ARC Raiders Guides
A free-to-play third-person extraction shooter where the threat is machines, not just other players.
ARC Raiders guides for players who want to stop dying to unclear rules. We break down the extraction and objective judgment conditions nobody else documents, the mechanical blind spots that kill new players, bug workarounds, and how to budget a single raid's time and route — written around the questions real players search for.
Reference: check the ARC Raiders on Steam for patch notes and current season details. Numbers shift between updates, so treat in-game values as final.
Mechanic
ARC Raiders 30-Minute Raid: How to Budget Time and Route
A raid in ARC Raiders lasts 30 minutes, but the valuable window is shorter. Budget the clock, find extraction first, and see why leaving early pays.
4 min readARC Raiders Enemy Threat Tiers: Drones to Bastions
ARC machines react to noise and movement and share a weakness to EMP. The threat ladder runs from surveillance drones to Bastions, with how to handle each.
5 min readARC Raiders Extraction Explained: Elevators, Trains, Hatches
Extraction is the only step that turns a raid into progress. How elevators, train stations, air shafts and Raider Hatches work, plus the timing trap.
5 min readARC Raiders PvE vs PvPvE: What the Toggle Test Means
ARC Raiders is PvPvE, so other Raiders are a real threat, but a PvE toggle was tested in October 2026. What is permanent and what was only a test.
3 min readARC Raiders 'Extract With' Quests: Why It Won't Count
Many ARC contracts stay incomplete after you grab the item: it only counts on extraction. The rule, the safe-pocket exception and the carrier mistake.
5 min readARC Raiders Safe Pocket: What Survives Death
The Safe Pocket keeps its items when you are knocked out. How it works, why a Free Loadout has none, and the Safekeeper exception for weapons.
4 min readARC Raiders Squad Objective Sharing: What Counts for Whom
In squads, pickups are individual but scans, kills and discoveries are shared - and a past bug let sharing complete item quests. How to assign a carrier.
4 min readARC Raiders Audio: Hearing Players Before You See Them
Sound is the only warning you get. What to listen for, and how your own noise gives you away.
5 min readARC Raiders Combat: Fighting Machines and Raiders
Two different fights with two different rules. Why the technique that kills ARC is the one that gets you killed by players.
5 min readARC Raiders Emplacements: Using Fixed Cover
Turrets, barriers and fixed positions are tools, not safe zones. How to use ARC emplacements without becoming their bait.
5 min readARC Raiders Healing: Health and Shield Charge Are Two Things
Healing restores health, rechargers restore shield charge, and neither is fast. How to split the two resources and when to stop healing and leave.
4 min readARC Raiders Loot Despawn: What Stays and What Resets
World loot in ARC Raiders resets between raids, but your stash does not. Understanding the difference is what keeps a good run from being a temporary one.
5 min readARC Raiders Map Conditions: Minor, Major and ARC Ops
Conditions rewrite a map's difficulty and loot before the raid starts. What minor events, major conditions and ARC Operations each change.
5 min readARC Raiders: Dealing with Other Raiders (PvPvE Survival)
Other Raiders share your map and can end your run. How matchmaking, de-escalation, and extraction discipline keep you alive in ARC Raiders PvPvE.
5 min readARC Raiders Squad Callouts: Say Less, Survive More
Good callouts in ARC Raiders are about timing and direction, not narration. How to communicate under pressure without drowning your squad.
5 min readARC Raiders Stealth: Avoiding Both Kinds of Enemy
Machines detect by sight and sound; players by both. How to move through a raid without being the first thing anyone finds.
5 min readARC Raiders Spawn Timing: When the Map Fills
Enemies and raiders arrive on a schedule you can read. How to use the early game and the late game to your advantage.
5 min readARC Raiders Matriarch Boss: Shield and Core
Where the Matriarch spawns, how her energy shield and red core work, and what she drops in ARC Raiders.
5 min readBeginner
ARC Raiders Death Penalty: What You Lose and What You Keep
One rule decides your first hours in ARC Raiders: die and you lose what you carry. Here is what is lost, what is kept, and how to fear less.
5 min readIs ARC Raiders Free? Platforms, Crossplay, and What It Costs
ARC Raiders is free-to-play on PC, PS5 and Xbox with crossplay, but needs an Embark ID and a 13+ gate. Here is exactly what costs money and what does not.
3 min readARC Raiders Beginner Mistakes That Cost Gear
The early deaths in ARC Raiders are not bad luck. They are predictable mistakes, and most of them are the same five errors repeated by every new raider.
6 min readARC Raiders Beginner Guide: Your First Raid, Step by Step
Thirty minutes, one bag, one exit. What to do in the first raid, why the free loadout exists, and the three habits that stop early deaths.
4 min readARC Raiders: Your First Ten Raids
The first raids are not about loot. Three habits that make the early game survivable, and the mistakes that cost gear.
5 min readARC Raiders Quests: The Cheapest Direction You Can Buy
Traders hand out quests that mark their objectives with a diamond topside. Why picking them up before every raid is the highest-value habit.
4 min readARC Raiders Maps: Six Maps and the Unlock Ladder
Map access is gated on rounds played, not level or win rate. Six maps from 8 to 24 rounds, and why the ladder is not sorted by difficulty.
5 min readARC Raiders Beginner Guide (2026): First 10 Raids
Start on the Free Loadout, learn one map, and sink first skill points into Mobility. What keeps new Raiders alive in ARC Raiders' PvPvE loop.
7 min readARC Raiders Settings and Controls: PC, PS5, Xbox
Every default ARC Raiders keybind on PC, the controller and console settings that actually matter, and the graphics toggles that raise FPS and visibility.
8 min readProgression
ARC Raiders Expedition at Level 20: What You Trade
At level 20 ARC Raiders offers an optional Expedition that trades character and stash progress for account rewards. What resets and what stays.
4 min readARC Raiders Skill Tree: Conditioning, Mobility, Survival
The skill tree splits into Conditioning, Mobility and Survival, and ultimate Traits need 15 points first. Here is how to allocate for a first character.
4 min readARC Raiders Blueprints: Which to Build First
Blueprints are permanent, so the order you unlock them matters. A priority list based on what actually gets used every raid.
5 min readARC Raiders Progression: What Carries Over and What Resets
Extraction shooters split your progress into two buckets. Knowing which bucket each reward lands in is how you build a stash instead of starting over.
5 min readARC Raiders Leveling: The 76 Points and Where XP Comes From
Skill points are finite and respecs are expensive, so where the XP actually comes from matters. Rounds, quests, trials, and the unlock levels.
5 min readARC Raiders Workshop: Which Bench to Upgrade First
The base Workbench cannot be upgraded, and the real order question is the weapon bench versus the gear bench. Pick based on how your raids end.
5 min readARC Raiders Prestige: How the Expedition Project Works
ARC Raiders' Expedition Project: a voluntary level-20 prestige covering what you keep, what you lose, permanent and temporary rewards, and the cycle.
6 min readEconomy
ARC Raiders Hatch Key: Where to Get Your Safety Net
A Raider Hatch is the only extraction with no timer, but it needs a key. Where keys come from, the Shani cost and level gate, and why Safe Pocket matters.
4 min readARC Raiders Traders: What Each NPC Sells and Trust
Progression runs through five traders — Tian Wen, Lance, Apollo, Shani and Celeste. What each supplies, how contracts build trust, and where to spend first.
5 min readARC Raiders Blueprints: Found Once, Crafted Forever
A blueprint turns a one-off find into a repeatable craft, but it is gated by bench tier. Where blueprints come from and what to do first.
4 min readARC Raiders Crafting: What to Make and What to Skip
Crafting is a material conversion puzzle. Which recipes actually save you money and which are just slower shopping.
5 min readARC Raiders Keycards: Doors Worth Opening
Keys are consumables and doors are one-way bets. How to decide whether a locked room is worth the card.
5 min readARC Raiders Loot Priority: What Is Worth the Risk
Not every item deserves stash space or a risky extraction. Which materials to always grab, what to sell, and how to keep your stash from filling with junk.
4 min readARC Raiders Materials: What to Hoard, What to Sell
Not every material is worth a stash slot. Which ones feed crafting and upgrades, and which are just vendor weight.
5 min readARC Raiders After a Bad Raid: Rebuilding Fast
Losing a full kit is the normal loop, not a disaster. The cheapest route back to a working loadout.
5 min readARC Raiders Repair: Durability Is a Budget
Every item wears out and repair costs materials. What to repair, what to replace, and when to let it go.
5 min readARC Raiders Scrappy Farming: Loot You Can Repeat
Scrappy is the repeatable material source. How to farm it efficiently without turning the run into a death loop.
5 min readARC Raiders Scrappy: Free Materials Every Raid
Scrappy collects materials while you are topside, and levelling him pays out on every future raid. What to feed him and why it compounds.
3 min readARC Raiders Stash Space: When It Opens and What to Keep
Extra stash space arrives with a level 25 unlock, which means the real question is what survives the trip. A keep-or-sell rule for a full stash.
4 min readARC Raiders Traders: Who to Level First
Trader reputation is a slow currency with a fixed order of returns. Which traders actually change your raids and which can wait.
5 min readARC Raiders Blue Gate Loot: The Flexible Farming Map
Where to loot on Blue Gate, the Locked Gate vault, and the four keys worth carrying on a valley run.
6 min readARC Raiders Buried City Loot: Streets Full of Containers
Where to loot in Buried City, the four keys worth carrying, and why its frequent Night Raid windows are the best value.
6 min readARC Raiders Dam Battlegrounds Loot: Reliable Starter Runs
Where to loot on Dam Battlegrounds, the keys worth carrying, and the Matriarch and Night Raid windows that raise loot value.
6 min readARC Raiders Loot Containers: What Every Crate Drops
Every loot container in ARC Raiders, what it drops, which need keys or the Security Breach perk, and which events raise loot value.
7 min readARC Raiders How to Get Materials Fast (2026)
Scrappy pays out every raid after 1 minute; farm by zone type and recycle at base. The fastest route to Metal Parts, Rubber, Fabric and ARC Powercells.
6 min readARC Raiders Riven Tides Loot: Hotel Key Chain and Crane
Riven Tides loot: the Hotel Panorama keycard chain, the Stacking Yard Crane puzzle, the Beachcombing event, and all five extracts.
7 min readARC Raiders Spaceport Loot: Tech, Weapons, and Two Vaults
Where to loot on the Spaceport, the Launch Tower and Hidden Bunker vaults, and the five keys that open its best rooms.
7 min readARC Raiders Stella Montis Loot: The Endgame Indoor Haul
Where to loot in Stella Montis, the three keys for its sealed facility, and why Night Raid is the window that matters most.
6 min readARC Raiders Tempest: Blueprint Drops and Crafting
Where the ARC Raiders Tempest blueprint drops, what the gun is, and the Gunsmith recipe and upgrades to craft it.
6 min readLoadout
ARC Raiders Rarity Tiers: Colors and the Weight Cost
ARC Raiders uses five rarity colors, but higher rarity is not always better - heavy gear drags movement. Here is the tier list and the weight tradeoff.
4 min readARC Raiders Ammo: Light for Raiders, Heavy for Machines
Two ammunition types, and the split decides which weapon answers which target. Why carrying both is not optional in a PvPvE raid.
3 min readARC Raiders Armor: Shields, Plates and What to Wear
Armour in this game is layered and each layer fails differently. How shield and health interact when you take a hit.
5 min readARC Raiders Augments: They Decide Your Armour Class
The augment is a backpack that sets carry space and which shield class you can wear. Why you cannot swap it mid-raid, and how to pick per run.
4 min readARC Raiders Explosives: Grenades and Area Control
Grenades solve problems guns cannot: cover, groups, and doorways. How to use them without announcing your position.
5 min readARC Raiders Loadout: Building a Kit Slot by Slot
Augment, shield, two weapons, quick access, safe pocket. The order to fill them, and why the free loadout is a different game entirely.
4 min readARC Raiders Melee: When a Blade Beats a Rifle
Melee in ARC Raiders is not a backup plan. It is a tool for stealth, ammo economy, and panic moments that a gun handles badly. Here is when to use it.
5 min readARC Raiders Night Loadout: Building for Darkness
Night raids hide machines and expose you. How to build a kit that works when you cannot see the threat coming.
5 min readARC Raiders Shields: Damage Reduction, Not Extra Health
A shield reduces damage instead of adding a health bar, so you lose shield charge and health at once. Light, medium and heavy, and the movement cost.
4 min readARC Raiders Weapons: Choose by Job, Then by Weight
The best weapon is the one you can afford to lose twice. How to pick a primary by its job, and why the heaviest option is often wrong.
4 min readARC Raiders Best Weapons Tier List (2026)
Frozen Trail 2.0 meta: Anvil, Venator, Dolabra and Renegade lead. The best gun depends on whether you fight ARC machines or rival Raiders, not raw DPS.
6 min readMode
ARC Raiders Solo vs Duo vs Squad: Which Mode to Pick
ARC Raiders offers solo, duo and three-player squad. Here is how each changes enemy pressure, loot split and survival odds, and which fits your goal.
4 min readARC Raiders The Blue Gate: The Flexible Farming Map
The Blue Gate opens at 18 rounds and mixes open valley, buildings and underground routes. What Locked Gate's extra ten minutes is actually for.
4 min readARC Raiders Buried City: Short Streets, Long Fights
Buried City opens at 8 rounds and funnels everyone through one metro station with several entrances. How to loot it without being the third party's loot.
4 min readARC Raiders Duo Tactics: Two Is the Sweet Spot
A pair covers more angles than a solo and draws less attention than a squad. How to play the format that fits most maps.
5 min readARC Raiders Night Raid: What Changes and Why It Pays
Night Raid lifts Dam Battlegrounds from easy to hard, disables every Raider Hatch and hides better loot behind locked doors. How to run it.
4 min readARC Raiders Riven Tides: The Hardest Map, Sometimes
Riven Tides opens at 20 rounds and carries the highest difficulty rating in the game — except under one condition, when it drops to starter tier.
5 min readARC Raiders Route Planning: Maps Are Traps
A raid route is a list of decisions, not a path. How to plan one that keeps you alive and out of other raiders' lines.
5 min readARC Raiders The Spaceport: Sightlines and Hidden Bunker
The Spaceport opens at 12 rounds and punishes open rotations with long sightlines. What Hidden Bunker's forty-minute rounds change about the raid.
4 min readARC Raiders Stella Montis: Two Levels, One Funnel
Stella Montis splits into upper and lower levels joined by a handful of transitions. Why committing to one level beats bouncing between both.
5 min readCounter
ARC Raiders Bastion: Weak Points and How to Kill It
The Bastion is a fortress with near-invulnerable front armor. Its weak points, attack tell, and the solo mine method that ends it.
5 min readARC Raiders Large ARC: When a Machine Is an Event
Bastions, Harvesters and Matriarchs are not patrols. What makes them worth attacking, what they cost, and why the decision is a squad decision.
4 min readARC Raiders Mutations: The Special ARC Units
Some ARC machines are not the standard patrol. What the mutated and specialist units do differently and how to read them.
5 min readARC Raiders PvP Tips: Fighting Other Raiders
The human enemy is the one that flanks and third-parties. How to fight players when machines are not the only threat.
5 min readARC Raiders Valkyrie: The Flying Threat
The Valkyrie attacks from above and ignores cover you trust. How to force it down and why the ceiling is not safe.
5 min readARC Raiders Weak Points: Where to Put the Damage
ARC machines are not damage sponges if you hit the right place. Learning where to shoot turns a long fight into a short one, and a short fight is a live raider.
5 min read