10 Essential Tips to Survive the Rust Belt in ARC Raiders

Ever since its launch, ARC Raiders has sent shockwaves through the extraction shooter niche, primarily due to its gameplay and the settings it offers. The premise behind this game is simple. You’re a raider in the land of Speranza, and you’re running scavenging runs on the surface.
Here, you’ll encounter other scavengers and hostile forces, whom you need to fend off while trying to extract with your loot. It’s not as easy as it sounds, especially if you’re new to this genre. So, here are a few tips to help you survive the wastelands of Speranza in ARC Raiders.

What is ARC Raiders, and How Does It Work?

ARC Raiders, in a nutshell, is an extraction shooter, where you’re fighting against NPC enemies and enemy teams at the same time. The game is set in a post-apocalyptic Earth, where massive robots called ARCs dominate the surface. Their origin is unknown, but they are the reason humans had to resort to subterranean colonies.

Human scavengers, known as raiders, venture topside to collect resources and food to survive. All this is done during low ARC activity, but that doesn’t make the surface any less dangerous. Just like every extraction shooter, you keep whatever you’ve collected. However, if you die, you lose everything that you’ve collected, including the loadout that you dropped in with. The stakes are very high, and so are the rewards.

How to Survive Easily in ARC Raiders

Surviving the Rust Belt in ARC Raiders is no easy job. Not only do you have to watch out for the machines, but you also need to keep an eye out for enemy raiders. There’s a sense of unpredictability that the terrain throws at you, which further adds to the challenge. Although the game does come with a steep learning curve, the following tips should help you survive the Rust Belt better in ARC Raiders.

Tip 1: Plan Your Route

For any extraction shooter like ARC Raiders, you must know your route. If you’re running in blind, then you’re going to spend more time on the map. The longer you stay, the more exposed you are. This can be dangerous, especially if you don’t know what route you’re taking. Carefully analyse the map, plan your routes, and have a clear idea of where the different extraction points are, so you can make a run, especially when things get ugly.

Tip 2: Cooperation is Key

ARC Raiders is essentially a multiplayer game. So, it’s always important to find yourself a team before you start exploring the Rust Belt. Now, you can always fly solo if you like, but that’s always risky. If you’re in with a team, you can rush the enemy, flank them, and head out with the loot without much effort. You also need to communicate effectively with your teammates. Even if you don’t have a mic, you can use in-game marker placements to convey important information to your allies.

Tip 3: Understand Your Loadout

A loadout can always be the key differentiator when it comes to extracting safely or losing all your loot in ARC Raiders. Your loadout is broken down into several different aspects:

• Augments: Bonuses that you get from your consumables and throwables.
• Shields: An energy barrier that depletes instead of your health when you take damage.
• Weapons & Ammo: At any given time, you can keep only two weapons on you. Each weapon has a specific ammo type. So, ensure that you’re carrying the correct ammo while heading into battle.
• Quick Use: The consumables and throwables that you carry into the Rust Belt.
• Safe Pocket: When you fall in a match, you lose all your loot, except for what you place in your Safe Pocket. The space in this, however, is limited, so choose wisely.

These are all the options that you can customize before you make your way to the surface. However, there’s also the option of using a free loadout. This is completely random, and you’ll get little ammo. If you’re looking to make quick runs, you can use this. But be warned, you won’t have a safe pocket, nor will you have too many inventory slots.

Tip 4: Pick Your Fights Carefully

Not all fights need to be fought. The best way to deal with a fight is not to be involved unless you have to. You’ll have a higher chance of survival if you can avoid the ARCs in the Rust Belt, especially if you don’t have the appropriate weapons to dispose of the enemy.

If you find the machines engaging a different set of Raiders, and if you head into the battle thinking you’ll deal with them quickly, you might just draw the enemy’s attention and end up getting eliminated. So, be sure to check your surroundings and avoid enemies as much as you can. This holds true, especially if you’re running solo.

Tip 5: Loot Everything

When you’re exploring the Rust Belt, you’ll come across a lot of containers that you can loot. While you have a limited inventory space, opening every single container you run across can help you collect some really valuable loot like the Dolabra blueprint. You don’t know which container has what, so you won’t know unless you open them all. If you see something valuable, you can dump stuff that’s already in your inventory to free up spots, and then pick up the valuable ones. The better items you have, the higher your chance of survival. Also, be sure to keep using your safe pockets. If you come across some really good items, place them in your safe pockets. That way, even if you’re eliminated, you can hold onto it.

Tip 6: Know Your Machines

The Rust Belt is filled with various sorts of machines, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. The best way to go about your enemies is to ping their location to your teammates. Additionally, teamwork is the quickest way to take these machines down. That said, before engaging these machines, ensure that you have a weapon with enough armor penetration to take them down easily.

Tip 7: Always Use Your Consumables

Battles can be quite taxing in ARC Raiders. So, whenever you get out of a fight, make sure to heal up. You have a lot of consumables at your disposal, so be sure to use those bandages or shield regenerators if you want to avoid dying early. Additionally, whenever a teammate is down, be sure to revive them as soon as you get the chance. You can also use a Defibrilator to revive a downed teammate quickly.

Tip 8: Save Your Stamina

In ARC Raiders, stamina management is an important aspect. Stamina will help you sprint, but if you’re low on it, you won’t be able to sprint out of sticky situations, so be sure to conserve it as much as possible. You can also use various movement mechanics that the game has to offer. For example, if you press the crouch button while sprinting, you’ll slide. This is as quick as sprinting, but it doesn’t drain your stamina. If you’re moving with your weapon drawn, you’ll move slowly, so always holster your weapon during exploration. That way, you’ll save a few seconds and can run away from danger easily.

Tip 9: Focus On Your Skill Building

ARC Raiders features three elaborate skill trees, namely: conditioning, mobility, and survival, each packed with buffs that can make your runs easier. Whenever you finish a run in the Rust Belt, you’ll earn XP, which will help you level up. Every time you level up, you get a point that you can invest in your skill trees. These skills can also help you lean into a particular playstyle. This is very important because having a high level does not necessarily mean you’ll have access to powerful skills. Unless you invest in the lower-tier skills, the more powerful ones won’t be available to you.

Tip 10: Manage Your Stash Effectively

Since ARC Raiders is an extraction looter shooter, you’ll have limited inventory space. Yes, you can purchase additional stash space, but after a point, even that will feel limited. So, you’ll need to be mindful of what you want to keep and what you want to do away with. You can either choose to:

• Sell your extra items for cash.
• Dismantle them during a raid for components and ammo.
• Dismantle them at your base for better components.

It’s all a strategy, so you’ll need to be effective at this. But be careful when dismantling items, because the process isn’t reversible.

Advanced Survival Tips for the Rust Belt

Master the art of surviving longer by making smarter decisions during every raid. These tips focus on combat choices, safe extractions, and adapting quickly to unpredictable situations in the Rust Belt.

Avoid Unnecessary Fights

As is the case with any multiplayer shooter, third-partying the enemy can be a fun process, but it’s a risky one. You need to be careful about your engagements on “Topside” in ARC Raiders. If you have bad weapons or you’re just heading for extraction, it’s best to avoid unnecessary gunfights. Enemy teams may easily take you out, or you might draw aggro from the machines. Unless you’re sure that you can win the fight, it’s best not to engage.

Play the Extraction Game Smartly

Not every raid needs to be elaborate. You can just have quick resource runs as well, depending on what you need. If you’re in for short runs, then it’s always best to use a free loadout. Yes, these are random weapons that you get, but resource runs are risky, so even if you die on one of these runs, you’ll lose everything, but that won’t have a major effect on your weapon stash.

When you’re on a raid, always remember where the extraction points are. Not only can this help you make a run for it if things get bad, but you can also use this to lay ambushes for enemy teams. Extraction shooters like ARC Raiders are all about playing it smart, rather than brute-forcing every run.

Adapt to Dynamic Situations

The “Topside” in ARC Raiders isn’t a very pleasant place. The environment is dynamic, so it’s always important to stay wary of your surroundings. There’s no set strategy for every situation that happens, because encounters and engagements with the enemy, NPC, and raiders alike are very random. So, be ready to bail on a fight at short notice. It’s always important to adapt to your surroundings because danger lurks at every corner.

Surviving the Rust Belt in ARC Raiders is no joke, so no matter what you do, it’s always important to stay alert. While playing safe is a way to go about these situations, never shy away from a fight, especially if the enemy has engaged you. Yes, you don’t need to pick every fight, but that may not always be possible. So, use your consumables effectively, and if push comes to shove, don’t be afraid to take the fight to the enemy. Good luck, raider!

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