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The Matriarch is Arc Raiders' most powerful enemy at time of writing, a huge evolution of the Queen that summons other enemies, is covered in plate armor, can use force field shields, missile strikes, and far more. There is no greater threat in the game, and if you choose to fight one, you'll need to bring the best equipment possible, and come with at least three allies to help you, all similarly equipped.
But even then there's no guarantees of anything, so to give you the best chance possible, we'll lay out the Matriarch's weakness, the best weapons to use against it, and what you need to know about strategies. We'll even lay out the rewards and loot you can get, so you know if it's worth it or not.
Arc Raiders Matriarch weaknesses
The main weakness of the Matriarch in Arc Raiders is the Core, followed by the Leg Joints. The Core is kept inside the main body, a huge red spherical reactor, but you'll need to crack the armor plating around it to reach that.
The best way to do that is to launch attacks on the curved top of the Matriarch's body, the little concave cap, which breaks away more easily than most other armor sections, but obviously is not easy to get to. If you can shatter that, you can access the core easily. If you can Snap Hook up there and put a Deadline mine on it, you'll do huge damage! Alternatively, her face plates are also weaker than most armored sections, but this does put you squarely in her crosshairs.
The other weakness, as mentioned, is the leg joints, or knees. These aren't quite as vulnerable as the core, but if you can break them, you can break off the Matriarch's legs, which does do damage and reduces its ability to stomp on players. If you're targeting these, better to communicate with your allies which ones to focus fire on.
Best Loadout and Weapons to defeat the Matriarch in Arc Raiders
To kill the Matriarch, you'll need long range, armor-piercing weapons and explosives that are also ammo-friendly, as this is a long fight and you don't want to run out (alternatively, just fill your backpack with spare bullets). Here are some examples of gear to bring with you:
- Anvil: The Anvil is one of the best Arc Raiders guns, and if you upgrade it to level 4, it'll serve you very well. Long-range, armor-piercing, pretty good with ammo, and with a strong damage multiplier when targeting weak points.
- Hullcracker: Use this grenade launcher to break the armor on the Matriarch, before swapping to the Anvil to shoot the exposed areas afterwards.
- Wolfpack Grenades: You should save these for quickly handling the high-peril summoned Arc robots. A Wolfpack can destroy a Bastion or Rocketeer nearly instantly and with little challenge, taking major perils off the field that could otherwise spell doom for many.
- Snap Hook and Deadline: This high-risk/high-reward combo is famous for a reason, ziplining up onto the main body and planting high level explosives on either the core or the armor protecting it. You'll need to escape quickly afterwards though.
- Either Combat Mk. 3 (Aggressive) or Tactical Mk. 3 (Defensive) Augment: Playing defensively and for durability is essential here. It's not impossible to evade its attacks, but ultimately you want to be insulated for when you make a mistake.
- High level healing items: Shield charging and healing alike: this is the moment to bring all the high-level healing items you've been saving in storage.
- Defibrillator: Make sure you're healing your teammates and even other teams, as defeating a Matriarch is a collaborative effort and ultimately you'll need everybody if you're going to have a chance.
- Ziplines: If you don't have a Snap Hook, the ability to quickly transport across the map is still useful, and there's merit in bringing these with you, especially if it's somewhere your allies can also use.
Ultimately this is an exercise in durability: with anything less than six players, it takes a lot of time to bring down a Matriarch and you need to be equipped for that sort of long fight. That means extra reserves of everything, preparing for the inevitable mistakes, and having it all ready to go before the fight even begins. If you don't have the Anvil, I'd recommend either any of the Legendary or Epic weapons, or try the Renegade, for its versatility, ammo efficiency, and increased weakpoint damage.
Arc Raiders Matriarch tips and attack patterns
Considering that this thing is an evolved form of the Arc Raiders Queen, it's definitely better to fight the Matriarch from above and from long range. The greatest danger of the Matriarch is its ability to summon other, powerful enemies like the Bastions and Leapers, so being out of reach of as many of them as possible is a huge advantage. I recommend finding high towers like those in the Spaceport, and fighting from on top of those. The high position will give you natural cover, and many enemies just won't be able to reach you.
- Missile attacks. Numerous missiles are fired straight up before they lock onto nearby raiders and fly straight at them. The moment you see them launch from the battery on its back, dive for cover and wait for them to detonate.
- Stomp. The Matriarch's legs will knock players down and do damage in the mere act of walking, but it also will do a specific stomp on players who are close by. This has a habit of stunning players, which can leave you vulnerable to follow up attacks. Make sure you don't stand beneath its legs unless you're given no other choice.
- Force Field. A bubble of energy protects the Matriarch from everything outside of the bubble. You can walk through it freely, but any attacks will have to be launched from within the bubble, putting you dangerously close to it. The shield lasts for between thirty seconds to a minute, so ultimately I recommend using these moments to heal and restore until its defenses go back down.
- Gas Mortar. The Matriarch launches canisters of gas that fly through the air, roll when they hit the ground, then explode into a temporary poison that does slow damage to all within. Keep a healthy distance, and keep in mind that they roll once they land!
- Flashbang. Similar to the Gas Mortar, this one sends out arcing projectiles that flash the player and temporarily blind them. They don't harm you directly, but you'll be highly vulnerable to follow-up attacks.
- Summon Arc Robots. The Matriarch sends out a beam of light upwards and calls in new robots in a manner similar to a Snitch, but can bring in some of the most dangerous robots in all of Arc Raiders. Bastions, Bombardiers, Fireballs, Hornets, Leapers, Rocketeers, Ticks, and Wasps can all be summoned, some of which are incredibly dangerous. Wolfpack Grenades can thin out many of these, but ultimately you should avoid those that you can, and collectively destroy those you can't.
Arc Raiders Matriarch rewards and loot
When destroyed, the Matriarch drops random loot pieces, but only one of them is unique to it: the Matriarch Reactor, which has a chance to drop on any of its pieces.
- Legendary
- Matriarch Reactor
- Epic
- Complex Gun Parts
- Magnetic Accelerator
- Rare
- Advanced Arc Powercell
- Advanced Electrical Components
- Advanced Mechanical Components
- Arc Circuitry
- Arc Coolant
- Arc Flex Rubber
- Arc Motion Core
- Arc Performance Steel
- Arc Synthetic Resin
- Arc Thermo Lining
- Uncommon
- Arc Alloy
Keep in mind that the number of people required to kill a Matriarch mean that there's rarely enough Reactors to go around, and that if you've been fighting from long range, you might be too late for the skirmish. Unless you're willing to turn on your allies for these treasures, start getting close to the Matriarch once you see it on fire, so you can be the first to loot the carcass.
The Matriarch Reactor itself doesn't have a function - it's used to craft The Aphelion, a legendary battle rifle. If you don't have the Aphelion blueprint, it's only found in Stella Montis, and even then is incredibly rare. If you do manage to bring the Matriarch down and don't have the Blueprint, just keep the Reactor in storage until you do.
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