Exploration and scavenging form the heart of Arc Raiders, and the materials you gather will be of great importance in crafting new weapons, upgrading benches, and improving your overall loadout. One rare and valued resource you’ll need early on in your progression is the ARC Motion Core: a refined mechanical component tied to high-tier crafting recipes.
The game doesn’t tell you where to find it, making tracking one down frustrating. Here’s how to reliably get ARC Motion Cores in Arc Raiders.
Also Read: Arc Raiders: Magnetic Accelerator Location
How to Get ARC Motion Cores
ARC Motion Cores are rare drops that come from a few different sources around the world. None are guaranteed, but a few farming methods might be worth a try.
1. Destroy Surveyor Drones
The most consistent way to get ARC Motion Cores is by destroying Surveyors — spherical ARC drones that patrol the skies across every map.
- How to find them: Look for a bright blue beam shooting into the sky; this marks a Surveyor’s position. They spawn randomly, but large open maps like Dam Battlegrounds and Blue Gate make them easier to spot from a distance.
- How to beat them: They’re fast and tend to roll or fly away once they’ve seen you, so equip a Showstopper grenade to stun them and prevent them from escaping, then unload with your weapon before they’re out of range.
- Loot: Once defeated, scavenge their remains for a possible ARC Motion Core drop among other ARC components.
2. Breach ARC Droids
Other ways include breaching ARC Droids, which can be found scattered around industrial or ARC-controlled zones. These mechanical enemies, when breached, usually contain very valuable loot, which may contain ARC Motion Cores.
You can identify breachable droids by the glowing panels and the characteristic mechanical hum.
Also Read: Arc Raiders: How to Find Synthesized Fuel
3. Defeat Large ARC Enemies
Other boss-tier ARC enemies, such as the Leaper and Rocketeer, also drop an ARC Motion Core on defeat. They will spawn either in contested areas or high-tier loot zones, so fights will be hard; go prepared with strong weapons and healing supplies.
Since these enemies break into multiple pieces that can all be looted, make sure to search all their remains after the fight — any of the segments can drop a Motion Core.
4. Create ARC Motion Cores
If farming isn’t paying off, you can craft ARC Motion Cores yourself once you’ve upgraded your Refiner to Level 3.
- Crafting Recipe: 6x ARC Alloy
This method consumes a lot of materials, but it’s the most reliable way to make sure you get a Motion Core once your crafting setup gets advanced enough.
Also Read: Arc Raiders: Red Room Puzzle Guide
What ARC Motion Cores Are Used For
ARC Motion Cores are used in several high-level crafting and upgrade recipes, including:
- Magnetic Accelerator: A critical component in crafting most weapons.
- Refiner upgrades: Required for higher tiers of crafting
Recycling an ARC Motion Core will net you 2x ARC Alloy. Given how rare they are, it would be better to save them for upgrades and/or weapon crafting.
