ARC Raiders Ultimate Guide: Combat, Loot, Mobility & Survival Tips
Arc Raiders is insanely fun-but it's also brutally punishing if you don't understand how its systems actually work. Many players blame the AI, ARC enemies, or "unfair" encounters when in reality, the game rewards knowledge, positioning, and smart decision-making. Expedition 2 will officially begin on March 1st. Don't miss this article's analysis; it will be very helpful to you.
If you're struggling, this guide will walk you through the combat mechanics, survival tricks, loot systems, mobility tech, and progression shortcuts that the game doesn't clearly explain.
1. ARC Enemies Aren't Too Hard - You're Just Playing Them Wrong
Let's clear up a big misconception: ARC robots are not overpowered. They just have clear weak spots and behavior patterns you need to exploit.
Shoot the Wings (Especially the Back Ones)
For drone-type enemies like Hornets and Wasps:
The front propellers are armored
The rear propellers are unarmored
Shooting the back wings knocks them down quickly
Once destabilized, they enter a vulnerable state
If you're struggling to take them down, stop aiming center mass. Hit the rear propellers, and they fall fast.
2. Always Loot ARC Robots (For a Huge Reason)
ARC enemies drop:
Crafting materials
ARC Power Cells (extremely important)
ARC Power Cells Restore Shields
You do not have to rely only on shield rechargers. Power cells can restore your shield in clutch situations. Many fights could be won if players realized this earlier.
Fabric Restores Health (Kind Of)
Fabric can be used to craft bandages, but raw fabric healing is weak. This leads to one of the most important early-game decisions…
3. The Best Early Skill in the Game: Field Crafting
In the red skill tree, unlock the field crafting skill as soon as possible.
With just the first tier, you can:
Craft bandages from fabric
Craft shield rechargers from ARC power cells
The upgraded version expands this even further.
This skill alone dramatically increases survival rates.
4. Shields Do NOT Prevent Health Damage
This is huge.
Even with shields active:
You still take health damage
Light shields reduce damage by 40%, not 100%
Correct Healing Order:
Use a bandage first (health regen over time)
Then use a shield recharger
Possibly another bandage afterward
If you use shield recharge first while low HP, you'll get deleted instantly.
5. When to Fight ARC Enemies (And When to Run)
ARC enemies:
Shine lights that reveal your position
Alert nearby players with gunfire noise
Light Color Meaning:
Yellow = Searching (you can escape)
Red = Engaged (kill them immediately)
If the drones above you turn red, everyone on your team should focus them instantly. Two or three players shooting together makes them trivial.
6. Raid Boss Survival: Rocketeer & Leaper
The Rocketeer
If you didn't plan to fight it, don't.
If you aggro it accidentally:
Change direction while running
Use buildings for cover
You need overhead protection
If prepared with a long-range weapon like the Pharaoh sniper:
Focus on the front propeller
Then break the adjacent one
Keep shooting wings
Even grounded, it can still fire
With 40–60 rounds and good cover usage, it's manageable.
The Leaper
The Leaper is much simpler:
Hide inside buildings, it can't enter
Shoot legs to break armor
Target exposed weak spots
Peek when it disengages
It's surprisingly easy if you use geometry correctly.
7. If You Go Down - Crawl Smart
ARC enemies do not finish downed players. They look for active teammates.
So:
Crawl toward teammates
Crawl into open areas to bait enemies
Ping constantly
If you're dead anyway, you can:
Lure ARC enemies toward enemy players
Drop valuable loot in obscure spots
Crawl into dangerous positions to bait killers
Revenge is a strategy.
8. Master the Ping System (Most Players Don't)
PC:
Middle mouse = ping
Double-tap = enemy ping
Hover weapon and ping = request ammo
Hold ping = communication wheel
Controller:
Hold D-pad up
Double-tap for enemy ping
Important note:
If you look away from a pinged enemy, the marker disappears.
Also:
You can toggle whether pings are team-only or global
You can request heals from the wheel
More players need to ping. It wins fights.
9. Every Squad Needs a Medic
If you have healing:
Pull out the heal item
Aim at teammate
Right click (PC) / L2 (controller)
Most players forget you can heal others. A coordinated team survives far longer.
10. Walking Is Overpowered
Sprinting is loud. Very loud.
Walking Benefits:
Conserves stamina
Harder to detect
Better for flanking
Leaves stamina for dodging
Slow Walk (Even Better)
PC: V key
Controller: Light stick pressure
Slow walking:
Regen's stamina is faster than crouching
Moves faster than crouching
Almost silent
The mobility tree skill "Calming Stroll" improvesthe slow walk specifically.
You can disengage from fights quietly using sa low walk before transitioning to normal movement.
11. Smoke Grenades Are S-Tier
Smoke grenades are one of the most must-have items in the game.
Uses:
Escape from buildings
Extract safely
Break the line of sight
Cross open areas
Reset fights
Most players won't push smoke unless desperate.
12. Fall Damage Is Lower Than You Think
You can survive big drops.
Tips:
Roll before impact (Alt on PC / double tap circle or B)
Grab the ladders and zip lines at the last second
Hold jump to catch ledges
Slide downhill to regen stamina
You can combine:
Jump
Directional input
Mantle
Drop + re-grab ledges
These movement tricks let you:
Escape ambushes
Outplay campers
Skip stairs entirely
13. Zipline Animation Skip
If you:
Jump
Press interact mid-air
You skip most of the starting zipline animation.
This:
Reduces vulnerability
Slightly boosts speed
Makes you harder to shoot
Works on horizontal ziplines too (sprint + jump helps).
14. Free Loadouts = Free Money
Free loadouts are massively underrated.
Pros:
Zero risk
Free heals
Random weapons
Can sell extracted gear
Great for solo play
Excellent for rebuilding stash
Cons:
No safe pocket
You access them via the far-right loadout tab before starting a match.
There's also:
Auto unload button
Merge stacks button
Use these to manage stash space efficiently.
15. Key Card Farming
Better drop rates from:
Nighttime raids (significantly higher loot quality)
High-value loot zones (red map border)
Apartments on Dam Battlegrounds
Walker enemies
Trinket-heavy residential areas
Epic keys drop more frequently in high-value areas.
16. Blueprint Farming (Best Weapons in the Game)
Ways to obtain ARC Raiders blueprints:
Player bodies
Raid bosses (Rocketeer & Leaper)
Lockers
Duffel bags
Cylinder golf-style bags
Desk drawers
Raider caches
Locked key rooms
Night raids
High-value zones
Once extracted:
Right click / Triangle to learn
View in workshop menu
17. Workbench Confusion Explained
You cannot upgrade the base workbench.
Instead:
Craft specialized workbenches
These unlock higher-tier gear
If you can't craft them:
Track required resources
Tag materials
Tagged items show:
Eyeball icon = upgrade material
Diamond arrow icon = quest item
You can also ping tracked resources for teammates.
18. Selling Items Sells Entire Stacks
Always split stacks first.
PC:
Hold Alt
Drag stack
PS5:
X → move → Square
Xbox:
A → move → X
Failing to split stacks = losing more materials than intended.
Final Thoughts
Arc Raiders rewards:
Positioning
Knowledge
Sound discipline
Smart stamina usage
Team communication
Loot prioritization
If the game feels too hard, it's almost always a mechanics issue-not a balance issue.
Once you:
Shoot weak spots
Heal correctly
Walk instead of sprint
Use smoke
Master mobility
Farm smart locations
Track resources properly
You'll survive longer, extract more often, and build wealth much faster. You can choose MMOexp's ARC Raiders Boosting service, or directly purchase reliable ARC Raiders Coins and items to quickly level up and easily enjoy the game!
And once that clicks?
The game stops feeling punishing - and starts feeling tactical.
MMOexp ARC Raiders Team