The Forgotten Relics event is the headline of ARC Raiders Live Update 1.33.0, and it rewards one thing above all else: efficient, completed raids. Every relic you dig out of a locker is worthless until you walk it out the door, and a brand-new gear-cost rule in two of the best loot scenarios means a sloppy run now hurts twice. This guide breaks down exactly how Merits work, the fastest method to bank them on every map, the full reward track, and how to avoid throwing away a backpack of relics on death.
Quick answer (TLDR): In ARC Raiders 1.33.0, the Forgotten Relics event feeds the season-long Converging Paths Project, which runs June 16 – July 27, 2026. You earn Merits two ways: automatically converted from the XP you gain on any map, and by finding relics stashed in containers (lockers, drawers, crates). A relic's Merit value scales with its rarity — but you only get the Merits if you extract with the relic in hand. The fastest farm is therefore "play efficiently to bank XP on every raid, loot every container, and prioritise a clean extraction." Full completion grants the Red-Black Saltwalker Outfit, a Sextant backpack charm, and 300 Raider Tokens this season. Read on for the full method and reward breakdown.
What is the Forgotten Relics event in ARC Raiders?
Forgotten Relics is a limited-time event tied to the Converging Paths Project, a season objective chain that arrived with Live Update 1.33.0 on June 16, 2026 (arcraiders.com). The story framing: the Nomadic Envoys have arrived in the wastes, and the Project asks Raiders to secure safe passage for them, gather supplies, and recover the relics scattered across the surface. Each stage you complete advances a Display Case that physically shows the relics you've recovered so far — a running tally of your progress through the chain.
The event has a hard window: it is live June 16 through July 27, 2026 — roughly six weeks. That's plenty of time, but the gear-cost change that shipped alongside it (more on that below) rewards players who farm steadily rather than cramming risky runs at the end. The currency that ties it all together is Merits — what you spend to climb the reward track, and what the entire farming loop is built around.
How do Merits work in ARC Raiders?
Merits come from two sources, and understanding both is the whole game here.
1. XP, converted automatically. Any XP you earn while playing — on any map, doing anything — is automatically converted into Merits. You don't have to do anything special to opt in. This means every kill, every objective, every successful extraction is already feeding your Merit total in the background. The practical takeaway: the more efficiently you rack up XP per raid, the more Merits you bank passively, even on runs where you find zero relics.
2. Relics, found in containers. The named collectible is the relic itself. Relics are scattered in the world and tucked away inside containers — lockers, drawers, and crates. There are no fixed relic spawn locations: like most loot in ARC Raiders, relics are randomised container contents, so there's no map you can memorise and no "relic pinned here" route. You find them by being thorough.
Here's the rule that makes the whole event tick, straight from the patch notes:
"Each relic carries a different Merit value depending on its rarity, and to claim those Merits, Raiders must successfully extract with the relic in hand." — ARC Raiders Live Update 1.33.0 patch notes (arcraiders.com)
Two things follow. First, rarity matters: a relic's Merit value scales with how rare it is, so a higher-rarity find is worth chasing. Second, and more important, extraction is mandatory to bank a relic's value. A backpack full of Legendary relics that dies in the field is worth exactly zero Merits. The relics from XP are already safe the moment you earn the XP; the relics you carry are only "real" once you're out.
A note on exact numbers: as of June 16, 2026, Embark has not published the exact Merit value for each rarity tier — only that value rises with rarity (Common up through Legendary). We're deliberately not putting a per-rarity Merit table here, because any specific numbers floating around right now are unverified, and we'll add a confirmed table the moment official values are published.
What rewards does the Forgotten Relics track give?
Merits unlock a reward track, and the headline cosmetic is the Saltwalker Outfit plus its associated toggles. Along the way the track also pays out gameplay items, weapons, and Raider Tokens — so this isn't a cosmetics-only grind; you're earning usable gear and the game's premium-ish token currency as you go.
The big prizes are gated behind full completion of the Converging Paths Project. Finish the whole chain and you bank:
| Reward | What it is |
|---|---|
| Red-Black Saltwalker Outfit (variant) | The exclusive recolour of the Saltwalker Outfit — the completion flex |
| Sextant backpack charm | A cosmetic charm matching the event's explorer theme |
| 300 Raider Tokens | The total Raider Token payout for the Project this season |
So the structure is: grind Merits to climb the track and unlock the base Saltwalker Outfit, weapons, items and tokens along the way; complete the entire Project to claim the Red-Black variant, the Sextant charm, and the full 300 Raider Tokens. Both layers reward the same behaviour — keep banking Merits, raid after raid.
What changed in 1.33.0 that raises the stakes?
The single most important supporting change in this update is a new gear-cost rule: free loadouts are disabled in Night Raid and Close Scrutiny. Embark describes it as a three-week test to raise the barrier of entry so players commit appropriate gear to these higher-loot scenarios (arcraiders.com).
Why this matters for relic farming: Night Raid (the high-XP night condition) and Close Scrutiny (the first ARC Operation map condition) are two of the densest loot environments in the game — exactly where you'd want to hunt relics and rack up XP. But now you can't drop into them on a free, no-cost kit. Every run there costs you real gear and materials. Combine that with the "must extract to claim" rule and the maths is brutal: if you die in Night Raid or Close Scrutiny holding un-extracted relics, you lose both the relics' Merit value and the kit you brought. Greedy over-extension was always punished in ARC Raiders; in these two scenarios during this event, it's punished twice over.
That doesn't mean avoid them — the loot and XP density is why they're worth farming. It means treat them with the respect of a kitted run: bring gear you can afford to lose, and bank your relics before you push your luck.
What's the fastest way to farm Merits?
This is where method beats myths. Because there are no fixed relic spawns and no published Merit values to min-max around, the fastest farm is built from the verified mechanics, not from a secret route. Here's the loop that maximises Merits per hour.
Bank XP on every single raid
Since XP auto-converts to Merits on any map, every raid is already a Merit farm even before you touch a relic. Play to your strengths and rack up XP efficiently: clear the ARC and objectives you can handle cleanly, complete your raids, and don't grief yourself with fights you'll lose. A consistent string of finished raids will quietly out-earn a player who chases relics and dies a lot. If your goal is raw Merit throughput, levelling efficiently is the engine — the more XP per hour, the more Merits per hour, full stop.
Loot every locker, drawer and crate
Relics live in containers — lockers, drawers, crates — so the players who find the most relics are simply the most thorough lootters. Build the habit of sweeping interiors fully instead of grabbing the obvious floor loot and bouncing. High-density interior buildings (residential blocks, admin and storage areas) are where you'll crack the most containers per minute. There's no guaranteed relic in any specific box, so volume of containers searched is the lever you actually control.
Prioritise the extraction — always
Repeat after the patch notes: a relic earns nothing until you extract with it. The discipline that wins this event is knowing when your bag is "good enough" and leaving. Once you're holding a strong relic or two, the expected value of pushing for one more building drops fast — you're now risking a guaranteed Merit payout against a maybe. Plan your extract before you over-commit, keep a route to a point in mind, and when in doubt, leave with what you have. Remember the safe pocket only protects one item on death; everything else in your bag — relics included — is gone if you go down.
Don't over-extend (especially in the gear-cost scenarios)
The new no-free-loadout rule in Night Raid and Close Scrutiny turns every greedy push into a gear gamble. The efficient player banks relics in shorter, cleaner loops rather than marathon runs that end in a wipe. If you're farming those two scenarios, extract more often and carry less risk per trip — the loot density means even a short run is productive, and a completed short run beats a doomed long one every time.
Want the XP engine and the safe extraction handled for you? Both halves of this event reward time and consistency, which is exactly what these do:
- ARC Raiders Account Leveling — more XP banked = more Merits converted automatically; skip the grind and let the Merit total climb.
- ARC Raiders Blueprints — from $0.99 — kit out for Night Raid & Close Scrutiny now that free loadouts are gone, so a death doesn't reset you.
- ARC Raiders Materials — from $0.02 — keep the crafting bench stocked to rebuild gear between high-risk relic runs.
- All ARC Raiders services — everything for the Forgotten Relics grind in one place.
Where do the Nomadic Envoys fit in?
The Forgotten Relics event and the Converging Paths Project are themed around the Nomadic Envoys and their barter trader, Ermal. Ermal is worth knowing for the longer game: he's a barter trader who unlocks at Level 25, rotates his stock weekly on Tuesdays, and crucially does not accept credits — he deals in high-tier ARC enemy parts instead (arcraiders.com). That ties neatly into the event's farming loop: the same efficient, high-XP raids that bank Merits also feed you the rare ARC components Ermal wants, so a strong relic run pays off on two fronts. If you're not yet Level 25, the levelling you do chasing Merits is also the levelling that opens Ermal's door.
FAQ
When does the ARC Raiders Forgotten Relics event end? The Forgotten Relics event and the Converging Paths Project run from June 16 to July 27, 2026 — about six weeks. Merits you earn during that window go toward the Project's reward track, so there's no need to rush risky runs early; steady farming across the window is the safer play.
How do you get Merits in ARC Raiders? Two ways. First, all the XP you earn on any map is automatically converted into Merits — so every raid contributes. Second, you find relics hidden in containers (lockers, drawers, crates) and extract with them; each relic's Merit value scales with its rarity. Relics only count once you successfully extract.
Do relics count if I die before extracting? No. Per the official patch notes, you must "successfully extract with the relic in hand" to claim its Merits. A relic in a backpack you lose on death is worth zero. The XP-converted Merits are safe the moment you earn the XP, but carried relics are only banked once you're out.
Are there fixed relic spawn locations? No. Relics are randomised container loot, not fixed pickups, so there's no spawn map to memorise and no guaranteed "relic here" location. The reliable method is to loot thoroughly — sweep every locker, drawer and crate, and focus on container-dense interiors — rather than running a set route.
What are the exact Merit values per relic rarity? They haven't been published yet. As of June 16, 2026, Embark has only confirmed that a relic's Merit value scales with its rarity (Common up to Legendary). We're not listing specific per-rarity numbers because none are officially confirmed; we'll update this guide with a table once exact values are released.
What do I get for completing the Forgotten Relics track? The track unlocks gameplay items, weapons, Raider Tokens and the base Saltwalker Outfit plus toggles. Completing the entire Converging Paths Project additionally grants the Red-Black Saltwalker Outfit variant, a Sextant backpack charm, and 300 Raider Tokens total this season.
Why does it cost gear to farm relics in Night Raid and Close Scrutiny now? Update 1.33.0 disabled free loadouts in Night Raid and Close Scrutiny as a three-week test, to push players to commit appropriate gear in those high-loot scenarios. It means every run there costs gear and materials — so dying with un-extracted relics now loses you both the relics' Merit value and your kit. Bring gear you can afford to lose and extract early.
Sources: ARC Raiders Live Update 1.33.0 patch notes and the Nomadic Envoys trader announcement (arcraiders.com). Event mechanics and rewards verified against official Embark Studios sources as of June 16, 2026. Exact per-rarity Merit values were not published at the time of writing and will be added once confirmed.
