete To The Skies in ARC Raiders.
To The Skies Quest Walkthrough in ARC Raiders
Before you deploy topside, open your stash in Speranza. The second phase of this quest requires you to repair a broken Gondola capsule out in the field, so make sure to bring these items stored in your backpack or Safe Pocket:
- 1x ARC Performance Steel: Looted from combat walkers like Bastions, Bombardiers, Leapers, Fireflies, or scavenged from large Baron Husks.
- 1x ARC Pop Trigger: Looted from the small, rolling suicide bombing Pops or Couriers.
- 1x ARC Synthetic Resin: Found inside downed ARC Probes, intact probes, Baron Husks, or taken off mid-to-heavy airborne units like Hornets and Shredders.
- 1x ARC Thermo Lining: Salvaged from chassis enemies like Pops, Fireballs, Wasps, and Snitches, as well as Baron Husks.
If your stash is dry, run a quick scavenging raid or check Baron Husks around Dam Battlegrounds or Blue Gate. But it won’t be easy to find all these items on the fly, so I’ll recommend having them in inventory beforehand.
Scan a Crashed ARC Probe and ARC Courier
ARC Probe and ARC Courier spawn randomly across every ARC Raiders map (except Stella Montis, as it is indoors). If you want an easy lobby with frequent Probe and Courier spawns, enter the map with the active Electromagnetic Storm or Prospecting Probes event modifier.
Keep your eyes on the horizon for rising plumes of thick black smoke:
- ARC Probes: Long, slender metallic cylinders driven nose-first into the dirt.
- ARC Couriers: Wide and flat diamond shaped supply pods that emit a specific audio beep when you are nearby.
When you reach either vessel, never breach it. Walk around to the scan node near the head or opposite the breach door and press your interact key to Scan ARC Flight Data. Once done, you can break out your pry bar to breach and loot the container. Repeat this for both ARC machines to trigger the next phase of the contract.
Search for the Gondola Prototype
Next, you have to track down a crashed Gondola Prototype. There are four locations where you can find it across four different maps, but you only need to visit one for the sake of the quest. To make it easy, these are all the Gondola Prototype locations:
Riven Tides (Recommended): At the map’s southern tip, south of the Dried Riverbed and southeast of the Tennis Court, you’ll find the prototype on pallets under a stone arch bridge. Riven Tides is compact, which makes this map by far the fastest and safest. I also did this objective here.
Spaceport (East Plains): Located just east of the eastern exfil elevator, north of the Communications Tower and south of the East Plains Warehouses.
Dam Battlegrounds (Red Lakes): Found right beside the Red Lakes Hatch northeast of the Red Lakes Balcony.
The Blue Gate (Farmlands): Found south of the Olive Grove and southwest of the Ruined Homestead.
Repair and Activate the Gondola Prototype
Once you have found the Gondola Prototype, approach this cylindrical pod, and you will see a few interaction points around the frame:
- Walk along the side to install the ARC Synthetic Resin.
- Move toward the nose to mount the ARC Thermo Lining.
- Head along the opposite side to install the ARC Performance Steel.
- Wrap around to the rear thruster housing to insert the ARC Pop Trigger.
With all four components installed, step up to the capsule door and interact with the final prompt to Activate Gondola Prototype.
A quick piece of advice: Back away immediately after pressing the switch. The prototype will violently spark, backfire, and explode into flames. Surviving the blast will complete the topside objective.
Head to the nearest extraction point to exfil back to Speranza. Report back to Apollo, who will take the scorched data in stride and reward you with:
- 8,000 XP
- 3x ARC Performance Steel
- 3x ARC Synthetic Resin
- 3x ARC Thermo Lining
- 2 Unlocked Codex Entries
