ARC Machines
Every ARC machine has specific weak points you can target to disable or kill it faster, so learning where to shoot beats tanking bullets into armor. A visible detection state tells you where each machine stands: blue is passive, yellow is alert, and red means it has locked onto you. Snitches are the top priority target, because an undisturbed Snitch calls in ARC reinforcements, guaranteed once its third alarm call goes out.
The ARC are the AI-controlled machines that own the surface. They range from palm-sized surveillance drones to skyscraper-tall harvesters. Every ARC machine follows a "solve me" design philosophy: instead of just tanking bullets, each one has specific weak points you can target to disable or kill it faster.
Learning how each machine type behaves, where it is vulnerable, and when to fight versus when to avoid it is the difference between extracting with a full pack and losing everything.
Detection System
Every ARC machine has a visible detection cone that tells you its current state:
| Cone Color | State | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| Blue | Passive | Patrolling. Has not detected you. Safe to sneak past or line up a first shot. |
| Yellow | Alert | Investigating a disturbance (noise, movement, dead machine nearby). Will search the area. Can still return to Blue if it finds nothing. |
| Red | Combat | Target locked. Actively attacking. Will not disengage until you are dead, it is dead, or you break line of sight for long enough. |
Blue flips to Yellow after a moment of exposure, and Yellow turns Red almost instantly once the machine gets a clear visual. A machine that spots you plainly, or takes a hit, can jump straight from Blue to Red. Breaking combat (Red back to Blue) requires getting fully out of sight behind solid cover and staying quiet until the machine gives up its search, which takes roughly ten seconds or more out of view depending on the machine.
Crouching reduces your detection profile. Walking while crouched lets you move through Blue-cone patrols without triggering them, as long as you stay outside the cone's inner radius. Sprinting instantly flips any nearby machine to Yellow.
Standard Enemies
These are the machines you will fight in every raid. They appear on all maps, with higher numbers on harder maps.
| Machine | Threat | Behavior | Weak Point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wasp | Low | Small flying drone. Patrols in groups of two to four. Fires a short-range plasma burst. | Thrusters on its back. One or two shots to the thrusters kills it instantly. |
| Hornet | Low-Moderate | Upgraded Wasp. Fires an electrical projectile that stuns and disrupts you. | Same as Wasp. Thrusters on the back. Slightly more HP. |
| Tick | Low | Tiny ground unit. Rushes toward you and detonates on contact. | Anywhere. Low HP, but they come in swarms. Listen for their clicking noise. |
| Snitch | Critical | Surveillance drone. Starts a series of alarm calls when it detects you, and reinforcements are guaranteed once the third call goes out. | Its four unarmored thrusters. Knock it down before the calls finish or you will face a much harder fight. |
| Surveyor | Moderate | Rolling spherical scout (the unit players nicknamed the Rollbot). Patrols at speed and flags Raiders for reinforcement. Hard to hit while moving. | Focus fire the moment it slows or turns toward you. Treat it like a Snitch on the ground. |
| Pop | Low | Mobile roller that beeps as it closes in, then detonates beside you. | Shoot it from a distance the moment you hear the beeping. Low HP. |
| Fireball | Moderate | Ground-rolling sphere that closes distance and vents a close-range flame burst. | Its core, exposed when the front panel opens. Destroying the core drops the machine on the spot. |
| Turret | Moderate | Fixed emplacement. Cannot move. Fires high-damage rounds in a narrow cone. | Largely unarmored, with a vulnerable capsule on the gun housing. Flank outside its firing cone and it goes down fast. |
The Snitch Rule
Snitches are the most important enemy in the game from a tactical standpoint. A single Snitch detection can escalate a quiet looting run into a survival fight against five to ten reinforcement machines.
The moment you hear the Snitch's scanning whine (a high-pitched electronic hum), stop everything and locate it. The Snitch works through a series of alarm calls, and reinforcements are only guaranteed once the third call goes out, so there is a real window to shoot it down. If the calls finish, either prepare for a fight or run.
Being inside a building does not automatically make you safe from a Snitch patrolling outside. Check the windows and open doorways covering your position before settling into a loot spot.
Elite Enemies
Elites are larger, tougher machines with more complex attack patterns. They typically guard high-value loot areas or appear as part of Snitch reinforcement waves on harder maps.
| Machine | Threat | Behavior | Weak Point | Tactics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bastion | High | Heavily armored walker that advances slowly while laying down gatling fire. Takes reduced damage from frontal attacks. | Yellow kneecaps and the cylinder on its rear. | Fight with a partner. One player holds attention from cover, the other flanks for the kneecaps and rear cylinder. Solo, work its flanks between bursts. |
| Rocketeer | High | Airborne heavy unit that rains tracking missile barrages from above. | Thrusters and the housing on its top side. | Dodge missiles laterally (they track poorly on side movement), then punish its thrusters between barrages. |
| Leaper | High | Fast, agile unit that jumps across terrain to close distance. Attacks with blade-arms in melee range. | Yellow joints on its legs and its eye. Destroying a leg joint slows it dramatically. | Keep it at mid-range. Shotguns and high-ROF weapons work well. Do not let it reach melee range. |
| Bombardier | High | Heavy unit with area-of-effect explosive mortar. Lobs arcing shells that detonate on impact with a splash radius. | Rear cylinder on its back. Breaking it exposes the inner mechanism and puts the machine down fast. | Stay mobile between mortar arcs. Sprint out of the impact zone, then punish the rear cylinder. |
| Sentinel | High | Stationary heavy turret with a swiveling arm and much higher damage per shot than the standard Turret. | Small yellow capsule on the rear of its swiveling arm. Requires flanking or shoulder-peeking to target. | Use precise medium or heavy ammunition from cover. Shoulder-peek to line up your shot on the yellow capsule, then fire. |
The Bombardier's rear cylinder is the fastest route through its armor. Circle it while a squadmate holds its attention from the front and the fight ends in seconds.
Boss Encounters
Bosses are rare, powerful ARC machines that appear under specific map conditions or during dynamic events. They are the hardest PvE content in the game and drop the best loot.
Queen and Matriarch stomp knockback used to travel through walls. Live Update 1.36.0 fixed it on July 7, 2026, and Embark's note is exact: "Knockback from Queen & Matriarch stomps will no longer go through walls." Cover works against the launch now.
Cover stops the launch and nothing more. Stomp damage still travels through walls and lands from too far away, and Embark confirmed it in Store Update 1.40.0 on August 4, 2026: "We have seen your reports about the Queen and Matriarch stomp damage going through walls and from too far away. A fix is in the works, and will update you as soon as it's ready." Break line of sight and add distance when either boss winds up a stomp. A wall alone will not save you.
The Queen
The Queen is a massive, multi-limbed ARC construct. Think of a skyscraper-sized spider made of scrap metal and plasma cannons. She typically appears during Harvester events on higher-difficulty maps.
Attack patterns:
- Mortar barrage. Arcs of explosive fire blanket the arena. Move laterally between impacts and use hard cover.
- Laser beam. A sustained beam sweeps the area. Break line of sight or dodge through the gaps.
- Ground slam. Drives a leg into the ground, creating a shockwave. Dodge away at the moment of impact.
- EMP pulse. Strips shields at close range. Fight from distance whenever the arena allows it.
Weak points: her central core and the leg joints. Breaking leg joints creates openings, and the exposed core is where your damage counts.
Tactics:
- Bring a full trio. Solo attempts are possible but demand perfect play and high-tier gear.
- Spread out so a single mortar barrage cannot clip the whole squad.
- High-damage single-shot weapons maximize your output on the core when it is exposed.
- The fight is loud. Other players will hear it. Watch your flanks for opportunistic PvP attacks during the fight.
Matriarch
The Matriarch is a heavy assault unit that appears during specific dynamic mission rotations. Smaller than The Queen but faster and more aggressive.
Attack patterns:
- Missile swarms. Volleys of tracking missiles. Dodge laterally and keep hard cover between you and her.
- Leg stomps. Punishes anyone who strays underneath her. Stay out of stomping range.
- Gas grenades and flashbangs. Area denial and disorientation. Reposition instead of holding a compromised spot.
- Energy shield. Periodically raises an impenetrable shield for around a minute. Use that window to clear her escorts.
- Escort waves. Summons Bastions alongside Bombardiers, Leapers, Rocketeers, and smaller ARC.
Tactics:
- Clear the summoned escorts during her shield phase, then return focus to the boss.
- After gas or a flashbang lands on your position, fall back and reset instead of trading blind.
- The Matriarch's weak points are her faceplates. Break them off to expose the red core underneath, then pour accurate fire into the core.
Boss loot drops on the ground when the boss dies. Other players can (and will) swoop in to grab it. Secure the area before looting, or designate one squad member to grab the drops immediately while the others watch for incoming threats.
Post-Launch Threats
These machines were added in the 2026 updates. They are among the most dangerous enemies in the game and require specific counter-strategies.
Vaporizer
Added in Patch 1.22.0 (Flashpoint). The Vaporizer is a flying laser attacker and the most feared ARC machine on the surface. It hovers at altitude and cycles through three laser attack modes that can pin an entire squad behind cover.
The Vaporizer's signature ability is a reactive energy shield that snaps up when it detects incoming grenades or explosives, absorbing the damage. You can even bait the shield on purpose with a cheap throwable, then punish the recovery window.
How to fight it:
- Do not lead with explosives. The shield reacts to them and eats the damage.
- Break line-of-sight by moving indoors or behind solid structures. The Vaporizer will reposition and expose itself to re-acquire you.
- When the shield is down, hit it with precision weapons like the Jupiter, the Legendary bolt-action sniper rifle. The window is short, so coordinate with your squad.
- If you cannot get indoors, use terrain features (boulders, walls, vehicle wrecks) to force it to circle around you.
The Vaporizer patrols endgame maps heavily and also appears during Assessor matrix events (Close Scrutiny map condition). Clearing overhead Vaporizers is always the first priority before engaging any other objective.
Comet
Added in Patch 1.17.0, the Comet is a ground-based spherical unit designed to punish players who cluster together. When a Comet detects a Raider, it locks on and charges in a straight line at high speed. At the end of its charge, it detonates in a powerful explosion.
The explosion may not kill a fully shielded player outright, but it strips all shield layers and leaves you exposed to follow-up attacks from other machines.
How to fight it:
- Listen for its charge-up whine. You have about two seconds between detection and the charge.
- Dodge sideways behind hard vertical cover. The Comet travels in a straight line and cannot turn mid-charge.
- Kill it before it reaches you. Comets have low HP and go down fast to focused fire.
- Destroying a Comet before it detonates drops a Comet Igniter, a rare crafting material. This is the only way to get this component.
Patch 1.26.0 removed Comets from standard Dam Battlegrounds sessions and thinned out Firefly spawns there to reduce the difficulty for new players. You will mostly meet both on mid-tier and endgame maps.
Firefly
An advanced aerial unit that operates alongside Hornets and Wasps. Unlike the Hornet, the Firefly has four heavily armored thrusters that make light ammunition almost useless against it.
The Firefly uses a flamethrower to force players out of cover, creating denial zones on the ground.
How to fight it:
- Do not use light weapons. Pistols and SMGs bounce off its thruster armor.
- Target the unarmored yellow fuel tank. Destroying the fuel tank disables the flamethrower and causes the Firefly to crash.
- Heavy-caliber weapons (rifles, marksman weapons) punch through the thruster armor. Use them if you cannot get a clean angle on the fuel tank.
- Stay mobile. The flamethrower leaves burning ground for several seconds. Standing still in a Firefly fight means standing in fire.
The Assessor and Close Scrutiny Events
The Assessor is a massive, stationary matrix event tied to the Close Scrutiny map condition (added in Patch 1.22.0). Assessor encounters are the highest-risk, highest-reward PvE content in the game outside of boss fights.
How the event works:
- During a Close Scrutiny condition, Surveyors (rolling spherical intelligence units) appear across the map in force, scouting for Raiders.
- A few minutes into the raid, an Assessor descends from orbit on its own, projecting tall red tracking beams into the sky as it lands.
- The landed Assessor is a three-legged platform carrying three heavily secured, breachable loot containers, one per leg.
- You must breach the leg containers to access the high-tier loot inside.
- Breaching is loud and triggers an alarm that pulls in additional Vaporizers.
- Vaporizers also guard the Assessor from above during the entire event.
The golden rule: Kill all overhead Vaporizers before you start breaching the Assessor's leg containers. Breaching is loud, takes time, and you cannot defend yourself while doing it. If Vaporizers are still active overhead, they will kill you mid-breach.
The Assessor has a ground phase timer. If you take too long to breach, it relaunches into the atmosphere and takes all the loot with it. Do not start the event unless your squad is ready to clear Vaporizers fast and breach immediately after.
AI Behavior Notes
There is a common misconception that ARC machines "learn" your tactics and adapt their combat strategies during a raid. This is not accurate.
Embark Studios uses a hybrid AI approach:
- Combat decisions are driven by traditional, hand-authored behavior trees. Every machine follows a defined set of rules: patrol routes, detection triggers, attack patterns, and retreat conditions. This keeps combat readable and balanced across all skill levels.
- Physical movement uses machine learning (reinforcement learning) to handle locomotion and animation. This is why heavy ARC units dynamically recover from explosions, navigate complex terrain, and react to physics collisions in a realistic way. The ML governs how the machines move, not how they fight.
The practical takeaway: ARC machines do not adapt to your dodge patterns or memorize your cover spots. Their behavior is predictable once you learn their attack sequences. What makes them feel reactive is the physically grounded movement system, which handles terrain traversal and collision recovery dynamically.
Vary your approach for tactical reasons (flanking from different angles, using different cover), but do not worry about the machines "learning" your habits.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do the ARC detection cone colors mean?
Blue means the machine is patrolling and has not detected you. Yellow means it is investigating a disturbance and can still calm back down. Red means it has target lock and will not disengage until you are dead, it is dead, or you stay fully out of its sight long enough for it to give up the search.
How do you kill a Snitch in ARC Raiders?
Shoot its four unarmored thrusters before its alarm calls finish. Reinforcements are only guaranteed once the third call goes out, so there is a real window to drop it. Being indoors does not automatically hide you from a Snitch outside, so check windows and doorways before settling into a loot spot.
How do you beat the Vaporizer in ARC Raiders?
Do not lead with explosives. Its reactive shield snaps up against incoming grenades and rockets and eats the damage. Break line of sight or bait the shield with a cheap throwable, then hit it with precision weapons like the Jupiter sniper rifle once the shield is down.
What is the Firefly weak point?
The unarmored yellow fuel tank. Destroying it disables the flamethrower and causes the Firefly to crash. Its four heavily armored thrusters shrug off light ammunition, so pistols and SMGs are wasted on it.
Do ARC machines learn your tactics?
No. Combat decisions run on hand-authored behavior trees, so attack patterns stay predictable once you learn them. Machine learning only governs physical movement and locomotion. That is what makes heavy units recover from explosions and traverse terrain so convincingly.
What to Read Next
- PvP Survival Tips. Sound discipline that keeps ARC off you.
- Crafting and Gear. Weapons that actually break armor plating.
- Maps and Extraction. Where each machine type patrols.
- Skill Tree and Progression. Combat nodes for ARC fights.
- Tips and Tricks. Detection cones, weak points, and the machines worth avoiding entirely.