Quick answer: Phantom Targets is a limited-time community Project that runs August 4 → September 6, 2026. Part 2 is Stages 4–6, and it is almost entirely a collection grind: Stages 4 and 5 want 80 items across 8 types (10 of each), all pulled from the glitched Wasps introduced in Live Update 1.42.0. Stage 5 pays out the Fireworks Box Blueprint, and Stage 6 — the final test — asks you to "Deal 100 damage to any flying ARC using Fireworks." That last stage is where almost everyone stalls, and the fix is not more Fireworks Boxes: it's mounting the box on a wall instead of the floor so the fireworks fire horizontally into a flyer you've baited into an enclosed space. Two or three Wasps is enough to clear 100 damage. Stage 6 rewards Anvil IV, the Anvil Splitter, the Crash Mat Blueprint and a Computer Mouse backpack charm.
This guide covers every Part 2 stage with exact quantities and rewards, three ways to get Fireworks Boxes (including one that skips the blueprint entirely), the wall-mount technique, and the best enclosed spots on each live map. Every stat below is verified against arcraiders.wiki and Embark's 1.42.0 notes on arcraiders.com — not community estimates.
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What is Phantom Targets Part 2 in ARC Raiders?
Phantom Targets is the community Project that started August 4, 2026 and closes September 6, 2026. The setup, verbatim from the project description:
"Shani is having trouble deciphering the phantom targets showing up on her radars. Help set up a stronger signal in order to discern which ARC is transmitting the targets." — Phantom Targets project text, arcraiders.wiki
Part 1 (Stages 1–3) was the investigation: upgrade Cargo Elevator antennas, then test ARC parts and destruction methods in combat. Part 2 delivers the payoff — the phantom signals were coming from the erratic Wasps introduced in Live Update 1.42.0 (August 18, 2026). Embark's term is "erratic"; players mostly say "glitched", and the game itself splits the difference — the parts you collect are named Glitched ARC components. They fly in irregular patterns, make strange noises, and carry unidentified tech, which is exactly what you're now farming. We broke the enemy behaviour down in the erratic Wasps and glitched Wasp farm guide, and the full patch in our Update 1.42 breakdown.
One structural difference matters: Part 1 mixed interaction objectives (Stage 1 had you upgrade three antennas on top of a Cargo Elevator) with combat objectives that ticked up as you dealt damage. Part 2 Stages 4 and 5 run on a commit system — you carry parts back to Speranza and manually commit them from the project screen. Committed parts are gone permanently. The dialog warns you, and it means what it says.
All Phantom Targets Part 2 stages and rewards
| Stage | Objective | Requirement | Rewards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stage 4 | Bring In Glitched Wasp Parts For Testing | 10× Glitched ARC Power Converter, 10× Glitched ARC Transmitter, 10× Glitched ARC Phased Array, 10× Advanced ARC Powercell | Canto III, Stable Stock III, Extended Medium Mag III, Silencer III |
| Stage 5 | Perform Final Tests On Glitched Wasp Parts | 10× Glitched ARC Light Ring, 10× Glitched ARC Circuitry, 10× ARC Thermo Lining, 10× ARC Circuitry | Fireworks Box Blueprint, Vulcano III, Extended Shotgun Mag III, Shotgun Silencer |
| Stage 6 | Conduct One Final Explosive Test | Deal 100 damage to any flying ARC using Fireworks | Computer Mouse (Backpack Charm), Crash Mat Blueprint, Anvil IV, Anvil Splitter |
That's 80 items across 8 unique types before you even reach the fireworks task. Two things worth calling out:
- Stage 4's Canto III is the standout. The Canto blueprint is normally chased through First Wave Caches during the Hurricane condition — here you get a tier III version handed over for parts you'd otherwise recycle.
- Stage 6 pays out Anvil IV. The Anvil is an Uncommon single-action Hand Cannon with 40 damage, a 2.5× headshot multiplier and Strong ARC armour penetration, and the tier IV upgrade adds +75% fire rate and +30 durability — it sells for 13,000 coins at that tier. Finishing the fireworks test is not a cosmetic-only reward.
Where do glitched Wasp parts drop?
From the glitched Wasps themselves — the erratic flyers are the only source, so this is a kill-and-scavenge grind, not a container hunt. Two accelerants make it far less painful:
Thrown Snitch Scanners pull Wasps specifically. The Snitch Scanner is an Uncommon throwable (weight 0.75) that can be thrown to call in ARC — and Wasps are what it summons. That's the whole reason it's the tool of choice for this project: your target type is flying ARC, and a scanner reliably brings flyers to you instead of you sweeping a map for them. You get them by scavenging destroyed Snitches, and a used one becomes a Damaged Snitch Scanner — so pick up every Snitch you drop.
Do not confuse that with the Snitch enemy. As of 1.42.0, a live Snitch can now summon Rocketeers, Fireflies and Hornets — a real escalation risk that Embark added in the same patch. Popping a Snitch to "farm reinforcements" now rolls a much heavier lobby than it did pre-1.42. Kill Snitches fast; use thrown scanners when you want Wasps.
Also note the ARC Thermo Lining and ARC Circuitry in Stage 5 are the standard versions, not glitched — you almost certainly have these sitting in your stash already. Check before you farm.
Commit discipline: these parts also recycle into useful materials, so don't dump every spare into the project. Commit exactly 10 of each and keep the surplus.
How do you get Fireworks Boxes in ARC Raiders?
The Fireworks Box is a Rare Quick Use utility item, weight 0.5, vendor value 2,000 coins. In-game description: "A remotely triggered arrangement of dazzling fireworks, sure to put on a show." There are three practical routes to a stack:
1. Craft them (the Stage 5 route). Clearing Stage 5 hands you the Fireworks Box Blueprint. Craft at Explosives Station level 2 for 1× Explosive Compound + 3× Pop Trigger per box. Pop Triggers are the bottleneck — three per box adds up fast if you're improvising. If you've been hoarding them from the Pop Trigger trial, you're already set.
2. Buy them from Shani — no blueprint required. This is the route most guides skip. Shani stocks the Fireworks Box directly at 60 Cred, limit 3 per day. Note the currency: Shani is the only trader who accepts Cred, so this is not a coin purchase and it won't touch your raiding budget. Three boxes is enough to clear the entire 100-damage test in one good raid, which means you can complete Stage 6 without ever crafting one.
3. Quest rewards — the reliable backup. The blueprint is a reward from the Test Case quest, and the Combat Recon and Movie Night quests each hand over a finished box outright. If you've left any of those unclaimed, that's free progress.
A word on Cold Snap: most guides will tell you to scavenge the blueprint during the Cold Snap map condition. That is a genuine documented source — but Cold Snap is currently listed among the disabled conditions on the wiki's map-conditions table, so do not build your plan around waiting for it to roll around. Its rotation status has flipped more than once since it was introduced in patch 1.7.0. Check what's actually live before you commit a raid to it — our 1.42 map conditions guide covers the current pool, and note that 1.42.0 moved conditions to regional scheduling tuned to local peak hours rather than one global timetable. Shani and the Stage 5 reward are the dependable routes.
How to deal 100 damage to flying ARC with Fireworks
Here is the mechanic that decides this stage: a Fireworks Box fires upward from wherever it's placed. Drop it on open ground and the fireworks climb into empty sky while your Wasp hovers somewhere off to the side, and you burn three boxes for single-digit damage.
Mount the box on a wall and it fires parallel to the ground — straight into the space a flyer occupies. That single change is the difference between "fireworks do no damage" and clearing the stage in one raid.
The repeatable method:
- Take 3 Fireworks Boxes and a lure tool — thrown Snitch Scanners work best because they call Wasps. A Lure Grenade is a fine substitute.
- Pick an enclosed space with one opening — a tunnel mouth, an archway, a stairwell, a small interior room. You need geometry that traps the flyer in the firework's firing line.
- Mount the boxes on the walls, angled at the opening. Two or three boxes at slightly different heights covers the volume properly.
- Aggro a flying ARC and run inside so it follows you through the opening.
- Trigger the boxes once it's committed to the enclosed space.
Expect roughly 30–50 damage per Wasp caught cleanly, which puts the 100-damage requirement at two to three flyers. Players who set the geometry up correctly report sitting near 98 damage after two Wasps and finishing on the third. Wasps and Hornets are both valid targets — anything airborne counts.
Advanced variant: if a flyer is proving hard to trap, strip its rotors first. A downed flyer gives you a few seconds to plant a box on an adjacent wall so the fireworks travel parallel to the ground into it — much easier to aim than tracking a live target.
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Best verified fireworks spots
These are the setups ARC players have actually confirmed working, across four of the six live maps. Every one is an enclosed space with a single approach, which is exactly what the technique needs — if you're raiding The Blue Gate or Stella Montis, apply the same principle rather than a named spot:
| Map | Spot | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Dam Battlegrounds | Hydroponic dome archway entrances | Tight archways funnel a lured Firefly or Wasp into a fixed firing line |
| Dam Battlegrounds | Back stairs of the Testing Annex | Bait a flyer to the door, boxes on the walls either side |
| The Spaceport | Tunnels under the towers, west side near the central elevator | Deep tunnel; place three boxes in a triangle at the tunnel mouth |
| The Spaceport | Tunnel ramp entrances between the arrival and departure buildings | Flyers pass through regularly — low setup time |
| Buried City | The metro room partway up the zipline shaft | Flying ARC will follow you in; mount opposite the opening |
| Buried City | Alleys between the Space Travel building, Galleria and parking garage | Strip rotors, plant on the wall as they drop |
| Riven Tides | The small grey building on the cliff above the beach extract elevator | Three boxes across the opening; classic three-wall setup — see our Riven Tides map guide |
Spaceport is the most consistent of the set: the tunnels are genuinely enclosed, flyer traffic is steady, and there's room to retreat and re-lure without resetting the whole attempt.
Mistakes that waste your Fireworks Boxes
- Placing on the ground in the open. The single biggest failure. Wall-mount, always.
- Trying to kill the ARC. The objective is damage, not a kill. Trigger the moment the flyer is in the firing line — chasing the elimination just risks losing the box for nothing.
- Over-committing parts at Stages 4 and 5. Commits are irreversible and the parts recycle into useful materials. Commit 10 of each, no more.
- Farming standard ARC Circuitry and Thermo Lining from scratch. They're standard materials — check your stash first.
- Popping a Snitch expecting easy Wasps. Post-1.42.0 it can summon Rocketeers, Fireflies and Hornets. Use a thrown scanner instead.
- Leaving it to the deadline. The project closes September 6, 2026, and Stage 6 is gated behind clearing Stage 5 first — you cannot skip ahead to the fireworks test.
Skip the grind
Eighty glitched parts is a lot of raids, and Stage 6 is gated behind all of it. If you want the Anvil IV and Canto III without farming Wasps for a week:
Get the blueprints and materials delivered instead of grinding them out topside.
- ARC Raiders Blueprints — from $0.99 — 80+ blueprints, unlock rare weapons, fast and secure delivery
- ARC Raiders Materials — from $0.02 — all rarities, instant delivery, trusted
- All ARC Raiders services
Not sure which blueprints are worth unlocking first? Our blueprint priority list ranks them.
FAQ
Do I have to kill the flying ARC with Fireworks, or just damage it? Just damage it. The objective is worded "Deal 100 damage to any flying ARC using Fireworks" — the damage accumulates across multiple flyers and multiple raids, and nothing has to die for it to count.
Why do my Fireworks do no damage to Wasps? Almost certainly placement. A Fireworks Box fires upward from where it sits, so a box on open ground sends everything into the sky past a hovering flyer. Mount it on a wall so the fireworks travel horizontally, and bait the flyer into an enclosed space with one opening.
Can I complete Stage 6 without the Fireworks Box Blueprint? Yes. Shani stocks Fireworks Boxes directly — the wiki lists them at 60 Cred with a 3-per-day limit — and the Combat Recon and Movie Night quests each award one. Three boxes used correctly is enough for the full 100 damage.
How many Wasps do I need for 100 damage? Two to three, if each one is properly trapped in the firing line. A clean hit lands roughly 30–50 damage. If you're getting single digits per box, the boxes are on the floor rather than the wall.
Which map is fastest for the Fireworks test? The Spaceport. The tunnels under the towers on the west side, near the central elevator, are genuinely enclosed with steady flyer traffic, and you can re-lure without resetting your setup. Dam Battlegrounds' hydroponic dome archways are the close second.
What happens to my progress when Phantom Targets ends on September 6? The project closes and its stages stop being completable, so anything unfinished stays unfinished — including the Stage 6 rewards. Stage 6 is locked until Stage 5 is cleared, so the 80-part collection is the real deadline, not the fireworks task.
Are the glitched Wasps a new enemy type? No. They're regular Wasps exhibiting event behaviour introduced in Live Update 1.42.0 — irregular flight patterns, strange noises, and unidentified tech they carry. Treat them as event behaviour on an existing enemy rather than a new named unit in the ARC roster.
