Where to find hornets in Arc Raiders and take them down

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Need to find and kill a Hornet in Arc Raiders? Here's where and what to do

ark raiders hornet
(Image credit: Embark Studios)

Arc Raiders Hornets are one of the more annoying ARC drones you can face during a run as you need the right weapons to destroy their armor, or else you’ll just be wasting your bullets. Unfortunately, tracking them down can be a pain too, and there are a few quests that task you with shooting down a Hornet, typically because valuable materials can be salvaged from them. So, here are the best ways to find Hornet ARCs in Arc Raiders and how best to kill.

How to find Hornet ARCs in Arc Raiders

How to track down Hornet ARCs in Arc Raiders

(Image credit: Embark Studios)

You can find Hornet drones practically on all maps in Arc Raiders, but they’ll always be outside in the open and sometimes followed by other ARCs like Wasps. Hornets have two propellers that you can shoot to easily take them down, but it still requires some effort depending on the weapon you’re using.

Make sure you bring an Arc Raiders weapon that deals heavy damage to ARC armor, such as the Anvil, Jupiter, or Ferro, or else it will take forever to destroy them. You can check if you have the right gun for ARCs by inspecting it in your inventory - light ammo weapons are the worst against ARCs, so it’s best to use a weapon that requires medium or heavy ammo.

Upon being spotted by a Hornet, it will point its red laser at you and try to shock you. This shockwave will eat away at your shields and health pretty badly, so make sure to dodge roll out of the way or hide behind something before it zaps you. Arc Raider skills from the Mobility branch can give some extra stamina and movement options here.

Again, I recommend aiming for the propellers since damaging those can cause the Hornet to fall from the sky and destroy itself just from the impact. Hornets leave behind Hornet Drivers upon scavenging them, which will become useful for certain quests later on in Arc Raiders.

As well as killing Hornets for quests, you'll also need to use Arc Raiders Fireball Burners to kill enemies and must find several interactable items as part of the Arc Raiders A First Foothold quest.

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Anyka Pettigrew
Anyka Pettigrew
Writer

Anyka is a freelance writer with a knack for video game guides. Having been playing games since she was 7 and publishing articles since 2020, Anyka has written for several outlets such as Dexerto, Digital Trends, and The Gamer. When she's not spending time getting scared at horror games like the Resident Evil series or honing her skills in competitive shooters like Valorant and Overwatch 2, she enjoys reading books and playing Dungeons & Dragons with her friends. Whether they're scary, cozy, strategic, or narrative-driven games, Anyka is excited to jump into any game that piques her interest and write about them, too. 

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