The extraction shooter genre is full of games of all kinds, but ARC Raiders manages to be accessible and deeply satisfying even for experienced players. It's very easy for someone to jump into a raid and loot until their pack weighs them down, but the hardest part is making it out alive without getting shot. There are plenty of mining points around the maps, alongside Raider Hatches that can be used to bypass wait times, but actually getting there and exiting Topside successfully can be quite the challenge, especially if there are hungry players who want to camp the exits.
ARC Raiders: All the Ins and Outs and How to Farm Them
Trades are the best source to get coins in ARC Raiders, here is a list of them, how much each sells for and the best way to farm them.
Many players find themselves at the last hurdle, not to deadly Arcs, but to a few mistakes that can cost them countless runs that would otherwise be incredibly valuable. Some of these are basic oversights that are easy to fix, while others require a bit more active attention, forcing players to be more alert and think more ahead about where exactly they're going to escape. However, once you learn these principles, mining becomes a walk in the park and players find themselves with a lot less heartbreak and a lot more loot to take back to Speranza.
Presumption of friendliness from others
Not everyone is going to lay down their guns
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Betrayals are more common than ever
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It is common for players to let their guard down
Social aspect ARC Raiders is probably the most important aspect of the entire game. The fact that players can emerge into a match full of other raiders and not know if they'll get extra ammo or get shot down makes each raid feel different from the last, and when that decision matters the most, it's right at the end at the mining point. It's common for players to run up and announce their presence in hopes of making friends to secure their loot, but there are no guarantees of friendship at the top and people are quite happy to overlook the olive branch entirely and execute anyone who gets too close.
In general, players should always assume that an ally can become an enemy at any time, because being prepared and cautious is better than being naive. If nearby raiders decide to join forces and potentially team up to secure their loot, it's still a good idea to be ready to fight, as there are countless examples of players temporarily teaming up to be shot down just before they manage to make it out alive. This matters a lot more in 1v1 situations, but even when a larger group shows up, it can be hard to tell how friendly everyone is. If possible, it might even be a good idea to have the others take out first and then run the others, just to reduce the chance of betrayal.
heading straight for the exit
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The sound extraction queue will alert anyone nearby
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A large window that many ignore
These points around the maps take quite a while to actually arrive. It doesn't matter if it's an elevator or a train; players still have to hang around and wait for the door to actually open unless they're lucky enough to have an extra key hanging around to escape through the hatch. Many choose to click a button, hide in a nearby room, and then run straight for the exit the second they can, but this behavior is very predictable, and more importantly, exploitable by vultures trying to pick off unsuspecting extractors. A better way to handle things is to stop for a while to see if anyone is around, only to venture inside the point and click the console when the coast is completely clear.
List of weapon tiers in ARC Raiders
Here are the weapons available in ARC Raiders, sorted by tier list.
This concept becomes trickier as you approach an extraction point that another player has reached, as it can be quite difficult to determine where they are hiding and whether they will be friendly or not. Even in such a situation, it is good to hang around in a convenient place, observe and wait for where the player is hiding. Patience is a virtue, and by simply scanning an area for a few seconds, players can exponentially increase their chances of survival, especially considering how likely a third player is to run in and cause some mayhem.
Don't always focus on the easy way out
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Central locations are often much more contested
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Look for outliers with a longer window
Each map in ARC Raiders it has a good selection of extraction points that give players a handy place to leave without having to run across half the map. But as time goes on, escape routes begin to close, forcing players into riskier and more threatening situations where they may only have one or two ways out. In the later stages of the match, players should start planning their mining path, pay attention to the location of available points, and notice whether or not there is loot in the hotpots.
It may be obvious to run to the nearest one and get out as soon as possible, but players may have to deal with much more active and desperate raiders who are just as stressed about the dwindling number of ways out. One way around this is to simply ignore the central locations and focus on the outer edges where there is less activity and less chance for player interaction. By spending just a few extra minutes jogging to a quieter spot, players can greatly improve their chances of a successful extraction while avoiding all the stress and panic that can come mid-map.
Ignoring player activity clues
Dead Arcs could be all the information you need
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Watch out for dead raiders and other signs of players near the mining site
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Most campers ignore voice communication
Mining points are one of the biggest PvP hotspots in the entire game, as killing someone right before they leave is a great way to guarantee some extra loot that would otherwise be completely lost. Camping exits became more and more popular as the game matured, and more and more raiders chose to hide just out of sight, hoping to pick off an unsuspecting player with very little effort. It's not always easy to tell if another player is hanging around, as even when using voice or in-game communication, responses can be few and far between, especially from those on the more bloodthirsty side of the spectrum.
ARC Raiders: 5 loot items that look worthless but are shocking
These loot items in ARC Raiders may seem like nothing on the surface, but they are much more valuable than players may think.
When entering an exit location, especially in closed areas such as a buried city, it's a good idea to be on the lookout for any clues that at least someone else has been in the area. For example, the Living Arcs show that the location is probably intact, but a number of metal corpses and even a few player bodies mean that either someone slipped on the stairs or someone carried them before they could free themselves. Additionally, these little bits can easily be lifesavers, so players should get in the habit of checking for damaged or dead Arcs, as well as listening for subtle movements that can give away a camper below.
Forgetting Time
Keep an eye on those clocks
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Searching for too long can often lead to instant death
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Remote extraction points can often become the only option later on
As nice as it would be to explore Topside forever, players actually have a limited amount of time to gear up and get out, as staying outside the extraction window is a guaranteed death sentence for anyone unlucky enough to still be outside. Because of this, players have to constantly check how much time is left in the match, especially if they appear later and have much less time for the actual loot. More importantly, knowing which extraction points end up next can give players a better idea of where to move first and where to finish their raid.
There's nothing worse than having a full inventory of great loot and having to run all the way across the landscape to get out, assuming the player can get there in time. Just looking at the map every now and then saves players a lot of pain, and when you plan a specific start and end during a match, looting becomes much more natural and there are far fewer moments of panic when they realize how far their only safe way out is.
