Close Scrutiny Guide — How to Beat the Assessor and Farm Vaporizers

Close Scrutiny is a new map condition introduced in the Flashpoint update. Unlike Hurricane, which changes weather and visibility, Close Scrutiny is a combat-focused ARC Operation. When active, a massive Assessor machine makes a controlled landing on the map and emits a large red beam visible from anywhere. The Assessor contains three breachable probes, each filled with rare loot including weapon blueprints for the Dolabra and Canto.

The catch: standard civilian loot spawns drop significantly during Close Scrutiny. Containers and hotspots that normally provide reliable income are mostly empty. Locked doors are disabled entirely. All reward density is shifted toward the Assessor itself, making it the only meaningful objective on the map. If you're not heading for the Assessor, you're wasting your time.

Close Scrutiny currently appears on four maps: Dam Battlegrounds, Buried City, The Spaceport, and Blue Gate. Stella Montis is excluded because its indoor bunker design doesn't support the Assessor's landing mechanic. The Operation spawns Vaporizers and Shredders alongside the normal ARC patrol density, creating the most dangerous raid environment in the game.

The Vaporizer is a Critical-threat flying ARC unit introduced alongside Close Scrutiny. It combines a Matriarch-level energy shield with precision laser attacks and superior speed compared to any previous flying enemy. If you thought Rocketeers were annoying, the Vaporizer operates on an entirely different level of lethality.

Its primary weak spot is the core located in its belly, which takes significantly increased damage from direct hits. It also has eight small rotors — two per corner — similar to Snitch rotors. Destroying these reduces the Vaporizer's speed and forces it to descend, making the belly shot much easier to land. Target rotors first with precision weapons, then switch to heavy damage once it's grounded.

The Vaporizer has four distinct attacks: a single-target delayed laser blast that locks on and obliterates shields while applying burn damage, a ground laser sweep that leaves fire trails, a multi-target barrage targeting multiple players simultaneously, and an energy shield phase that negates all incoming damage. During the shield phase, stop shooting — you're wasting ammo. Wait for the shield to drop, then unleash everything.

• Hullcracker grenade launcher — best raw damage against the belly weak spot
• Aphelion energy rifle — precision removal of rotors at range
• Ferro sniper rifle — alternative for long-distance rotor targeting
• Wolfpack Grenade — deploy the instant the energy shield drops for burst damage
• Deadline mine — place where a grounded Vaporizer will land for massive damage

The Assessor itself is a large, unarmed machine with three distinct probes that you must breach to access its loot. Each probe requires a separate breach interaction — similar to door breaching but significantly longer. While breaching, you're completely vulnerable to ARC attacks, making squad coordination essential.

The recommended approach is to clear the immediate ARC presence around one probe, have one player begin the breach while the rest of the squad maintains a defensive perimeter. Deploy Surge Coils around your position to stun incoming ARC waves. Rotate through all three probes, clearing and breaching each in turn. Inside each probe you'll find weapon cases and blueprint drops for the Dolabra and Canto.

Expect heavy resistance between probes. The Assessor triggers unprecedented ARC patrol density — you'll fight Vaporizers, Shredders, Rocketeers, and everything in between. Bring maximum healing, maximum ammo, and accept that this is a resource-intensive activity. The blueprints inside are worth the investment.

Close Scrutiny is pure PvE — player encounters are rare because the operation scares off casual Raiders and free-loadout users are matchmade separately. Build your loadout entirely around ARC damage output and survivability. PvP considerations are secondary.

The ideal primary weapon is the Hullcracker for its devastating ARC damage, especially against Vaporizer belly shots. Pair it with the Aphelion for precision rotor removal at range, or bring a Renegade if you prefer versatility. The new Dolabra energy shotgun is excellent once you've obtained the blueprint — it shreds Vaporizers at close range and handles Shredders efficiently.

Heavy Shield is mandatory. Vaporizer lasers strip light and medium shields almost instantly. Bring Surge Coils for area denial around breach points, Wolfpack Grenades for burst damage when Vaporizer shields drop, and stack healing consumables heavily — Medkit x3, Shield Recharger x2, and a Stim Kit minimum.

The Dolabra is a legendary energy shotgun crafted at Gunsmith 3. It requires 3x Shredder Gyro, 3x Magnetic Accelerator, and 2x Vaporizer Regulator — the last of which only drops from Vaporizers during Close Scrutiny. Its blueprint is found inside Assessor probes. The Dolabra is S-tier for PvE, particularly against armored ARC targets. Its energy projectiles ignore a portion of ARC armor, making it the most efficient close-range ARC killer in the game.

The Canto is a rare medium ammo SMG with an agile classification — 0% movement penalty while equipped. Base damage is 6.5 per projectile, and it can drop a Raider's shield in under 0.9 seconds. It upgrades through four tiers with progressively better reload time, tighter dispersion, and larger magazines. Found in First Wave Raider Caches during Hurricane conditions or Weapon Cases during Close Scrutiny.

The Surge Coil is the new rare deployable. It periodically electrifies the area around itself and briefly stuns anything caught within — perfect for defensive perimeters during Assessor breaches. Crafted at the Explosives Station using 1x Electrical Components, 1x Hornet Driver, and 1x Sensor. Stack limit is 3 per loadout.

Shredders now spawn on all maps, not just during specific conditions. On Dam Battlegrounds they're restricted to certain map conditions, but everywhere else they're a permanent addition to the patrol roster. This increases the overall threat level across the board — you can no longer assume a map is low-risk just because the weather is clear.

Locked room loot has been buffed across all maps, with the increase scaled by key rarity. Rare keys now open rooms with significantly more valuable contents than before. This makes key-carrying builds more profitable and gives solo players a strong incentive to find and hold keys rather than ignoring locked doors. Combined with the Safe Pocket, keys are now among the most valuable items to find early in a raid.

Custom loadout players are now more likely to be placed in fresh servers, while free loadout users may end up in older, more contested instances. This is Embark's way of rewarding players who invest in their gear while keeping free loadouts as an economic safety net rather than a competitive strategy. If you're running free loadouts to save money, expect tougher lobbies.