The Ultimate Guide to Not Dying (Immediately) in Arena Breakout: Infinite

Welcome to the Dark Zone. It's a miserable, terrifying place filled with loot, death, and a lot of people who are much, much better than you. Let's fix that last part.

So, you’ve downloaded Arena Breakout: Infinite, the latest entry in the genre I like to call "Pain Simulators 2025." It’s a hardcore, hyper-realistic extraction shooter that has been chewing up and spitting out new players since it hit Steam. The game offers no hand-holding. The learning curve is a sheer cliff face that you're expected to climb while being shot at.

The good news is that every death is a lesson. I've poured thousands of hours into games like this when I was younger and actually had…time… and I've compiled the most critical lessons I've learned. This guide covers everything from the gear you take in to the mindset you need to actually make it out alive.

The Mental Game

Your biggest enemy isn't the guy with the meta FAL; it's the six inches between your ears.

1. Stop Making Excuses: You are going to die. A lot. When you do, stop blaming "luck." Watch the killcam. 99% of the time, you died for a reason: bad position, poor aim, or they just outsmarted you. Humble yourself, learn from the death, and you will improve.

2. Flip Your Squad Mentality: Stop being terrified of squads. A four-man team of randoms is a disorganized mess. Their comms are garbage and they make stupid mistakes. A skilled solo player is a hundred times more dangerous. Hear a group coming? Don't think "I'm fucked." Think "They're fucked," and plan how you'll pick them apart.

Before You Deploy: The Admin Phase

Winning starts before you even enter the raid.

3. Master the Gunsmith: Don't just buy pre-built meta guns. You can build an M4 for half the price by using M16 parts. Play around in the gunsmith; you can create incredibly effective weapons for a fraction of the cost.

4. Become a Stash Lord: Your inventory space is precious. Stop hoarding. Sell dog tags, non-meta attachments, food (you can find it everywhere), and low-tier armor. To save space, take the pistol grips and magazines off your guns in storage. This simple trick cuts their required space in half.

5. Play the Market Smart: If an item won't sell for more than 4,000 Koen after the fee, just sell it to a contact. You're wasting your limited weekly selling slots on pocket change.

6. Don't Forget Your Contacts: Check Deke every time his inventory refreshes. You can find great deals on items to use or flip on the market for a profit. Backpack barters from contacts are often way cheaper than the market price.

In the Field: Movement and Awareness

Most fights are won by the player who moves and listens better.

7. Loot Faster and Smarter: The most dangerous thing you can do is stand still. Learn item values so you can loot quickly. If a rig offers more slots than it takes up, just grab the whole thing and sort it out in a safe place. Strip valuable attachments off guns instead of taking the whole weapon.

8. Equip the Knife to Run Faster: Your knife uses the least amount of stamina and lets you move the fastest. When you need to cover ground, pull out your knife. Just don't do it in the open unless you have a death wish.

9. Crosshair Placement is Everything: This is the most important skill in any FPS. Keep your crosshair at head level at all times. You will be amazed how many "free" kills you get just by being ready. Stop aiming at the floor.

10. Lean Like Your Life Depends On It: You should be leaning around every single corner. And for the love of god, avoid left-hand peeks. A right-hand peek exposes a tiny sliver of your body. A left-hand peek shows the enemy your entire life story before you can even see them.

11. Sound is Your Superpower: A good headset is more valuable than good armor. You can hear everything: an enemy aiming down sights, opening their backpack, or pulling the pin on a grenade. Learn these sound cues, and you'll know exactly when to push for an easy kill.

Winning the Fight

You've made contact. Here’s how to walk away from it.

12. Pre-Medicate Before Fights: If you're heading into a hot zone or hear footsteps, pop a painkiller before the fight starts. Getting your leg blacked out while exposed is a death sentence.

13. Reposition After Every Shot: After you get a kill or even just fire your weapon, move. The enemy's teammates and the killcam will give your position away instantly. You have about 30 seconds to find a new angle. Use them.

14. Use Grenades as Tools, Not Just Killers: Don't just chuck grenades hoping for a kill. Throw an un-cooked grenade to force an enemy out of a powerful position, then push them while they're scrambling. Hear an enemy pulling a pin? Rush them while their gun is down.

15. Know Your Firing Modes: Full-auto is for close-quarters (under 20 meters). Beyond that, switch to semi-auto and go for precise headshots. You'll be more accurate and you'll save a fortune on ammo.

16. Use Advanced Peeking: Don't just slowly lean around a corner. You can quickly tap your lean button to "jiggle peek" for information. Or, my personal favorite: sprint and jump past a doorway while using freelook to see inside. You're almost impossible to hit and you get a full view of the room.

17. Don't ADS in Their Face: If an enemy is within 5 meters, hipfire. Taking the time to aim down your sights will get you killed. Go to the firing range and practice it until it's second nature.

Gear Philosophy

The stuff you bring in matters, but maybe not in the way you think.

18. Ammo Over Everything: Your bullet is what gets the kill, not the gun. Always use at least Level 3 ammo. Anything lower will just bounce off armor. Level 4 is the sweet spot if you can afford it. It's better to run a cheap gun with good ammo than a meta gun with bad ammo.

19. Helmets are for Ricochets, Not Protection: In most raids, players are using ammo that will punch right through your helmet. Don't buy a helmet for its armor level; buy it for its high ricochet chance. A lucky bounce is more likely to save you than the armor rating itself. In high-tier maps like Armory, don't even bother.

20. Pay Attention to Armor Debuffs: A top-tier armor vest might stop a bullet, but if it's heavy as hell and kills your mobility, it's a death trap. Slow movement will get you killed more often than a bullet will. Always check the mobility and ergonomics debuffs before you equip an armor set.

This is a lot to take in, I know. But this is the path. Stop playing like a scared little rat, start playing like a predator. Learn the systems, master the mechanics, and soon you'll be the one sending other players back to the lobby. Now get out there and get that loot.