One of the roughest parts of any extraction shooter is making money early on. With the free loadouts mechanic, *ARC Raiders* goes a long way toward solving that problem. If you’re ever low on cash or want a more stress-free way to play, grab a free loadout and go to town. Here’s how they work.
### How Free Loadouts Work in ARC Raiders
Free loadouts are a set of random, relatively low-quality gear that you can use to jump into a raid quickly and without spending a dime. You can use them as often as you like—there’s no cooldown and no limited items holding you back from doing free runs one after another. They are genuinely free.
The only “costs” of a free loadout are the time you spend playing and how limited their firepower and survivability are compared to any kit you’d put together yourself. Your weapon comes with no upgrades, you have limited ammo and meds, and a small backpack. Unlike other kits, you don’t even have a Safe Pocket to guarantee a piece of loot if you die.
How you play your free loadout is up to you, but keep in mind that you are almost always at a disadvantage and will need to pick your battles wisely.
### What Comes with a Free Loadout?
A free loadout will always include:
– A green shield
– A rank 1 gray weapon
– A single stack of ammo
– A small collection of meds and/or grenades
The augment you get is also gray rarity, meaning it can only hold a few items before you’ll need to drop something to make space. You cannot alter your augment during a raid, so even if you manage to take down another Raider or two, you’ll need to make some tough decisions about what loot to keep and what to leave behind.
### What to Do with the Free Loadout Augment
Surviving with your free loadout offers more than just the loot you find. You can talk to Lance at the Clinic and trade in your free loadout augment for one of three green-rarity augments.
While it’s not a world-shattering reward, this trade can give you a leg up on your next kitted raid, saving you crafting resources or Coin needed to buy a better augment. Essentially, you’ll be moving from a free run to a cheap one, where you still have plenty of room to get better loot without as much upfront investment.
Alternatively, you can dismantle everything you came out with to prepare for a more powerful raid that’s a little less costly to put together.
### How Should You Play a Free Loadout?
There are two main playstyles when it comes to free loadouts: **loot goblin** or **PvP chaser**.
– **Loot Goblin:** This playstyle understands that you’re at a massive gear disadvantage against almost everyone in the server. The goal is to hoover up as much loot as possible before extracting. This method is slower and more methodical, involving watching and listening to PvP fights happening around you and steering well clear of them. You also need to be cautious of the ARC robots flying around the map, as they reveal your position and can quickly drain your limited healing resources.
– **PvP Chaser:** This style actively seeks out better-geared players to take them by surprise, knock them out, and claim their gear. Once you have a complete kit, you then decide whether to keep chasing other players or slow down to ensure that you successfully extract with your spoils.
Of the two, the PvP chaser approach is often more exciting, but many players prefer being a loot goblin when on the back foot. After gathering resources for free, they invest those into a completed loadout they can rely on.
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Now that you know how free loadouts work in *ARC Raiders*, how will you use yours? Whether you prefer sneaking around as a loot goblin or hunting down other players as a PvP chaser, free loadouts offer a solid way to jump into the action without breaking the bank.
https://www.shacknews.com/article/146615/how-to-use-free-loadouts-in-arc-raiders
