ARC Raiders Advanced Builds and Loadout Guide#
Midway through ARC Raiders, players branch off into a few clearly defined playstyles. This page breaks down the three community-proven builds across goals, loadouts, and routes, so you can find the role that fits you.
The Core Principles of Build Choice#
Builds follow goals — a line you have seen on the augments page, and here it is in full:
| Build | Core Goal | Risk Appetite | Key Investment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Material Farming | Steady economic growth | Very low | Looting augments |
| Indoor PvP | PvP profit and pressure | Medium-high | Combat augments + heavy shield |
| Endgame Speed Runs | Blueprints and legendary materials | High | Light shield + high mobility |
All three builds share the same underlying discipline (the extraction settlement rules); the differences only show in how each one configures its risk appetite.
Build 1: Material Farming (Dam Battlegrounds Home Turf)#
Goal: consistently bring materials home with the lowest possible deposit — this build is the engine of your economy.
| Loadout Item | Choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Augments | Looting line (from Mk.1, upgrade step by step) | Looting efficiency is this build’s compounding engine |
| Weapon | Ferro or Anvil | Craftable and cheap, with ammo economy |
| Shield | Light or medium | Rotate fast, avoid head-on attrition |
| Behavior | Avoid fights, extract on contact | A low deposit does not mean dying for free |
Route design: draw an arc with the Research and Administration building and the Hydroponic Dome Complex as nodes, and end at an unpopular extraction point. In material runs, success is not measured in kills — it is the ratio of “loot carried out ÷ deposit.”
Advanced variant: once material demand on Dam Battlegrounds saturates, shift the same setup to Container Storage at the Spaceport, and watch for long-range threats in the open ground.
Build 2: Indoor PvP (Buried City Home Turf)#
Goal: earn PvP profit in urban close-quarters combat — your opponent’s gear is the loot.
| Loadout Item | Choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Augments | Combat line | Strengthens fighting ability |
| Weapon | Close-to-mid-range guns | Matches indoor engagement distances |
| Shield | Medium or heavy | Fault tolerance first when trading corners |
| Behavior | Track by sound, hold corners, choose when to fight | In street combat, information is initiative |
Route design: the Hospital, Town Hall, and Rosa Grandioso Apartments line is a high-traffic corridor. Go against the flow — enter through a cold zone and cut into the edge of the hot zone to clean up, which is far safer than pushing into the heat head-on.
Advanced variant: when running as a team, split roles into scout, firepower, and looter — see three-player squad cooperation for details.
Build 3: Endgame Speed Runs (Stella Montis Home Turf)#
Goal: harvest blueprints and endgame materials at the highest possible density per hour.
| Loadout Item | Choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Augments | Looting line | The goal is looting, not sieging |
| Weapon | Efficient close-range firepower, specialist weapons as needed | Speed runs assume avoiding fights |
| Shield | Light | On the smallest map, mobility is survivability |
| Behavior | In and out fast, preset everyone as hostile | Smallest map in the game, highest encounter rate |
Route design: hit the Assembly Workshops for Magnetic Accelerators → the Cultural Archives key rooms for blueprints → extract at the Assembly Workshops Hatch. One straight line, with the time window under control throughout. When you need to fight the Matriarch, swap to a heavy siege setup — see elite threats and high-danger zones.
Scheduling Your Resource Routes#
Slot the three builds into a weekly rhythm:
| Time Slot | Recommended Play |
|---|---|
| Event refresh window | Prioritize event raids (Harvester, Hidden Bunker) — the blueprint output window |
| Regular days | Material Farming as the baseline for steady income |
| Gear-ready days | Endgame Speed Runs, sprinting toward legendary materials |
| Squad nights | Indoor PvP or full-team sieges — enjoy the cooperative play |
The Cost of Switching Builds#
Switching between the three builds is not free:
- Augment tiers: switching between the Looting and Combat lines means two separate sets of upgrade investment; dual-spec players need double the material budget;
- Weapon blueprint coverage: melee-oriented and ranged builds each need their own primary weapon schematics;
- Muscle memory: the pre-aim feel of indoor play and the spacing rhythm of open-field play are two different sets of instincts.
The pragmatic approach is one main, one backup: max out investment in your main build and keep the secondary at a minimum viable config — spreading resources evenly across all three leaves you half-committed everywhere.
The Path to Legendary Weapons#
The final convergence point of all three builds is legendary weapons:
- Material Farming covers your stock of common materials and consumables;
- Indoor PvP earns high-risk income on the outskirts of endgame maps to shore up the economy;
- Endgame Speed Runs go straight for Magnetic Accelerators and blueprints;
- Defeat the Matriarch to obtain the Matriarch Reactor, then craft the Aphelion or the Dolabra.
Related Pages#
- Augments and Shield Loadouts — how to choose your loadout components
- Weapon Compendium and Modding — primary weapons for each build in detail
- Dam Battlegrounds Spots Guide — the material build’s home map
- Stella Montis Spots Guide — the endgame build’s home map