In ARC Raiders, Queen and Matriarch are the most frequently encountered units in boss battles, both massive mechs that require your serious attention. They are often the targets of weekly challenges, requiring you to damage or defeat them.
Defeating them will reward you with many rare materials and equipment. This is why everyone is eager to complete Queen and Matriarch damage quests. However, dealing high damage or defeating Queen and Matriarch is not an easy task.
First, you need to understand the maps and conditions where they appear. Second, you need to know which weapons are best suited for dealing high damage to them, and what strategies you and your teammates need? These questions must be clear before you begin.
This guide will provide solutions to these problems, helping you to damage Queen and Matriarch.
Basic Information
Queen
Queen appears during Harvester event on Acerra Spaceport and Dam Battlegrounds. She has a high threat level and approximately 22,000 health. She has a unique mechanic: surrounding smaller monsters will lock onto and share the damage you deal to Queen, so you must eliminate these smaller ARC units before attacking.
Queen's weaknesses are concentrated in her leg joints and head core. Defeating Queen primarily drops Queen Cores and various rare materials.
Matriarch
Matriarch only appears after meeting specific North Line ARC upgrade conditions. It typically appears in the later stages of ARC Raiders raids, posing an extremely high threat level with significantly more health than Queen. Its unique mechanic is an invincibility shield, which periodically grants it complete immunity to damage; during this time, you must cease fire and wait for the shield to disappear.
Matriarch's weak point is located in its large red core at the center of its body, making it extremely difficult to defeat. Successfully defeating Matriarch primarily yields Matriarch Cores and valuable rewards such as advanced blueprints.
Recommended Equipment
Weapons
Anvil
Anvil is a single-action pistol that uses heavy ammunition and is currently considered a top-tier all-around weapon in ARC Raiders. Anvil has strong armor penetration capabilities, making it highly effective against Matriarch's high-shield defenses.
You can obtain ARC Raiders Anvil Blueprint by completing main story missions, or find it in Red-outlined zones on maps like Medical Research and Robotic Sandbox.
Map buffs such as Electromagnetic Storm also increase the drop rate, so it's recommended to prioritize these maps. Higher-risk maps have a higher probability of dropping high-level ARC Raiders Items.
Torrent A
Torrente is a rare light machine gun that uses medium ammunition. Its core role is close-range suppression, especially effective against dense swarms of ARC drones in PvE.
Shields
Light Shield
Light Shield is a lightweight basic shield designed entirely around mobility. Its key advantage is that it doesn't reduce movement speed, allowing you to maintain maximum mobility for evasion and kiting.
Medium Shield
Medium Shield is designed to strike a balance between movement speed and defensive capabilities. Compared to Light Shield, it offers stronger protection, but at the cost of a slight movement speed penalty - reducing movement speed by 5%.
Before attempting to equip Medium Shield, you need to craft a strong Augment compatible with either Tactical MK.1 or Combat MK.1 using Lance. Most early ARC Raider Augments were only compatible with Light Shield, so you'll need to unlock the correct Augment before using Medium Shield.
Other Equipment
- Deadlines: Detonates after 6 seconds, dealing 1000 area damage, making it an efficient tool for pinpoint elimination.
- Raider Hatch Key: This key allows for silent extraction from Raider hatches on the map, without triggering alarms or attracting ARC attention, and without waiting.
- Photoelectric Cloak: Grants brief invisibility, allowing you to evade ARC detection systems and enemies.
- Snap Hook: Launching a hook allows for rapid movement and climbing, greatly enhancing mobility during operations.
In addition to ARC Raiders Items mentioned above, you'll also need to carry some medkits for emergencies.
Combat Strategy
Map selection isn't crucial when challenging Queen or Matriarch, as they are virtually everywhere. Another key piece of gear is Hullcracker, used to destroy the comet before it self-destructs, allowing you to obtain the Ignition from its core.
Since matchmaking can easily place you into already started matches (the boss may have already been defeated), a matchmaking tip is to watch the matchmaking timer at the bottom of the screen: once 45 seconds have elapsed, cancel the queue and re-match.
Repeat this process to ensure you get into a full game. If you wait longer than 45 seconds (approximately 50-60 seconds), the system will pull you into an ongoing match. Queen or Matriarch has often already fallen.
When a Matriarch takes damage in combat, it will summon a large number of ARC units, including Rocketeers, Bashes, Leapers, and Bombardiers, as well as Fireballs, Ticks, Wasps, and Hornets. This is the perfect time to use your equipped items.
Use the grappling hook when Matriarch is stationary or moving slowly. After successfully hooking it, its central core may be protected by armor. In this case, you must first use a Torent A to penetrate the armor before placing Deadlines. It is recommended to place two traps at a time; theoretically, three can be placed, but the margin for error is extremely low, and any misoperation can lead to failure.
Evacuation and Safety Precautions
After placing traps, you must quickly move away. Always maintain a safe distance of at least 10 meters from Deadlines. Being within 10 meters will result in being knocked down, potentially losing all equipment, and being forced to return to base. When jumping down from Matriarch's head, observe its direction of movement and jump in the opposite direction; otherwise, you will be stuck on its head and fail.
Upon landing, you'll typically experience a brief stagger and dizziness. During this time, Matriarch's legs move rapidly, making you easily knocked down. Therefore, immediately regain your footing and return to a safe area. After recovering health, repeat the above process - grappling hook, armor break, place Deadlines, and retreat.
Okay, that's how to easily deal high damage to Queen and Matriarch in ARC Raiders. I've verified it; the risk is extremely low. I hope this helps you.
