ARC Raiders Beginner Guide — Tips, Tricks & Getting Started

Every ARC enemy has a weak spot. Memorizing these is essential because shooting weak spots drastically reduces time-to-kill and saves ammunition. Here is the quick reference:

Bastion (4-legged minigun) — Shoot the yellow leg joints to stun it, then target the yellow canister on its rear. Found at Loading Bay in Stella Montis.

Reaper (walker) — Break all four legs to bring it down. Once downed, focus fire on its exposed core.

Wasp / Hornet (flying drones) — Shoot thrusters and wings to ground them. The Renegade lever-action rifle kills Wasps in 2 shots. Farm them at Spaceport.

Firefly (flying flamethrower) — Aim for the yellow gas tank on its back. Use Photoelectric Cloak to break line of sight. Never turn your back — it pursues relentlessly.

Comet (rolling bomb) — Aggro it from distance to expose the inner weak point. Use automatic weapons and spread out if in a squad.

Turbine (Riven Tides boss) — Wait for it to land, then fire at its exposed core. Use Deadlines shotgun or Hullcracker/Jupiter on the weak spot. Avoid lightning strikes by staying indoors.

Tick / Fireball / Pop (small ARCs) — Shoot the glowing center. Found in high density at Buried City, best for farming during Night Raid conditions.

General rule: Heavy ammo penetrates ARC armor better than standard rounds. Keep a heavy weapon in your loadout when farming ARC-dense maps.

Getting out with your loot is the entire point. ARC Raiders offers multiple extraction methods:

Standard Extractions (Elevator, Train Station, Air Shaft) — These take ~15 seconds to activate and broadcast a loud noise to everyone in the area. Always check your surroundings before pulling the lever. If you are downed near an active extraction, you can still crawl in and extract.

Raider Hatch Keys — Purchased from Shani for 9,000 credits (requires Level 12). These unlock silent extraction points with no broadcast noise. Worth every credit once you start carrying high-value loot.

Piggyback Extraction — Hide near an extraction point and wait for another squad to activate it, then slip in right before the doors close. Risky but effective when you are outnumbered.

Safe tactic: When carrying valuables, store them in Safe Pockets (the slot icon in your inventory). Items in Safe Pockets survive death — always keep Raider Hatch Keys, high-value crafting materials, and quest items here.

Pro tip: Adrenaline Shots give 6 seconds of infinite stamina — pop one when sprinting to extract with enemies chasing you.

ARC Raiders has three skill trees, and you cannot reset your points without creating a new character. Max level is 75, which is enough to fully complete two trees. Plan accordingly.

Survival Tree (Recommended first) — Prioritize In-Round Crafting immediately. This skill lets you craft healing items and shield recharge kits mid-raid from materials in your backpack. It is the single most valuable skill in the game and dramatically extends your raid endurance. Also pick up Loot Speed and Silent Loot passives.

Mobility Tree — Take Marathon Runner and Youthful Lungs early for extended sprint and reduced stamina drain. Dodge Roll Distance is excellent for evasion.

Conditioning Tree — Boosts strength (carry capacity) and stamina regen. Prioritize this second after Survival.

Beginner build path: Survival (In-Round Crafting → Loot passives) → Mobility (Marathon Runner → Youthful Lungs) → Conditioning. This gives you raid endurance, speed, and carry capacity.

Inventory space is precious. Follow these rules:

Always pick up: Raider Hatch Keys, Adrenaline Shots, rare attachments (scopes, grips, barrel mods), crafting materials (especially Assorted Seeds — trade them to Celeste for workshop upgrades), and compact high-tier gear.

Leave behind: Bulk items with low credit-to-weight ratio. A single rare scope often sells for more than an entire inventory of common materials.

Dismantle mid-raid: Found a weapon you do not have room for? Break it down into components directly from the enemy's inventory bag — you do not need to pick it up first. This recovers valuable crafting materials without costing bag space.

Loot everything, even already-looted containers: Every container interaction gives 200 XP regardless of whether it has items. This is the fastest way to level up early on.

Sell vs. Salvage: Selling items to vendors usually gives more credits than recycling for materials. Only salvage items when you specifically need components for a workshop upgrade.

Raid 1-2 (Stella Montis, Free Loadout): Load into Stella Montis with a Free Loadout. Do not engage enemies unless forced. Stick to the outer ring of the map, loot supply containers along walls, and extract at the nearest point. Goal: successful extraction with any loot.

Raid 3 (Spaceport, Free Loadout): Move to Spaceport. Slightly more open terrain, more loot variety. Start practicing holster-sprint-slide rotations between buildings. Avoid the central open area.

Raid 4 (Blue Gate, Free Loadout): Blue Gate has mixed terrain and the Olive Grove area for plant harvesting. Practice ARC enemy identification — you will encounter Rocketeers and Leapers here. Keep distance and aim for weak spots.

Raid 5 (Loadout Switch): By now you should have 50,000+ credits. Buy a Raider Hatch Key from Shani if you are Level 12. Equip your first self-provided loadout: Anvil assault rifle (budget-friendly, best PvE weapon), medium armor, 2 medkits, 2 ammo stacks, 1 Adrenaline Shot. Run Stella Montis again and focus on clearing the Loading Bay area for Bastion kills.

After raid 5: Start completing daily missions and stacking weekly objectives. Visit Scrappy after every raid. Upgrade your Stash. Talk to vendors for their quest chains.