ARC Raiders Rarity Tiers: Colors and the Weight Cost

ARC Raiders sorts gear on a standard five-color rarity scale. Knowing the tiers is the easy part; the harder part is recognizing that the highest tier is not always the right pick once weight enters the equation.

The five tiers

• White — Common
• Green — Uncommon
• Blue — Rare
• Pink — Epic
• Yellow — Legendary Higher rarity generally means stronger stats, which tempts players to equip the brightest items they own. That instinct is incomplete.

The weight tradeoff

Higher-rarity shields in particular tend to weigh more, and heavier gear negatively affects your movement speed. A yellow shield that makes you a walking tank is a liability if it slows you enough that you cannot reach extraction in time or break contact from a Bastion. The skill tree can offset some of this, but it cannot remove the basic physics of the kit.

Your augment sets the frame

The equipped augment determines your available backpack space and the type of shields you can effectively use. Before chasing a rare shield, check that your augment actually supports it and that the weight fits the route you plan to run.

How to choose

Do not blindly equip the highest color. Weigh protection against mobility for your goal: a quiet solo loot run wants light and fast, while a squad pushing a high-threat zone can afford heavier plates.

Turning rags into riches

When you are short on a high tier, the Refiner bench can up-convert lower-rarity items into higher-rarity components, which is often the path to the gear you actually want. And before you sell anything, right-click and Recycle it to see what it breaks down into — selling a component you needed for crafting is a mistake the stash will punish later. What you can buy also depends on which traders you have unlocked, and your mode choice changes how much loot you keep if you make it out.