ARC Raiders: Complete Guide

How to survive topside, what to loot and keep, how to build out your workshop in Speranza, and how the Expedition reset works in Embark Studios' PvPvE extraction shooter.

Researched September 2026 — current as of Live Update 1.45.0 (September 8, 2026) and Expedition 5. Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

1. Death is cheap if you let it be. When you have no gear, you can drop with a free loadout. Use it constantly while you learn maps. Nothing you lose on a free kit hurts you.
2. Use your Safe Pocket. Items in the Safe Pocket slots come home even if you die. Put your single most valuable find (a blueprint, a rare material, a key) there as soon as you pick it up.
3. Start on Dam Battlegrounds. It is the starter map: the layout is readable, the ARC there are the easiest, and extraction points are easy to find. The other maps open up as you progress.
4. Plan your exit before you loot. Check where the extraction elevators are when you land. Calling an elevator starts a countdown and makes noise, so other Raiders may show up.
5. Don't try to fight everything. ARC hit hard and are loud. Big ones like the Bastion and Bombardier aren't worth it on a starter kit. Walk away.
6. Keep workshop materials, sell trinkets. Anything a workbench upgrade or quest asks for stays in the stash. Trinkets (valuables with no crafting use) are cash.
7. Recycle junk instead of selling it when you need components. Broken ARC parts and damaged gear break down into crafting materials.
8. Scrappy works for free. The rooster in your workshop brings back basic materials (Metal Parts, Fabric, Plastic Parts, Chemicals, Rubber Parts, Assorted Seeds) after each raid. Upgrade him early.
9. Heavy ammo for armored ARC. Light-ammo guns plink off armor. If you plan on shooting ARC, bring a heavy-ammo weapon like the Ferro or Anvil.
10. Spend your Cred before October 8, 2026. Update 1.45.0 announced that Cred is being retired. Anything left after October 8 is gone. Raider Deck rewards move to a new system in the Frozen Trail Update.

What's Current (Live Update 1.45.0)

Other gameplay changes in 1.45.0:

• Snitch Scanners now call in ARC the same way a normal Snitch does, with a lower chance of calling stronger ARC.
• Aphelion weapon sway was reduced.
• If you land on a moving surface, you now move with it.
• Quick item cycling can be rebound separately from the quick-use wheel.
• Departing on an Expedition no longer automatically resets quests. You now choose whether to reset them when you depart.
• Known issue: shots fired while riding ARC may not register.

Core Loop

1. Prepare in Speranza. This is the underground hub. Pick up quests from the traders, craft or buy a loadout, and decide what goes in your Safe Pocket.
2. Drop topside. Pick a map and any active map condition, then deploy. Your squad is solo, duo, or trio.
3. Loot, fight, do objectives. Containers, ARC wrecks, and quest locations all give loot. Other Raiders may be friendly or hostile. It's up to them.
4. Extract. Call an elevator and survive the countdown, or use a Raider Hatch with a key for an instant exit.
5. Process the haul. Sell, recycle, and craft. Upgrade workbenches and hand in quest items.

If you die, everything you carried is lost except what was in your Safe Pocket. Augments and some gear also decide how much you can carry, so a better kit means more room for loot.

Maps

Tips:

• Use an interactive map (see Sources) to plan a route. Most let you filter by containers, quest objectives, blueprints, and extracts.
• Map conditions such as night raids and storms change both the risk and the loot. Stick to normal conditions until you know the map.

Traders and Quests

Speranza's traders give you quests and sell stock:

• Celeste and Shani give you the early quest chains. Those chains walk you through workshop stations and the basics.
• Tian Wen, Lance, and Apollo cover weapons, medical supplies, and utility. Apollo is also the NPC behind the current Ascending the Mountain Raider Project.

Quest items often look like junk. Never sell anything a quest asks for. Check the item's tooltip before you sell or recycle.

Workshop Stations

You start with a basic Workbench and Scrappy. Everything else is built and then upgraded up to level 3 using materials.

Build order for new players:

1. Scrappy first. It's passive income for every raid.
2. Medical Lab. Cheap heals keep you alive and save you money.
3. Gunsmith, once you have blueprints worth crafting.
4. Gear Bench, for better Augments (more carry space) and shields.
5. Refiner, when you start getting stuck on refined parts.

Don't rush every upgrade. Upgrades eat materials, and some parts (Motors, Cooling Coils, Industrial Batteries, Lab Reagents, and ARC-specific parts) are hard to find early. Read what the next tier needs, then farm those parts on purpose.

Loadouts: Augments, Shields, Weapons

• Augments set your carry capacity and slot layout, and some add perks. A better Augment means more backpack and quick-use space.
• Shields absorb damage before your health does. Light, Medium, and Heavy shields trade protection for weight and movement. Recharge shields with shield consumables.
• Weapons use Light, Medium, or Heavy ammo, plus a few special types. Mods (grips, magazines, muzzles, stocks) are crafted at the Gunsmith.

Weapon picks (September 2026 community consensus)

Tier lists shift with every balance patch. Treat this as a starting point.

Newer additions include the Canto SMG (medium ammo) and the Dolabra. Note that Bettina uses heavy ammo, the Hullcracker uses launcher ammo, and the Jupiter, Equalizer, and Dolabra use energy clips, so plan your ammo before you drop.

Budget rule: carry one weapon you're fine losing and one you'd miss. Put blueprints and rare mats in the Safe Pocket, not your backpack.

Fighting ARC

General rules:

• Gunfire and explosions draw both ARC and Raiders. Every fight you pick is a signal flare.
• Weak points (thrusters, joints, glowing cores) take bonus damage. Aim for them instead of spraying.
• ARC wrecks drop valuable parts. After a big kill, loot quickly and move before other Raiders arrive.

Dealing With Other Raiders

• Many Raiders are friendly. Proximity voice and emotes (including the "don't shoot" gesture) usually settle things peacefully.
• Friendly players can still turn on you, most often near extracts. Keep your distance while an elevator counts down.
• Footsteps, doors, and looting all make noise. Crouch-walk when you're near other players.
• If you get the first shot on an unaware Raider, commit. Half-hearted pokes start fights you're already losing.

Skills and Progression

• Leveling gives skill points for three trees: Conditioning, Mobility, and Survival. Early on, stamina and carry-related skills matter more than niche perks.
• Blueprints unlock crafting recipes for good. Finding one and extracting with it is one of the biggest upgrades you can get. Put it in your Safe Pocket right away.

Expeditions (Prestige Reset)

Expeditions are an optional, periodic wipe of your Raider in exchange for permanent account rewards.

• How it works: Over several weeks you donate materials across multiple stages to build a caravan (Foundation, Core Systems, Framework, Outfitting, Load, Departure). Then you choose whether to send your Raider off during the departure window.
• What resets: gear, stash inventory, workshop progress, blueprints, level, and coins.
• What you keep: Expedition skill points, bonus stash slots, and cosmetics.
• Skill point bonus: Since the April 28, 2026 overhaul, the bonus skill points come from a damage challenge instead of stash value. Earlier Expeditions set the thresholds at 5,000 / 10,000 / 30,000 / 50,000 / 100,000 damage for 1 to 5 points. Check the in-game Projects tab for Expedition 5's exact numbers.
• Change in 1.45.0: Quests no longer reset automatically. You choose whether to reset them when you depart.

Should you go? If you enjoy starting fresh and want permanent stash slots and bonus skill points, yes. If you only have a few hours a week and are halfway through your workshop, it's fine to skip one.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Selling quest items or upgrade parts. Check the tooltip first.
• Carrying your best gear into your first ten raids. Use free loadouts and cheap kits until you know the map.
• Shooting every ARC you see. It attracts Raiders and burns ammo. Pick fights that pay.
• Leaving the Safe Pocket empty or filling it with junk. It should always hold your most valuable item.
• Extracting at the last second. Elevator countdowns are where ambushes happen. Leave time to move to a second extract.
• Upgrading every station a little. Focus on one station at a time.
• Holding Cred past October 8, 2026. It expires.

Advanced Tips

• Loot routes beat loot luck. Learn two or three reliable loops per map (for example, Dam's Control Tower into the Research Building) and run them fast.
• Third-party big fights. Heavy ARC fights and Raider-vs-Raider firefights leave weakened players behind. Arrive late and clean up.
• Carry some utility. A zipline, smoke, or trap from the Utility and Explosives stations can save a run more often than a better gun.
• Recycle in the field. Breaking bulky items down into parts during the raid saves backpack space.
• Use Raider Hatch keys when you're carrying something you can't afford to lose. They're the safest exit in the game.
• Know your audio. ARC make distinct sounds. Learning to tell a Rocketeer from a Leaper by ear gives you seconds of warning.
• Before an Expedition departure, spend down the materials you can't keep and push the damage challenge. Those points are permanent.

FAQ

Is ARC Raiders free-to-play? No. It's a premium game on PC (Steam and Epic), PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. Cosmetics are sold separately.

What happens to my stuff when I die? You lose everything you carried except what's in your Safe Pocket. Your stash in Speranza is untouched.

Which map should I play first? Dam Battlegrounds. It's the starter map, with the most forgiving ARC and an easy-to-learn layout.

What is Cred and why is it going away? Cred was a currency tied to the Raider Deck. Update 1.45.0 announced that it stays usable until October 8, 2026. Raider Deck rewards then move to a new system with the Frozen Trail Update.

Should I do the Expedition? Only if you're fine losing gear, workshop progress, blueprints, and level for permanent stash slots, cosmetics, and bonus skill points. Quests no longer reset by default as of 1.45.0.

Can I play solo? Yes. Solo queues are separate from squads. Play slowly, listen more, and avoid heavy ARC.

When's the next big update? The Frozen Trail Update is planned for October 8, 2026. A smaller update was also promised before then.

Sources

• ARC Raiders: Live Update 1.45.0 (official)
• ARC Raiders official news
• ARC Raiders: Preparing for your second Expedition (official)
• PC Gamer: Arc Raiders Expeditions guide
• ARC Raiders Wiki: Workshop
• Arc Raiders Wiki (Fandom): Workshop
• Raidex: Beginner's Guide
• ArcMaps: Beginner Guide
• Beebom: Weapon Tier List (September 2026)
• Coe.gg: Best Weapons Tier List