ARC Raiders Beginner Guide (2026): First 10 Raids

ARC Raiders throws you into the surface with almost no hand-holding. The extraction loop is simple — gear up, drop, loot and fight to an extraction, keep what you carry out — but several systems decide whether your first raids build momentum or bleed your stash. The single biggest early mistake is bringing stash gear before you know where the extracts are.

Your first raids: Free Loadout first

Every Raider has access to a Free Loadout — starter weapons and gear that never runs out, even with an empty stash. It has no safe pocket, so anything you carry can be lost, but that is the point early on. Run several raids on the Free Loadout to learn extraction routes, ARC patrol patterns and fight timing without risking gear you paid scrap to buy. The tutorial mission also carries loot over into the main game, so loot everything there — no other players contest you.

Learn one map, not all of them

ARC Raiders has several maps: Dam Battlegrounds, Buried City, Acerra Spaceport, The Blue Gate, Stella Montis, Riven Tides, and the Frozen Trail map Pendola Pass. Start on an earlier, lower-hazard map and spend your first 5–10 runs learning its building layouts, ARC paths and every extraction point. Save Pendola Pass for later — it combines new enemy types with a Flash Freeze weather hazard that sweeps the valley.

First weapons and the biggest early upgrade

The Ferro + Stitcher budget loadout costs under 500 credits total, is cheap to replace, and handles White and Orange zone threats well enough. Upgrade the Gunsmith to Level 2 at your workshop first — it is the single biggest early power spike and unlocks better mods including suppressors.

Skill points: Mobility before combat

Spend your first points on the Mobility tree and stamina, not combat perks. Survival in ARC Raiders is about getting in and out of a fight on your own terms, and running out of sprint mid-rotation starts a lot of deaths.

The systems the tutorial skips

• Safe Pocket — one (or more at higher Augment tiers) inventory slot survives death. Keep a blueprint, a key, or an ARC Powercell in it. Never waste a safe slot on a weapon.
• Raider Hatch — a silent extract that stays open 15 seconds and can be used while downed.
• Downed state — ARC units will not prioritize you while downed, so crawl to cover or wait for a revive.
• Sound — gunfire and movement are audible to Raiders and ARC. Keep noise discipline indoors; breaching doors is loud and pulls enemies through walls.

Loot priority and recycling

Prioritize Gun Parts and ARC Powercells when looting — they cover weapon maintenance and shield crafting. Blueprints come next; everything else is secondary. Recycle at Speranza, not in the field — base recycling returns more raw materials than field salvaging. Carry junk home and recycle it rather than trashing it mid-raid.

The rule that ends greed

Extraction is the only way to keep what you farmed. A single clean extraction with a full bag beats several reckless runs that end in death. Greed is the most expensive habit in ARC Raiders.

For the guns to build toward, see the ARC Raiders best weapons tier list, and for the materials to craft them, the how to get materials guide. The ARC Raiders maps guide covers the layouts you should learn first.