Season 5 Week 2 punishes the raid that tries to do everything. You bring a Stitcher, Rascal, Deadline, and a heavy backpack, then lose the whole run because one Snitch drags ARC into your route. The active rotation, live on July 15, 2026, covers locker searches, ARC damage from one Deadline, Snitch kills with Stitchers, Rascal damage, and container opens inside the Swamp on Dam Battlegrounds. If you need to check your stock before queueing, ARC Raiders BluePrints can help you plan the kit. The score comes from disciplined raids, not expensive gear.

Five Trials, Five Different Raid Plans

Season 5 started on July 7, 2026, and runs through September 30. The Scorta is the main outfit reward, with variants and other cosmetics tied to placement. Three stars are only the completion target. Trials also place Raiders in divisions, and your combined personal-best scores decide leaderboard position. A bad later run won't replace a better recorded result, but points count only after extraction. That makes the exit route part of every attempt.

Read the Weapon Requirement Literally

The intended approach looks simple: search dense interiors, hit a strong ARC target with one Deadline, control a Stitcher kill, use Rascal splash damage, and sweep the Swamp. The common failure is treating each task like ordinary combat. Raiders waste a Deadline on a small target, shoot Snitches from bad angles, fire Rascal rounds at isolated enemies, or open containers along a border that the game doesn't recognize as Swamp. Run each objective in this order when possible.

1. Use Spaceport, the Research Building, or dense Buried City interiors for locker loops.
2. Save the Deadline for a Bastion or Bombardier; Queen and Matriarch attempts have a higher ceiling but greater risk.
3. Fight Snitches from cover, keep the Stitcher's final damage controlled, and leave when the response grows.
4. Use Rascal shots on grouped Pops, Fireballs, Wasps, or Hornets, then reload behind cover.

Combining Trials can work, but the pairing matters. Rascal damage fits a Swamp container run when light ARC gather near South Swamp Outpost, field structures, or the Hydroponics Dome Complex. Stitcher work fits urban areas with elevation and cover. A full locker route plus several explosives and both weapons is usually a bad trade. For three stars, split the week into light locker, Swamp, Deadline, and Stitcher runs. For leaderboard scores, secure acceptable marks everywhere, then repeat the one or two Trials your playstyle can raise.

Leave Before the Raid Turns

Players keep asking if the named-zone boundary really matters. It does-if a container fails to add progress, move deeper into a clearly marked Swamp location instead of testing the edge. Start with exterior containers, clear one structure in a single direction, and stop when density falls or another squad arrives. Before deploying, check the target, ammunition, interference risk, and extraction distance. Then take three steps: choose one objective, carry only its useful tools, and extract after the score registers. Keep ARC Items for sale as a backup reference, not an excuse to throw away a strong run.