The ARC Raiders Guide for People Who Are Tired of Being Loot
You know how to shoot a arc bot and find the extraction. So why do you keep dying?
Okay, so you’ve run the "Free Loadout" a few times. You're past the "what does this button do" phase. You know the basics.
So why do you keep running into Chads who shrug off your bullets and kill you in two hits? Why are you always out of stamina? And why do you feel like you're just a walking loot-piñata for other players?
It's because you haven't mastered the real systems. The game doesn't tell you half this stuff, but the difference between a veteran and a corpse is knowledge. This is the guide for that.
Stop Picking Random Skills
Your skill points are everything. Stop just clicking whatever looks cool and start building for survival.
Your first priority, no exceptions, is In-Round Crafting in the Survivalist tree. This is the single most important skill in the game. It lets you craft shields and bandages during a raid. It will save your life. Get it, then get Traveling Tinkerer as soon as you can.
After that, you live and die by the Mobility tree. Marathon Runner (less stamina use) and Youthful Lungs (more max stamina) are your bread and butter. Max them out.
Why? Because they let you dump 15 points into Mobility to unlock the god-perk: Calming Stroll. This thing massively boosts your stamina regen. It means you can actually run, reposition, and escape without constantly gasping for air.
Your Gun Isn't Just a Gun, It's a Tool
New players spray and pray. Vets choose the right tool for the job.
The most important lesson: your ammo type matters. Light ammo is for players and maybe small bots like Wasps. It will just bounce off anything armored. For everything else, you need Medium or Heavy rounds to penetrate.
This is why the Tier 1 Ferro is your best friend. It’s a workhorse. It hits hard and takes down bots and players. Get good with it.
Your secondary? A pistol. Always. Why? Swap speed. When your primary runs dry in a PVP fight, swapping to your pistol is infinitely faster than reloading. The Tier 2 Anvil is a monster for this, as it hits like a rifle and can drop ARC in a pinch.
Don't sleep on the Il Toro shotgun either. The meta is to tag someone at range with your Ferro, then charge them with this thing to finish the job.
The Hidden Rules of Survival
The game is full of mechanics it never explains.
First, movement. You can dodge-roll just before you hit the ground to avoid fall damage. This lets you bail out of windows and reposition without breaking your legs. You can also grab ledges as you fall.
Second, grenades. Wolfpack Grenades are for ARC only. They do zero damage to players, but they will one-shot a Rocketeer if all the fragments hit. Lure Grenades are your best friend. Use them to pull ARC away from you, or even better, throw one at an enemy team and let the bots do your dirty work.
Third, enemy tactics. Stop trying to 1v1 a Rocketeer. You will lose. You need cover, preferably a building with a roof. Peek, shoot one of its wings, and hide. Let it focus on someone else, then peek again. To kill a Hornet, have one person get its attention while you get behind it and shoot its two unarmored rear thrusters.
Stop Hoarding Junk (And Start Hoarding This)
Your stash is a mess, I know it. Stop recycling everything. Some items labeled "Recyclable" are actually rare materials for your workbench. Track your recipes.
You need to save specific shit. Here’s what you're looking for.
To upgrade your Medical Lab, you'll need Cracked Bioscanners, Durable Cloth, and Tick Pods for Level 2. Level 3 demands Rusted Shut Medical Kits, Antiseptic, and a Surveyor Vault.
Your Gunsmith needs Rusted Tools, Mechanical Components, and Wasp Drivers for Level 2. The big one, Level 3, requires Rusted Gears, Advanced Mechanical Components, and Sentinel Firing Cores.
The Explosives Station wants Synthesized Fuel, Crude Explosives, and Pop Triggers for L2. Level 3 needs Laboratory Reagents, Explosive Compound, and Rocketeer Drivers.
For the Utility Station, hunt for Damaged Heat Sinks, Electrical Components, and Snitch Scanners. After that, you'll need Fried Motherboards, Advanced Electrical Components, and Leaper Pulse Units.
Your Refiner upgrade path is Toaster, ARC Motion Cores, and Fireball Burners, followed by a Motor, ARC Circuitry, and Bombardier Cells.
Finally, the Gear Bench needs Power Cables, Electrical Components, and Hornet Drivers for Level 2. The L3 upgrade takes Industrial Batteries, Advanced Electrical Components, and Bastion Cells.
One Last Thing...
For god's sake, use your Safepocket. That's the container you keep even if you die. The free loadout doesn't give you one, so you have to bring your own. The second you find a rare material, put it in there.
Oh, and those Assorted Seeds? That's currency for a vendor. Stop throwing them away.
This is how you build an edge. Now get out there and stop being food.