ARC

ARC is the most common enemy Raiders face when Topside. They are deadly machines that rain from the sky to ravage the surface of the Rust Belt.

They range from small, unassuming forms like roaming Surveyors and feisty Ticks to towering, multi-legged behemoths that dominate the landscape. Each ARC variant has its own strengths, weaknesses, and attack patterns, requiring different strategies to defeat.

Flying ARC (Small)

Common and weaker ARC that patrol around in open spaces. One is easy to fend off, but several at once can be problematic. Often seen assisting bigger ARC in combat. They mostly have a singular weakpoint and can be destroyed with few ammo.

Wasps, Hornets and Fireflies all share kin, being the same small drone with different armor and weaponry. They can be found patrolling in groups (especially on Riven Tides), and can easily down you if you are caught in the open.

ARC	Icon	Notable drops	XP gained	Tips
Wasp	Combat Drone	Light Ammo Simple Gun Parts ARC Synthetic Resin Wasp Driver	Destroy: +100 Loot: +200	Easily destabilized with destroyed thrusters.
Hornet	Combat Drone	Medium Ammo Simple Gun Parts ARC Performance Steel Hornet Driver	Destroy: +150 Loot: +250	Unarmored rear thrusters. Easily destabilized with destroyed thrusters. Dodge Roll when it sounds its attack
Firefly	Combat Drone	ARC Performance Steel Simple Gun Parts ARC Coolant ARC Thermo Lining Firefly Burner	Destroy: +150 Loot: +250	Semi-armored thrusters. Shooting the Yellow Canister on its body Easily destabilized with destroyed thrusters.
Snitch	Reconnaissance Drone	ARC Synthetic Resin ARC Thermo Lining Sensors Snitch Scanner	Destroy: +100 Loot: +200	Easily destabilized with destroyed thrusters. Loudly alerts nearby ARC to Raider presence. Destroy quickly to avoid it summoning ARC Reinforcements
Spotter	Reconnaissance Drone	ARC Synthetic Resin ARC Thermo Lining Sensors Spotter Relay	Destroy: +100 Loot: +200	Quickly destroy them before target lock. Find vertical cover to avoid Bombardier attacks. Seeker Grenade(s) work the most efficiently
ARC Reclaimer	Reconnaissance Drone	Heavy Ammo Light Ammo Medium Ammo Shotgun Ammo	Destroy: +0 Loot +0	It can be easily disrupted with a Raider Tool. The only known way of transportation to the powerful ARC Frigate. Easily destroyable with a Raider Tool. Will Deploy a shield when shot.

Flying ARC (Large)

Actual threats that loom in the sky, these are agile and stocked with devastating weapons. Often supported by smaller flying ARC, they have a lot of HP and often need heavy firepower to defeat. Being caught by one of them in the open can quickly be fatal.

ARC	Icon	Notable drops	XP gained	Tips
Rocketeer	Combat Drone	Electrical Components ARC Circuitry Heavy Gun Parts Rocketeer Driver Launcher Ammo	Destroy: +500 Loot: +600 for chassis, +500 per thruster	Weak points are the thrusters and above scanner. Silver Canister on its back 2 Wolfpack Grenades Destabilized with Hornet Drivers or destroyed thrusters
Vaporizer	Combat Drone	Advanced ARC Powercell Energy Clip Heavy Gun Parts Vaporizer Regulator	Destroy: +500 Loot: +600 for chassis, +500 per thruster	Weak points are the thrusters and above scanner. Uses energy shield similar to the Matriarch to block incoming thrown objects like Quick Use items Shield has a cooldown after each use Wolfpack Grenades after Shield goes down Shield can be baited to activate with any thrown items
ARC Turbine	Hover Drone	Advanced ARC Powercell Launcher Ammo Medium Gun Parts Turbine Compressor	Destroy: +700 Loot: +700 for core, +200 per shell	Deploys cluster lightning missiles against nearby raiders Lays minefield before landing Mines are motion sensitive, crouch or stop moving While landed, the spinning weak points are accessible

Ground ARC (Small)

Ground ARC are commonly found inside, yet some also patrol the outside. These gravity-bound ARC can only use solid material to traverse, meaning that a good high-ground can make them unable to reach you. Other ground ARC may also completely lack locomotion, being stationary instead. They tend to have smaller HP pools and lack any sophisticated attack.

ARC	Icon	Notable drops	XP gained	Tips
Pop	Ball	ARC Coolant ARC Thermo Lining Crude Explosives Pop Trigger	Destroy: +50 Loot: +100	Climb to avoid if ambushed. Easily destroyed with any weapon. Dodge roll over it to bait its explosion (takes a few tries to get it right)
Fireball	Ball	Crude Explosives ARC Coolant ARC Thermo Lining Fireball Burner	Destroy: +100 Loot: +200	Climb to avoid if ambushed. Weak point is exposed when it opens to attack. Run or Dodge Roll away after destroying it to avoid fire. 1 heavy ammo round or shoot it when it exposes its white core
Comet	Ball	Crude Explosives ARC Coolant ARC Thermo Lining Comet Igniter	Destroy: +100 Loot: +200	Climb to avoid if ambushed. Heavy Ammo or Grenades recommended. Dodge to the side before it explodes.
Surveyor	Ball	Advanced ARC Powercell ARC Circuitry Sensors Surveyor Vault	Destroy: +200 Loot: +300 for core, +100 per part	Weak point is exposed when shooting its laser. Flees at high speed. Stun using Hornet Drivers, Showstoppers, etc. Explosives recommended.
Tick	Hexapod	ARC Flex Rubber ARC Thermo Lining Tick Pod	Destroy: +50 Loot: +100	Often heard before seen. Easily destroyed with any weapon. Dodge Roll as soon as it latches on.
Shredder	Hover Drone	Mechanical Components Simple Gun Parts ARC Synthetic Resin Shredder Gyro	Destroy: +200 Loot: +250	Weak point is the thrusters. Never engage without adequate cover. Hide behind cover when it signals its attack. No longer exclusively found on Stella Montis Heavy Ammo or Grenades recommended. Hullcracker
Skulker	Hover Drone	Advanced ARC Powercell ARC Coolant ARC Thermo Lining Heavy Ammo Skulker Targeter	Destroy: +200 Loot: +250	Usually in groups Can fire 3-7 bullets at once
Turret	Turret	Light Ammo Simple Gun Parts ARC Synthetic Resin ARC Thermo Lining	Destroy: +100 Loot: +200	Bait its attack and hide behind cover. Use heavy ammo (usually 2 shots)
Sentinel	Turret	Heavy Ammo Advanced ARC Powercell ARC Coolant Medium Gun Parts Sentinel Firing Core	Destroy: +200 Loot: +300	Bait its attack and hide behind cover. Shooting the Yellow Canister on its arm Long-range sniper turret Solid red beam when aggroed 4 converging yellow beams show when it's about to fire
Hydra	Turret	Light Ammo ARC Powercell ARC Alloy	Destroy: +500 Loot: +500 for Head, +400 per turret	Easier to take down in group as the firepower get decreased yourself Target Weakpoints on the back Use Hullcracker Use Photoelectric Cloak to avoid entirely

Ground ARC (Large)

These are major walking beasts, which can tank a lot of damage.

ARC	Icon	Notable drops	XP gained	Tips
Bastion	Hexapod	Medium Ammo ARC Circuitry ARC Performance Steel Heavy Gun Parts Bastion Cell	Destroy: +500 Loot: +250 per part	Weak points are the yellow leg joints and the rear canister. Slow, but can turn its gun quickly. Deadline on its rear or on top of its head Wolfpack Grenade Helpless when stunned using Hornet Drivers, Showstoppers, etc. Draw it to a corner and shoot at its leg joints Usually has Hornets and Wasps protecting it
Bombardier	Hexapod	Launcher Ammo ARC Performance Steel Heavy Gun Parts Bombardier Cell	Destroy: +500 Loot: +300 per part	Weak points are the yellow leg joints and the rear canister. Heavy ammo and the Hullcracker are most effective Destroy Spotter to reduce its vision Avoid close-range shockwave attack. Deadline on its rear Wolfpack Grenade Usually has Hornets and Wasps protecting it
Leaper	Quadruped	Advanced ARC Powercell ARC Performance Steel Explosive Compound Leaper Pulse Unit	Destroy: +500 Loot: +600 for Eye, +500 per Leg	Weak points are the leg joints and Eye Ball. Explosives make quick work of destroying it. Wolfpack Grenade Helpless when stunned using Hornet Drivers, Showstoppers, etc. Usually has Hornets and Wasps patrolling with it Hide behind a doorway it can't fit into to shoot its yellow leg joints or eye (ex. green sheds or button doors)
Bully	Quadruped	Bully Fragmenter ARC Motion Core Heavy Gun Parts Launcher Ammo Shotgun Ammo	Destroy: ? Loot: +500 for Body and Head, +200 per leg	Wolfpack Grenades Stay in unreachable Cover Legs and Head can be destroyed

Giant ARC

Enormous machines with a lot of health used for the most important ARC Operations. Often only defeatable with several other Raiders.

ARC	Icon	Notable drops	XP gained	Tips
Queen	Hexapod	Advanced Electrical Components Advanced Mechanical Components Complex Gun Parts Magnetic Accelerator Queen Reactor	Destroy: +1000 Loot: +1000 for core, +500 per part	Shoot off the armor plates, then aim for the Red Glowing Core Yellow weak points on its Legs Deadline its head or when the core is exposed
Matriarch	Hexapod	Advanced Electrical Components Advanced Mechanical Components Complex Gun Parts Magnetic Accelerator Matriarch Reactor	Destroy: +1000 Loot: +1000 for core, +500 per part	Shoot off the armor plates, then aim for the Red Glowing Core Yellow weak points on the Legs Deadline its head or when the core is exposed
ARC Frigate	Mining Drone	ARC Data Module Frigate Diagnostic Node Frigate Inductor	Destroy: X Loot: +500	Use Photoelectric Cloak to avoid ARC Defenses Destroy Cores quickly with a Hullcracker or Deadline Need at least 3 Raiders for middle part, and at least 2 for Cargo release
ARC Frigate Cannon	Turret	?	Destroy: +? Loot: +?	Attacks are telegraphed by an audio cue and blue laser Keep running or hide inside to avoid attack Only shoots ~250 Meters far, ping to see distance Shooting it from beneath with a Hullcracker Hook onto one of its barrels, then place a Deadline on it. Repeat several times Will dissappear once Frigate Cargo is released

Husks and Probes

Husks are the remnants of old ARC machines from past battles. They are scattered all over topside just waiting to be looted.

Over the duration of your time Topside, ARC Probes will land to collect data and then leave when they're finished. They can be breached using the Raider Tool and looted, but beware — they will signal to nearby ARC for help. Occasionally, damaged Probes can be found knocked over and unable to launch again.

ARC	Icon	Notable drops	XP gained
Wasp Husk		ARC Alloy Wasp Driver Light Ammo	+400
ARC Probe		ARC Alloy ARC Circuitry ARC Motion Core ARC Powercell	+700
ARC Courier		ARC Circuitry Hornet Driver Surveyor Vault Sentinel Firing Core ARC Motion Core	+700
Rocketeer Husk		ARC Alloy Rocketeer Driver Heavy Ammo Damaged Rocketeer Driver	+700
ARC Assessor		Assessor Matrix	+200
Baron Husk		ARC Coolant ARC Flex Rubber ARC Performance Steel	+500
Deforester Husk		ARC Flex Rubber ARC Coolant ARC Synthetic Resin Advanced Mechanical Components	+200

Behavior

Every ARC machine has three "modes" that dictate its intentions. Raiders can easily identify which active mode a machine is in by understanding the differences between the colors of light emitted by its scanner: blue, yellow, and red.

• Blue: Indicates the machine is in an unelevated patrol mode, passively searching for Raider targets or activity. It continues patrolling the area until it detects a disturbance.

• Yellow: Indicates it's in an alerted state after witnessing possible Raider activity. In this state, ARC will investigate the location of the disturbance and then lower its alert level if no Raider activity is found.

• Red: Indicates the ARC machine has found a target and entered combat mode. ARC in this state will attack until it loses its target.

Note: If attacked when on patrol, ARC can bypass their elevated state and immediately enter combat mode if an investigation isn't required to find a target. The color of the scanner will shift between red and yellow as Raiders enter and exit scanner range.

Armor

ARC have different types of armor that can tell you at a glance where their weak points are. A general rule of thumb for dealing with ARC is that weapons with higher ARC Armor Penetration will be more effective.

• Unarmored Plating is distinguished by its matte, white coloring. All weapons are semi-effective against Unarmored Plating although rounds with Moderate ARC Armor Penetration or above will be the most effective.
• Armored Plating is distinguished by its shiny, dark gray coloring. Rounds with or above Moderate ARC Armor Penetration are needed to damage Armored Plating as anything below Moderate will bounce off. Damaging Armored Plating can strip it off, revealing weaker plating.
• Weak-Points are distinguished by their matte, bright yellow coloring. Damaging Weak Points deals direct damage to ARC and should be the priority when attacking.