Deciphering the Data is an easy quest to fail if you rush; here’s the exact, up-to-date way to complete it safely in ARC Raiders.
The Deciphering the Data quest in ARC Raiders is an early-to-mid progression objective that introduces data items, extraction dependency, and uplink terminals. The quest has not received structural changes in recent patches, but many players still fail it due to misunderstanding when and where decoding actually happens.
Deciphering the Data Quest Requirement
To complete Deciphering the Data, you must:
- Recover a Data Drive during an expedition
- Extract successfully with the Data Drive
- Upload and decode it at a Data Uplink Terminal during a later run
You cannot complete all steps in a single expedition.
How to Complete Deciphering the Data
First, enter an expedition and locate the Data Drive. This item spawns inside tech containers, offices, and industrial interiors, not on ARC enemies. Once picked up, it occupies inventory space and is lost if you die.
After securing the data drive, extract immediately. This step is mandatory—decoding is disabled until the item is safely returned to your stash. Dying at any point resets progress.
In a new expedition, locate a Data Uplink Terminal. These terminals are fixed interactable devices found in named structures such as communication hubs, research buildings, and signal towers. Interact with the terminal to upload the data drive.
The upload takes several seconds and leaves you exposed. Once completed, the quest updates automatically.
Finally, return to the hub to turn in the quest and receive your reward.
Best Way to Do This Quest Safely
Treat this as a two-run quest:
- Run 1: Find Data Drive → extract
- Run 2: Go straight to a known terminal → upload → leave
Avoid looting after picking up the data drive. Many failures happen because players push deeper into the map instead of extracting.
Clearing enemies around the terminal before uploading is strongly recommended, as taking damage interrupts the process.
