Intermediate Guide for ARC Raiders 2026
Starting in ARC Raiders can feel overwhelming. Between crafting systems, weapons, skill trees, raids, and loot management, there's a lot the game doesn't clearly explain. After spending hundreds of hours in the game, reaching near-max level, completing the Expedition (prestige system), and collecting most of the meta weapons and epic augments, there are plenty of lessons that would have made the early experience much easier.
This guide covers the most important tips and systems new and intermediate players should understand to progress faster, survive raids more consistently, and build stronger loadouts.
Optimize Your Settings for Visibility and Performance
Before even entering your first raid, adjusting a few settings can make a big difference.
Recommended graphics settings:
Frame Generation: Off
VSync: Off
Anti-Aliasing: Off (makes enemy players easier to spot)
Field of View: Max
Motion Blur: Off
Global Illumination: Static (dynamic may cause crashes)
If your PC can handle it, keeping most settings on high is fine. The only setting that should generally be low is foliage, since fewer bushes and trees make enemies easier to see.
For audio, stereo headphones are best, as sound cues are critical in raids.
Another helpful accessibility option is customizing the crosshair. Many players prefer a circle crosshair without the center dot because it makes weapon bloom easier to read while moving or shooting.
Skill Tree: The Most Valuable Early Upgrades
The skill tree in ARC Raiders has changed over time, and some trees are now far more valuable than others.
Focus on the Survival Tree First
Your first points should go into Survival, especially the ability that allows in-raid crafting.
This lets you craft items like bandages and healing during a match, which can save your raid if you run out of supplies.
Key Survival perks include:
In-Raid Crafting - craft healing items mid-match
Advanced Crafting - unlocks stronger crafting options
Security Breach - currently one of the best perks for high-tier loot
Security breaches often reward epic gear and valuable items, making them extremely profitable.
Mobility Is Also Strong
The Mobility tree offers stamina improvements and movement bonuses, such as:
Reduced stamina usage
Faster sliding
Longer slide distance
Lower dodge costs
Movement is crucial in fights, and sliding while shooting is extremely effective.
Conditioning Is the Least Important
Conditioning used to be strong, but now offers fewer impactful bonuses. Most players only spend leftover points there.
Understanding Loot: What to Keep and What to Recycle
One of the most confusing systems for beginners is deciding what items are worth keeping.
The important thing to understand is that everything has value, because almost all items can be recycled.
Loot follows a tier breakdown:
Purple items → Blue components
Blue items → Green components
Green items → Gray materials
Eventually, everything becomes basic materials such as:
Chemicals
Fabric
Metal parts
Plastic parts
Rubber parts
These materials are then used in crafting stations to build stronger gear.
Recycling During Raids
You can recycle items mid-raid to save inventory space. However, recycling after extracting gives slightly better returns.
So if you're trying to maximize profits, extracting with the item intact is better.
Workshop Progression and Crafting
Your workshop stations are essential for progression.
Stations typically max out at Level 3, while Scrappy (your scavenger assistant) can reach Level 5. Upgrading Scrappy increases how often he finds basic materials.
ARC Raiders Blueprints unlock crafting recipes, but there's a catch:
You must also upgrade the correct workstation before crafting that item.
For example, even if you find the blueprint for a powerful weapon, you may still need Gunsmith Level 2 before you can build it.
Understanding the Expedition (Prestige System)
ARC Raiders features a prestige system called Expedition.
After completing expedition objectives, you can reset your progress at the end of a season.
Prestiging resets many things, including:
Inventory
Blueprints
Progression
However, you gain permanent bonuses such as:
Extra skill points
Additional stash space
Cosmetics
Faster leveling
It's optional, but it provides long-term progression rewards.
The Trial System and Leaderboards
The Trial system gives players special challenges that must be completed in a single raid before extracting.
Rewards vary depending on how well you perform:
1 star
2 stars
3 stars
Three-star completions can reward epic items, blueprints, or powerful attachments.
These points also contribute to the leaderboard ranking system.
Weapons: Meta vs Viable
Many players want to know the best weapons in ARC Raiders, but the truth is that most weapons can work if used correctly.
Even common weapons like the Stitcher SMG can be extremely effective.
The key is understanding each weapon's weakness.
Example:
Stitcher has only 20 rounds
Players usually need 25-30 bullets to secure a kill
Adding an extended magazine solves that weakness instantly.
Weapon Upgrades Matter
Weapons can be upgraded from Level 1 to Level 4, and upgrades often improve:
Fire rate
Reload speed
Recoil control
Durability
Meta weapons usually become strong because their upgrades significantly increase fire rate.
Ammo Types and Robot Combat
When fighting the Arc robots, ammo type matters more than weapon rarity.
Ammo effectiveness generally follows this order:
Heavy ammo
Medium ammo
Light ammo
Light ammo weapons are typically better for PvP but weaker against robots.
Shields and Augments
Loadouts are heavily influenced by the interaction between shields and augments.
Shield Tiers
Light Shield
40 charge
40% damage reduction
No movement penalty
Medium Shield
70 charge
42.5% damage reduction
−5% movement speed
Epic Shield
80 charge
52.5% damage reduction
−15% movement speed
Because epic shields slow you significantly, many players prefer medium shields.
Augment Limitations
Augments determine which shields you can use.
For example, some augments only allow light or medium shields, meaning you must build your loadout around them.
Augments also provide special effects like:
Extra safe pockets
Extra inventory space
Healing effects when revived
Smoke clouds when shields break
Free Loadouts: The Best Feature for New Players
One of the most beginner-friendly mechanics in ARC Raiders is the Free Loadout system.
If you enter a raid with no equipment, the game will give you:
A green shield
A random weapon
Ammo
Healing items
Utility gear
This allows you to farm loot and learn the game without risking your stash.
The only downside is no safe pocket, meaning valuable ARC Raiders items can be lost if you die.
The Raider Hatch Key: One of the Best Items
A craftable item called the Raider Hatch Key is incredibly powerful.
It allows you to extract instantly from most maps, avoiding dangerous extraction zones.
Fortunately, it's also fairly easy to craft, making it one of the most valuable tools in the game.
How XP Works in Raids
You gain XP from many actions, including:
Scavenging containers
Breaching doors
Looting bodies
Damaging Arc robots
Interestingly, damaging robots often gives the most XP, even if you don't kill them.
The fastest leveling strategy is simply staying active during raids.
Solo vs Trio Gameplay
Gameplay dynamics change dramatically depending on squad size.
Trios:
More aggressive
Heavy PvP
Teams fighting for control of areas
Solo:
More cooperative
Players often communicate through proximity chat
Temporary alliances sometimes form
Understanding this difference can drastically improve survival chances.
Final Advice for New Raiders
ARC Raiders rewards knowledge and patience more than raw skill.
To progress faster:
Optimize your settings for visibility
Invest skill points into Survival and Mobility
Learn the crafting material chain
Use free loadouts frequently
Upgrade weapons strategically
Understand shield and augment combinations
Stay active in raids to maximize XP
Once these systems start to click, the game becomes far more rewarding—and surviving raids becomes much more consistent.
MMOexp ARC Raiders Team