Celeste’s Sizing Things Up quest sends Raiders toward the Emperor with a basic camera, but taking photographs is only part of the challenge. Cold conditions, nearby ARC, and encounters with other players can turn a straightforward objective into an expensive struggle to extract.

This guide explains how to prepare for the photography task, approach the Emperor’s leg and base, and respond sensibly to suspected exploit activity. The priority is completing your objectives and bringing your equipment home—not spending your entire loadout trying to police another Raider.

Prepare for the Photography Quest

The quest provides a basic camera for collecting images of the Emperor. Before deploying, confirm that you have brought it. Reaching the objective without the required tool wastes time and exposes your equipment to unnecessary risk.

Build your loadout around movement, survival, and a manageable amount of combat. This is an objective run, so carrying expensive equipment only makes sense if it meaningfully improves your chances of completing the task.

• Bring the basic camera: It is needed for the photography objective.
• Check your weapon’s condition: Sustained fighting can leave you with a broken gun before extraction.
• Carry suitable ammunition: Reserve enough for threats encountered on the way out.
• Consider a grapple hook: Extra mobility is useful around the Emperor’s uneven approaches.
• Plan your exit: Know which direction you intend to travel after completing the objectives.

Keep a reserve of ARC Raiders coins for maintaining and replacing your regular equipment. A quest attempt becomes much more costly when a discretionary fight consumes ammunition and leaves a valuable weapon unusable.

Use Shelter Before Committing to the Emperor

Cold blasts can interrupt movement through the snowy terrain. When conditions become dangerous, reaching shelter takes priority over advancing toward a photo location. Pushing onward because the objective looks close can leave you exposed while ARC are also pursuing you.

Identify a nearby shelter before crossing an exposed stretch. If the cold arrives, get inside and wait for conditions to improve rather than relying on an estimated duration. Other Raiders may offer access or share the space, but a friendly interaction does not remove the need to stay alert.

Make the Pause Useful

Use the interruption to check your quest progress, ammunition, and next destination. Nearby loot is secondary to staying protected. Leaving cover early for an optional item defeats the purpose of stopping there.

Once conditions improve, move toward the next objective deliberately. Avoid firing at nearby machines unless combat is necessary; attracting ARC immediately before a climb or camera interaction creates a problem that a quieter approach could prevent.

The photography sequence includes taking a photo of the Emperor’s leg and reaching its base. Follow the active objective text rather than assuming every visible angle will register. A position that gives a clear view may still fail to satisfy the task.

Adjust Your Position When a Photo Does Not Count

Approach the leg and look for a stable place from which to use the camera. If the objective does not register, reposition nearby and try again. Small changes in location can be more useful than abandoning the area or climbing farther without a plan.

Do not assume a grapple hook is mandatory. Traversable surfaces can provide access, although mobility equipment offers more options when the direct approach is awkward. The important distinction is between a useful convenience and a required quest item.

Take a look at: planning a solo Emperor route and loadout

Check the Objective Before Moving On

After the photograph registers, read the updated task and continue toward the Emperor’s base. Confirming progress prevents unnecessary backtracking through exposed ground.

Keep the photography quest separate from any decision to enter the Emperor’s interior. Carrying a camera does not mean you should commit a valuable key or interrupt your route to investigate every nearby player.

Recognize the Risk Around Contested Emperor Access

A major concern around the Emperor is suspected access abuse: players attempting to bypass the intended puzzle route and reach valuable interior loot while someone else commits a key and completes the legitimate sequence. Suspicious activity around exterior access points can make a key run feel particularly risky.

Repeated barricade placement near unusual entry positions is a reason to be cautious, but a strange-looking movement or isolated action is not proof of cheating. Avoid treating every Raider near the structure as an exploiter.

The practical issue is the imbalance of investment. One player may spend a key and time progressing through the intended route, while another attempts to intercept the reward without making the same commitment. That uncertainty should influence whether you proceed with a valuable run.

• Observe access areas before committing a key.
• Distinguish suspicious behavior from confirmed unauthorized entry.
• Avoid sharing instructions for reproducing a suspected exploit.
• Use available reporting options when you have clear evidence.
• Leave if the situation threatens your main objective or extraction.

Do not assume a suspected route has been fixed simply because an attempt fails. Equally, seeing a player disappear from view does not establish exactly how they entered. Make decisions around the risk you can observe rather than an unverified explanation.

Shooting barricades may appear to be a direct way to interfere with suspicious activity. However, repeated attempts can consume a large ammunition reserve without guaranteeing that anyone’s loot is protected.

Weapon condition adds another limit. Even if you find replacement ammunition, a broken weapon can leave you unable to defend yourself effectively. Ammunition and durability therefore need to be considered together, not as separate problems.

Long exchanges also attract attention. ARC can become involved while your focus remains on another player, creating pressure from multiple directions. A confrontation intended to help someone else can end with your own quest unfinished and your equipment lost.

Set a Disengagement Point

Before joining an optional fight, decide what you can afford to spend. Stop when your remaining ammunition is needed for extraction, your weapon condition becomes concerning, or environmental threats begin closing in.

Lure grenades are not a guaranteed solution. Drawing machines toward a confrontation can also expose you to the resulting attack. Introducing more threats into an already unstable encounter is especially risky when you still need to complete objectives.

Protecting your ARC Raiders items does not require ignoring other players. It means recognizing when continued interference has stopped being useful and has become an open-ended drain on your supplies.

Finish the Task and Extract With What Remains

Once the required objectives register, reassess the raid. A damaged weapon, low ammunition, and limited time are strong reasons to leave rather than search for another fight or optional loot.

If you need ammunition, check accessible locations along your exit route instead of making a large detour. Finding a few rounds is helpful only if your weapon remains usable and the search does not compromise your departure.

• Confirm the quest objectives have registered.
• Check your remaining ammunition and weapon condition.
• Select an extraction route that avoids the contested area where possible.
• Keep moving rather than returning to watch the confrontation.
• Use the Safe Pocket for eligible valuables when available.

Death puts everything outside the Safe Pocket at risk. When considering how to get crafting materials in ARC Raiders without losing them on raids, the same principle applies here: successful extraction matters more than an ambitious inventory you never bring back to Speranza.

Take a look at: planning shelter stops and safer extraction routes

Frequently Asked Questions

Bring the basic camera provided for the quest, a serviceable weapon, suitable ammunition, and survival supplies. A grapple hook is useful for movement but should not be treated as mandatory.

Why is the Emperor leg photograph not registering?

Try changing your position near the leg. A clear view alone may not satisfy the objective, so check for confirmation before leaving.

Should you fight someone suspected of exploiting the Emperor?

Not at the expense of your entire raid. Preserve evidence where possible, use reporting options, and disengage before you lose the ammunition or weapon condition needed to escape.

What should you do during a dangerous cold blast?

Reach shelter and wait for conditions to improve. Avoid leaving cover based only on a guessed duration.

No. Check weapon condition as well. Additional rounds cannot solve the problem of a broken gun, so prioritize a safe exit when your equipment is exhausted.