ARC Raiders Comet Igniter Guide: How to Survive the Rolling Bomb
The Shrouded Sky update finally dropped, and alongside the miserable new Hurricane weather condition, the developers decided to introduce a brand new way to get instantly vaporized: The Comet.
If you are trying to progress the new Weather Monitor System Project, you are going to hit a massive progression wall requiring an item called the Comet Igniter. The game tells you absolutely nothing about where this item comes from, and if you approach the situation wrong, you will literally watch your quest item explode in front of you.
I spent hours running around the Hurricane storms trying to figure out how this new mechanical nightmare actually works. Here is exactly where you need to look to find the Comet, the loadout you need to bring, and the incredibly frustrating “bug” you need to watch out for when looting the Igniter.
Where to Find the Comet
The Comet Igniter only drops from the new enemy type appropriately named the Comet. Think of it as the terrifying, older sibling of the tiny "Pops" drones you find inside buildings. It is a massive, rolling metallic ball with a single glowing eye and a strip of light running across its chassis.
You cannot find the Comet indoors. You have to hunt it on the surface.
The Spawn Rules: Comets rocket down from orbit and crash onto the surface before beginning their patrol routes. Because they require open sky to spawn, they are very rare on stela montis, and can only be found in the loading bay together with the bastion.
The Best Locations: You can technically find them on any map with large outdoor zones (Buried City, Spaceport, The Blue Gate). I have had the most consistent luck finding them patrolling the wide-open square north of Plaza Rosa in the Buried City, or roaming the open fields around the Control Tower on the Dam Battlegrounds map.
You do not explicitly need the Hurricane weather condition active to find one, but they do seem to spawn more frequently during the heavy storms.
How to Kill the Comet (And Actually Get the Loot)
Finding the Comet is the easy part. Actually getting the Igniter requires you to completely change how you approach combat.
Here is the absolute most important thing you need to know: If the Comet self-destructs, the Comet Igniter is destroyed in the blast.
A lot of players think the drop rate is bugged because they are letting the Comet blow itself up, looting the smoking crater, and finding nothing but a metal ring. If you want the Igniter, you have to kill the Comet through raw, overwhelming damage before it can trigger its “blowing everything up” protocol.
The Required Loadout
Do not try to kill this thing with a basic assault rifle. It is incredibly tanky. You need to treat this like a mini-boss.
Primary Weapons: You need the heaviest hitters in your arsenal. The Hullcracker, the Ferro, or the Anvil are mandatory. If you are struggling with recoil, check my Weapon Attachment Guide to stabilize your aim.
Explosives: You cannot rely purely on bullets. The second the Comet charges you, hit it with a Seeker Grenade or a Wolfpack. The burst damage is usually enough to shatter its armor before it can detonate.
The Looting Bug
Even if you do everything right, the game might still try to rob you.
If you fail the DPS check and the Comet explodes on its own, it leaves behind a destroyed husk. You will often see a bugged interaction prompt floating in the air above the working prompt. If you see this floating UI glitch, it confirms that the self-destruct wiped the Comet Igniter from the loot pool. You only get the base metal ring.
If you successfully kill it before it detonates, the husk will split, and you will see a secondary, core-like container attached to the wreckage. Loot that container, grab your Comet Igniter, and immediately sprint for the nearest extraction point before a fake-friendly raider shoots you in the back of the head.
