ARC Raiders Beachcombing is a minor Riven Tides map condition built around the Dockmaster’s Detector. When Beachcombing is active, use the Detector across the shoreline to uncover buried loot hidden under the sand, with Embark warning that the richest hunting grounds are also the most exposed.
The Detector is not a random ground pickup you permanently lose after one raid. It is the final reward from the five-stage Avian Alarm Raider Project, and Embark describes it as your key to Beachcombing. Once you have it, the live map-condition schedule tells you when Riven Tides is running the event.
How ARC Raiders Beachcombing works
ARC Raiders Beachcombing only appears on Riven Tides. During an active window, take the Dockmaster’s Detector onto the beaches and sweep the sand for hidden loot spots.
Embark does not publish one fixed buried-loot table for every dig. The official description says what you uncover can vary, so Beachcombing is better treated as a targeted scavenging condition than a guaranteed route to one specific item.
How to get the Dockmaster’s Detector
The Dockmaster’s Detector comes from the Avian Alarm Raider Project introduced with Riven Tides. Work through all five stages of the project and the final reward set includes the Detector, along with other project rewards.
Avian Alarm revolves around building a makeshift warning system and deploying cages at buoys along the Riven Tides coastline. Completing the full project is the permanent unlock route Embark names for the tool used in ARC Raiders Beachcombing.
Do you need the Detector before Beachcombing starts?
Yes if you want to dig up the buried Beachcombing loot yourself. Embark specifically calls the Dockmaster’s Detector the key to the condition, so entering Riven Tides during an active window without the tool leaves you unable to use the main buried-treasure mechanic.
If you have not finished Avian Alarm yet, completing that project is the useful preparation before chasing ARC Raiders Beachcombing windows. The condition rotates regularly, so there is little value in rushing onto the beach without the item that reveals its loot.
Where to use the Dockmaster’s Detector
Take the Detector onto the sandy shoreline of Riven Tides while ARC Raiders Beachcombing is active. Embark’s own description says to sweep it across the sand, rather than searching hotel rooms, the port interior or other inland loot areas.
The best hunting ground is also the risky one. Embark says the richest areas are out in the open, which means the exposed beach can leave you visible to other Raiders and nearby ARC while you are focused on the Detector.
What can you find during Beachcombing?
The buried rewards in ARC Raiders Beachcombing vary. Embark deliberately describes the finds as buried loot rather than promising one fixed blueprint, crafting part or currency every time.
That makes Beachcombing useful when you are happy to turn an Riven Tides run into a broader loot hunt. If you need one exact item for a Workshop upgrade or quest, check its known source first instead of assuming Beachcombing is automatically the best farm.
How to know when Beachcombing is active
Embark runs an official live Map Conditions page that lists active and upcoming ARC Raiders Beachcombing windows. Beachcombing is shown against Riven Tides because it is exclusive to that map.
The condition typically appears in one-hour windows and comes back several times across the day, but the exact schedule changes. Check the live page shortly before playing instead of relying on yesterday’s timetable.
Is Beachcombing available in PvE mode?
Embark’s current PvE Toggle exclusion list names major conditions such as ARC Frigate, Night Raid, Locked Gate, Hidden Bunker and Redirection. Beachcombing is not named on that exclusion list.
That makes ARC Raiders Beachcombing different from the excluded high-value major conditions during the October 13–20 PvE beta. Still check the live PvE map-condition panel before launching, because Embark can adjust test availability separately from the standard schedule.
Best way to farm Beachcombing safely
Bring enough free inventory space to make the dig worthwhile and avoid arriving with a bag already full of low-value scavenging loot. The beach is exposed, so shorter searches with a clear extraction plan are safer than staying in the open until every possible spot has been checked.
If another Raider is already sweeping the richest part of the beach, pushing the same exposed ground can turn ARC Raiders Beachcombing into a PvP fight instead of a loot run. Use cover along the edge of the shoreline and move between search areas rather than standing still with the Detector out.
Beachcombing vs normal Riven Tides loot runs
Normal Riven Tides scavenging still gives you the hotel, Exodus port, shoreline structures and other regular containers. Beachcombing adds buried sand loot on top of those routes rather than replacing them.
If ARC Raiders Beachcombing is active and you already have the Detector, it gives you another reason to cross the beaches between your normal objectives. If the condition is inactive, the standard Riven Tides loot routes remain available without the buried-search layer.
Related Guides
Embark explains the Detector, Avian Alarm unlock and buried-loot mechanic in its official Riven Tides update, while the live Beachcombing schedule shows the next active window.
