Arc Raiders has burst onto the gaming scene as one of the most compelling PvPVE extraction shooters we've seen in recent years. With its unique blend of tactical gameplay, high-stakes looting, and mechanical adversaries, this game offers incredible depth that can feel overwhelming for newcomers. Whether you're completely new to extraction shooters or looking to transition from other games in the genre, this comprehensive guide will give you everything you need to not just survive, but excel in the dangerous world of Arc Raiders.
Core Gameplay Loop
Arc Raiders operates on a straightforward but high-stakes premise that defines every decision you make. You enter dangerous zones to collect valuable resources and equipment, then extract safely to keep your hard-earned loot. Death means losing everything you brought with you, making every encounter a calculated risk.
Your primary objective centers around three key phases: preparation, exploration, and extraction. During preparation, you decide what gear to bring and which areas to target. The exploration phase involves navigating hostile territories while competing with other players and mechanical threats for the best loot. Finally, extraction requires you to reach designated escape points while defending your valuable cargo.
Understanding this balance is crucial for long-term success, as getting too aggressive too early can result in catastrophic losses.
Loadout Strategies That Work
Your loadout preparation phase can make or break your entire raid experience. Arc Raiders offers multiple approaches to gearing up, each with distinct advantages and drawbacks that you should understand before diving in.
Free Loadouts vs. Personal Gear
The game provides free loadouts that include basic essentials, allowing you to participate in raids without risking your own equipment. These loadouts are perfect when you're broke or want to practice without consequences. However, free loadouts don't include a safe box, which means you can't secure valuable finds during the raid.
When using your own gear, you gain access to the safe box system, which starts with three slots by default. However, using augments actually reduces your safe box capacity to two slots in the current playtest version. This trade-off creates an interesting strategic decision: you can choose between enhanced carrying capacity and protection (with augments) or maximum item security (without augments). Items placed in your safe box remain yours even if you die, making these slots essential for protecting rare discoveries like legendary schematics.
Weapon Configuration
You have two gun slots available, and while bringing just one weapon is sufficient, carrying two provides significant tactical advantages. The dual-weapon system allows you to fire your entire magazine, then immediately switch to your secondary weapon instead of reloading. This technique can be the difference between winning and losing crucial firefights, especially in early-game encounters where every second counts.
Shield Systems
Your shield slot sits below your weapons and should never be empty. Shields provide massive damage mitigation to your health, allowing you to absorb significantly more punishment before going down. Different shield rarities exist, but using anything higher than green requires augments, which increases your investment risk but provides superior protection.
Augments and Inventory Management
Augments occupy the slot above your loadout and serve dual purposes. They increase your backpack capacity, allowing you to carry more loot, and enable the use of higher-rarity shields. However, there's an important trade-off: augments reduce your safe box slots from three to two in the current playtest. While augments are lost upon death, the increased carrying capacity and survivability they provide often justify the risk, especially for aggressive playstyles.
Your backpack can hold virtually any item type, while quick-use slots are restricted to consumables like utilities, grenades, and medical supplies. Always carry bandages and shield rechargers as minimum essentials to maintain your condition during raids.
Stash Management
You can expand your stash storage by purchasing additional slots. Look for the purchase option above the filters on the left side of your stash interface. The first upgrade costs approximately 2,500 coins, the second upgrade jumps to 50,000 coins, and the third upgrade requires 500 premium currency. Plan these purchases carefully as the costs increase dramatically with each expansion.
Map Knowledge and Zone Selection
Arc Raiders features multiple maps that become available as you progress. The Dam Battlegrounds serves as your introduction to the game, and once you complete the tutorial there, both Spaceport and Buried City become permanently accessible. The timers you see on these maps indicate special events rather than map availability, so you can plan your raids around these timed events for unique opportunities and rewards.
Loot Zone Classifications
Maps are divided into color-coded zones that indicate both loot quality and danger level. White zones offer scarce loot with minimal threats, making them ideal for beginners or players seeking safer routes. Orange zones provide decent loot but feature patrolling Arc robots that require significant firepower to defeat. Red zones contain the best loot available but are heavily guarded by multiple robotic defenders and attract the most aggressive players.
Zone Difficulty Ratings
This zoning system creates natural strategic choices. You can rush directly to high-value areas, load up on premium loot, and prepare for intense fights. Alternatively, you can play stealthily, avoiding contested areas while collecting whatever loot you can find safely. Neither approach is inherently superior, and the best strategy depends on your current gear situation and risk tolerance.
Mastering the Art of Extraction
Arc Raiders implements a unique extraction system that adds tension to every successful raid. Instead of simple exit points, you must locate elevators scattered throughout the map, each with countdown timers indicating when they become unavailable.
Elevator Extraction Process
When you find an available elevator, you activate the nearby console to begin the extraction sequence. This activation creates significant noise that attracts both other players and Arc robots to your location. You must survive until the timer completes, then enter the elevator and activate the internal console to successfully extract with your loot.
Alternative Extraction Methods
Some maps feature underground train extracts that function similarly to elevators but offer different tactical considerations. These underground locations provide more cover but can become chokepoints if other players control the access routes.
Raider hatches represent the premium extraction option, requiring special raider hatch keys to access. These extractions are significantly faster and quieter than standard methods, making them ideal for securing valuable loot without drawing attention. You can purchase raider hatch keys from vendors for 6,000 credits, which might seem expensive initially but often pays for itself within a single successful raid.
Combat Tactics and Enemy Engagement
Arc Raiders features two distinct enemy types that require different approaches: AI-controlled Arc robots and human players. Understanding how to handle each threat type is essential for consistent success.
Arc Robot Encounters
Arc robots come in various sizes and configurations, each requiring different tactics. Spider walkers and larger robots demand substantial firepower to defeat and create significant noise during combat. This noise inevitably attracts other players to your location, creating secondary threats even after defeating the robots.
However, Arc robots provide excellent loot rewards once defeated. Larger robots can be searched on multiple body parts, yielding substantial material gains. Smaller drones are much easier to eliminate and offer moderate rewards. You can target drone thrusters as weak points to defeat them more efficiently.
Player vs. Player Dynamics
Human opponents represent the most unpredictable threat in Arc Raiders. Sound management becomes crucial when dealing with other players, as actions like shooting, breaching containers, opening doors, and even running create noise that reveals your position at various distances.
Every decision you make affects your noise signature and likelihood of player encounters. Choose your actions carefully, especially when operating near high-value areas where players congregate. Sometimes avoiding confrontation entirely is the best strategy, particularly when carrying valuable loot.
- Potential for high-value loot from defeated players
- Elimination of immediate threats
- Control over extraction points
- Experience gained from combat encounters
- Risk of losing all carried loot
- Attracts additional players to your location
- Depletes ammunition and medical supplies
- Creates noise signatures
Loot Systems and Inventory Optimization
Understanding Arc Raiders' loot classification system helps you make better decisions about what to carry and what to leave behind. The game uses a color-coded rarity system that directly correlates with item value and utility.
Rarity Classifications
Legendary loot appears in orange or yellow and primarily consists of schematics that unlock new crafting options. These items are extremely valuable and should always be prioritized for your safe box. Purple loot offers high value and should be collected whenever possible. Blue loot remains plentiful in red and orange zones and provides solid returns. Green and white/gray items represent the lowest tiers but shouldn't be ignored entirely.
Loot Rarity Guide
Loot Categories
Items fall into several distinct categories that serve different purposes. Crafting materials are used for creating and upgrading equipment. Schematics teach you new crafting recipes. Consumables include healing items, grenades, and utility tools. Valuable items exist solely for selling to vendors but can be extremely lucrative.
Interestingly, some gray valuable items sell for more credits than blue and green crafting materials. This means you shouldn't automatically discard lower-rarity items without checking their actual value. Effective inventory management requires constantly prioritizing higher-value items while dropping less valuable ones as space becomes limited.
Workshop Management and Vendor Relationships
Your workshop serves as your home base where you can upgrade various crafting benches and manage resources. Scrappy the Rooster, located in your workshop, automatically gathers materials during your raids. Make sure to check in and collect these materials after each expedition, as they accumulate over time.
Crafting Bench Progression
Unlocking new crafting benches allows you to create guns, ammunition, medical supplies, and other essential items. Look for specific materials needed to expand and upgrade these benches, as they provide increasing value as you progress. Higher-level benches unlock more powerful equipment options and more efficient crafting recipes.
Vendor Interactions
Vendors serve multiple purposes beyond simple item sales. They allow you to restock vital supplies that you can't currently craft, though prices can be steep. However, selling valuable items collected during raids generates substantial income that keeps you ahead of the equipment curve.
Vendors also provide quest objectives that give you specific goals during raids. These quests reward you with various items and experience points, which are crucial for earning skill points in the character progression system. Completing vendor quests provides structure to your raiding activities and ensures steady character advancement.
Character Development and Skill Trees
Arc Raiders features a comprehensive skill tree system divided into three distinct branches: Conditioning, Survival, and Mobility. Each branch offers different advantages that complement various playstyles.
Conditioning Tree
The Conditioning tree focuses on physical capabilities and endurance. It increases your maximum stamina, carry weight capacity, and stamina recovery rate. Additional benefits include reduced fall damage, faster breaching speeds, and other durability-related improvements. This tree is particularly valuable for players who prefer extended raids or frequently engage in combat.
Mobility Tree
Mobility enhancements improve your movement capabilities across the battlefield. This tree increases climbing and vaulting speeds, extends dodge roll distances, and provides other movement-related bonuses. These improvements are especially valuable for players who prefer hit-and-run tactics or need to navigate complex terrain quickly.
Survival Tree
The Survival tree emphasizes stealth and efficiency. It increases looting speed, reduces noise generation, makes Arc robots less likely to target you, and provides other utility benefits. This tree is ideal for players who prefer stealthy approaches or want to maximize their looting efficiency.
Advanced Tips and Techniques
Several advanced techniques can significantly improve your performance in Arc Raiders. These methods aren't immediately obvious but provide substantial advantages once mastered.
Movement Optimization
The dodge roll function, activated with left alt, provides both combat and traversal advantages. Many players overlook this mechanic, but it's extremely effective for repositioning during fights and traveling across open areas. Practice incorporating dodge rolls into your movement patterns for better battlefield mobility.
The X key allows you to swap which shoulder you're aiming over, which is crucial for corner work and staircase navigation. Different cover situations require different shoulder positions, and mastering this swap keeps you ready for any engagement angle.
Running with empty hands (press 5 to holster all weapons) increases your movement speed significantly. This technique is perfect for covering long distances quickly or escaping dangerous situations where combat isn't necessary.
Communication Systems
Holding G opens the emote wheel, which provides preset voice lines for communicating with other players. You can request team-ups, warn about dangers, or attempt peaceful interactions. While not everyone responds positively, successful communication can lead to temporary alliances or avoided conflicts.
The B key activates proximity voice chat, allowing direct communication with nearby players. This feature is particularly useful for negotiating encounters or coordinating with temporary allies. However, remember that not everyone has friendly intentions, and some players will use communication to deceive or manipulate you.
Specialized Equipment and Keys
Key cards scattered throughout the world unlock specific areas within maps. These cards typically indicate which area they open, such as control towers in Spaceport maps. Secured areas often contain premium loot that other players can't access, making key cards extremely valuable finds.
Store key cards in your safe box to prevent losing them upon death. Once you have a key card, make finding and accessing its corresponding area a priority during future raids in that map.
Shield Management
Running out of shield charges during raids is common and potentially fatal. Arc drones that patrol the maps can be killed and looted for Arc power cells, which are consumable items that recharge your shields. This mechanic provides a way to maintain your defensive capabilities even during extended raids.
Target drones whenever you need shield recharging items, as they're relatively easy to defeat and provide immediate tactical benefits. Keep some Arc power cells in your inventory as insurance against extended engagements.
Progression Systems and Rewards
Arc Raiders features multiple progression systems that provide long-term goals and rewards. Understanding these systems helps you optimize your activities for maximum advancement.
Mastery System
The mastery system tracks specific in-game achievements that you typically accomplish naturally through regular play. Completing mastery objectives rewards premium currency, making them worthwhile targets even if you don't actively pursue them. Check your mastery progress periodically to identify objectives you're close to completing.
Battle Pass Integration
The battle pass system provides structured objectives that reward battle pass currency. This currency can be used to purchase premium currency, cosmetic items, and other valuable rewards. Battle pass objectives often align with normal gameplay activities, making them easy to incorporate into your regular raiding routine.
Quality of Life Improvements
Several interface and setting adjustments can significantly improve your Arc Raiders experience. These changes might seem minor but accumulate into substantial improvements over time.
Looting Efficiency
Fast looting is crucial in extraction games where menu time equals vulnerability. Double-clicking items or using control-click instantly moves items into your inventory or appropriate slots without dragging. This technique dramatically reduces the time you spend in menus and lowers your exposure to attacks.
Visual Settings
The graphics settings allow field of view adjustment up to 80 degrees. While this isn't extremely wide, increasing your FOV provides better situational awareness and can give you tactical advantages during engagements. Experiment with different FOV settings to find what works best for your playstyle.
Putting It All Together
Arc Raiders rewards players who understand its interconnected systems and make thoughtful decisions about risk management. Success comes from balancing aggressive loot acquisition with careful survival tactics, managing your resources effectively, and continuously improving your combat and movement skills.
Start with conservative approaches using free loadouts or minimal gear investments. Focus on learning map layouts, loot locations, and enemy patterns before escalating to high-risk, high-reward strategies. As you accumulate resources and experience, gradually increase your gear investments to access better equipment and more challenging content.
Remember that Arc Raiders is fundamentally about risk assessment and resource management. Every decision carries consequences, and the best players are those who consistently make smart choices rather than flashy plays. Focus on steady progression, learn from your mistakes, and gradually build the skills and knowledge needed to dominate the extraction zones. The game's depth means there's always more to learn and improve upon. Stay curious, experiment with different approaches, and don't be afraid to adapt your strategies based on changing circumstances. With patience and practice, you'll develop the skills needed to consistently extract with valuable loot and establish yourself as a formidable presence in the world of Arc Raiders.