ARC Raiders Season 4 Week 5 Trials Guide: How to Earn 3 Stars Fast
May-28-2026 PST
This guide covers every Season 4 Week 5 Trial, including the best maps, fastest farming methods, recommended ARC Raiders Items, and strategies to maximize your score quickly.
How Trials Work in ARC Raiders
Trials unlock at Level 15 and function as ARC Raiders' weekly competitive challenge system. Every week, players receive five rotating objectives that award points based on performance. Reaching certain thresholds grants one, two, or three stars, with higher rewards tied to better completion levels.
To earn three stars on a challenge, players generally need around 4,000 points in a single extracted raid. Dying before extraction wastes the run entirely, so survival is just as important as scoring aggressively.
Season 4 Week 5 includes the following objectives:
Loot Weapon Crates
Damage ARC enemies in the Red Lakes
Deal damage using a Blaze Grenade
Deal damage to Shredders
Damage Bombardiers
At first glance, these objectives seem simple, but several of them contain hidden mechanics that can ruin your score if approached incorrectly.
Loot Weapon Crates
This is easily one of the fastest Week 5 trials to complete. Weapon Crates spawn across multiple maps, but Stella Montis and Riven Tides currently offer the most efficient farming routes.
The biggest mistake players make is wandering aimlessly looking for crates. Instead, focus on known high-density loot areas and key rooms. Many experienced players are completing this trial in just one or two raids by memorizing optimal routes.
These areas often contain multiple Weapon Crate spawns close together.
If you are playing solo, mobility is critical. Bring lightweight gear, avoid unnecessary PvP fights, and focus entirely on loot efficiency. Since you only need a few successful crate searches for a 3-star result, speed matters more than combat.
A good strategy is to enter with minimal investment gear. This reduces risk while allowing repeated fast runs if necessary.
Damage ARC Enemies in the Red Lakes
This challenge is extremely straightforward once you know where the Red Lakes area is located. Head to Dam Battlegrounds and move toward the Red Lakes section of the map.
The best approach is sustained damage farming rather than quick eliminations. Many players accidentally kill enemies too quickly and reduce their total score potential.
Use mid-damage weapons that allow you to repeatedly damage targets before finishing them off. Automatic rifles and SMGs work very well here because they let you spread damage efficiently across multiple enemies.
One of the strongest methods is triggering Harvester events near Red Lakes. These events can spawn larger ARC groups and even Queens, dramatically increasing score potential. Some players report that damaging Queens during Harvester activity can instantly push the challenge close to 3-star range.
If possible, run this challenge with teammates. Squad members can soften targets while you farm damage safely from range.
Deal Damage Using a Blaze Grenade
This is the most misunderstood trial of Week 5.
The challenge specifically emphasizes damage dealt using a single Blaze Grenade, not cumulative Blaze Grenade damage over multiple uses. Many players waste resources by repeatedly throwing grenades at weak enemies without realizing the scoring mechanic.
The goal is maximizing total burn damage from one grenade.
The easiest method is targeting a Leaper. Leapers tend to stay inside the burning area long enough for Blaze Grenades to deal massive damage over time. According to community testing, a properly positioned grenade on a Leaper can nearly reach 3-star threshold values by itself.
For even higher scores, target Bombardiers. Their larger health pools allow substantially more burn damage before death, making them ideal Blaze Grenade targets.
Players using crowd-control tools or environmental choke points can trap ARC enemies inside the flames for longer durations, dramatically increasing score totals.
Deal Damage to Shredders
Shredders only spawn reliably on Stella Montis, making map selection very important for this challenge.
Night raids often improve survivability because fewer players aggressively contest these zones early in the match.
For weapons, Hullcracker builds remain extremely effective despite recent nerfs. Precision rifles and explosive weapons also work well because Shredders have relatively predictable movement patterns.
One of the best strategies is partial damage farming. Instead of instantly destroying Shredders, repeatedly damage them while repositioning safely. This maximizes point generation before the kill.
Squads have a huge advantage here because teammates can stagger or distract Shredders while others farm damage.
Solo players should prioritize cover usage and avoid extended exposure. Shredders can quickly overwhelm players caught in open terrain.
Damage Bombardiers
Bombardiers are among the most dangerous ARC enemies in Week 5, but they are also one of the best scoring opportunities.
The two best maps for Bombardier farming are: Blue Gate, Buried City.
Bombardiers have large health pools, making them ideal for both direct-damage trials and Blaze Grenade farming.
Wolfpack Grenades are currently one of the strongest counters because they deal reliable burst damage while allowing safer positioning. Hullcracker builds also remain highly effective against Bombardiers due to their armor penetration and burst potential.
A common high-score strategy is damaging one Bombardier heavily before finishing it, then immediately locating a second target for bonus points.
Do not rush these fights. Bombardiers can instantly punish greedy positioning, especially during solo runs.
Best General Strategies for Week 5
Week 5 rewards efficiency far more than brute force grinding.
Always remember:
Only extracted runs count
Your best score replaces previous attempts
Survival matters more than kill count
Fast routing dramatically improves farming efficiency
Community players also recommend avoiding unnecessary PvP whenever possible. Many top leaderboard players treat Trials as PvE optimization runs rather than combat-focused matches.
Night raids and Electromagnetic Storm conditions can sometimes improve scoring opportunities because they reduce player density and create safer farming windows.
If you are pushing leaderboard rankings rather than simply earning 3 stars, squad play becomes extremely important. Teams can stack damage, control spawns, and cover extra territory much more efficiently than solo players.
Final Thoughts
Season 4 Week 5 Trials in ARC Raiders are much more manageable than some earlier rotations, but getting all three stars still requires focused execution and efficient planning. It is useful to buy ARC Raiders Gear to prepare quickly.
The easiest objectives this week are Weapon Crates and Red Lakes damage farming, while Blaze Grenade optimization and Bombardier hunting require more careful setup.
Players who understand spawn locations, prioritize extraction, and build runs around specific objectives can finish all five challenges surprisingly quickly.
The key is avoiding random gameplay. Every successful high-score run in ARC Raiders comes from preparation, efficient routing, and understanding how the scoring system rewards damage and survival.