ARC Raiders Beginner’s Guide: Tips and Tricks for New Players
Starting a new extraction shooter is always a tricky moment. There’s so much to learn, so many crafting items to find, and new threats to face. It’s no different in Embark Studios’ latest hit, ARC Raiders. This beginners guide will give you foundational tips and tricks to help with onboarding, learning what to loot, what to recycle, and much more.
What Loot to Keep & What to Leave
There are a lot of items to pick up in ARC Raiders, and figuring out what to keep or leave behind can give you a headache. For your first couple of hours, simply pick up everything and anything. You’ll be leveling up, completing quests, and gaining access to new areas of Speranza, so deciding whether to keep a Spring or a Battery isn’t a concern just yet.
Keep in mind that items have rarity levels. The rarer an item is, the more valuable it becomes. Late game gear requires rare crafting resources, so while it’s worth picking up and holding onto these rare items, you likely won’t be able to use them for a long time.
Should You Recycle Items?
Avoid recycling items indiscriminately. Some items may say “Can be recycled,” but are essential for upgrading your benches in the Workstation. For example, the Toaster says it can be recycled into crafting materials and doesn’t mention usage in crafting, so you might assume it’s safe to recycle. This is incorrect—you need three of them to upgrade the Crafting Bench.
There’s no hard and fast rule for recycling gear. You might need the item itself for upgrades, or you might need its components to craft something else. A good rule of thumb: green rarity items are easier to find, so recycling those is less risky than recycling blue or purple items.
Understanding the Symbols
Everything you pick up in ARC Raiders has a symbol indicating what it is. Some are weapons, some are ammo and throwables, and many are crafting materials. Learning these symbols will help you quickly identify what you’re grabbing:
- Wrench: Crafting material
- Bullets One: Heavy ammo for hard-hitting sniper-like weapons
- Two Shells: Shotgun ammo
- Three Bullets: Ammo for medium weapons like Assault Rifles
- Four Bullets: Ammo for light weapons like SMGs and Pistols
- Plus: Healing or shield-recovery quick-use items
- Target: Explosive devices that can be detonated remotely or by proximity
- Diamond: Trinkets you can sell for coins, not used in crafting
Upgrade Your Stash
Your Stash will fill up faster than you expect. If you don’t want to sell everything you own, upgrade your Stash using the Expand button. Keep in mind that costs increase nearly exponentially, so upgrades won’t be cheap. Upgrade it a few times, then review your items to see what can be sold or recycled.
Sound Is Your Friend (and Enemy)
In ARC Raiders, sound plays a vital role. Everything makes noise—from players walking and ARC patrolling to caches signaling their presence and extraction points being activated. Listening to your surroundings is crucial for survival.
At the same time, try to minimize your own noise to avoid alerting other players or ARC units. Jogging is quieter than sprinting, and walking is quieter still. Breaching doors and containers is very loud, often alerting nearby ARC Probes with their banshee-like wails. Perform noisy actions when no ARC or hostile players are nearby.
Swap Shooting Shoulders
You can swap your shooting shoulder in ARC Raiders, which is very helpful when fighting in tight spaces or around cover. Tap X on PC or click the right stick on a controller to switch shoulders. Use this when moving through corridors or rounding corners to keep your body close to walls and get your gun around first.
Roll After Falling
When falling from a height, roll as you hit the ground to reduce damage. Sometimes risky jumps are necessary to escape tight spots or move quickly. Instead of slamming and taking heavy damage, performing a tactical roll will help you stay alive. You might take some damage, but it’s better than getting knocked out and having to crawl away.
Communicate with Other Players
Not everyone will shoot you on sight. Some players simply want to complete quests or loot and leave. If you see someone, don’t immediately fire—try using the in-game communication wheel to say hello or, better yet, use proximity chat to speak to them.
Read the Skill Tree
The skill tree in ARC Raiders offers a variety of skills, but you won’t unlock them all. Take a few minutes to read through it and decide which path to invest your skill points in. It’s best to explore this after playing a few matches and experiencing different situations.
Some general recommendations:
- Mobility branch: Marathon Runner and Youthful Lungs increase your stamina, allowing faster escapes.
- Survival branch: The final node, Security Breach, unlocks access to lockers with great loot.
- Conditioning branch: Gentle Pressure and Proficient Pryer help you breach doors faster and more quietly.
You can reach up to level 75, earning 75 skill points. You can reach the very end of only two branches, so plan carefully. If you make mistakes, don’t worry—you can complete the Expedition Project to retire your raider and start fresh, earning rewards along the way.
Quest Progress is Shared
Quest progress is shared among your squad. If one member activates a panel, destroys ARC units, or completes an objective, it counts for everyone. However, this sharing does not extend to items you must bring back to Speranza. For example, if you need Snitch Scanners, your teammate picking one up won’t count for you—you have to carry it yourself.
You Can Extract While Downed
If your shields and health run out, you’ll drop and crawl. You are not out of the fight yet—crawl to the extraction point and try to activate it or follow other players to extraction. Extracting while downed will whisk you safely back home without losing your items.
Do a Free Loadout Run for Loot
When queuing for a match, select the Free Loadout tab at the top of the screen. You’ll start with a basic shield, simple weapon, and some healing items. While you won’t have a safe pocket, you’ll have 14 inventory slots to fill before extracting.
This mode is perfect for grabbing crafting items or completing quest objectives without risking your main weapons or gear.
Use the Free Loadout Augment to Buy Items from Lance
Extracting during a Free Loadout run grants you a Free Loadout Augment. Visit the Clinic to trade this augment for one of the green Augments available for purchase. This is a great way to progress without spending your valuable coins.
Ping ARC Enemies to Learn Their Names
Pinging an ARC enemy will reveal its name in your chat, which is helpful when quests or Trials require you to damage or destroy certain types of ARC units. Once you know their names, pay attention to their weak points—most flying ARC have weak spots on their propellers.
With these tips in mind, you’ll have a smoother experience diving into ARC Raiders. Good luck out there, Raider!
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