Some tips for getting started with Arc Raiders
I love this weird and fun and sometimes scary game and have been sharing a lot of tips on Reddit. Then I figured I should wrangle them all together in a single post and tag on my blog.
For context: I’m a friendly PvE raider. I don’t shoot first, I usually say hi to other raiders, and I try to even bring defibs because I like to play RescueRaider. Most of my tips will come from this perspective, but I do have a few for PvP from the perspective of a friendly who wants to at least try and hold their own if and when I get into—but never personally start—a fight.
If I’m solo, I will often blast the Blinding Lights parody by YouTuber Indeimaus to broadcast I’m not a threat. Sometimes other raiders even start singing along. It’s absolute cinema 😆 Though I should probably add some other songs to my repertoire.
Side note: Friendly PvE lobbies absolutely do exist. Embark’s CEO confirmed it in an interview that ‘aggression based matchmaking’ is a factor. The full interview is an hour and a half long, but I’ve heard this segment starts around the 10 minute mark.
Anyway, here we go. I’ll add PvP stuff in a separate section at the bottom:
Upgrade Scrappy ASAP. Every run, he grabs basic resources you can use for crafting so it stings less if you lose a loadout
Upgrade your Workshop benches. They unlock some great stuff to craft
Play however you want. Be a bloodthirsty shoot-on-sight PvP or a friendly PvE. There’s even a community of r/RescueRaiders who prioritize bringing in defibs to help other players who’ve been downed. Some people bring in an instrument and just walk around jamming. I saw a clip of someone who set up a shop in a ground floor room in Buried City. They dropped a bunch of loot on the window ledge and just called out to other passing raiders. Let ‘em take whatever they wanted. Asked for nothing in return 😆
Do your quests. They all reward useful gear and sometimes even blueprints (so you can craft whatever the item is). None of them are difficult and they usually only take a couple minutes
What to save, craft, sell, and recycle: there are cheat sheets like this one that make it all pretty simple. I threw the creator a couple bucks on Ko-Fi
Sound is massively important in this game (like all extraction shooters, I hear). Listen for footsteps, listen for when someone standing behind you in the elevator unholsters their gun. You can even hear the little rolly ball Arc coming down a hallway. There are multiple skills you can unlock related to how much noise you make while moving and looting
The environment is a tool. Learn your ideal routes through it, learn to spot and use cover in case Arc catches your scent
Hatch keys are a great way to avoid elevators while extracting, especially if you’re going in for something important. They make almost no noise and they’re terrible targets for campers; you’re much safer. They’re a little expensive early on but are crafting from cheap, easy resources
There are trading subreddits, usually for blueprints. I’ve traded twice and had a good experience both times, but occasionally there are scammers
The vendors all sell useful stuff, sometimes on a daily cooldown. For example, I think Shani will sell you a max of two hatch keys per day
You don’t have to fill your backpack every run. Sometimes it’s safer or just plain faster to head to the exit with a half-full backpack rather than risk more time in the map
Speaking of saving time: The game ramps up Arc presence as the match timer gets lower. Personally, I rarely stick around past the 10 minute mark. Besides the Arc, I think some players get more desperate and paranoid as the clock ticks down
Prox chat is incredibly useful for playing friendly. There’s a basic voice changer built into the audio settings if you want
Emote wheel: Learn to use it. Some players have a policy to shoot if you don’t use prox comms and don’t even bother with a “don’t shoot!” emote
Sound boards are fun: Playing sound effects and music can make for some good or even creepy fun. I use Voicemod (but only for playing music and sound effects; I don’t voice change). Yes, I pay for premium
All loot has a category: Mechanical, Residential, Industrial, etc. All major buildings have category labels where it can drop. Some items might favor certain maps or buildings
For example: If you ever need cooling fans, I know a specific room on the 2nd floor of Research & Administration on Dam Battlegrounds where they are practically guaranteed to drop. If you need mushrooms (for Scrappy!), there is a specific tree in the northern trench of Spaceport where they are a guaranteed drop
Map tools: There are websites like MapGenie that go real in-depth on this stuff
Honorable mention: How to deal with losing good loot
Got this idea from Cohn Carnage on Twitch/YouTube. I’m paraphrasing, but his perspective is basically “it was never my loot to begin with. It was just my turn to play with it.”
Yes, this counts even for that amazing Level 4 weapon you upgraded because you still did it using resources that were never yours either. It’s not a big deal, I’ve just seen this idea help some people with the sting of losing a full backpack or a great loadout.
PvP tips (from a friendly)
Getting shot first isn’t the end: IME as a friendly PvE, getting shot first usually means it’s a free loadout user. They’re probably running a crap gun and usually don’t have a strategy or plan at all. With some PvP tips here and from better players, you can absolutely win more of these fights
Free loadout kills are tough by design: After all, the entire game is about risk and reward. If you want to run a freebie, understand you risked nothing so you need to work smarter or harder. Learn to use cover because you will almost surely have to reload if you want that kill
Right, about cover: for both protection and healing during and after a fight. If you knock out someone, it’s dangerous to just stand in the open next to them and heal. Some players who otherwise might not attack you can even turn self-righteous vigilante and come after you because they think you backstabbed someone. It’s weird
Learn to use cover with your weapon. I’m not the best PvP player, but the good ones I watch take advantage of peek shooting, especially with slower weapons. The Anvil is amazing for both PvP and E, but it’s slow as all heckin. The Ferro is ultra cheap, you can craft it almost right away, it’s strong in P and E, but it’s even heckin slower. I see players get into a rhythm to peek and shoot, duck back, then peek again once the firing window opens back up. They win a lot more fights that way. I need to practice it
Don’t sleep on the pickaxe: It does solid damage. If you get in close quarters, it can win a fight. The PvP YouTubers I watch often get the win because they whipped it out first
Try to always have an exit plan: When you enter a room, take mind of the other exits (if any) in case you need to run or just disengage
PvP players don’t care if you said “friendly!” 😆
