If you've killed the Queen, watched her collapse in a heap of scrap, and then walked away with nothing while three rats looted the corpse in front of you — you're not alone. One of the most common ARC Raiders questions on r/ArcRaiders and Steam is some version of "how the hell are you actually supposed to get Queen and Matriarch reactors?" The short version: you're farming them wrong. With the Queen, the good drops come off the leg armor you blow off during the fight — and with either boss, if you dawdle after the kill, the ratters get to the wreck first.
This guide ranks exactly how to farm the Queen Reactor and Matriarch Reactor, what each one is actually worth, and every single use — including the two Legendary weapons they gate and the Trophy Display project that eats six reactors on its own.
Quick answer: The Queen Reactor and Matriarch Reactor are Legendary recyclable parts scavenged from ARC's two boss machines. For the Queen, you get one by shooting off her leg armor segments and looting them during the fight (plus the destroyed boss); for the Matriarch, you scavenge it from the destroyed Matriarch after breaking her faceplates and killing the core. Either way, don't let ratters pick the corpse clean. Each reactor sells for 11,000 coins, recycles into a Power Rod + Magnetic Accelerator, and is required to craft the Legendary Jupiter and Equalizer (Queen Reactor) or the Aphelion battle rifle (Matriarch Reactor) at a Gunsmith Tier 3 bench. They also feed the Trophy Display project (Stage 4 needs 3× Queen Reactor; Stage 5 needs 3× Matriarch Reactor) and can be bartered to Ermal. (Source: ARC Raiders Wiki — Queen Reactor)
ARC Raiders - Blueprints
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What is a reactor in ARC Raiders?
A reactor is the rarest, highest-value part a Raider can pull off ARC's two apex machines — the Queen and the Matriarch. Both are classified Legendary and Recyclable, weigh a hefty 10.0, and carry a base sell value of 11,000 coins each.
The reactor is the rarest, highest-tier drop either boss produces. A single fight also spits out plenty of common materials and lower-tier components — but the reactor is the jackpot:
| Drop | Tier | Where it comes from | Main use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common boss materials / components | Common–Uncommon | Boss armor segments (frequent) | Bulk crafting and selling |
| Queen/Matriarch Reactor | Legendary | Scavenged from the boss / its armor (rare) | Gates specific Legendary weapons, Trophy Display, high-tier barter |
That scarcity is why the reactor's price holds and why the solo farm is so brutal — you can clear a whole boss fight and still not see one.
The 11,000-coin value isn't even its original price — the reactor was nerfed. Per the ARC Raiders Wiki patch-change log for both items:
"1.17.0 — Sell value: 13,000 → 11,000."
Even after that cut, it's one of the highest single-item values a Raider can extract.
How do you get the Queen Reactor?
The Queen is the smaller of the two bosses — a large ARC machine with a red glowing core and armored legs. Per the ARC Raiders Wiki, the Queen Reactor "can be found by scavenging destroyed Queens or the leg armor segments that are blown off during battle." That second half is the part everyone misses.
The farming loop that actually works:
- Find her. The Queen spawns during the Harvester map condition, on The Spaceport (maintenance hangar / staff parking), Dam Battlegrounds (the red-water zone near the eastern broken bridge), and The Blue Gate. No Harvester active = no Queen.
- Bring armor-stripping firepower. You want guns that chew armor: Bettina and the Hullcracker are the community boss-killers, and the Jupiter energy sniper is prized for hitting hard at range.
- Work the legs. As you damage a leg, an armor segment knocks off and becomes a lootable container. Those segments are where cores — and your reactor chance — live.
- Loot segments during the fight, don't just wait for the kill. This is the whole game. If you leave everything until the Queen dies, the lobby's loot goblins strip the corpse in seconds and you walk away empty. A common r/ArcRaiders lightbulb moment is realizing the parts that fall off as you damage her are the ones that carry the good drops.
- Extract. A reactor in your bag is worth nothing if you die on the way out.
How do you get the Matriarch Reactor?
The Matriarch is a different beast — literally. It's a colossal walker (~35,000 HP) that makes the Queen look friendly, wielding energy shields, missile swarms, and a habit of summoning Bastions, Bombardiers, Leapers, Rocketeers, and more. The Wiki notes the Matriarch Reactor "is found by scavenging destroyed Matriarchs" and, crucially, that the Matriarch "can only be found when its map condition is active."
Key differences from the Queen farm:
- Spawn: Only during the dedicated Matriarch map condition — you cannot find her outside it, and never on the small maps (Buried City, Stella Montis). The condition rotates on Dam Battlegrounds (The Breach, east of Red Lakes), The Spaceport (Launch Towers), and The Blue Gate.
- How to fight her: Don't Queen-style leg-strip this one. The Matriarch is armored behind faceplates — break those, then pour damage into the exposed red core. Fight from cover, respect the missile swarms, and never tunnel-vision while summoned ARC (Bastions, Bombardiers, Leapers, Hornets) are inbound. Staying glued to her is, in the community's words, a death sentence for most solo players.
- The drop: The Matriarch Reactor is primarily scavenged from the destroyed Matriarch. The unique-part chance from her armor pieces was reduced back in patch 1.13.0 specifically to make getting one without fully destroying her harder — so, unlike the Queen's reliable mid-fight leg looting, the safe play is to actually put the Matriarch down and get to the wreck first, before rats swarm it.
Because the Matriarch demands a coordinated team and a lot of ammo, its reactor is the single hardest legit farm in the game right now, which is exactly why players are asking whether a carry is worth it.
What are Queen and Matriarch reactors used for?
This is where the reactor earns its Legendary tag. It's not just a sell item — it's a gatekeeper for some of ARC's best gear and a live project.
Weapon crafting (Gunsmith Tier 3):
| Reactor | Recipe | Crafts |
|---|---|---|
| Queen Reactor | 3× Magnetic Accelerator + 3× Complex Gun Parts + 1× Queen Reactor + Equalizer Blueprint | Equalizer (Legendary) |
| Queen Reactor | 3× Magnetic Accelerator + 3× Complex Gun Parts + 1× Queen Reactor + Jupiter Blueprint | Jupiter (Legendary energy sniper) |
| Matriarch Reactor | 3× Magnetic Accelerator + 3× Complex Gun Parts + 1× Matriarch Reactor + Aphelion Blueprint | Aphelion battle rifle |
The Jupiter in particular is a community favorite for long-range anti-ARC work, prized for how little its damage falls off at distance. If you want it, you need a Queen Reactor. No shortcut.
Trophy Display project: This is the big reactor sink. The Trophy Display is a long-term raider project with reactor-gated stages:
- Stage 4 — 10× ARC Synthetic Resin + 10× Magnetic Accelerator + 3× Queen Reactor + 8× Rocketeer Driver
- Stage 5 — 8× Bombardier Cell + 5× Exodus Modules + 3× Geiger Counter + 3× Matriarch Reactor
That's six reactors total just to finish the display — hence the wave of "I need Queen and Matriarch reactors for my trophy display" posts.
Recycle / salvage / barter:
- Recycle: Queen Reactor → 1× Power Rod + 1× Magnetic Accelerator. Matriarch Reactor → 1× Power Rod + 1× Magnetic Accelerator.
- Salvage: Queen Reactor → 1× Power Rod. Matriarch Reactor → 1× Magnetic Accelerator.
- Barter: Both reactors are accepted by Ermal (Nomadic Envoys), the barter trader who unlocks at Level 25 and takes high-tier ARC parts instead of coins.
- Sell: 11,000 coins flat (cut from 13,000 in patch 1.17.0).
ARC Raiders - Materials
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Should you farm reactors or buy your way past the grind?
Here's the honest math. A reactor is a rare drop off a boss that only appears during a specific map event, and even when you win the fight, an uncoordinated lobby means you often walk away with zero. Add the six reactors the Trophy Display alone demands, plus one each for Jupiter/Equalizer/Aphelion, and you're looking at many hours of high-risk topside runs — the kind where one death erases a full raid's haul.
If you'd rather skip the rat-infested boss grind and go straight to a finished display or a Jupiter build, that's exactly what our ARC Raiders services are for:
Stop losing reactors to loot goblins on the kill:
- ARC Raiders Materials — from $0.02 — reactors, cores, and every crafting mat, instant delivery
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Reactor farming tips (from raiders who've done it)
- Play the lobby, not just the boss. Every lobby is effectively a PvP lobby when a boss is up — expect company. Clear or avoid nearby players before you commit to the fight.
- Friendly / lower-aggression lobbies help. Community consensus: in calmer lobbies the boss usually goes down and a coordinated group can reliably pull at least one reactor; in aggro lobbies nobody even tries and the reactor is lost.
- Don't be the loot goblin — unless you accept the karma. Snatching a reactor off someone else's kill under the boss is a fast way to make enemies (and a running r/ArcRaiders joke). It works, but expect payback.
- Weight matters. At 10.0 each, three reactors is 30.0 of pure weight — plan your kit so you can still extract with them.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you get Queen and Matriarch reactors in ARC Raiders? For the Queen, shoot her legs to knock off armor segments and loot them during the fight — those, plus the destroyed boss, are where the reactor drops. For the Matriarch, break her faceplates, kill the exposed red core, and scavenge the reactor from the wreck. Either way, get to the loot before other players do — the corpse gets picked clean in seconds.
Why did I get nothing when the boss died? With the Queen especially, the good drops come off the armor segments knocked loose during the fight, not just the death animation — and whatever's left on the corpse gets grabbed by ratters the instant it dies. Loot as you go and be first to the wreck.
Are Queen Cores and Queen Reactors the same thing? No. Cores are the common green bulk crafting materials. The Reactor is a rare Legendary part used for specific Legendary weapons, the Trophy Display, and high-tier barter. A single boss can hand you plenty of cores but a reactor only if you're lucky.
What is the Queen Reactor used for? Crafting the Legendary Jupiter and Equalizer (Gunsmith T3), the Trophy Display project (Stage 4 needs 3), Ermal barter, or selling for 11,000 coins. The Matriarch Reactor crafts the Aphelion and feeds Trophy Display Stage 5.
Where does the Matriarch spawn? Only during the Matriarch map condition, on Dam Battlegrounds (The Breach, east of Red Lakes), The Spaceport (Launch Towers), and The Blue Gate. She never appears on Buried City or Stella Montis, and can't be found outside her map condition.
Can you get reactors solo? It's possible but very hard, especially the Matriarch — surviving long enough to break faceplates and drop the core while summoned ARC swarm you is near-suicidal alone. Most raiders farm reactors in a coordinated duo/trio or in a lower-aggression lobby.
Bottom line
Reactors are ARC Raiders' true endgame currency: Legendary, boss-gated, and worth 11,000 coins or a top-tier weapon each. Farm the Queen during Harvester by looting her leg segments mid-fight, drop the Matriarch during her map condition and scavenge the wreck first, and remember you need six just to finish the Trophy Display. Beat the ratters to the loot and you'll stop leaving reactors on the ground — or skip the rat war entirely and grab what you need from timesaver.gg's ARC Raiders materials.
