Vaporizers' weakness and best strategy in Arc Raiders

Arc Raiders Vaporizers — (Image credit: Embark Studios)

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Weak points
Best weapons and loadout
Strategy
Rewards, drops and Regulators

Vaporizers in Arc Raiders were added as part of the Flashpoint update and hang around Assessors in huge numbers. More importantly, they're deadly and pretty terrifying, with lasers that burn players through their shields and leave streaks of fire on the ground. However, the Vaporizer Regulators they drop are essential if you want to build a Dolabra, complete certain projects, or if you want to crack the Assessors without resorting to stealth (and good luck to you). With that in mind, we'll cover the Vaporizers' weakness, and the best strategies with which to beat them.

Arc Raiders Vaporizer weak points

The weak spot and general weakness of the Vaporizer is the thruster turbines on either side, as well as a core inside its belly that is exposed if you break the armor around it, though that won't be easy to do.

More importantly, you'll need to use armor-piercing weapons and explosives to do damage, as all parts of the Vaporizer are highly armored. We'll go into more detail on that below.

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Best weapons against Vaporizers

If you're going out specifically to kill Vaporizers, or you're going to be approaching the Arc Raiders Close Scrutiny Assessors, you'll have the best luck with the following weapons and gear.

Hullcracker: The Vaporizer is heavily armored in all spots, but removing the armor leaves it highly vulnerable to damage. The Hullcracker does this best.
Anvil: A generally great weapon, precision shots with the Anvil at the thrusters do consistent (and easy) damage.
Medium Shields: A certain amount of speed is better when it comes to fighting Vaporizers, so make sure you find a good blend between haste and defense.
Wolfpack Grenades: If you know the right moment to use these, you can potentially wipe out the Vaporizer in an instant.
Photoelectric Cloak: Use this if you're caught out in the open to reposition somewhere safer.

Of course, if you're feeling brave, the Snap Hook / Deadline combo where you rappel onto the Vaporizer's back and place a mine on it is as effective as ever, but that's definitely for more experienced players.

Best Vaporizer Strategy

When it comes time to actually fight Vaporizers, here are some tips on avoiding their attacks and dealing damage back to keep in mind.

Do not fight them in the open! If you don't have cover, you'll lose against Vaporizers. Fight them from doors you can open and close, ducking in and out to deal damage.
If caught in the open, dodge towards the beam, not away. It's hard to avoid altogether as the Vaporizer tries to follow you with its attack, but it seems to struggle a bit more if you actually move towards it.
Try and do armor damage first. Your Anvil or similar weapon will be more effective once the armor is broken, not before. Start with your Hullcracker or explosives, then swap to the guns suited for headshot damage.
Use your explosives in the right moment! Like the Arc Raiders Matriarch, the Vaporizers can summon shields that make them temporarily invulnerable, but it has a cooldown! The moment the shield goes down is the moment to use your Wolfpack Grenade and similar high-power attacks.
If set on fire, roll! The duration of the time you're on fire diminishes each time you dodge-roll.

Expect this to be a long fight, especially if you don't have the ideal loadout. You definitely don't want to fight more than one Vaporizer at a time if you can help it - if that happens, try and get to cover to lose them, the pick a fight when you're ready later on with a straggler.

How to get Vaporizer Regulators

Vaporizers drop all kinds of loot, but the only unique rewards they drop are Vaporizer Regulators. They explode into multiple pieces when destroyed, so make sure to search them all. However, by our accounts, we've never seen a Vaporizer drop more than one Regulator per kill. Still, there's lots of other loot, which is good if you're also working on the Arc Raiders High Gain Antenna project.

The main use of Vaporizer Regulators is to build the Arc Raiders Dolabra, a legendary energy shotgun for which Regulators are a key component (you'll need two of them).