Getting Started

This page is a bit different from others in the Wiki. It's about playing the game, rather than the ARC world. Some of the details are based on the editors' experiences, not official sources.

First Loadout

The basic loadout consists of an augment, a shield, two weapon slots and four quick use slots.

To start with there are two augment options, combat and looting. Unless you plan to go out and cause mayhem from day one, the looting augment is probably a better choice - it allows you to carry slightly more weight and it has two extra backpack slots to store loot, but it only supports a light shield. The combat augment supports a medium sheild, which will give you more protection but slow you down.

A good starter weapon is the Ferro. It takes heavy ammunition which will pierce ARC armour, but it's a single-shot gun and slow to reload. The Stitcher is useful as a backup, firing bursts of light ammunition. The ammo for each weapon will take up a slot in your backpack. Make sure you take enough - it can be hard to find more Topside.

In the quick use slots you will need bandages and shield rechargers (in each case you can get five in a slot). Beyond that, smoke grenades are useful for getting out of trouble.

Don't forget that if you die, you lose everything. You need to balance the value of your loadout against that possibility.

First Time Topside

Each game in ARC Raiders lasts a maximum of 30 minutes. During that time you have to identify an extraction point and make your way to it, dodging (or destroying) ARC enemies and collecting loot.

When you play for the first time you will be on the Dam Battlegrounds map. There are four possible public extraction points or elevators, but not all of them will be open. The ones that are will be marked at the top of your HUD. You may have to move a few yards away from the spawning point before they appear.

As the game progresses open lifts will close one by one. If you are still Topside at the end of the game, you die. Notice that you may not spawn right at the beginning of a game - you may sometimes have as little as 15 minutes to find a way home.

First Loot

To begin with, collect everything.

Everything you find will have a use sooner or later. (Dog collar? Yes. Use it in the workshop to train Scrappy. Trinkets can be sold for surprising amounts - one of your first priorities should be to increase the size of your stash on Speranza, the currency will come in useful to pay for that.)

Your stash will fill up very quickly, so you will soon need to use the workshop tracking options to tag the items you need. Generally it's not worth using stash space to store things you can make in the workshop - bandages, light shields, shield chargers, basic weapons and ammunition. Similarly, you may not need to keep an item if one of the traders sells it. (Careful though, traders' stocks are limited.)

Always pick up packets of seeds - Celeste accepts them as currency.

First ARC Encounter

In the early rounds of the game, the ARC machines you are most likely to encounter are Wasps and Hornets. The first warning that they are near will probably be the buzzing sound of their thrusters.

They patrol in regular patterns, so you can often avoid them by crouching in cover. If they do spot you they will give a characteristic whistle and the beams cast by their scanners will turn red. You can run for it and hide in a building, in which case they will eventually lose interest and resume their patrol (but don't forget that they can shoot through windows and open doorways). If you decide to fight, you can cause them to crash by disabling their thrusters.

Don't try to take on more than one at a time.

First Player Encounter

ARC Raiders is a Player vs Environment vs Player game (PvEvP), which means that everything and everyone is trying to kill you.

But Embark Studios' matchmaking algorithm takes into account players' behaviour in earlier raids. If you are aggressive (shooting other players and looting bodies) you will spawn into more aggressive games. Do as you would be done by.

Encounters between Raiders can be quite tense, particularly if they take place in darkened buildings. If you have a microphone you can just talk to them, otherwise the "emoji wheel" will generate several reassuring phrases, like "Don't shoot!". Flashing your light is also a common sign of peaceful intentions.

It's a good idea to go solo for your first few games. As a new Raider you'll find the environment fairly benign: most other players will ignore you, a few will drop items for you and if you are injured you may even get revived.

Of course you may enjoy PvP combat, in which case go for it!

First Extraction

On the Dam Battlegrounds map extraction points are distinctive buildings: squat, flat-roofed bunkers with sloping sides. There is a gantry on one corner and this contains the button you must press to call the elevator. There is a light above the button. If this is not illuminated the lift has already shut down.

When the elevator doors open you need to go to one of the small corner booths and press a second button to start it moving. If you hear running footsteps while you are doing this it means another Raider is joining you. It's good manners to wait until they are on board.

It takes about 45 seconds for an elevator to arrive after being called and the noise it makes often attracts predators, ARC and human. If you are injured before the doors open there is still time to crawl inside and start the lift. ARC drones may hover over your body, but they will no longer attack. A Raider, though, may finish you off and take your weapons and loot.

If you are injured close to an extraction point there may even be time to drag yourself to the call button and crawl inside when the elevator arrives. Worth a try, but it will be touch and go.

First Safe Return

If you return alive to Speranza you will be awarded experience points to mark the achievement. These eventually translate into levels. With progression to each level you will be awarded a skill point to help build your skill tree.

A successful raid also earns you cred, which can be used to buy items from Shani.

As far as loot goes, you have three options: sell, keep or recycle.

When you're starting out, sell as much as you can - the currency you earn will allow you to buy more stash slots. Later, when you start crafting, you'll have to prioritize what to keep, but recycling can make your use of the stash more efficient. Basic items can be stored in larger stacks - you can get 50 metal parts into a single stash space, but only three toasters.

Your shield and weapons will degrade with use. Don't forget to repair them between raids.

First Death

Sooner or later you will die. Probably sooner rather than later.

When this happens you lose everything you were carrying, loot and loadout, except for any items you may have saved in safe pockets. You will still be awarded experience points for the round.

Shield and health levels are shown in the bottom left-hand corner of the HUD. The first time you are hit a light shield will be discharged. Subsequent hits will reduce your health until it reaches a critical level, at which point you will collapse. You'll be able to crawl, but nothing else. You won't be able to access your weapons or loadout.

You should be able to crawl for about a minute after collapsing. ARC enemies will stop attacking. Nearby Raiders may approach to give you a knockout blow or (sometimes) to revive you if they are carrying a defibrillator.

As long as you can still access your loadout you can repair your shield with a shield recharger and restore your health with bandages. A single recharger will bring your shield back to full capacity, so it's worth doing that first. It may take four or five bandages to restore your health completely. Each of these operations takes a few seconds and during that time you won't be able to hold a weapon. Not something to try in the middle of a fight.

New Player Tips

• You move faster when not carrying anything.
• Stamina regenerates faster when standing still or crouching.
• ARC will not target a downed Raider.
• Heavy and medium ammo penetrates ARC armor easier than light ammo.
• Free Loadouts have no cooldown, feel free to use them as much as you like.
• Breaching anything is incredibly loud and attracts attention.
• Birds fly away when you approach. This can alert Raiders and nearby ARC.