ARC Raiders Tips and Tricks
Each entry below is one mechanic, what it costs you, and the update it was last checked against. Filter by category or difficulty to narrow the list, and use the anchor beside any heading to link straight to a single tip.
ARC Weak Points
#Leading with explosives feeds the Vaporizer's shield
Its reactive shield snaps up against incoming grenades and rockets and absorbs the damage outright. Break line of sight or bait the shield with a cheap throwable first, then put precision rounds into it with something like the Jupiter sniper rifle while it is down.
Checked against Store Update 1.40.0
#The Bombardier's rear cylinder is its fastest kill
It is the quickest route through that armor by a wide margin, so circle behind while a squadmate holds its attention from the front and the fight is over in seconds. Trading shots with one head on is how a Bombardier ends up costing you a full kit.
Checked against Store Update 1.40.0
Boss Fights
#Cover stops Queen and Matriarch stomp knockback now
It used to travel straight through walls. Live Update 1.36.0 fixed that on July 7, 2026, so a wall behind you now stops the launch. Embark's note covers knockback specifically and says nothing about the damage reports.
Checked against Store Update 1.40.0
Events
#The Assessor relaunches and takes the loot with it
Its ground phase runs on a timer, so a slow breach means the whole event pays nothing at all. Do not start one unless the squad can clear the overhead Vaporizers fast and go straight into the breach, because the clock does not care that you were busy.
Checked against Store Update 1.40.0
Extraction
#Extraction takes 60 to 90 seconds depending on the type
Cargo elevators and metro stations run about 90 seconds, airshafts 60 to 70, and a key-gated Raider Hatch opens almost immediately on a single-use key. You have to survive inside the zone the whole time, and stepping out cancels the progress entirely.
Checked against Store Update 1.40.0
Sound
#Standing still is the only genuinely silent movement
The ordering holds even without published numbers: unsuppressed gunfire carries furthest, then sprinting, then looting, then walking, with crouch-walking nearly silent. A held position beats a quiet one whenever you think somebody is listening for you.
Checked against Store Update 1.40.0
Stealth
#Crouch-walking carries you through a Blue patrol cone
Crouching cuts your detection profile enough to cross a patrolling machine's cone as long as you stay outside its inner radius. Sprinting does the opposite and flips anything nearby to Yellow instantly, so the time you save running is time you spend hiding.
Checked against Store Update 1.40.0
Detection
#A building does not hide you from a Snitch outside
It reads you through windows and open doorways, and a Snitch that finishes its alarm calls ARC reinforcements down on top of you. Check the sightlines covering your position before you settle into a loot spot, not after the first shot lands.
Checked against Store Update 1.40.0
Loadouts
#A free loadout switches off your Safe Pocket entirely
For the whole raid you have zero item preservation on death, so every scavenged item and every quest item is at full risk. That is the real cost of a scouting run, and it is why a cheap custom loadout is sometimes the safer option of the two.
Checked against Store Update 1.40.0
Workshop Stations
#Smoke and Ziplines come from Utility, not Explosives
They read like Explosives Station items and they are not, so people end up with an escape plan they cannot craft. If your exit leans on smoke cover or a zipline shortcut, put your workshop upgrades into the Utility Station first.
Checked against Store Update 1.40.0
Blueprints
#Slot a blueprint in the safe pocket the moment you find it
Only unprotected items are lost on death, and the safe pocket carries one through. Once you extract and learn it at the den the recipe is permanent, so the whole risk window is the walk to the exit. If your pocket is already committed, extract instead of pushing deeper.
Checked against Store Update 1.40.0
Passive Income
#Scrappy stops producing once his storage fills
He generates materials on a real-time timer whether you are playing or not, but the output does not stack past his cap, so a week away banks the same as a day away. Collect between raids and the timer starts working for you again.
Checked against Store Update 1.40.0
Vendors
#Ermal does not take coins for anything he sells
He trades for high-tier ARC components, rare weapons, and scavenged gear instead, and he opens at Raider Level 25 on the lobby floor of the Speranza hub. His stock resets every Tuesday at 1 PM UTC, so farm the materials before the rotation, not after.
Checked against Store Update 1.40.0
Weapon Durability
#Every weapon upgrade also repairs 25 percent durability
That has been true since Patch 1.26.0, and it makes upgrading cheaper than the tooltip suggests. Legendaries sit at the top of the ladder and cannot be upgraded at all, so they are the one class that never collects the free repair along the way.
Checked against Store Update 1.40.0
#Looted weapons average 30 durability, not 50
Patch 1.26.0 cut it, so budget the repair before you take a found weapon back out. A near-zero weapon still shoots perfectly well, which is the trap: one more firefight and it breaks in your hands at the worst possible moment.
Checked against Store Update 1.40.0
Expeditions
#ARC Raiders never wipes your character on you
Expedition Projects are entirely opt-in. Never finalize one and you keep your character, gear, blueprints, and progress indefinitely, which makes the whole system a choice you make and not a season deadline you have to beat.
Checked against Store Update 1.40.0
#Vault slots are bought per Expedition, not once
Five slots in Expedition 3 gives you nothing in Expedition 4. You buy them again from Ermal every cycle, which turns vault space into a recurring cost instead of an upgrade, and it is worth pricing in before you plan a wipe.
Checked against Store Update 1.40.0
Skill Tree
#Expedition rewards are the only skill points past leveling
Each completed one awards up to five, which is the only route toward the 76-point cap beyond your character level. The cost is total, since finalizing wipes your skill tree, level, coins, and stash, so respec prices stop mattering the moment a wipe is on the table.
Checked against Store Update 1.40.0
#A full respec costs 152,000 coins and cannot be partial
The price is 2,000 coins per point you have already spent, so the bill scales with how invested you are and peaks at a full 76-point reset. There is no way to move a single point, so plan the build in the tree viewer first.
Checked against Store Update 1.40.0
ARC Behavior
#ARC machines never learn your tactics
Combat decisions run on hand-authored behavior trees, so attack patterns stay predictable once you have seen them a few times. The machine learning only governs locomotion. That is what makes heavy units recover from explosions and cross terrain so convincingly.
Checked against Store Update 1.40.0
What to Read Next
- ARC Machines. Every machine, its weak point, and how the detection cones behave.
- Crafting and Gear. Workshop stations, durability, vendors, and blueprint handling.
- Maps and Extraction. Map conditions, extraction types, and where each one puts you.
- Skill Tree and Progression. All 45 skills, the point budget, and respec costs.
- Expedition Projects. The voluntary wipe system and what survives one.
- Getting Started. The raid loop, if these are your first drops into Speranza.