ARC Raiders Weapons: Choose by Job, Then by Weight

The three jobs

Machines. Armoured, often large, and usually the reason a raid goes wrong. This job wants heavy ammunition and penetration. Raiders. Softer, faster, and often close. This job wants a fast-firing weapon with plenty of rounds. Both, badly. A single weapon that does neither job well is worse than two weapons that each do one — which is why the default loadout carries two.

Weight is a real cost

Every kilogram reduces your movement speed, and movement is what gets you to an extraction and out of a fight. A heavy weapon plus a heavy shield plus a full bag is a player who cannot break contact. So the question is not “what is the strongest weapon I own” but “what is the strongest weapon I can carry while still being able to leave”. On an open map with long rotations, that answer is usually lighter than players expect.

Rarity is not a ranking

Higher-rarity weapons have better stats and weigh more. A top-tier weapon that costs you movement is a downgrade on a map where the plan is to loot and leave — the rarity page covers the trade, and it applies to weapons as much as to shields. The other half is replacement cost. A weapon you cannot afford to re-craft is a weapon you will not take into a risky raid, which makes it functionally worse than the mid-tier one you use every match.

Mods and the bench

Weapon modification runs through the workshop, which means the ceiling on any weapon is set by your bench tier rather than by the weapon itself. A mid-tier weapon with a good bench beats a high-tier weapon with no bench. That is the argument for building the weapon bench early: it does not just unlock better guns, it makes the guns you already own better. The workshop page covers the order, and the ammunition page explains why the round matters more than the receiver.

The common weapons, by job

The three jobs above are not abstract — they are encoded in the ammo type. Light-ammo guns (the Kettle assault rifle at 8.5 damage, the Stitcher SMG at 6.5) are fast and cheap but cannot damage ARC machines at all; they exist for Raiders. Heavy-ammo guns (the Ferro battle rifle at 40, the Anvil hand cannon at 40) are what actually kill machine armour — the Ferro breaks a Raider or machine shield in one shot, and the Anvil is widely regarded as the best gun in the game against ARC plating. The Rattler sits between them on medium ammo: usable against both, but with only ten rounds.

Weapon	Type	Ammo	Vs Raiders	Vs Machines	Free/early?
Kettle	Assault Rifle	Light	Yes	No	Yes
Stitcher	SMG	Light	Yes (close)	No	Yes
Rattler	Assault Rifle	Medium	Yes	Partial	Yes
Ferro	Battle Rifle	Heavy	Yes	Yes (1-shot shield break)	Crafted
Anvil	Hand Cannon	Heavy	Yes	Best vs ARC armour	Crafted

That table is the whole “pick by job” argument in weapon form. The beginner pairing is Kettle + Stitcher: both use light ammo, so you carry one ammo type and cover close and mid range for the fights that actually kill new players — other Raiders. Graduate to a Ferro or Anvil for machines only once your stash can feed heavy ammo without hurting. The ammunition page explains why the round, not the receiver, is what decides this split.

The practical pick

For a player still learning: one fast-firing weapon for Raiders, one heavy weapon for machines, and a light shield. It is not optimal, and it answers every problem the game presents, which is the correct standard at that stage. Optimise later, once you know which enemy is actually killing you. Buying a “best weapon” before you know that is buying an answer to a question you have not asked.