Solo ARC Raiders Beginner’s Guide – Early Game Tips & Tricks

Solo ARC Raiders Guide Quick Summary:

• Best skill tree for new players is Mobility. Invest in Stamina skills.
• Avoid fighting with other players early, focus on completing quests.
• Use Proximity chat and Emotes to communicate.
• Expand your Stash and Workshop as soon as possible.
• Sell and recycle items you don't need, but first check if you need them for important upgrades.
• Learn how to use audio cues and movement techniques to your advantage.

ARC Raiders has become an overnight smash hit, selling over 1.5 million copies in just the first three days on Steam alone. Players are hungry for quality extraction shooters, and ARC Raiders delivers on every front, offering an intriguing setting, immersive story, engaging gameplay loop, rewarding progression, and exciting exploration. If this is your first time playing, you might feel a bit overwhelmed, and that’s where our ultimate ARC Raiders Beginner’s guide comes in to help.

Best ARC Raiders Controls and Settings

Before you even start playing, make sure that you are happy with the default input and keybindings. Head to settings, and if you are playing with a mouse and a keyboard, learn what each key does in combat and see if you are comfortable with those positions. Depending on your playstyle, you might want to change some keys.

The movement skills you'll most often use in combat are Dodge Roll and Crouch, so make sure that you are okay with their default keys, and check if you want to switch their positions to some other ones. In general, during your first couple of runs, get familiar with controls and see if you need to switch a few keys to suit the way you play.

Best ARC Raiders Early Game Skills

In short, invest in any skill that improves Stamina. ARC Raiders features an intricate skill tree divided into three main categories: Conditioning, Mobility, and Survival. Note that the game doesn’t currently include a respec feature, so make sure to use your skill points wisely. Once they’re invested, you can’t get them back. This might cause a bit of choice paralysis if you’re new to the game, but don’t worry, we’re here to help.

As we've mentioned, Stamina will be your bread and butter during runs, as you'll use it for almost anything. And without any upgrades, you'll exhaust it quite fast. So, go with the Mobility skill tree, as that's where you'll find the most Stamina upgrades. It is a no-brainer, and it will make your life outside much easier. Here are the best ARC Raiders beginner skills:

• Nimble Climber - You can climb and vault more quickly.
• Marathon Runner - Moving around costs less stamina.
• Youthful Lungs - Increase your max stamina.
• Carry The Momentum - After a Sprint Dodge Roll, sprinting does not consume stamina for a short time. Has a cooldown between uses.

To unlock Carry the Momentum, you’ll need to invest at least 15 points in the Mobility skill tree. My advice is to put 5 points into Marathon Runner and another 5 into Youthful Lungs. With one point in Nimble Climber, you’ll have a few remaining points to distribute as you see fit. If you enjoy sliding, invest a couple of points into Slip and Slide; if parkour is more your style, go all-in on Nimble Climber.

ARC Raiders Proximity Chat Guide

I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to communicate with other players in ARC Raiders. This game is a PvPvE extraction shooter, and most of your enemies won’t be other Raiders. Instead, you’ll be fighting off various ARC robots. If you encounter another human player, make sure to use voice chat and clearly state that you’re friendly and not a threat. Like you, they’re most likely a solo player just trying to complete a quest and get back to safety.

I recommend setting proximity chat to Always On, so you can state your intentions as soon as another player approaches. If you’re not into talking with strangers online, that’s perfectly fine - you can use the Emote feature instead. Press G (by default) and choose what your character will say to players nearby. And remember: the world outside is as brutal as it gets. Don’t shoot your fellow Raiders, or you’ll regret it.

The community is surprisingly friendly right now, so most players are opting to collaborate rather than kill each other. Use this to your advantage as you progress through the early stages of the game. Team up with other players, fend off ARC together, cover each other’s backs, and you’ll find the game much easier.

ARC Raiders Inventory Management Tips

As with any good extraction shooter, learning how to manage your inventory and stash properly will help you progress faster and survive longer. It can be enticing to hoard everything you stumble upon. However, you will need to make some strategic decisions and choose what to bring back with you, and what to drop. Here's how to properly manage your inventory in ARC Raiders' early game:

• Equip Looting MK.1 - This Augment provides the most Backpack Slots (18) and the biggest Weight Limit (50KG) in the early game, meaning you'll be able to bring back more items with you. It also has one Safe Pocket slot.
• Expand the Workshop - Make sure to unlock all stations as soon as possible. This will help you make better use of the resources you find by crafting new, useful items. It will also free up space in your inventory and stash, since you’ll start using the materials you collect instead of hoarding them.
• Use Safe Pocket - This slot guarantees that the item placed there will return to Speranza even if you die during a run. Use this slot strategically, and make sure to put your most important item there.
• Expand your Stash - As soon as you have 5,000 coins, I recommend using the Stash Expansion option. This will unlock an additional 24 stash slots.
• Dismantle Items - If you need extra inventory space during a match, you can dismantle items to free up room. This will yield fewer crafting materials compared to recycling, but it’s still better than simply leaving the loot behind.

ARC Raiders Crafting Guide

The core element of almost every extraction shooter is its crafting system. In our ARC Raiders guide for solo players, we focus on early-game essentials and build order to make your progression as smooth as possible while avoiding bottlenecks and soft locks.

What to Craft First in ARC Raiders

The first thing you’ll want to spend your resources on is unlocking all Level 1 stations in the Workshop. This will let you craft all the basic items, including weapons, ammo, and gear. From there, craft items as needed. However, I strongly advise saving resources for crafting permanent upgrades and unlocks in the early game, rather than for consumable items.

You’ll find almost everything you need out in the open world, so there’s no need to spend valuable resources on consumable items in the early game. If you play it safe, you’ll be able to conserve key supplies such as healing items and ammo, saving extra coins and materials in the process. Play smart, stay cautious, and you’ll progress through upgrades much faster.

Where to Find Scrappy Upgrade Items Locations

Scrappy the Rooster is one of the cutest pets I’ve seen in a video game in a long time. Beyond his cuteness, he’s invaluable for collecting crafting components during matches. The higher his level, the better the materials he brings back. So, you’ll want to upgrade Scrappy as quickly as possible, and that's what we talk about in this part of our ARC Raiders guide. Here’s where to find Lemons, Apricots, Olives, Prickly Pears, and other items needed to upgrade Scrappy.

• Scrappy Level 2 - You’ll need a Dog Collar, which can be found as loot in residential areas on the Dam Battlegrounds and Buried City maps. To loot it, head to Pale Apartments or Ruby Residence on Dam Battlegrounds, or Santa Maria Houses and Grandioso Apartments on Buried City.
• Scrappy Level 3 - For the next level, Scrappy wants to eat 3 Lemons and 3 Apricots. The best location for Lemons is the park between the Library and Town Hall in Buried City. The trees in this area will drop either of those fruits, and you can also find some lying on the ground. If you’ve progressed further in the game, you can also find these fruits in the Blue Gate map on the Olive Grove POI, which only unlocks after you’ve played 18 rounds.
• Scrappy Level 4 - The rooster is getting spoiled; he now wants 6 Prickly Pears, 6 Olives, and 1 Cat Bed. You’ll need to unlock the Blue Gate map for this one. As the name suggests, the best place to find olives is the Olive Grove, where you can shake them from the trees. As for the Cat Bed, I found one in the residential areas in the northeast part of Dam Battlegrounds, particularly inside the Ruby Residence and Pale Apartments POIs. Finally, to find those six Prickly Pears, check out areas with Cacti. There's a whole lot of them on Dam Battlegrounds and Buried City.

How to Sell and Recycle Items in ARC Raiders

Almost any item you don't need can be recycled into crafting materials, and all items can be sold for coins. However, it might not be immediately apparent how to do it. To sell or recycle an item, do the following:

• Open your Inventory or Stash while in base.
• Find an item you wish to sell or recycle.
• Right-click on the item; this will open the Action menu.
• At the very bottom of the menu, you will see the Recycle and Sell options.
• See how much you'll earn or what materials you'll get, and then confirm your option.

As you can see, you can't sell items at vendors. There's no option for them when you visit, which may confuse some players. The same goes for recycling; you don't need to go to the Workshop or use any specific station. Everything is done via the Inventory/Stash menu.

PRO TIP: Don’t recycle everything mindlessly. Some rare and valuable items are needed for Workshop upgrades and for crafting advanced gear.

Check Speranza Vendors Often

The five traders of Speranza not only provide supplies (for a price) but also offer quests with juicy rewards, and an opportunity to give your runs real purpose. Sometimes, especially in the early game when resources are scarce, it's better to spend some coins on the items you need.

Some traders will exchange specific items that otherwise have little value to you. For example, you can trade Assorted Seeds with Celeste. Doing so will save you both money and time, especially when you need a few basic resources to craft something essential.

ARC Raiders Survival Strategy

The most crucial thing in ARC Raiders is not to kill, but to collect what you need and successfully extract. To do this, you will need to carefully plan every aspect of a run, from your loadout and goals to the movement route and the evac plan. This part of our solo ARC Raiders guide focuses on getting home safely while completing the job.

ARC Raiders Map - Plan Your Route

In most of your runs, you'll have an obvious goal - what you're planning to achieve during that run. It can either be completing a quest or searching for specific items needed to craft something, research an upgrade, etc. Be sure to understand how to read maps well. Your spawn location is random, so know where you need to go and how to get there as quickly and safely as possible.

Each item has a specific type, and maps will tell you what kinds of items can be found at different POIs. Use a little bit of logic, and you'll quickly learn where to go. Household items can be found in Residential areas, things like wires and batteries are usually in Industrial or Technological zones, etc. Use this knowledge to make your stay upside-down as short as possible. Find what you need, head to the extraction point, and get out.

Use ARC Raiders Audio Cues to Your Advantage

ARC Raiders has one of the best sound designs in recent gaming history, and it’s something you should absolutely use to your advantage - probably the most important lesson of this ARC Raiders guide for solo players. Listen carefully for specific audio cues, and you’ll learn how to avoid ARC enemies and where to find particular POIs, such as ARC probes or Couriers, and more.

In general, being aware of your surroundings (both visually and audibly) can mean the difference between a successful run and death. Keep your eyes and ears open at all times, and you’ll never be caught off guard. The faster you learn to read audio cues, the better your runs will become.

ARC Raiders Movements Tips

The game offers a variety of movement techniques, and you’ll want to use them often. Your stamina depletes quickly, so use sprinting sparingly and only when necessary - either when you’re absolutely safe or when you need to run and hide from enemies. Later on, if you invest in the Mobility tree, sprinting will cost less stamina, but in the early game, it’s crucial to be careful with it.

Sliding is an excellent movement technique that you’ll want to use as often as possible, as it allows you to move quickly with no stamina cost. Try to take advantage of sliding whenever you can. To slide, press C while sprinting. The distance you slide depends on the terrain and incline, as well as the skills you’ve unlocked.

Whenever you’re not in a hurry, crouch as much as possible. It will make you less noisy and less visible to both human and ARC enemies. If you’re investing in the Survival skill tree, Agile Croucher is a perfect early-game skill to put five points into, as it allows you to move significantly faster while crouching.

Finally, whenever something looks scalable, it probably is. Use jumping and vaulting to reach higher ground, both for better positioning and to access hidden loot. Some of the best rewards are tucked away on the upper levels of buildings, and sometimes you’ll need to do a bit of climbing to reach them.

Combat Tips For Solo Beginners

In general, you’ll want to avoid combat in the early stages as a solo player. Most other players will do the same, as they’re focused on progressing and completing quests. Fight ARC machines only if you’re sure they’re isolated and only when necessary. This usually happens in enclosed areas, while in open fields, you can often avoid them entirely.

• Fireballs & Pops - They are relatively easy to kill, and do a lot of damage if not killed, so kill them as soon as you spot them, before they approach you and do massive damage.
• Snitch - If it spots you, it will call other ARC drones. Either be sure you're well hidden or eliminate it before it calls reinforcements.
• Cameras - Many facilities have cameras that will sound the alarm when you are spotted. Destroy them before that happens.
• Tick - These little buggers hide in dark corners of indoor areas. They’re easy to kill but fast, and will jump at your face if you don’t take them out quickly enough.

How to Extract Safely

Finally, probably the most crucial part is learning how to extract safely. Our ultimate ARC Raiders solo beginner’s guide wouldn’t be complete without it. On the first map, Dam Battlegrounds, extraction points are located in the underground elevators. There are also hatches, but you’ll need keys for those, which can be purchased from vendors or found as random loot. They’re the safer of the two options, but in most cases, you’ll be using elevators.

Each elevator operates on a timer, and once it expires, that elevator becomes unavailable for the rest of the run. You’ll need to plan your route and extraction strategy with these timings in mind. When you approach an elevator, interact with it to start it climbing and call it to your location. Once you’ve done that, we strongly advise against staying out in the open.

Extraction initiation with these elevators is a very loud process, which will attract a swarm of ARC robots eager to investigate what’s going on. I can’t stress enough how important it is not to engage them - hide instead! Nothing hurts more than ruining your run right before a successful extraction. Stay safe until the elevator opens, and then try to sneak in unnoticed.

Fight ARC enemies only if absolutely necessary to survive, that is, only if they spot you and start attacking. Even then, it’s often better to quickly initiate the extraction process by entering the lift and interacting with the computer rather than trying to fend off the ARC robots.

So there you have it - the complete and ultimate ARC Raiders solo guide for beginners. We hope you now have everything you need for a successful start to your career as a raider. Make sure to check back from time to time, as we’ll keep updating this guide with even more tips! And if you love extraction shooters, don’t miss our Escape from Duckov Beginner’s Guide!

ARC Raiders FAQ