Celeste's Journals Quest Guide in ARC Raiders

Celeste's Journals is one of those ARC Raiders quests that quietly tests everything you've learned about the game so far. It isn't just a simple fetch task or a low-risk side objective you knock out while farming materials. This quest pulls you into contested zones, forces tough route decisions, and blends environmental storytelling with genuine mechanical pressure. If ARC Raiders is at its best when narrative, risk, and extraction tension overlap, Celeste's Journals sits right in that sweet spot.

This guide breaks down how to start the quest, where to find both journals on Dam Battlegrounds, the route I consistently use to complete it safely, and whether the rewards justify the risk-especially if you're prepping for higher-tier content or an upcoming wipe.

Starting the Quest: Where Celeste Hangs Out

You'll unlock Celeste's Journals after progressing far enough in the main questline to establish Celeste as a repeatable vendor and story contact. She's not just another trader with rotating stock-Celeste is deeply tied to ARC lore, and her quests often reveal unsettling details about the machines, the old world, and the people who tried to understand them before everything collapsed.

Celeste is typically found in the main hub, stationed near her equipment terminals and research gear. Interacting with her after meeting the prerequisite reputation threshold triggers the Journals quest. She explains that her earlier scouting attempts on the Dam Battlegrounds went wrong, and crucial research journals were left behind during a forced evacuation.

From a gameplay perspective, this is your signal that the quest will take place in a high-traffic zone with layered enemy threats. Dam Battlegrounds is not a beginner-friendly map segment, and Celeste's calm delivery contrasts sharply with how dangerous the task actually is.

The Two Journal Locations on Dam Battlegrounds

Both journals are located within Dam Battlegrounds, but they are deliberately spaced out to discourage a straight-line sprint. You'll need to move through exposed terrain, semi-enclosed structures, and ARC patrol zones to retrieve them.

The first journal is usually found near a collapsed research outpost on the outer edge of the dam complex. This area tends to attract scavengers early in the match, especially players running lightweight loadouts looking for quick extracts. The journal itself is tucked into a ruined interior space, often near overturned equipment or broken consoles. ARC drones frequently path through nearby corridors, so careless movement or loud combat can escalate quickly.

The second journal is deeper in the battlegrounds, closer to the dam's central infrastructure. This is where the difficulty spikes. Expect tighter sightlines, heavier ARC presence, and a higher chance of running into well-geared players. The journal is often placed in a semi-open room with multiple entry points, which makes looting it safely more about timing than raw firepower.

Importantly, you don't need to extract after grabbing the first journal. The quest only completes once both are secured and you successfully leave the map, which raises the stakes significantly.

My Go-To Route and Why It Works

After several attempts-both successful and disastrous-I've settled on a route that balances safety, information gathering, and flexibility.

I enter Dam Battlegrounds with a medium armor setup and a suppressed primary whenever possible. Noise discipline matters more than raw DPS here. From spawn, I avoid the central dam approach entirely and instead skirt the outer perimeter, using elevation and terrain to scout player movement before committing.

I always go for the first journal early. That area is more likely to be contested at the start of a raid, but it also clears out quickly as players rotate toward higher-value zones. If I hear extended firefights nearby, I wait them out. Patience saves kits.

Once the first journal is secured, I do not immediately push for the second. Instead, I reposition, loot nearby low-risk containers, and listen. ARC machines have predictable patrol sounds, and player gunfire tells you more than any minimap ever could.

The second journal is the real decision point. If the area is quiet, I move decisively and extract shortly after. If it's hot, I slow down and let other players trigger ARC responses. Third-party chaos often opens a clean window to grab the journal without firing a shot.

This route works because it minimizes forced fights. Celeste's Journals punishes impatience more than weak gear.

Rewards, Risks, and Whether It's Worth the Sweat

On paper, the rewards for Celeste's Journals look solid but not outrageous. You gain a noticeable boost to Celeste reputation, which unlocks better vendor stock over time. That alone is valuable if you rely on her for blueprints, upgrades, or specialized materials.

You also receive a healthy chunk of credits and, more often than not, a rare blueprint or material cache. These rewards scale well with progression and can significantly reduce future grind, especially when preparing optimized loadouts.

More importantly, the quest advances the main story thread. Celeste's arc ties into larger revelations about ARC machine behavior, pre-collapse research ethics, and why certain zones are more hostile than others. These story beats pay off later, and skipping this quest leaves noticeable gaps in narrative context.

But the real value isn't the loot. It's the tension. This quest forces decisions you don't face in pure farming runs. Do you engage a noisy fight for better gear mid-run, knowing it could draw ARC units? Or do you play slow, secure the objective, and leave value behind? That friction is what makes ARC Raiders compelling.

If you're gearing up for the next wipe or pushing endgame content, efficiency matters. I've used third-party item services a few times for targeted ARC Raiders items-rare blueprints, high-tier materials, and specific components that shave hours off preparation. When you're chasing meta viability before a big patch, cutting downtime can make a real difference.

All told, Celeste's Journals is peak ARC Raiders. It blends high-stakes exploration with meaningful narrative weight and real mechanical consequences. Not every quest needs this level of involvement, but when ARC Raiders hits this balance, it reminds you why extraction shooters remain so addictive despite the losses.