Augments Are the Only Thing Keeping You From Being Loot in ARC Raiders
Selecting your augment in Arc Raiders is the most important decision you will make before inevitably getting cornered by a drone swarm.
If you have been playing for more than a few raids, you know that carry space is everything. Augments are the primary gear pieces you equip before heading topsdie, and they dictate your weight capacity, backpack slots, and which shield tiers you can actually run. While standard backpack space is about convenience, reaching higher-tier augments introduces augmented slots, which are specialized spaces that shape your identity and ensure your build remains consistent even when your inventory is a total disaster.
The Three Pillars of Your Loadout
Before you start crafting, you need to understand that augments control the core metrics of your survival. They determine:
Weight Limit: How much heavy junk you can haul before slowing down.
Backpack & Safe Pockets: Your general storage and your "insurance" slots that extract even if you die.
Shield Compatibility: Whether you can run Light, Medium, or the tanky Heavy shields.
Quick Use Slots: How many tools you have ready on your hotbar during a firefight.
What are Augmented Slots?
Augmented slots are not general backpack squares, they are dedicated inventory spaces tied to specific item types. Unlike your backpack, which gets cluttered with random loot, these slots are reserved. This means your core build tools, like grenades or healing items,never get pushed out of your inventory.
Trinket Slots: Found on Looting builds for guaranteed income potential.
Grenade Slots: Found on Combat builds so you always have an engagement starter.
Utility/Healing Slots: Found on Tactical builds for gadgets and squad support.
Moving to Rare Mk.2 Frames
The real shift in power happens at the Rare Mk.2 tier. This is where augmented slots and passive perks finally enter the chat. Augmented slots are dedicated inventory spaces that only hold specific item categories, like trinkets or grenades. These slots are guaranteed space that won't be filled by general loot or extracted gear.
Mk.3 Specialization
Mk.3 Epic augments are the endgame frames that sharpen your field identity to a fucking edge. These builds are split into specialized versions like "Survivor" for looting or "Aggressive" for combat. They offer massive weight limits up to 80.0 and support for heavy shield tiers on the Defensive and Aggressive variants.
Finding Your Identity
Choosing an augment is about choosing how you want to play the raid. A Looting Mk. 2 build rewards players who avoid fights and focus on profit with three dedicated trinket slots. A Combat Mk. 3 (Aggressive) build turns you into a frontline tank with heavy shield support and two grenade slots for forcing momentum. Meanwhile, the Tactical Mk. 3 (Healing) is the backbone of squad stability, offering three healing slots and a passive that drops a healing cloud on revive.
You can purchase some of these frames from traders like Lance in Speranza or craft them at your Gear Bench once you have leveled up your workshop. Just remember that consistency is stronger than luck, pick the augment that reinforces the way you actually play Topside.
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Arc Raiders just smashed through 12 million copies sold and hit a massive 3.2 million daily active users. It is officially a juggernaut, and I am here to tell you why the machine apocalypse is only getting started.