You drop into Stacking Yard with the timer ticking and a narrow gate sitting sealed. Four small red switches are the only way through, and the map refuses to hand them to you on a silver platter. You feel the match tilt the moment one of those switches clicks.
I’ve been through the Stacking Yard enough times to know where teams stall and where they sprint.
How to find the red buttons on Riven Tides in ARC Raiders
The Stacking Yard is a jigsaw puzzle in motion.
I’ll be direct: the four red buttons are randomized. I’ve watched them spawn on crane cabins, under stairwells, tucked against container walls, and sometimes at the very base of numbered buildings. The game treats each raid like a new scavenger list, so you’ll rarely get the same exact lineup twice.
What I tell teams is simple: split and sweep fast. You don’t need to press all four yourself—any teammate can trigger a button and it will count. Use the map markers on Steam or your community Discord to call out which numbered building or crane you’re checking. If you’re solo, move methodically; if you’re two or three players, assign zones.
- Search the ground-level edges of the numbered buildings and the elevator shafts at their bases.
- Check crane staircases and the small rooms inside crane cabins.
- Scan along container stacks and around supporting pillars where the foundations meet.
Where are the red buttons usually placed?
They tend to hide in corners and small interiors: elevator bases, crane cabins, stair landings. Don’t forget to aim your camera downward—fuel cells and buttons sometimes sit near the feet of containers.
Can one player press all four buttons?
Yes, but it’s slower and riskier. The faster approach is to assign: one player clears cranes, another sweeps numbered buildings, and a third watches chokepoints. Use voice on Discord or in-game pings on consoles to avoid overlap.
If you stream or upload clips to YouTube, annotate the moment a button is found—that clip becomes gold for teammates who want quick reference. Communities on Reddit and the ARC Raiders Discord often share hot spots, but expect variation every raid.
How to open the locked door in Stacking Yard in ARC Raiders
I’ve seen the elevator sit dead at the base while teams argue about who grabbed the fuel cell.
Once all four buttons have been pressed the locked door in the yard will open. That’s when the second, slightly fiddlier half of the puzzle begins: a broken elevator needs Batteries and a fuel cell to ferry you upstairs.
There’s usually a fuel cell near the container stacks; it often sits on the ground, so search low. Bring Batteries to the elevator terminal, insert them, then stand on the elevator with the fuel cell and have a teammate activate it. One person must stay on the pad while the other triggers the ascent—this is a two-player choreography that rewards coordination.
How do I get the fuel cell and use it?
The fuel cell usually spawns on the ground near containers. Pick it up, carry it to the elevator terminal you opened earlier, insert Batteries at the terminal, place the fuel cell on the elevator pad, and have a teammate press the activation. If you only have one squadmate, coordinate who stays put and who presses the button—timing wins this step.
At the top you’ll find a terminal that triggers another interior door with the loot. Those red buttons are breadcrumbs leading to hidden loot, and once you have that pattern down you’ll turn a tense stall into predictable reward runs.
I recommend sharing your screenshots on the ARC Raiders subreddit or clipping the moments for your squad on Xbox and PlayStation captures—small pieces of intel speed future raids. If you stream on Twitch, pin the timestamp where a button was found; it helps other players fast-track your route.
There are smarter ways to lose less time and take more rewards—are you going to keep guessing, or will you map the yard with your team and claim what’s waiting?