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Getting Started with ARC Raiders

By ScotUpdated

Tactical Quick Answer

ARC Raiders is a third-person PvPvE extraction shooter by Embark Studios where you deploy from the underground settlement of Speranza, loot one of six surface maps, and extract before the timer runs out. Dying costs you everything you carried except what fits in your safe pocket, and free loadouts disable even that. Run free loadouts until you know a map, because they cost nothing to lose.

ARC Raiders is a third-person PvPvE extraction shooter by Embark Studios. You play as a Raider living underground in Speranza, a makeshift settlement built from the ruins of a collapsed civilization. The surface belongs to the ARC, a massive swarm of hostile machines that fell from the sky and wiped out everything above ground. Your job is to go topside, grab what you can, and get back alive.

The game launched on October 30, 2025, and is available on Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S with full cross-platform play. You can run solo, pair up with one partner, or form a three-person squad.

The Extraction Loop​

Every raid follows the same structure. You gear up in Speranza, deploy to one of six surface maps, loot containers and points of interest, fight ARC machines and other players, then extract through a designated exit point before the timer runs out.

Here is how a typical raid plays out:

  1. Pick a map and a loadout in Speranza. Each map has a difficulty level and different loot tables.
  2. Deploy to the surface. You drop in with other squads and solo players.
  3. Scavenge for materials, weapons, blueprints, and valuables. Check buildings, containers, and ARC wreckage.
  4. Fight or avoid ARC machines patrolling the area. They range from small drones to building-sized bosses.
  5. Watch for other players. They want your loot as much as you want theirs.
  6. Reach an extraction point (cargo elevator, metro station, airshaft, or key-gated Raider Hatch) and survive the extraction timer.
  7. Return to Speranza with everything you collected. Use it to craft, upgrade, and prepare for the next run.

If you die during a raid, you lose everything you were carrying. Your equipped gear, your scavenged materials, your found blueprints. Gone. The only exception is your safe pocket, a protected inventory slot that preserves what you place inside it. You start with a single slot, and augments like Looting MK.2 can expand it to two or three slots later.

danger

Death is expensive. If you take a fully upgraded custom loadout into a raid and get killed, that gear is gone permanently. Until you are confident in a map, use free loadouts (explained below) to avoid losing anything of value.

Free Loadouts vs. Custom Loadouts​

ARC Raiders gives every player access to free (also called sponsored) loadouts. These are basic gear sets with low-tier weapons and minimal supplies. They cost nothing, and losing them costs nothing.

Custom loadouts use gear you built at your crafting stations. Higher-tier weapons, better shields, stronger consumables. They are objectively better than free loadouts, but losing them hurts.

The rule of thumb:

  • Learning a new map? Free loadout. Always.
  • Running a familiar map with a plan? Custom loadout if the potential loot justifies the risk.
  • Playing with a new squad? Free loadout until you trust their callouts and positioning.
warning

Free loadouts disable your Safe Pocket for the entire raid. If you deploy with a free kit, you have zero item preservation on death. Every scavenged item, including quest items, is at full risk. Keep this in mind when deciding between a free loadout scouting run and a cheap custom loadout.

tip

Free loadouts are not just for beginners. Experienced players use them for quick scouting runs where the goal is map knowledge, not high-value loot. There is no shame in a free kit. Just know the Safe Pocket tradeoff before you deploy.

Speranza and the Raider Den​

Speranza is your home base. Between raids, you spend time here preparing for the next one. The Raider Den is the crafting hub inside Speranza where all your workstations live.

Your den has eight stations:

StationWhat It Does
WorkbenchBasic crafting. Handles simple weapons and ammo. Upgrades to Level 3.
GunsmithWeapons and weapon mods. Upgrades to Level 3.
Gear BenchArmor and shields. Upgrades to Level 3.
Medical LabHealing items and medical supplies. Upgrades to Level 3.
Explosives StationGrenades, mines, and throwables. Upgrades to Level 3.
Utility StationTactical tools like smoke, ziplines, and hatch keys. Upgrades to Level 3.
RefinerConverts raw materials into advanced components. Upgrades to Level 3.
ScrappyYour companion rooster. Passively generates materials over time. His own path runs to Level 5.

You also have a stash for storing materials and gear between raids, and a loadout screen where you equip your gear before deploying.

For a full breakdown of every station, upgrade path, and crafting recipe priority, check the Crafting and Gear guide.

Squad Play​

ARC Raiders supports three squad sizes:

  • Solo. Full stealth potential. You choose every fight. No one to revive you if you go down.
  • Duo. Good balance of firepower and coordination. Easier to stay quiet than a trio.
  • Trio. Maximum firepower. Louder, harder to hide, but you can bully most encounters.

Cross-platform play is on by default. PC, PlayStation, and Xbox players share the same servers. If you want to fill empty squad slots with random players, use the Fill Squad feature from the deploy screen.

info

ARC Raiders uses proximity voice chat (proxy chat). Other players near you can hear you talking. Keep callouts short and use your squad's private channel for strategy. Or use proxy chat to bluff, negotiate, or intimidate. Your call.

Combat Fundamentals​

Combat against ARC machines is pattern-based. Every machine type has visible weak points (exposed thrusters, yellow joints, fuel cores) that take extra damage. Learning where to shoot matters more than spraying ammo.

Combat against other players is positioning-based. ARC Raiders is third-person, so shoulder-peeking around corners gives you a sight advantage without exposing your body. Use cover constantly. Standing in the open gets you killed in under a second.

A few things that trip up new players:

  • Sprinting is loud. Other players and ARC machines hear you. Walk when you are near points of interest or extraction zones.
  • Reloads can be cancelled. Rolling, sprinting, or swapping weapons cuts the animation, and the magazine still fills if the hidden reload timer already finished. Learn reload-cancelling early, and still prefer reloading in safe windows.
  • Shields are your real health bar. Your character has base health, but shields absorb damage first. Higher-tier shields give you more buffer. Prioritize shield quality over weapon quality in your early runs.
  • Stamina governs everything. Sprinting, dodging, climbing, and melee attacks all drain stamina. Running out of stamina in a fight means you cannot dodge, which means you die.

Live Events​

Two things run alongside the normal raid loop as of Store Update 1.40.0 on August 4, 2026.

Phantom Targets. Part one of this Player Project is live. You investigate strange surveillance readings, fix up faulty Antennas to triangulate the signals, and take on the ARC with unconventional strategies. Part two arrives with the 1.42 update on August 18, alongside the Phantom Targets Event. The Expedition Projects guide covers what the patch notes do and do not spell out about it.

Embark Summer Celebration. Play three hours of ARC Raiders and you earn the Azimuth outfit in THE FINALS. There is nothing to claim. THE FINALS Update 11.3.0 opened this leg on July 30 and hands the set over on its own, though Embark warns the delivery can lag by up to 24 hours. The crossover ran the opposite direction first. That leg closed on July 30 at 3PM CEST, so Contracts in THE FINALS no longer earn you the Azimuth outfit and Archaeologist Backpack over here.

Your First 10 Hours​

  1. Play the tutorial. It covers movement, combat, extraction mechanics, and basic crafting. Do not skip it.
  2. Run free loadouts on Dam Battlegrounds. This is the most forgiving map. Learn where the extraction points are, where ARC machines patrol, and where loot spawns.
  3. Focus on extracting, not fighting. Your goal in early runs is bringing materials home, not getting kills. Avoid other players when you can.
  4. Upgrade Scrappy and the Refiner first. Scrappy gives you passive materials while you are offline. The Refiner lets you turn raw junk into crafting components. Both save you time on future runs.
  5. Learn the Snitch. Snitches are small surveillance drones. If one spots you and you do not destroy it fast, it calls in ARC reinforcements. Always kill Snitches on sight.
  6. Do not hoard good gear. If you never use your best equipment, it is not helping you. Take it out when you have a specific high-value target in mind.
  7. Adjust your settings. Tweak sensitivity, shoulder-swap keybinds, and proxy chat volume before your first real raid. Getting comfortable with controls early saves you deaths later.

Frequently Asked Questions​

What happens when you die in ARC Raiders?

You lose everything you were carrying, including equipped gear, scavenged materials, and found blueprints. The only exception is your safe pocket, a protected slot that preserves what you place inside. It starts at one slot and augments can expand it to two or three.

Should new players use free loadouts in ARC Raiders?

Yes, when you are learning a map or playing with a new squad. Free loadouts cost nothing and losing them costs nothing. The tradeoff is that they disable your Safe Pocket for the entire raid, so every scavenged item is at full risk.

Which map should you start on in ARC Raiders?

Dam Battlegrounds. It is the most forgiving map, and free loadout runs there teach you where the extraction points are, where ARC machines patrol, and where loot spawns.

What platforms is ARC Raiders on?

Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S, with full cross-platform play. The game launched on October 30, 2025. Cross-platform play is on by default.

What should you upgrade first in ARC Raiders?

Scrappy and the Refiner. Scrappy passively generates materials while you are offline, and the Refiner turns raw junk into crafting components. Both save you time on future runs.

These guides cover every system in depth: