ARC Raiders Steel Cable is a Pendola Pass material needed for Outpost Level 2 and several gadgets. Three cables complete the Outpost requirement, while researching and crafting your first Tether Launcher takes five more. The best places to start are Cielo Sereno Observatory, Railyard and Railroad Junction.
Steel Cable appears as loose loot and inside searchable containers, so an empty drawer or crate tells you very little. Pendola Pass’s Dynamic Loot Zones also change which areas are valuable from raid to raid. The routes below combine a firsthand Observatory search with other specialist reports, so you can prioritise the right rooms without expecting a guaranteed spawn.
ARC Raiders Steel Cable locations on Pendola Pass
The most consistently recommended locations are Cielo Sereno Observatory in the northeast, the Railyard and its nearby Controlled Receiving Facility, and Railroad Junction. Some reports also mention the Fallen Emperor, but it is harder to reach and much riskier than the other areas. Current specialist guides describe cables as Pendola Pass loot rather than a routine spawn on older maps.
ARC Raiders Steel Cable can be picked up from loose objects or from toolboxes, drawers and breachable boxes. Don’t limit your search to one container type. Start with whichever of these locations lies closest to your raid spawn, and decide on an extraction route before filling your backpack.
How to farm ARC Raiders Steel Cable at the Observatory
If you enter Cielo Sereno Observatory from below, start in the maintenance tunnels. An October farming guide recommends opening breachable steel boxes, toolboxes and storage containers there, with a possible two or three cables from a thorough sweep. That is the guide author’s experience, not an expected drop every run. Check loose items on nearby shelves before leaving the lower floor.
For a second route, MetaForge’s firsthand kitchen run entered the Observatory through a window, went towards the back-room kitchen, searched cabinets and drawers first, then checked tables, chairs and the dustbin. The author found five cables in that run, but the result will vary. If your spawn places you near the kitchen window, begin there instead of travelling all the way down to the tunnels.
ARC Raiders Steel Cable around Railyard and Railroad Junction
For ARC Raiders Steel Cable, prioritise the large train hangar. Destructoid’s firsthand Outpost guide reports Steel Cable as loose loot, while another October specialist recommends the hangar’s crates and boxes. Check both rather than assuming either type guarantees a drop. The neighbouring Controlled Receiving Facility has three parked trains identified in a current location guide as another area to inspect. Focus on accessible industrial objects; it’s a backup stop, not a guaranteed three-cable haul.
Railroad Junction is the next backup. One October route describes a building with a frozen doorway: clear the ice by striking it repeatedly or using a weapon, then search the breachable containers inside and check for loose items. If you’ve already filled your upgrade quota, extracting is safer than crossing the map for this extra stop. If those areas have already been looted by other Raiders, consider extracting with what you found and trying again in a fresh round.
How much ARC Raiders Steel Cable do upgrades need?
Outpost Level 2 requires 3 Steel Cable, 20 Sheet Metal and 3 Cable Strippers. Researching the Tether Launcher blueprint at Research Station II uses another 3 cables, 2,000 Research Points and an Unusable Weapon. Crafting the launcher at Utility Station II costs 2 more cables, an Advanced Electrical Component and a Calculator.
That is five Steel Cables for researching and manufacturing your first Tether Launcher, separately from the three needed for the Outpost. After the Outpost upgrade, ARC Raiders Steel Cable is still useful for gadget recipes, including Ziplines. Check current recipe panels before recycling leftovers. Our Outpost upgrades and Tether Launcher articles cover their complete ingredient lists.
Fast ARC Raiders Steel Cable farming route
If you spawn near the Observatory, sweep the kitchen and maintenance tunnels, then extract when you have three. From the rail corridor, check Railyard and Controlled Receiving before trying Railroad Junction. The best route depends on your spawn and risk level; a shorter search that brings home one cable is preferable to losing three during a long detour.
Keep your first cable in a Safe Pocket if your loadout allows it. For more uses of the same raid, collect nearby Outpost materials when you see them. Our Epoxy Bucket and Laser Level guides cover other Pendola Pass searches.
Buying, recycling and troubleshooting ARC Raiders Steel Cable
An October specialist reports that Celeste has offered up to five Steel Cables for 20 Seeds each. Treat that as a reported offer, not permanent stock: check her current shop in Speranza before assuming the price or quantity is available. Recycling a Zipline can also return Steel Cable according to the current item database, but destroying equipment you still use may cost more than another scavenging run.
When a favourite location is empty, remember Dynamic Loot Zones and other players. Search both loose items and containers, then move to another named area or a fresh raid. If you’re already exploring the Fallen Emperor for another quest, take any cables you find there, but avoid entering it solely for this basic material. Our Pendola Pass guide
Related Guides
Official source: Embark Studios’ Frozen Trail 2.0 update notes.
