The ultimate Arc Raiders guide and survival handbook

Arc Raiders blueprints
(Image credit: Embark Studios)

This Arc Raiders guide hub collates every you need to know to survive topside. From basic tips to gear, missions, Arcs and more - I can prepare you, tell you where to go and help you come back in one piece.

Arc Raiders has already had many updates and changes since its launch, including new maps and events, and considering the game's success, it seems very likely that there'll be more to come in the future. There's a lot to learn and with new stuff on the way, there'll be plenty more to get to grips with.

Basics and fundamentals

A player watches a Bombardier from stealth in Arc Raiders

(Image credit: Embark Studios)

Below are some basic tips and advice to help players get to grips with the game, helpful to players of any experience level!

  • Arc Raiders tips: To start off with, our top ten tips and tricks will help players get to grips with all elements of the game, laying out the nuances that we wish we'd known before we started.
  • Best Arc Raiders weapons tier list: From the mighty Ferro the sly Kettle, we've got all the weapons you can find and craft arranged by priority, with details on the value and strengths of each one.
  • Best Arc Raiders skills: Arc has numerous skills for players to learn, broken across three different skill trees. Our guide will explain where to invest that effort, and what new abilities will really make the difference topside.
  • Can you revive enemies and dead teammates in Arc Raiders? Resurrecting and reviving both teammates and enemies is an important part of the experience, but what are the limitations? It's worth understanding who you can and can't save.
  • How to get a free loadout in Arc Raiders: If you're burning through your inventory or don't want to risk losing anything on a difficult mission, we'll explain how to get loadouts for free.
  • Arc Raiders twitch drops and discord quests: For freebies that will enhance your look and inventory alike, here's how you connect your accounts and what you'll get for it.
  • Arc Raiders Expeditions explained: Ready to prestige and give up everything for nothing but the ability to start over and some bragging rights? Make sure you know what's at risk if you do.

Loot, rare items and blueprints

Arc Raiders blueprints

(Image credit: Embark Studios)

Whether you want them for your loadout, for quests or for upgrades to your workshop, we've got details on all the most important and in-demand items here.

  • Arc Raiders Loot Cheat Sheet: For starters, here's a comprehensive guide to every non-craftable item in the game, and what you should do with it! Scrap, sell, or save it in your stash – we'll tell you!
  • Arc Raiders blueprints: The holy grail of items in Arc Raiders, blueprints allow you to craft new items back at your workshop, from minor tools, to deadly new firearms.
  • Arc Raiders Rusted Gears: These seemingly innocuous items are part of the Tier 3 upgrade for the Gunsmith bench, but they're not easy to find. We'll show you how to farm them easily.
  • Scrappy the Rooster upgrades: The next three guides all cover difficult things to find that offer a minor health boost in the field… but are far more important as ways to upgrade your pet chicken, Scrappy.

Maps and locations

Hidden Bunker entrance in Arc Raiders

(Image credit: Embark Studios)

The various places you can visit are full or secret and not so secret locations, buildings and other things you'll need to know about. So get up to speed with map stuff here.

  • Arc Raiders Stella Montis: The fifth map, introduced post-launch, is a labyrinthine maze of bunkers, factories, stations and research facilities. You'll want to understand it before you dare venture below…
  • Arc Raiders Electromagnetic Storms: Lighting will blast those who are unprepared in these periodic storms – but there's advantages to them too! Find out what you need to know about inclement weather in our handy explainer.
  • Arc Raiders Hidden Bunker: The Spaceport has regular events wherein the Hidden Bunker can be opened – but is it worth the effort, and what's waiting inside?
  • Arc Raiders supply drops: Introduced in a quest and appearing in maps to bring in new resources, supply drops are a helpful way to stay armed and ready.
  • Arc Raiders field depots: Finding special crates and bringing them to these marked buildings will allow you to summon a loadout's worth of resources, as well as complete certain missions.

Missions

Trash into treasure battery

(Image credit: Embark Studios)

As well as just collecting loot, you'll have a range of missions and quests from the various traders in Speranza. They can range from fetch quests to repair jobs and more and I've outlined some of the tougher or less clear ones here.

  • Where to find a battery for the Trash into Treasure quest: There'll come a time when you'll have plenty of batteries but it won't be when you start this mission. Take all the help you can get here and avoid fruitlessly searching.
  • Arc Raiders A First Foothold: Introducing players to the Blue Gate map, this mission walkthrough will show you how to find all key four locations.
  • Arc Raiders Eyes on the Prize: Somewhere on the rooftops of Buried City is a Raider Outpost you'll need to find and repair, which our mission walkthrough will help with.
  • Arc Raiders Androids: One mission spent exploring Stella Montis is all about finding Androids for Lance, but finding anything in those tunnels isn't easy. How's some advice on hunting them down.
  • A Lay of the Land walkthrough: This has you looking for LIDAR scanners in Spaceport and has a few steps to complete.
  • Keeping the Memory walkthrough: You'll have to find a helmet for Celeste in Dam Battlegrounds to complete this mission and some help tracking it down would not go amiss.

Arcs

Arc Raiders Bastions

(Image credit: Embark Studios)

You can't really miss the arcs in Arc Raiders. These machine give the game it's name and will probably be the main reason you fail a run. However, a few missions have you tracking them down specifically for loot only they drop.

  • Arc Raiders Hornets: Hunting these hovering robots is one of the earliest missions, and not an easy one for newcomers.
  • Arc Raiders fireball burners: Though useful as explosives, these components take front and center in the What Comes Around quest. Here's how to find and use them, both in the quest and missions to come.
  • How to find and kill Bastions: Nobody wants to go after Bastions, as they're tough enemies that are hard to kill. However, people do want the Bastion Cells they drop so if you're people, here what to expect.

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Joel Franey
Guides Writer

Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and raconteur with a Masters from Sussex University, none of which has actually equipped him for anything in real life. As a result he chooses to spend most of his time playing video games, reading old books and ingesting chemically-risky levels of caffeine. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at USgamer, Gfinity, Eurogamer and more besides.

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