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ARC Raiders Deadline Mine Damage on the Queen and Matriarch Explained

A Deadline does not always remove 1,000 Queen or Matriarch health. Here is how its 6-second blast, exposed cores, armor, and explosive rebalancing affect real damage.
Length5 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team
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A Deadline is listed as dealing 1,000 damage, but that does not mean it removes exactly 1,000 health from the Queen or Matriarch. Its explosion can affect multiple ARC parts, and the final result depends on core exposure, armor, boss movement, detonation timing, and the placement of the mine. In favorable conditions, players can see several thousand damage from one Deadline, but there is no verified universal damage multiplier or fixed number of mines required to kill either boss.

What the Deadline does

The Deadline is an Epic timed mine with these currently listed properties:

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Property Value
Damage 1,000
Blast radius 10 meters
Fuse 6 seconds
Stack size 1

It detonates automatically when its six-second fuse expires; it cannot be manually triggered. The listed 1,000 damage is the mine’s item statistic, not a guaranteed 1,000-point reduction to a boss’s total health bar. Large ARC enemies use separate damageable parts, armor sections, and vulnerable components, so the explosion’s effective damage depends on what it hits and the state of those parts when the blast resolves. See the current Deadline listing.

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Why one Deadline can deal more than 1,000 damage

A single explosion can overlap several valid ARC parts at once. That is why community testing has reported roughly 5,000–9,000 damage when a Deadline is placed on an exposed Queen or Matriarch core. Those are observed combat results, not an officially documented fixed multiplier or a guaranteed result in every encounter. Community testing examples.

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It is therefore unsafe to describe the mine as dealing “1,000 damage to every part inside its radius.” In Patch 1.3.0, released November 20, 2025, Embark said explosives had been damaging more ARC parts simultaneously than intended and rebalanced explosive damage for greater consistency, particularly against larger enemies. Older videos may show results that no longer represent the live game.

Deadline damage against the Queen

The best Queen results come from placing the mine so the explosion overlaps her exposed core and nearby valid body parts. A mine placed on ordinary external armor can detonate successfully while producing much less damage than one that resolves during a vulnerable-core window.

Players commonly use a Snap Hook to reach the Queen and plant a Deadline close to the exposed core. The tactic is dangerous: the Queen can move or stomp during the fuse, and the Raider must escape the 10-meter blast radius before detonation. GamesRadar’s Queen strategy guide also highlights the risks of reaching and attacking the boss at close range.

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  • Poor placement: The explosion may hit armor or only one valid part, resulting in comparatively low damage.
  • Core placement: Several thousand damage is possible when the exposed core is inside the blast.
  • Multi-part overlap: The result can exceed the mine’s 1,000-point listing by a substantial margin.

There is no officially published Queen health total or fixed Deadline count. Reports of six, seven, or eight mines describe particular runs involving different placements, prior damage, equipment, and teammate contributions. They should be treated as field estimates rather than universal requirements. One documented multi-mine Queen run is an example of a specific strategy, not a guaranteed formula.

Deadline damage against the Matriarch

The Matriarch’s central core is the primary weak point when it is vulnerable. Shield generators are secondary targets, and the boss’s shield and armor state affects when meaningful damage can be dealt. Matriarch weak-spot guidance identifies the central core as the main target.

A Deadline placed on or immediately beside an exposed core can produce several thousand damage. Community observations include approximately 10,000–10,500 damage from two mines in favorable placements, while other reports describe around 4,000 or more per mine. These figures show what good placement can achieve; they do not establish a fixed Matriarch-specific damage calculation. Community Matriarch testing.

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Claims that the Matriarch always requires four mines, or that five are mandatory, are not verified. The count can change with prior damage, core exposure, overlapping parts, route, and damage dealt by other Raiders.

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Why Deadline damage can look inconsistent

The blast hits armor instead of the core

Visual proximity is not enough. A mine can be under the boss and still miss the most valuable vulnerable component. Center the blast on the exposed core whenever the encounter allows it.

The boss moves during the fuse

The Deadline does not explode on placement. Its six-second fuse gives the Queen or Matriarch time to move out of the ideal overlap area. Judge the result by the boss’s position at detonation, not just where it stood when the mine was planted.

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The core is protected when the explosion resolves

A core can appear reachable when the mine is placed but become armored or shielded before the blast. The vulnerable state at the instant of damage resolution is what matters.

The clip predates the explosive rebalance

Patch 1.3.0 changed explosive damage behavior against ARC machines and also made the Deadline more expensive and less available. Pre-patch demonstrations are not reliable current benchmarks.

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The mine damages Raiders too

Deadlines are dangerous to players caught in their blast. After planting one, leave the radius immediately and use cover or a Snap Hook escape route. Placing multiple mines and staying beside the boss can down or kill the Raider before the damage is useful. The Deadline reference lists its explosive behavior and risks.

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Wall damage is no longer a reliable tactic

Cold Snap Patch 1.7.0, released December 16, 2025, fixed an issue that allowed the Deadline to deal damage through walls. Clips showing dependable wall-based damage are outdated.

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What this means for the Queen/Matriarch Trial

The Trial is titled “Damage Queens or Matriarchs.” Its progress is credited to the individual Raider and finalized when that Raider extracts. If the Raider dies, progress earned during that raid is lost. The known scoring value is 0.7 points per qualifying damage, so the important figure is Trial-credit damage—not simply whether the boss eventually dies. See the Trials reference.

That creates two common failure cases:

  1. Another Raider deals most of the qualifying damage before your Deadline detonates.
  2. Your mine explodes after the boss is already dead, or after another player destroys the relevant target.

A general post-raid damage summary can also include damage dealt to other ARC machines. Use the Trial score as the relevant measure for this objective rather than assuming the overall damage number is all Queen or Matriarch damage.

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Current Deadline cost and availability

Patch 1.3.0 changed the mine’s economy:

Item detail Before Patch 1.3.0 Current value
Buy value 8,100 Coins 15,000 Coins
Sell value 3,000 Coins 5,000 Coins
Crafting recipe 2 Explosive Compound + 1 Synthesized Fuel 3 Explosive Compound + 2 ARC Circuitry
Trader stock 3 1

Because the mine is expensive, has a stack size of one, and is limited in trader stock, avoid treating it as guaranteed boss damage. Its value is highest when the core is exposed, the boss is unlikely to move before detonation, and you have a safe escape route.

Best current rule of thumb

Use 1,000 as the Deadline’s listed base-damage value, not as guaranteed boss-health damage. Place it on an exposed Queen or Matriarch core, aim for overlap with multiple valid parts, account for the six-second fuse, and leave the blast radius. Expect several thousand damage from a favorable detonation, but do not promise a fixed output or a universal mine count. For Trial progress, make sure your damage is credited and extract alive.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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