If you’ve spent any time cruising the radioactive wastelands of Rage 2, you’ve almost certainly stumbled on a half-buried Ark at least once. These pre-apocalypse bunkers hold some of the game’s most powerful upgrades, so it’s no surprise players regularly ask how many arks in Rage 2 are actually worth tracking down. I’ve sunk over 80 hours into 100% completing the game, so I’ve broken down everything you need to know about Ark counts, locations, rewards, and how to clear them without wasting ammo on tough enemies.
How Many Arks in Rage 2 Are There, Including DLC?
The base version of Rage 2 has 13 unique Arks scattered across its five open world regions. If you own the Rise of the Ghosts expansion, you’ll get two extra Arks for a total of 15 fully explorable bunkers total. Every single Ark has a unique reward, so you won’t run into repeats no matter what order you clear them in.
None of the Arks are missable, either. You can return to any region at any point after you unlock the open world, even if you’ve already finished the main story. You don’t need to finish the main story to access any base game Arks, so you can grab your favorite abilities within the first two hours of play if you know where to look.
You won’t see all Ark locations marked on your map right away. Most are hidden until you clear nearby surveillance towers, complete side quests for settlement NPCs, or stumble on them while exploring off the beaten path. I usually spend my first hour of a new playthrough clearing the first three surveillance towers closest to the starting town, which reveals 4 of the easiest Arks right away.
Key Rewards You’ll Get From Clearing Every Ark
Every Ark you clear gives you at least one permanent reward, plus a handful of rare crafting materials and currency. Most give you either a new active ability, a passive combat or exploration perk, or a high-tier weapon you can’t find anywhere else. The best rewards make exploring and fighting far easier, so I always prioritize clearing Arks before I take on main story missions.
Some of the most valuable rewards you can get from Arks include:
- Shatter: A close-range energy blast that blows through enemy shields and armor, perfect for taking out heavily armored Goons and locked doors without wasting explosives.
- Grapple: Lets you zip across gaps, climb high ledges, and pull flying enemies down to the ground for easy takedowns. It’s the single most useful ability for exploration in the whole game.
- Overdrive Charge Boost: Passive perk that cuts the time you need to fill your Overdrive bar by 20%, so you can trigger the game’s most powerful combat state more often during long fights.
- Rocket Launcher: The only explosive weapon in the game that can lock onto vehicle targets, making road fights against bandit convoys and heavily armored enemy trucks trivial.
Don’t sleep on the smaller passive rewards either. Many Arks give you bonus Feltrite, the game’s core upgrade material, as well as skin unlocks for your weapons and vehicles. I always prioritize clearing Arks that give movement abilities first, since they make exploring the wasteland far faster and more fun. Clearing all base game Arks will also unlock a hidden trophy/achievement for completionists, so it’s well worth the effort if you’re going for 100% completion.
Tips to Find and Clear Hard Arks Without Dying
Tracking down every Ark can feel overwhelming when you first start, but there are a few simple tricks to make the process far easier. First, clear every surveillance tower you come across as soon as you can. Each tower reveals all nearby points of interest, including Arks, so you won’t have to wander aimlessly looking for hidden bunkers. You can also get NPCs to mark unlisted Arks on your map if you complete their side quests, so it’s worth stopping at every small settlement you pass.
Some Arks have a recommended level 10 or more higher than your current level, but that doesn’t mean you can’t clear them early. You can sprint past all exterior guards, hack the Ark door open, and only fight the single guardian enemy inside to claim your reward, which saves a ton of time and ammo. The guardian inside will still be a tough fight, but you won’t have to waste resources taking out 10+ grunts outside first.
I usually carry a shotgun and a sniper rifle when I’m hunting Arks. The shotgun takes care of the close-quarters guardian inside the Ark, while the sniper lets me pick off any high-damage snipers posted outside before I run for the door. If you’re struggling with an Ark’s guardian, trigger your Overdrive right as the fight starts to melt their health bar before they can land any big attacks. Always loot all the chests inside the Ark before you leave, most have rare upgrade materials you won’t find anywhere else in the open world.
Common Misconceptions About Rage 2 Arks Debunked
After talking to dozens of other Rage 2 players and browsing community forums, I’ve noticed a lot of wrong information floating around about Arks. First, there’s no truth to the rumor that some Arks are only accessible during specific main story missions. All Arks are open as soon as you leave the starting area, and you can come back to them at any time.
Another common myth is that you need a special upgraded hacking tool to open higher level Arks. That’s not true either. The basic hacking ability you get in the first 30 minutes of the game works on every Ark in the base game and DLC, no extra upgrades required. The only thing that changes with higher level Arks is the strength of the enemies guarding them, not the requirement to get inside.
Some players also think you have to clear Arks in a specific order to get all rewards. That’s not true at all. You can do them in any order you want, and you’ll get the same rewards no matter when you clear them. Arks don’t respawn, so you only need to clear each one once to get all its rewards permanently. If you’re playing with the DLC, the two extra Arks unlock automatically once you install the expansion, you don’t need to finish the base game main story to access them.
By this point, you should have a clear answer to how many arks in Rage 2 you can track down, plus all the info you need to clear them easily and get the best rewards. I still go back to old Arks sometimes just to mess around with the abilities I unlocked there, since they make even late-game combat feel fresh and chaotic. If you’re just starting your Rage 2 playthrough, set aside a couple of hours early on to hunt down the first 5 Arks closest to the starting area, you’ll be shocked at how much easier the rest of the game feels with those extra abilities and upgrades.