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The best skills in Arc Raiders for both PvP and PvE are all laid out below, with the best path through the skill trees laid out for players who are working out what they want to prioritize. With the game splitting all these abilities across Mobility, Survival and Conditioning, each with different in-game focuses, it's also important to recognize that the only chance you have to respec coming through expeditions, which even then is more of an exhausting reset that really has to be worked up to, and then the skills earned all over again.
With that in mind you need to know the best skills the first time around, especially if you don't plan to go on any Expeditions, as laid out in the guide below.
It'll also be useful to make sure you've got the Arc Raiders best weapons to hand as well, as skills will only get you so far without a good gun to fight back with.
Best skills in Arc Raiders from every Skill Tree
Below you can find all the best skills from every skill tree in Arc Raiders. Further on we'll go into more detail, but here's a quick summary of what to prioritize as you level up.
- Conditioning (Green)
- Used To The Weight: Reduces movement penalty from shields.
- Proficient Pryer: Breaching doors and containers is faster.
- Survivor’s Stamina: When you're critically hurt, your stamina regenerates faster.
- Downed But Determined: When you're downed, it takes longer before you collapse.
- Loaded Arms: Your equipped weapon has less impact on your encumbrance.
- Mobility (Yellow)
- Marathon Runner: Moving costs less stamina.
- Sturdy Ankles: Reduces fall damage.
- Youthful Lungs: Increases Max Stamina
- Calming Stroll: Your stamina regenerates while walking as if you were standing still.
- Crawl Before You Walk: When you're downed, you crawl faster.
- Survival (Red)
- Looter’s Instincts: Search containers faster.
- In-Round Crafting: You can craft certain items while out in the field.
- Stubborn Mule: Stamina regeneration is less affected by being overencumbered.
- Broad Shoulders: Increase your maximum weight and carry capacity.
- Looter’s Luck: While looting, there's a chance to double the number of items you find.
Best Conditioning Skills
The best skills in the Conditioning tree are as follows:
- Used To The Weight: Reduces movement penalty from shields.
- Proficient Pryer: Breaching doors and containers is faster.
- Survivor’s Stamina: When you're critically hurt, your stamina regenerates faster.
- Downed But Determined: When you're downed, it takes longer before you collapse.
- Loaded Arms: Your equipped weapon has less impact on your encumbrance.
The Conditioning branch of Skills is all about being unburdened by the weight of what you’re carrying, and might as well be called the "Strength Tree". You can get a jump start on this by putting points into the first skill available, Used To The Weight, as it lessens the weight that a shield puts on you, making you run a little bit faster with each upgrade. You’ll be wearing a shield throughout the majority of your time in Arc Raiders, so it’ll help you out in the long run. Next is Proficient Pryer, which makes you quicker at breaching containers and doors. In tight situations, you don’t want to be stuck breaching, so it’s a good skill to unlock sooner rather than later and it might help you quickly snatch one of the many Arc Raiders blueprints.
Another good Conditioning skill is Survivor’s Stamina, as it allows your stamina to regenerate faster when you’re critically hurt. This one requires you to have 15 points already in Conditioning to unlock, but it’s worth it when you’re on your last legs and wanting to run from enemy fire. If you do get downed by an enemy, having points invested in Downed But Determined is a good call. This skill will lengthen the time it takes you to collapse when downed, giving your allies a chance to clear the area of dangers and save you from death - but if they know how to revive in Arc Raiders, death might not be too much of a concern.
Lastly, Loaded Arms only requires one skill point and makes your equipped weapon have less impact on your encumbrance. A little goes a long way when it comes to your walking and running speed, and since everyone usually has at least one weapon on them, it can help your stamina more than you think.
Best Mobility Skills
The best skills in the Mobility tree are as follows:
- Marathon Runner: Moving costs less stamina.
- Sturdy Ankles: Reduces fall damage.
- Youthful Lungs: Increases Max Stamina
- Calming Stroll: Your stamina regenerates while walking as if you were standing still.
- Crawl Before You Walk: When you're downed, you crawl faster.
Mobility skills are about making you faster with your movement abilities. Marathon Runner is a great skill to start investing in since it lessens the stamina cost of moving around. Nearly everything you do in Arc Raiders that has to do with movement will eat away at some of your stamina, so it’s best to make moving around a breeze for you. You should also consider putting points into Sturdy Ankles if you’re someone who jumps from tall heights often. It allows you to take less fall damage when falling from non-lethal heights, so you don’t have to worry too much when jumping from something when there’s no rope or ladder nearby.
Next is Youthful Lungs, which increases your overall max stamina. Invest a full five points into this skill, and you’ll nearly forget that you have a stamina bar in the first place. Speaking of stamina, you should consider unlocking Calming Stroll since it allows you to regenerate stamina while walking. It’s annoying having to stop moving just to get back your precious stamina, so this is a crucial skill to get.
Finally, we recommend investing points into Crawl Before You Walk if you’re the teammate who is often downed first in a fight. This skill will make you crawl faster when downed, so you can get to your allies quicker and get back into the fight before you know it.
Best Survival Skills
The best skills in the Survival tree for you to prioritise are these ones:
- Looter’s Instincts: Search containers faster.
- In-Round Crafting: You can craft certain items while out in the field.
- Stubborn Mule: Stamina regeneration is less affected by being overencumbered.
- Broad Shoulders: Increase your maximum weight and carry capacity.
- Looter’s Luck: While looting, there's a chance to double the number of items you find.
The Survival skills branch focuses on things that help with loot collecting and staying alive. One of the first skills you should invest points into is Looter’s Instincts, which makes loot get revealed faster when searching containers. It’s annoying having to wait until the loot appears to take it, so this skill is a must-have. Another incredibly useful skill is In-Round Crafting, since it allows you to craft items while topside. Typically, you have to wait until you’re back in Speranza to craft, but with this unlocked, you can create makeshift items using the materials you’ve found during a run.
Stubborn Mule is another great skill to invest in if you’re the type of player who focuses on collecting a ton of loot. This makes your stamina regeneration less affected by over-encumbrance, so you can carry heavier loot with ease. On that same topic, you should upgrade the Broad Shoulder skill to increase your maximum carry weight. Being over-encumbered can mean life or death in a fight, so don’t skimp out on this skill.
One more great survival skill to unlock first is Looter’s Luck. As the name suggests, there will be a chance to reveal twice as many items when looting. You’ll be loaded with crafting materials in no time with this skill.
Progression is also tied to quests where you're tasked with finding or interacting with certain objects, like antennae at Arc Raiders Field Depots or using Arc Raiders Fireball Burners to kill enemies.
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