Aliens Dark Descent: ARC & M577 Vehicles Aliens Dark Descent guide, walkthrough
The reconnaissance transporter helps in Aliens Dark Descent to eliminate xenomorphs and travel around the map. This tutorial page explains how to unlock the armored vehicle, whether you can drive the APC and its main uses.
Last update: 17 July 2023
In Aliens Dark Descent, you can use means of transport - they are the ARC and the M577 personnel carrier. From our guide, you will learn how to unlock the APC, where the M577 carrier is, what are the main uses of carriers and how to use an armored vehicle in battles with xenomorphs.
How to unlock the ARC?
- The ARC is seen in the initial cut-scenes as a means the squad uses to reach the Dead Hills colony (first story mission), but initially, you can't interact with or use it during gameplay.
- This situation changes once you encounter a survivor in the colony. The squad will start escorting the civilian back to the ARC. ARC can be used to rescue survivors, which once exfiltrated, can reinforce the personnel of USS Otago.
If you are on a gamepad, you may have problems with choosing options from the ARC action list. To switch between these options, use the D-pad. You have to tilt the left analog stick up or down instead.
On the map screen, armoured carrier icons will appear. You can choose between them and interact with them to summon the vehicle to the given area.
Uses of this vehicle
Aside from the above-mentioned survivor rescue, another major use for the ARC is fighting xenomorphs. You can:
- use the vehicle as cover and make use of its strong cannon;
- Board the vehicle and thus be protected from monsters.
ARC can be very useful during difficult battles - we described this use on a dedicated page of the guide (How to repel a Massive Onslaught?).
ARC can be used to travel around the map safely. After issuing the board command, choose one of the icons as your travel destination.
You cannot control the vehicle directly. ARC automatically fires at encountered xenomorphs and can additionally run over them.
The final use of the carrier is exfiltrating back to USS Otago. More on this on a dedicated page (How to reset red Alien Aggressiveness?).
How to unlock the M577 personnel carrier?
During the campaign, you can unlock the M577 personnel carrier, known to fans of the series, which appeared in, e.g. Aliens.
In mission 6, marines will eventually descend to the first level of the basement. You have to get to its eastern part and open one of the garage entrances.
Inside, you will find a new vehicle. Your squad will automatically use it to complete the deployment, abort mission 6, and return to the USS Otago.
The new APC will automatically replace the old one. The main advantage of M577 is that from now on you can take 5 marines on a mission. We discussed this in more detail on a separate page - How to increase the squad size?.