How to complete A First Foothold in Arc Raiders

A First Foothold objective in Arc Raiders

(Image credit: Embark Studios)

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A First Foothold walkthrough
The Ridgeline observation deck
The Olive Grove comms terminal
The Trapper's Glade roof plates
The Data Vault and church satellite dishes

The Arc Raiders mission, A First Foothold, is all about introducing you to the region known as The Blue Gate. Once here, you need to find four locations and perform certain interactions at each one: stabilizing the observation deck near the Ridgeline, enabling the comms terminal near the Olive Grove, rotating the satellite dishes on the church roof north of the Data Vault, and nailing down the roof plates on the Raider structure near Trapper's Glade. These areas aren't easy to find and The Blue Gate is definitely one of the more dangerous locations in Arc Raiders, so it's worth understanding where you're going and where you need to be. We'll outline all key locations in A First Foothold below, and get you acquainted with the most mountainous of the maps.

A First Foothold walkthrough for Arc Raiders

You need to complete four objectives in the A First Foothold mission in Arc Raiders, though they don't all have to be in the same expedition to the surface. They are as follows:

Stabilize the observation deck near the Ridgeline
Enable the comms terminal near the Olive Grove
Nail down the roof plates on the Raider structure near Trapper's Glade
Rotate the satellite dishes on the church roof, north of the Data Vault

This means simply finding the key interaction point in each location and triggering it. Most areas are generally free of enemies, being out in the wilderness, though there are no guarantees with the way that robots tend to meander around the map – to say nothing of the perils of other players. If you're worried about survival, maybe go in with an Arc Raiders free loadout so you don't have as much to lose? Either way, we'll go through each location below and what you need to do while you're there.

Stabilize the observation deck near the Ridgeline

A little shack/observation point in the middle of nowhere on The Blue Gate's eastern border, here you need to interact with the supporting deck itself. There are actually two spots where you can do this, though either one completes the objective.

Enable the comms terminal near the Olive Grove

The Olive Grove comms terminal is on the Southern border of Blue Gate. It's a scrappy platform open to the elements with a computer on it. Interact with the computer to tick off this objective successfully.

Nail down the roof plates on the Raider structure near Trapper's Glade

This tiny, square shack in Trapper's Glade requires you to climb onto its roof, whereupon you'll see the interaction point. It's the only real building in the area (discounting the cable-covered satellite structure a little way off), so it shouldn't be too hard to find.

Rotate the satellite dishes on the church roof, north of the Data Vault

Right on the Northern border is a ruined church, high up and overlooking the rest of the map. You'll need to climb onto its roof, whereupon there'll be a radar dish you can interact with. Climbing up here isn't easy, but you can do it without any additional equipment – I managed to scrabble up the scaffolding on the west side.

And that's the whole quest! You shouldn't even need to extract safely to complete it, though obviously if you've found any Arc Raiders blueprints or other good loot, you'll definitely want to. Afterwards, head back to Speranza and you'll get your reward – an assortment of grenades and throwable gadgets, as well as unlocking the follow-up quest, "Reduced to Rubble".

Want more help with the Topside terrors? Find out: can you revive enemies and dead teammates in Arc Raiders? Or if you're looking for rewards, here's all the Arc Raiders twitch drops and discord drops you can get!