How to get Three Stars in ARC Raiders week 9 Trials

After a seven-day gap, new ARC Raiders week 9 Trials are here with a new set of missions that introduce new mechanics and elements in Embark Studios' extraction shooter. This recurring challenge activity allows players to grab weapons, resources, and blueprints as rewards. That said, these Trials feature challenges that involve PvE interactions and tend to avoid PvP elements to provide everyone a fair chance.

On that note, let us go over the best ways to get three stars in ARC Raiders Week 9 Trials.

---

ARC Raiders Week 9 Trials guide: How to get 3 stars in every challenge

The latest week 9 trials in ARC Raiders went live on December 22, 2025, and will be active until December 29, 2025. Since the last Trials event ended on December 15, 2025, there has been a week's gap as the Cold Snap update and Flickering Flames event were en route.

The new Trials offer various opportunities for players to grab new rewards as they slowly accumulate stars and climb up ranks. Here are this week's challenges:

• Search First Wave husks
• Damage Leapers
• Harvest plants
• Search Frozen Raider Containers
• Destroy Ticks

ARC Raiders week 9 Trials (Image via SK Gaming || Embark Studios)

---

1) Best ways to search First Wave husks in week 9 Trials

First Wave husks are what we call the metal remains of ARC robots, which were the first to initiate a fight against humans. They were much weaker and far less smart compared to their current ones. These husks can be found across several maps and opened to increase the Trials score. There are three types of husks:

• Wasp husk
• Rocketeer husk
• Baron husk

While the improved versions of the first two are still found in the topside maps, the Baron has not made an appearance in ARC Raiders yet. If you intend to drop into a map just to loot First Wave husks, follow the map shown below and head to The Spaceport or The Blue Gate, as they have a high number of husk spawn locations.

Points of Interest in Spaceport and The Blue Gate (Image via arcraidersmaps.app)

Do note that the best time to farm First Wave husks is during the Husk Graveyard map condition. This not only increases the number of interactible metal shells, but also grants double points for Trials.

---

2) Best ways to damage leapers during week 9 Trials

Leapers are one of the few minibosses in ARC Raiders. It is easily identifiable thanks to the striking design, as it uses armored legs to move and jump around. However, this lethal machine can be killed in a few easy ways.

Fighting leapers in ARC Raiders (Image via Embark Studios)

Pack blaze grenades and weapons with high ARC Armor penetration. You can rely on Ferro or Anvil to do the job. The Leaper is weak to fire damage and has a soft spot in its joints and eye. Throw a Blaze grenade and wait for it to burn out. Throw another one while waiting for it to finish burning the robot. Now finish it off with the packed weapons by shooting its eye.

A few Leaper spawn locations (Image via arcraidersmaps.app)

---

3) Best ways to harvest plans for week 9 Trials

Harvesting plants in ARC Raiders can be a great way to farm this week's Trials scores. This is because you can interact with plants in a single session while equipping a free loadout to accumulate a ton of points. If you combine this with Night Raid, then you can grab three stars quite easily. Let us check a route discovered by @ISlinkyI on YouTube.

Plants harvesting route for week 9 trials (Image via arcraidersmaps.app)

We will be heading to The Buried City map, preferably during Night Raid. Follow the steps mentioned below and use the map shown above to get an idea of the route:

• Start with the Galleria building and go through the floors to grab Great Mullein.
• Make your way to the ground floor of the Research building. Now, carefully take a peek at the Marano Park. If it seems empty, grab Great Mullein and Apricot and then run to the next POI.
• Reach the Grandioso Apartments, harvest the Great Mullein, and pick up the Agave whenever you cross paths with a plant.
• Slowly make your way down as shown on the map to find more Agave.
• Now head towards the Plaza Rosa to grab Prickly Pear and Agave.
• Head close to the Plaza Rosa buildings and harvest the Apricot plants.
• Lastly, head to the area northeast of Church Ruins to grab some Prickly Pear, thus concluding the harvest run.

---

4) Best ways to search for frozen Raider containers for week 9 Trials

This particular objective during the new Trials is a brand new challenge that is introduced with the latest update. Players must head to the topside maps with the active Cold Snap condition. Thanks to the snowstorm, Raider caches will get covered with snow, and they must be breached to access the loot inside

Raider cache locations you must visit during Cold Snap (Image via arcraidersmaps.app)

That said, the frozen variants of Raider caches contain better loot drops. Follow the map shown above to grab Raider caches for the new Trials. Do note that Dam Battlegrounds has higher Raider cache spawn locations, so this map is your best bet at grabbing three scores whenever the Cold Snap condition goes live.

---

5) Best ways to destroy Ticks for week 9 Trials

Ticks are one of the weakest ARCs in Embark Studios' extraction shooter. They are completely unarmored and can be taken down with most weapons, and even the pickaxe. However, if you intend to farm these pesky robots, grab a high ARC Armor penetration weapon just to ensure that you one-shot them and move on to the next one.

Ticks' location in Dam Battlegrounds and Buried City (Image via arcraidersmaps.app)

Here are a few locations where you can farm them:

Dam Battlegrounds

• Water Treatment
• Research & Administration
• Testing Annex
• Hydrophonic Dome Complex

Buried City

• Research
• Space Travel
• Santa Maria Houses
• Piazza Arbusto

---

This concludes our coverage of the week 9 Trials in ARC Raiders and the best ways to grab three stars. Do not forget to prioritize map conditions so that you can benefit from the double score bonus. Additionally, loot runs as First Wave husks and plant harvesting can benefit from free loadout. This can help minimize the risk of losing gear in case you get backstabbed.

---

For more news and guides on ARC Raiders, follow Sportskeeda

• How to complete ARC Raiders Greasing Her Palms quest
• How to complete Industrial Espionage quest in Arc Raiders
• How to complete Hatch Repairs quest in ARC Raiders
• How to complete The Right Tool quest in Arc Raiders
• How to complete the Eyes on the Prize quest in Arc Raiders
• How to complete Down To Earth quest in ARC Raiders

Are you stuck on today's Wordle? Our Wordle Solver will help you find the answer.

Edited by Sankalpa Das