Boarding the Frigate is a Celeste quest that asks you to reach the top of an ARC Frigate and deal 100 damage each to a Hydra, Vaporizer, and Rocketeer. You don’t need to destroy the Frigate or kill all three targets. Since the encounter can consume ammunition, healing supplies, and other ARC Raiders Items, focus your loadout on reaching the upper deck, completing the three damage checks, and getting out safely.
Prepare for the Frigate
The Frigate appears through the ARC Frigate map condition, rather than as a permanent feature of every deployment. Check the available map conditions before entering a raid and select one where the Frigate is active.
Pre-Raid Checklist
- Ammo: Bring enough for the three required targets plus other ARC threats.
- Healing: Keep recovery supplies available for mistakes during boarding and upper-deck combat.
- Shield recovery: Useful because several parts of the route can leave you exposed.
- Mobility: A Grappling Hook or Snap Hook can help with the Frigate’s vertical sections.
- Weapon choice: Use something you can consistently land hits with against armored and moving ARC targets.
Board the Frigate With a Reclaimer
You don’t board the ship by shooting it from below. The key is finding one of the circular Reclaimer craft that travel between the surface and the Frigate.
Boarding Sequence
- Find a descending Reclaimer beneath or near the Frigate.
- Approach when the area is reasonably clear of Raiders and ARC pressure.
- Climb onto the Reclaimer’s upper surface.
- Activate Disrupt while aboard.
- Stay on the Reclaimer as it travels upward.
- Transfer onto the Frigate when the craft reaches the ship.
- Start working upward toward the upper deck.
Push to the Upper Deck
Getting onto the Frigate doesn’t finish the boarding portion of the quest. You need to continue through the ship and reach its upper area.
Expect a vertical route involving exterior structures, passages, platforms, and interactive traversal elements. Some sections use switches and recognizable yellow nodes to open or reposition parts of the route. Mobility equipment can also help with awkward vertical sections.
Route Priority
- First: Reach the Reclaimer.
- Second: Use Disrupt and ride it to the Frigate.
- Third: Leave the docking area and keep moving upward.
- Fourth: Reach the upper deck.
- Fifth: Start looking for the three quest targets.
Don’t spend time working through unrelated Frigate mechanics if Boarding the Frigate is your only objective.
Complete the Three Damage Checks
The combat requirement is simple: deal 100 damage to each required ARC target.
A kill isn’t required. Once the quest tracker registers the necessary damage, you can stop committing ammunition to that target unless it is still blocking your route or creating an immediate threat.
Hydra
- Objective: Deal 100 damage.
- Best approach: Fight from hard cover and minimize the time you spend exposed.
- Stop when: The Hydra objective updates.
The Hydra can punish extended exposure, so don’t continue trading damage just because it remains alive.
Vaporizer
- Objective: Deal 100 damage.
- Best approach: Keep track of the airspace around the upper deck and use the Frigate’s structures to break line of sight.
- Stop when: The Vaporizer objective updates.
Because it is mobile, avoid chasing it into a poor position simply to continue dealing damage after the quest requirement is already complete.
Rocketeer
- Objective: Deal 100 damage.
- Best approach: Keep hard cover nearby and attack during a clean firing window.
- Stop when: The Rocketeer objective updates.
Its ranged explosive pressure makes open sections of the Frigate a bad place for a prolonged fight.
Use the Quest Tracker to Decide When to Stop
The biggest resource mistake is treating the three damage checks as elimination objectives.
Completion Priority
- Reach the top of the Frigate.
- Deal 100 damage to the Hydra.
- Deal 100 damage to the Vaporizer.
- Deal 100 damage to the Rocketeer.
- Confirm that all required objectives have updated.
Once those requirements are complete, your quest objective is more important than finishing damaged enemies.
This saves ammunition and healing for threats that actually prevent you from leaving. It also reduces the chance of getting pulled into unnecessary fights with other Raiders while trying to finish ARC targets that no longer matter to the mission.
Stay or Leave?
Boarding the Frigate doesn’t require a complete Frigate clear. After completing the quest objectives, make the next decision based on your resources and reason for entering the raid.
Leave the Frigate When
- The quest tracker shows every required objective complete.
- Your ammunition is getting low.
- Healing or shield recovery is running short.
- Other Raiders are contesting the upper deck.
- Quest progression was your main reason for boarding.
Continue When
- You deliberately want to explore more of the Frigate.
- Your loadout still has enough resources for additional combat.
- Your position is stable enough to accept the extra risk.
Don’t confuse optional loot with quest requirements. Extra equipment and resources can be useful for future runs, but Boarding the Frigate itself doesn’t require a full loot clear or any external ARC Raiders Loot buy option to complete its objectives.
Boarding the Frigate Quick Reference
Use this as the short version while you’re in the raid:
Map: Enter a deployment with the ARC Frigate condition.
Boarding method: Find a Reclaimer, climb aboard, and activate Disrupt.
Destination: Continue upward until you reach the top of the Frigate.
Hydra: 100 damage.
Vaporizer: 100 damage.
Rocketeer: 100 damage.
Kills required: No.
Full Frigate clear required: No.
Resource rule: Stop spending ammo on a target once its quest counter is complete.
Exit decision: If all objectives are checked and the Frigate is becoming too costly to hold, prioritize survival instead of extending the fight.
Once Boarding the Frigate is complete, you’ll already know the basic boarding route and how to operate around the upper deck. Use that knowledge for the follow-up Frigate content, where interacting with more of the ship becomes relevant. For this quest, keep the run disciplined: board with the Reclaimer, reach the top, complete the three 100-damage checks, confirm the tracker, and stop taking unnecessary fights.
