ARC Raiders Beginners Guide: Essential Tips and Tricks
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 provide foundational tips and tricks to help you 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 and what to leave behind can be confusing. During your first few hours, just pick up everything and anything. As you level up, complete quests, and gain access to new areas of Speranza, deciding whether to hold onto a Spring or Battery won’t be a big concern.
One key point is item rarity: the rarer the item, the more valuable it is. Late-game gear requires rare crafting resources, so while you should pick up and hold onto these rare items, you may not be able to use them for some time.
Should You Recycle Items?
Recycling items should be approached with caution. Some items may say “Can be recycled” but are actually required for upgrading your Workstation benches. For example, the Toaster can be recycled into crafting materials, but you’ll need three of them to upgrade the Crafting bench.
There’s no strict rule for recycling gear; sometimes you need an item for an upgrade, other times its components for crafting. A good rule of thumb is: green (common) rarity items are easier to find, so recycling them is less risky compared to recycling blue or purple items.
Understanding Item Symbols
Every item you pick up features a symbol indicating its type. Recognizing these symbols helps you quickly identify what you’re grabbing:
- Wrench: Crafting material
- One Bullet: Heavy ammo for sniper-like weapons
- Two Shells: Shotgun ammo
- Three Bullets: Medium ammo for assault rifles
- Four Bullets: Light ammo for SMGs and pistols
- Plus (+): Healing or shield-recovery quick-use items
- Target: Explosive devices detonated remotely or on proximity
- Diamond: Trinkets sellable 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, invest in upgrading your stash using the Expand button. Be aware that costs increase steeply, so upgrade a few times first, then start deciding what to sell or recycle.
Listen Carefully – Sound is Your Friend and Enemy
Sound plays a huge role in ARC Raiders. Everything from player footsteps, ARC patrols, caches, to activated extraction points makes noise. Use sound cues to your advantage by listening to your surroundings to survive.
At the same time, minimize your own noise to avoid detection. Jogging is quieter than sprinting and walking is quieter than jogging. Breaching doors and containers is extremely loud, often attracting ARC probes. Try to perform these noisy actions only when no ARC or hostile players are nearby.
Swap Shooting Shoulders
You can swap shooting shoulders in ARC Raiders, which is crucial in tight spaces or when peeking around corners. On PC, tap X; on controller, click the right stick. Use this to keep your body closer to walls, allowing you to aim first without exposing too much.
Roll After Falling
Falling and landing hard can cause damage. To reduce this, perform a roll as you hit the ground. This tactical roll helps you survive risky jumps between rooftops or from heights, letting you keep moving with minimal damage instead of getting knocked out.
Communicate with Other Players
Not every player will shoot on sight. Sometimes others are just focused on completing their quests or looting. If you encounter someone, avoid immediately opening fire. Use the in-game communication wheel to say hello or the proximity chat to talk. Coordination can sometimes turn strangers into allies.
Read and Plan Your Skill Tree
The Skill Tree in ARC Raiders offers many options, but you won’t unlock them all. Take time to review the tree and decide where to invest your points based on your play style.
General recommendations include:
- Mobility branch: Unlock Marathon Runner and Youthful Lungs for increased stamina, helping you escape danger faster.
- Survival branch: The final node, Security Breach, unlocks special lockers with valuable loot.
- Conditioning branch: Gentle Pressure and Proficient Pryer improve door breaching speed and reduce noise.
You can reach level 75, earning 75 skill points, and you’ll only be able to fully complete two skill branches — so plan wisely. If you make mistakes, don’t worry; completing the Expedition Project lets you retire your raider and start fresh while earning rewards.
Quest Progress is Shared Among Squad
Progress toward quests is shared between squad members. If a teammate completes an objective like activating panels or destroying ARC, it counts for everyone. However, this sharing does not extend to quest items — for example, if you need Snitch Scanners, your friend picking them up won’t add them to your inventory; you need to carry them yourself.
You Can Extract While Downed
If your shields and health drop to zero, you’ll enter a downed crawling state. You’re not out yet! Crawl into an extraction point to activate it or catch a ride with a teammate. Extracting while downed safely returns you to base without losing loot.
Use Free Loadout Runs to Farm Loot
When starting a match, select the Free Loadout tab at the top of the screen. This gives you a basic shield, simple weapon, and some healing items without a safe pocket, but you’ll have 14 inventory slots to grab crafting materials or complete quest objectives before extracting.
This is a great way to collect resources without risking your precious weapons.
Trade Free Loadout Augments at the Clinic
Extracting from a Free Loadout run earns you a Free Loadout Augment. Visit the Clinic to trade this for one of the green Augments, helping you progress without spending coins.
Ping ARC Enemies to Learn Their Names
Pinging ARC enemies reveals their names, showing up in chat and letting you identify the specific threats during quests and Trials.
Once you know their names, learn their weak points — for instance, most flying ARC have weak spots on their propellers.
Conclusion
ARC Raiders offers a rewarding but complex extraction shooter experience. By knowing what loot to prioritize, managing your stash wisely, mastering sound awareness, and planning your skill tree, you’ll set yourself up for success. Remember to communicate, take advantage of Free Loadout runs, and always stay alert of your surroundings. Good luck, Raider!
https://www.shacknews.com/article/146729/arc-raiders-beginner-guide
