ARC Raiders is a cool game, full of lots of items to loot. But players should lower their guard, because there are many ways to everyday life in Topside, and none of them are fun to watch. From outright failures to sloppiness, players continue to stumble upon a series of common mistakes that can ruin even the most successful runs.
Welcome to the ten most brutal mistakes players make in ARC Raiders: Even veteran players are not exempt from slipping up once or twice. But as they say: A horse that stumbles with the same stone twice is not a good partner. Try not to fall for these failures, and learn from other players' mistakes to become the best raider at the top.
ARC Raiders: Best Tips and Tricks
Master ARC Raiders with these essential tips and tricks for smoother gameplay.
Forgetting that the game is a third person shooter
Rotating the camera can reveal opponents hiding behind walls
As unfair as this may sound, Third-Person Shooters are not exempt from some exploits, and veteran gamers know that rotating the camera angle in an extraction shooter like enables 360º angle views is the same as having the ability to see behind walls.
When enemy players are lurking in certain closed spaces, players can take a look little about what hides on the other side of a door rotate the camera angle. The same can be said for the player on the other side, so be careful.
Shots to the head count as double damage
As every ARC enemy has its weak point, the Raiders also have one
This is one of the unwritten rules of ARC Raiders: All enemies have a weak point that can be exploited to cause serious damage, and sometimes even a shot. Now, what no one tells players about, and it's something most players ignore, is that a headshot will obviously cause serious damage to enemy Raiders.
People tend to be oblivious to this and wonder why they were taken down if they were behind close to ground cover. A clue to that is their head appearing from behind the rock. As funny as it sounds, this common mistake will cost players many runs before they get used to it.
ARC Raider's best skill tree isn't exactly obvious
ARC Raiders offers players three separate skill trees to invest levels in, but one of these is much better than the others.
Placing mines and forgetting where they are
Tsk, Tsk. Silly mistake, but a common one, nonetheless
While you enjoy ARC Raiders' merciless PvP map of Stella Montis, one thing becomes clear from the moment players set foot on it: it's the best place to lay traps and wait for other players to step on them. And speaking of traps: Tripwires, Minesand also Noisemakers have no friendly fire alternative.
It means if players forget where they placed a trapchances are they may fall victim to their own dirty tricks. For example, if players need to clear out quickly because things got ugly (a Shredder saw them, or multiple enemy players ganged up on them), they need to be sure there is a clear retreat path behind them.
Forget about grenades bouncing off surfaces
Seen more than one player die because of this. Terrible mistake
Grenades bounce; there is no way to deny this. Whether they hit the bad angle of a roaming hornet (and don't detonate on contact), or the edge of the hitbox in a small gap in the walls, or simply bounce off a closing door: They will go back to the sender and explode in their faces.
Players must be extremely careful with contact grenades such as the Light Impact Grenade or Blaze Grenade, as they will explode at the slightest contact with any surface. And with any surface that means: Other Raiders (even those on the same team), a litter over the place the players chose as cover, or the remains of a camera/Sentinel still hanging from the ceiling. This is the key for those who want to go the Michael Bay route: don't underestimate the hitboxesand ends up dying stupidly.
Doesn't lock doors when you walk by
It's like leaving a breadcrumb trail for enemy players
Doors have one locking plate on each sideand for a very good reason: you open a door, you close it behind. It's a simple rule that will keep the Raiders alive longer: Close the doors when you pass.
It's simple and may sound silly, but imagine walking around, leaving a trail of smoke for whoever is in the area, looting or chasing other players. So, close the doors, try to be as stealthy as possible to avoid unwanted PvP encounters. If possible, use one door blocker to make it harder for enemies to follow.
Does not use Noisemakers when raiding high risk POIs
They are in the game for a reason
Noise maker is an important tool to avoid being surprised and react in time in situations where players don't want to lose all their precious loot. There are places that can only be accessed with valuable and rare keys and key cards, and these usually only have one entrance (but also some emergency exits).
If you place a Noisemaker near the door, they will be able to hear when someone is coming. But players forget these useful tools all the time and get caught raiding a high-risk POIand are killed with lots of loot on their backpacks. A great way to ruin a perfect run.
ARC Raiders PSA: New players, stop saving these items
Do not salvage any of these items in ARC Raiders; you'll need it later.
Not carrying enough healing supplies
Don't do this, it's the same as asking to be killed
Healing items such as Bandage or Shield Charger is off extreme necessity in Topsideand the second most scarce type of item. Players forget to carry enough bandages or chargers all the time, and that's a stupid mistake.
What's worse, most of the time these players queue up on Matchmaking and end up dragging down the entire team, because they never have enough healing items and don't seem to care about craft more with the In-Round Crafting Skill. Learn from these silly mistakes, don't be that guy.
Forgetting the ammunition shortage on the surface
It's just as important as carrying healing items
The rule per run is to have at least two full slots of ammunition per gun. It's a simple rule that will keep players alive, but some players are stubbornly fixated on the idea of not carrying ammo from Speranza to the top.
It is a brutal mistakethen ammo is cheap to make. The problem is: it cannot be manufactured on the top side. So instead of crawling around desperately searching for Raider caches and ammo boxes is the best idea to have enough ammo to survive at least the first ten minutes.
Ignores ARC Armor penetration of bullets
Yes, you can kill a runner with a stitcher, but it will take an awfully long time
Another brutal mistake that even veteran players make in ARC Raiders is underestimating the plating of ARC Enemies. From the smallest Wasp drones, to the massive Matriarch, each PvE enemy has its own armor class.
Medium and Heavy Bullets have reasonable penetration, and so do their respective weapons. Although not all weapons put the same amount of force on the projectiles needed to overcome ARC Armor. So: Don't try to take down a Leaper with a Stitcheror a matriarch using a hairpin. It's stupid, and it will result in an unfortunate failed run.
Blindly trust other raiders in Solo Runs
The time to be nice is over
Trust no one (except those from the friends list). No striker needs to drop his guards on the top side, and this is a golden rule, and that too the most common brutal mistake players will engage at all times.
Trust a random Raider who says “Don't shoot” and “Collect?” is like asking to be shot in the back. Granted, there are times when the rules of cordiality apply, and players agree to work side by side, but 3 out of 5 times this will result in someone being betrayed at the worst possible moment. Never let your guard down around other players, especially not in Solo Runs.
ARC Raiders
10/10
- Released
-
30 October 2025
- ESRB
-
Teen/violence, blood
