Embark just teased a brand-new limited-time event for ARC Raiders — Forgotten Relics — and it goes live tomorrow. Details are deliberately thin (the studio dropped a single teaser and nothing more), so the SERP is empty and the community is already arguing about what it actually is. This guide pulls together every confirmed fact, separates it cleanly from community speculation, and — most importantly — tells you exactly what to farm today so you walk into the event ready instead of scrambling. Verified against the official ARC Raiders announcement and the Nomadic Envoys reveal.
🔴 UPDATE — June 16, 2026: Forgotten Relics is now LIVE with Update 1.33.0, and Embark has confirmed the full mechanics, rewards and end date. You earn Merits — automatically converted from XP on any map, plus relics found in containers (lockers, drawers, crates) — and you must extract with a relic in hand to bank its Merits. The event runs June 16 – July 27, 2026, and completing the Converging Paths Project grants the Red-Black Saltwalker Outfit, a Sextant backpack charm and 300 Raider Tokens. 1.33.0 also disabled free loadouts in Night Raid and Close Scrutiny (a 3-week test). For the complete farming method and full reward track, see our full guide: ARC Raiders Forgotten Relics: How to Farm Merits Fast. The prep advice below still applies — but the speculation is now resolved.
Quick answer (TLDR): Forgotten Relics is a new limited-time ARC Raiders event that goes live June 16, 2026, announced by Embark's official account. The theme ties directly to the Nomadic Envoys trader: you "secure safe passage for travelers and collect important artifacts." Embark hasn't published reward tables or an end date yet, so anyone posting a full "rewards list" right now is guessing. The smart move is to prep, not predict: hit level 25 to unlock the Nomadic Envoy (Ermal), stockpile high-tier ARC enemy parts (Queen/Matriarch Reactors, Bastion Cells, etc.) and crafting materials, and clear stash space. Whatever the artifacts turn-in costs, it'll want the same currency the Envoy always wants — rare parts and gear. Farm those now while everyone else waits.
What is the Forgotten Relics event in ARC Raiders?
On June 15, 2026, Embark teased the event on the official ARC Raiders account:
"The Nomadic Envoys have arrived. Can they be trusted? Secure safe passage for travelers and collect important artifacts in the Forgotten Relics event, live tomorrow!" — official ARC Raiders announcement
That one line is everything Embark has confirmed. Three things are clear from it:
- It's tied to the Nomadic Envoys. The traveling trader faction is front and center, so the event loops through their barter system rather than a normal vendor.
- There's a collection mechanic. "Collect important artifacts" strongly implies a gather-and-turn-in loop — find relics out on the surface (Topside), bring them back, exchange them for rewards.
- There's an escort/protection angle. "Secure safe passage for travelers" suggests a dynamic objective where you defend or guide NPC envoys, likely under ARC and rival-raider pressure.
What Embark has not said: the exact rewards, the turn-in cost, the end date, or whether it includes a new Raider Deck. Treat every "confirmed rewards" post you see before launch with suspicion — at the time of writing, none of it is sourced from Embark.
A quick reality check the community itself raised: one of the first questions on the announcement thread was simply "Is this even real?" — because nothing had hit the in-game Discord yet. It's legitimate: the event was announced through the official ARC Raiders social account, not (yet) the patch notes. So it's real, but pre-launch — expect the actual mechanics to land with tomorrow's update.
When does the Forgotten Relics event start?
Forgotten Relics goes live on June 16, 2026 ("live tomorrow," per Embark's June 15 teaser). ARC Raiders events typically activate alongside a store/content update and the weekly reset cadence, so expect it to switch on with the next update rather than at a precise countdown. No official end date has been shared — limited-time events in ARC have historically run for a bounded window (the community points to past expiry events like the boats and candleberry collections), so don't assume it'll sit there for a full season. Treat it as time-boxed: jump in early.
Who are the Nomadic Envoys?
The event is built around a trader most players already know. The Nomadic Envoys are a faction of surface-dwelling nomads, fronted by Ermal, introduced in the May 19 "Meet the new Trader" update. They're a barter vendor, not a credit shop — and they're the single best lens for understanding how Forgotten Relics will probably ask you to pay.
Here's what's confirmed about the Envoys:
| Property | Detail |
|---|---|
| Trader | Ermal, envoy of a group of nomadic surface dwellers |
| Unlock requirement | Level 25 |
| Rotation | Weekly — returns every Tuesday (day after Trials reset) |
| Payment | High-value ARC enemy parts and gear (barter, not just credits) |
| Sells | Blueprints (incl. missed-event cosmetics), outfits, Raider Tokens, stash expansions, Expedition Vault access |
| Expedition Vault | Secures up to 5 items to carry between Expeditions |
The key behavioral detail, straight from Embark: Ermal "won't always be satisfied with the gear you have" and may request specific items from Topside, forcing deliberate farming runs (arcraiders.com). That's almost certainly how Forgotten Relics will work too — specific artifacts, specific turn-ins. According to GameRant, the Envoy's regular stock has run as rich as weapon blueprints valued around 1,000,000 credits, cosmetic outfits near 500,000, and Raider Token bundles around 150,000 — so the rewards ceiling for an Envoy-branded event is high.
How do you prepare for Forgotten Relics? (Do this today)
This is the part that actually matters. You can't farm the artifacts yet — they don't exist until launch — but you can line up the currency and access the event will demand. Here's the prep checklist, ordered by priority.
1. Get to level 25 to unlock the Nomadic Envoy
If you're below level 25, Ermal is locked, and an Envoy-themed event is far less useful to you. The fastest legitimate XP comes from completing quests and Weekly Trials — see our ARC Raiders Trials guide for the highest-XP challenges and how to three-star them. Prioritize this if you're close.
2. Stockpile high-tier ARC enemy parts
Every Envoy barter so far has leaned on rare ARC component drops. Stack these now:
- Queen Reactor and Matriarch Reactor (from the world bosses — our Queen & Matriarch kill guide covers the cheapest way to drop them)
- Bastion Cell, Bombardier Cell, Rocketeer Driver, Vaporizer Regulator
- Assessor Matrix, Turbine Compressor, Leaper Pulse Unit
These are the exact parts the Envoy has historically demanded, and a relic turn-in event is the most likely place Embark recycles that economy.
3. Bank crafting materials and credits
Beyond boss parts, keep a healthy buffer of general materials and a credit cushion for any straight-purchase options. If your stash is thin, run a focused farming session — our fastest ways to farm materials guide breaks down the best loops by map and map condition.
4. Clear stash space and use the Expedition Vault
Collection events flood your stash with quest items. Before launch, offload hoarded gear (the Envoy himself helps with this) and remember the Expedition Vault secures 5 items between runs — useful for protecting whatever relics you grab from a death on the way to extract.
5. Have a reliable kit ready
"Secure safe passage" implies combat under pressure — escorting NPCs draws ARC and rival raiders. Run a dependable mid-tier loadout you can afford to lose repeatedly; you'll be doing volume, not one careful run. If you're still building toward a go-to weapon, the blueprints guide covers how to unlock and craft consistent gear fast.
What rewards can you expect from Forgotten Relics?
Honest answer: unconfirmed. Embark hasn't published a reward list, so this section is expectation, not fact — flagged clearly so you don't get burned. Based on how the Nomadic Envoy economy works and how previous ARC limited-time events have paid out, the realistic candidates are:
- Event-exclusive cosmetics / outfits — the most common ARC event reward, and the Envoy already deals in skins.
- Blueprints, possibly including reissued missed-event cosmetics the Envoy is known to stock.
- Raider Tokens and progression items (project items, backpack charms, stash slots).
- An outside chance of a new Raider Deck, though the community is split — decks have historically been framed as their own drop, not as "events," so temper that expectation.
When the real rewards drop with tomorrow's update, we'll update this guide with the confirmed table and exact turn-in costs.
Is the Forgotten Relics event worth doing?
For most active players, yes — early. Limited-time events are the one window where you can earn exclusive cosmetics and bonus progression you can't get afterward, and an Envoy-branded event sits right on top of ARC's richest reward economy. The risk is the opposite of FOMO: over-investing in a thin event. Until the rewards are confirmed, prep cheaply, play early, and scale your effort to the payout once it's visible. The players who farmed parts today will clear the turn-ins while everyone else is still reading the patch notes tomorrow.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is the ARC Raiders Forgotten Relics event real? Yes. It was announced on June 15, 2026 through the official ARC Raiders account, with the line "the Forgotten Relics event, live tomorrow!" It hadn't appeared in the in-game Discord or patch notes at announcement time, which is why some players doubted it — but the source is Embark's official channel, so it's legitimate. Expect the mechanics to go live with the June 16 update.
When does the Forgotten Relics event start and end? It starts June 16, 2026 ("tomorrow," per the June 15 teaser). Embark has not announced an end date. Past ARC limited-time events have run for a bounded window rather than a full season, so treat it as time-boxed and jump in early rather than assuming it'll stay up indefinitely.
What do you do in the Forgotten Relics event? Based on Embark's teaser, you "secure safe passage for travelers and collect important artifacts" — pointing to an escort/protection objective plus a gather-and-turn-in collection loop run through the Nomadic Envoys. Exact objectives land with the launch update.
What are the Forgotten Relics rewards? Unconfirmed at launch. Embark hasn't published a reward table. Given the Nomadic Envoy economy, expect event cosmetics, blueprints, Raider Tokens and progression items as the likely candidates — but anyone listing exact rewards before the update is speculating. We'll update with the confirmed list once it's live.
How do I unlock the Nomadic Envoys? Reach level 25. The trader Ermal then becomes available and returns on a weekly rotation (Tuesdays, after the Trials reset), bartering high-tier ARC parts and gear for blueprints, cosmetics, Raider Tokens and stash upgrades.
How should I prepare for the event right now? Hit level 25, stockpile high-tier ARC enemy parts (Queen/Matriarch Reactors, Bastion Cells and similar), bank crafting materials and credits, clear stash space, and keep a reliable mid-tier loadout ready for escort combat. The currency the event wants almost certainly overlaps with what the Envoy already demands — so farming it today is the safest prep.
