With A Trace is Shani’s ARC Raiders quest on The Blue Gate. Go to the Barren Clearing in the northwest of the map (left of Raider’s Refuge), investigate the round, ball-shaped joint lying against one of the downed ARC machine’s legs, then head a short way south to the Adorned Wreckage and switch on the yellow communications device there. Extract, talk to Shani, and you get a Looting Mk. 2 augment and a Medium Shield.
The step that stalls most players is the second one. “Signs of who brought down the ARC machines” sounds like footprints or a body, but it’s a single interactable part on the wreck.
With A Trace at a glance
| Detail | Answer |
|---|---|
| Quest giver | Shani (Speranza) |
| Map | The Blue Gate |
| Available after | Reduced to Rubble |
| Leads to | Armored Transports and The Clean Dream |
| Items you need to bring | None listed |
| Rewards | 1x Looting Mk. 2, 1x Medium Shield, 5,000 XP |
Quest chain and rewards come from the ARC Raiders Wiki; the XP figure is from MetaForge. Both reflect the game as of October 2026. The previous quest, Reduced to Rubble, also runs on The Blue Gate and follows A First Foothold, so if Shani isn’t offering With A Trace yet, finish that one first.
How to complete With A Trace, step by step
All four objectives are on The Blue Gate, close together, so one raid is enough if nobody interrupts you. The route below follows the Shacknews walkthrough and matches Dexerto’s description.
1. Reach the Barren Clearing
Head to the northwest side of The Blue Gate, to the left of Raider’s Refuge. You’ll know you’re there when the trees stop and the ground is covered in huge wrecked ARC machines.
2. Find signs of who brought down the ARC machines
Move to the southwest edge of the clearing and face the main wreck. Look for a silver, ball-shaped object resting against one of the robot’s legs, a few steps from the main hulk. Walk up to it and a yellow Investigate prompt appears. That one interaction completes the step. Don’t waste time combing the whole clearing for anything else.
3. Inspect the Adorned Wreckage
The Adorned Wreckage is a separate spot a short run south of the Barren Clearing. It’s a large wreck draped in cables and dishes, which makes it easy to pick out once you’re heading the right way.
4. Inspect the communications device
On the south side of the Adorned Wreckage, next to the main structure, there’s a small yellow computer terminal sitting out in the open. Turn it on and the last objective completes.
5. Extract and hand it in
Dexerto notes that you need to extract for the quest to count, so don’t relax yet. Get out alive, then speak to Shani in Speranza to collect the rewards. Her completion dialogue hints that what you found could help contact the survivors behind it, which sets up the next quests.
What goes wrong for players on this quest
“I can’t find the signs at all”
This was the top complaint around launch. In an October 2025 Steam thread, the poster couldn’t find anything in the clearing, and another player who had searched just as long ended up pointing to a Reddit answer. The fix is the ball-shaped joint described in step 2. It’s small compared with the wrecks around it, which is why people walk past it.
“The laptop isn’t yellow and I can’t click it”
A Steam thread from November 2025 describes finishing the first part but finding the device at the wreckage greyed out. A second player reported the same thing months later and planned to try restarting the game. There’s no confirmed fix in that thread. Before assuming a bug, check your quest log. The objectives are listed in order, so make sure the sign and the Adorned Wreckage steps both show as done before you try the device.
“Someone shot me while I was using the computer”
The terminal is out in the open and you’re stuck in an interaction for a moment. One player on the Steam forums was killed mid-activation by another raider who appeared about 20 metres away. Clear the area and listen for footsteps before you start the interaction, especially if you’re running solo.
ARC enemies and cold weather
Expect company. A player in a Steam thread about frustrating quests named With A Trace as an example of an objective guarded by a Leaper and flying ARC. On cold, snowy raids, another player in a thread about the snow mechanic said the cold built up quickly while doing this quest in the open clearing. The Blue Gate has a Cold Snap condition among its map conditions, per the ARC Raiders Wiki, so if you’d rather avoid that, do the quest on a normal raid.
Is With A Trace worth doing?
Yes, and not only for the loot. You get a Looting Mk. 2 augment and a Medium Shield, and the quest opens two more of Shani’s quests. It’s also quick: once you know the ball-shaped joint is the “sign,” the whole thing is one short loop in the northwest of the map.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the Barren Clearing in ARC Raiders?
The Barren Clearing is in the northwest part of The Blue Gate, to the left of Raider’s Refuge. It’s a treeless area full of giant wrecked ARC machines.
What are the “signs” in With A Trace?
The sign is a silver, ball-shaped joint lying against one of the downed ARC machine’s legs on the southwest side of the Barren Clearing. Interact with it when the yellow Investigate prompt appears.
Where is the communications device for With A Trace?
It’s a small yellow terminal on the south side of the Adorned Wreckage, which sits a short distance south of the Barren Clearing on The Blue Gate.
Do I need to extract to finish With A Trace?
Yes. You need to survive and extract after inspecting the device, then talk to Shani in Speranza to complete the quest and get the rewards.
What quest comes after With A Trace?
Finishing With A Trace leads to two more quests: Armored Transports and The Clean Dream.
Featured image: Embark Studios / official Steam screenshot
