![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/lance.jpg\")
\u00a9 Screenshot: Embark Studios \/ Claire Jackson \/ Kotaku <\/p>\nArc Raiders came out last week and folks have been pouring into the servers\u2013in some cases overwhelming them. And as players immerse themselves in the PvPvE extraction shooter, it\u2019s developing a reputation as a well-made game that poses a number of interesting and unpredictable challenges as you fight to stay alive, hoard piles of resources, and craft your way to loadout supremacy.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no way around it: Arc Raiders expects a serious investment of your time and a willingness to suffer some pretty humiliating and often random losses that will set you back in your efforts to accumulate good weaponry and gear.<\/p>\n
Having spent about 50 hours in the game myself, I\u2019ve found it to be one of the best online shooters I\u2019ve ever played, and I\u2019ve also learned a thing or two about surviving out there amidst hostile robots and sinister players looking to get the better of me. My runs have mostly been solo, but much of what I\u2019ve learned still applies to rolling out with a group.<\/p>\n
So here are 14 of the best tips I can give to those getting started in Arc Raiders.<\/p>\n
You can trade Free Loadout Augments for Looting Augments \u00a9 Screenshot: Embark Studios \/ Claire Jackson \/ Kotaku <\/p>\n
This tip is a two-parter: First, don\u2019t sleep on the Free Loadout<\/a>. When choosing to go out on a run, you can either build a loadout from the gear you\u2019ve collected and crafted, or choose the Free loadout which always includes one main weapon, ammo for it, some bandages, a shield recharger, and any number of other utility items or grenades. It\u2019s a handy way to get back out there without risking your good stuff.<\/p>\n These items are free, so the only thing you really lose on a failed run with these is your time (and maybe a fragment of your sanity). But if you do manage to extract with them, hey, that\u2019s free gear you didn\u2019t have to craft (and you can always break it down for parts).<\/p>\n But perhaps the most important thing about the Free Loadout Augment is you can trade a Free Augment for a Looting Mk. 1 Augment<\/a> from Lance in the Traders tab.\u00a0<\/p>\n This has become my default approach to any run that ended in failure: Go back out with a Free Loadout, return home with it and trade it for a Loot one and either go out and get more loot or recycle the Looting augment I just purchased if I already have enough or have better Augments to use.<\/p>\n Free Loadouts are an efficient way to keep the crafting supplies flowing.<\/p>\n You can roll after a fall to cancel out fall damage For a relatively realistic game, Arc Raiders is generous with how long you can sprint and how far you can fall before you take damage. But missing a jump or taking a fall can hurt and isn\u2019t ideal when you\u2019re fleeing a pursuit from an enemy player or Arc. Turns out, hitting dodge right when your feet touch the ground will let you roll to cancel out the damage from falling.<\/p>\n Read More: Arc Raiders: The Sickest, Silliest, and Most Spectacular Moments From The Game So Far<\/a><\/p>\n The timing is tricky but there is a skill in the Mobility tree that can make this easier. Also, it seems like some heights are too far to recover from\u2013so don\u2019t expect to leap off the tower in Spaceport and roll your way out of damage. You can, as of now anyway, manage to use an exploit to grab onto a ledge to cancel out such a fall<\/a>\u2013and falls from far lesser heights.<\/p>\n Rubber parts are pretty important <\/p>\n In my 50 hours of playing Arc Raiders (mostly on solo runs), one particular crafting part has remained perpetually low in stock: Rubber Parts<\/a>.<\/p>\n I suspect part of this is due to just how often Rubber Parts are used. For example, to upgrade, build, and repair many guns and gun parts, you\u2019ll either need both Metal<\/a> and Rubber Parts or you\u2019ll need to craft Mechanical Components<\/a>, which requires Metal and Rubber.<\/p>\n Rubber Parts can be salvaged or recycled from a number of different sources (Scrappy will also give you some after every run). But you can also find them in Mechanical, Industrial, or Technological loot sources. You can spot ideal locations with the matching icon (a gear for Mechanical, building for Industrial, and circuit board for Technological) by looking at the map both before you go out for a run and while you\u2019re on the map.<\/p>\n I heartily recommend going on several runs to stock up on Rubber Parts.<\/p>\n The Practice Range is essential <\/p>\n While you\u2019ll play through the briefest of tutorials when you first start Arc Raiders, in my experience, it\u2019s not enough to get a feel for the movement of your character and the behavior of its various guns, especially as you mod them with various attachments.<\/p>\n Going out on a run with a weapon you\u2019ve never used before isn\u2019t wise and will likely get you killed. Enter the practice range, which lets you go into a small map (with a few secrets of its own tucked away) to practice your parkour skills and try out different guns. You can literally swap out various gun attachments in real time to get a sense of what they do. For example, I\u2019ve learned that I greatly prefer the Muzzle Break attachment over the Compensator by trying it out in the safety of the Practice Range.<\/p>\n There are also two achievements you can earn by going to the practice range and using four different guns, so there\u2019s that.<\/p>\n For mouse and keyboard users: Rebind your dodge roll <\/p>\n Rolling out of the way of incoming fire from players or Arc is essential to surviving in Arc Raiders and, in my experience, the default binding of Left Alt for rolling isn\u2019t ideal. This is a function that you need to be able to access quickly under pressure while maintaining your hold on WASD.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve chosen to break out my keyboard that has a split spacebar for backspace and forward space side-by-side for this reason. I mapped dodge to backspace and set left space as jump and I\u2019m digging it so far.<\/p>\n But if you have a normal keyboard, I recommend mapping sprint to caps lock (toggle, if you wish), and freeing up your shift key to roll. Mapping your dodge roll to a mouse button is also a good move. Whatever mapping you decide on, though, just make sure you can accentuate WASD while rolling without too many weird, cramp-prone finger movements. Thank me after you\u2019ve survived getting swarmed by Hornets.<\/p>\n Also, Embark Studios, why are there not double or triple bindings in this game? Come on!<\/p>\n The birds will give you away (as well as other noisy things) <\/p>\n Arc Raiders has phenomenal sound design\u2013easily some of the best I\u2019ve ever heard in a video game. But it\u2019s not just an audio treat. You likely already know that running around, rummaging through stuff, and cracking open various caches is loud (you can invest in skills to make your activities quieter though). On top of that, various buildings are outfitted with security cameras and metal detectors that set off alarms. Watch out for these while also keeping your ears open for other people tripping them.<\/p>\n Read More: I Asked Arc Raiders\u2019 Design Director If Camping Makes Me A Bad Person<\/a><\/p>\n But also beware of the birds.\u00a0<\/p>\n Arc Raiders\u2019 design director Virgil Watkins mentioned these feathered loudmouths<\/a> in our discussion about the fairness of various hiding places in the maps, and it\u2019s clear they can easily give you away even while you\u2019re slowly walking through forests and other natural habitats. But like all the other sound traps, you can use this to your advantage. Listen and look for flocks of birds taking spontaneous flight near you. It usually means someone is nearby.<\/p>\n You can ask people to follow you <\/p>\n There are two emote wheels in Arc Raiders; one lets you ping a variety of locations with information such as \u201cI heard something here,\u201d \u201cavoid that,\u201d or, a very useful one, \u201cgroup up over there.\u201d By default, these emotes are only heard by your squad, but you can toggle on the fly to make it heard to all Raiders.<\/p>\n The \u201cgroup up\u201d emote seems to have a secret second mode. If you look down at the ground and select it, your character will say \u201cFollow me\u201d or \u201cGroup up on me.\u201d This is very useful if you want to take the lead with some randos, or even those in your party.<\/p>\n Recycling is tricky Arc Raiders lets you break down various items in two ways: Salvaging and Recycling. Salvaging is done while you\u2019re out in the field, while Recycling is done in your inventory when you\u2019re out of a game. Recycling will always net you more resources than Salvaging, so unless you need to Salvage to get a specific item or you need to clear up space in your bag while out in the field, try to wait until you extract before you start breaking things down.<\/p>\n However, the language used for some objects is a little vague. Take Toasters<\/a>, for instance. You\u2019ll find these objects scattered around the world and you can break them down into Plastic Parts and Wires if you recycle them. The description reads \u201cCan be recycled into crafting materials.\u201d That might make you think that the only thing a Toaster is good for is being immediately recycled.<\/p>\n But hold your horses. Many objects with descriptions that read \u201cCan be recycled into crafting materials\u201d can also be used in upgrading your various workshops. Toasters, for example, are needed to upgrade your Refiner.<\/p>\n I recommend tracking resources for your workshop upgrades. Once you construct a new workshop, tab over to \u201cLevel Up\u201d and click on the tracking button. This will label any instance of the items required with an eye symbol so you\u2019ll know it\u2019s needed and, thus, you\u2019ll be less likely to accidentally break it down.<\/p>\n Full bag? GTFO <\/p>\n At most, you\u2019ll be given about 30 minutes to do your thing on a map. Sometimes you\u2019ll spawn with less time than that. And I\u2019ve learned in my 50 hours that time needlessly spent in the game can be seriously costly. I\u2019ve had full bags of loot, only to get intrigued by a specific location that ends up leading to a Clusterfuck\u2122 that gets me murdered, seeing me lose all the stuff I\u2019d found.<\/p>\n Even the most basic of parts, such as Metal Parts and those Rubber Parts I told you about, are essential to keep in stock. So while you might have a bag full of stuff that doesn\u2019t feel valuable, it all adds up to something you\u2019re looking to craft or sell for credits. But you can\u2019t do any of that if you died and lost it all.<\/p>\n A full bag, regardless of how much time is left, means it\u2019s time to leave\u2013and extracting can be a whole quest full of dangers and surprises in and of itself. A good loadout is built on a path made up of small victories.<\/p>\n Planning a route is essential I realized this essential tactic pretty late in my time with Arc Raiders. At one point I dropped into a map with an inconvenient loadout and was about to extract, but I realized that this was actually a great opportunity to scope out the path to an objective I had a quest for.<\/p>\n So I took the opportunity to do some reconnaissance, observing the various paths I could take if I was better equipped, and what threats were likely to happen. And wouldn\u2019t you know it, I came across one of the death-delivering Sentinel turrets along the way. I was pretty glad in that moment to not be carrying a ton of things I\u2019d rather not lose to an unexpected threat.<\/p>\n Enemy AI is rather spontaneous in this game. They don\u2019t show up in the same place on every run and their behavior (which in some instances was developed using machine learning<\/a>) is very unpredictable and disturbingly smart.<\/p>\n So if you\u2019ve got an important quest or have a key to a particularly good loot spot, spend a run just examining potential routes and escape plans. Grab a Free Loadout to do this so an unpredictable death isn\u2019t as costly.<\/p>\n Dam Battlegrounds is spicy <\/p>\n This next tip might evolve over time, but in my experience, Dam Battlegrounds, which is the first map you gain access to, is more prone to bouts of PvP. I suspect part of this is because the map is home to the newest folks coming into the game and just getting their bearings and experiencing the flow of its PvPvE action.<\/p>\n Other maps unlock after you\u2019ve made enough progress doing things on Dam Battlegrounds, and that\u2019s where a lot of folks are out trying to loot for good shit or are just questing after investing some time into the game, and thus their loadout; they\u2019re probably less likely to risk that progress.<\/p>\n So just have your radar up for shenanigans every time you head out to Dam Battlegrounds. People are antsy over there.<\/p>\n People are nicer than you think This tip can result in your death. Hate to say it, but in a PvPvE game, unless someone is in your party, they can pose a potential risk to you. But! I\u2019m finding that folks in Arc Raiders are a bit nicer than I experienced during the Server Slam, especially on maps other than Dam Battlegrounds.<\/p>\n When going into a building, while I don\u2019t do it every time, when I suspect someone\u2019s around, I will usually use the emote wheel to shout out a \u201cHello\u201d followed by a \u201cDon\u2019t Shoot!\u201d I have been surprised just how often randos will reply with a \u201cDon\u2019t Shoot,\u201d often followed by a holstering of their weapon.<\/p>\n This kind of dynamic is part of the unique, prisoner\u2019s-dilemma social game at work in Arc Raiders. Holstering a gun seems to have become a universal way to signal you\u2019re not going to shoot someone, so return the gesture if you see someone putting their gun away.<\/p>\n Or betray them. I dunno. Be a bad person. You\u2019ll get what\u2019s coming to you eventually if you turn evil.<\/p>\n Go nuts with gadgets Maybe the inner-Siege fanatic in me is at work here, but once I realized I can craft items to seal doors, erect barricades, and set up traps, oh, how I realized what a devastating saboteur I can be in this game.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve sealed up entire rooms while I loot, hunkered down in some buildings to hunt Arc through windows, usually while running solo, covering my ass with traps and gadgets. Some gadgets are harmless, like the Noisemaker<\/a>. Others range from nonlethal, like the Jolt Mine<\/a>, to lethal, like the Explosive Mine<\/a>.<\/p>\n At the time of this writing, with Arc Raiders less than a week old, I haven\u2019t seen many people use gadgets to booby-trap areas. I\u2019ve also surprised many a wandering Raider with a well-placed trap or two. Folks are less likely to sneak up on you if you\u2019ve established a perimeter of fun toys for them to encounter.<\/p>\n Snitches can be your best friend (especially while running solo) ![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/roll-gif.gif\")
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\u00a9 Screenshot: Embark Studios \/ Claire Jackson \/ Kotaku <\/p>\n