The Anvil has been the hand cannon Raiders trust for a long time: 40 damage, a 2.5x headshot multiplier and Strong ARC armor penetration in a six-round single-action frame. Frozen Trail 2.0 reworked it three ways at once. It moved up from Uncommon to Rare, lost its Tech Mod slot, and the old Anvil Splitter mod was retired and rebuilt as one of its two amplifications. That leaves you one permanent decision: Anvil Splitter or X-Rounds. You only get one of the two, because they conflict, and once an amplification is activated it can't be removed or changed. This guide covers both Anvil amplifications with their exact tooltip values and costs, verified against the ARC Raiders Wiki amplified-weapons table. It also walks through the module and bench chain, the research grind behind X-Rounds, what to do with any old Splitter mods still in your stash, and which path suits which player.
Quick answer (TL;DR): The Rare Anvil needs one Amplification Module Mk. III to reach Level 5, after the Gunsmith and Research Station both hit Level 4. It has two nodes and you can only activate one. X-Rounds gives +5 base damage and +33% damage vs ARC armor, at the cost of 10% headshot multiplier, 30% more recoil and half the bullet velocity. It needs the Embedded Blast Engineering research plus 3 Fossilized Lightning. Anvil Splitter splits each shot into four weaker projectiles (70% less damage per projectile, 40% lower headshot multiplier, tighter hip-fire spread). It needs no research, just 3 Turbine Compressor. Pick X-Rounds if you use the Anvil as a precision gun for ARC and PvP. Pick Splitter only if you want a close-range spread gun and can't face the research grind.
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What is Anvil amplification?
Weapon Amplification arrived with the Frozen Trail 2.0 update on October 8, 2026. Mechanically it is a Level 5 upgrade: the wiki describes amplified weapons as ones that "can be upgraded to Level 5, unlocking Amplification slots that allow raiders to modify weapon functionality" (Amplified Weapons, ARC Raiders Wiki). Level 5 is a separate axis from the Common-to-Legendary rarity ladder. The module that gets a weapon there has to match its base rarity, and since the Anvil is now Rare, it takes an Amplification Module Mk. III. Pre-2.0 guides that call the Anvil Uncommon are out of date. Embark's Frozen Trail 2.0 patch notes explain why: the Anvil was "outperforming weapons both within and above its own level of rarity," so it moved up a tier and the new Bantam took over as the uncommon hand cannon.
The Anvil's base profile is what decides which node pays off: 40 damage per shot, a 2.5x headshot multiplier (a 100-damage headshot), a six-round magazine, Heavy Ammo and Strong ARC armor penetration. The Anvil IV upgrade adds 75% fire rate and 18.75% faster dispersion recovery over the base gun. It's a precision weapon that pays you for landing heads, and that's the frame both amplifications either build on or trade away.
Amplification stacks on top of your loadout; it doesn't replace it. If you haven't decided whether the Anvil belongs in your kit at all, check the best ARC Raiders weapons tier list first. For the hand-cannon shake-up that came with 2.0, see the Stiletto and Bantam new weapons guide.
What are the Anvil amplification nodes?
The Anvil has exactly two amplification nodes, and they conflict with each other, so you activate one or the other, never both. Here is each one with its tooltip values and cost, taken from the wiki's Hand Cannons table:
| Node | Effect | Research | Materials | Conflicts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| X-Rounds | +5 base damage, +33% damage vs ARC armor, 10% lower headshot multiplier, +30% vertical and horizontal recoil, 50% lower bullet velocity | Embedded Blast Engineering | 3 Fossilized Lightning | Anvil Splitter |
| Anvil Splitter | +3 projectiles per shot (four total), 70% lower projectile damage, 40% lower headshot multiplier, 30% lower base dispersion, 90% shorter dispersion recovery, 40% higher ADS dispersion | None listed | 3 Turbine Compressor | X-Rounds |
What X-Rounds actually does to the Anvil
X-Rounds packs an explosive compound into each bullet. Reading the tooltip straight, a body shot goes from 40 to 45, and the headshot multiplier drops from 2.5x to about 2.25x. If you apply those two numbers the way the tooltip reads, a headshot comes out around 101, so your headshot ceiling stays about where it was while every body shot hits harder. The headline is the +33% damage against ARC armor plating, on a gun that already has Strong armor penetration. One r/ArcRaiders player called an X-Rounds Anvil a potential long-range mini-Hullcracker before the update had even gone live.
The costs are about handling, not damage. Recoil goes up 30% on both axes, and bullet velocity is halved, so you have to lead moving targets at range more than you're used to. For players who already treat the Anvil as a deliberate, one-tap-and-reset weapon, that trade is easy to live with.
What Anvil Splitter actually does to the Anvil
Anvil Splitter replaces each bullet with rounds that break into four weaker projectiles. On paper, with 70% less damage per projectile from a 40-damage base, each pellet hits for about 12. That's roughly 48 if all four connect on the body, but the headshot multiplier falls 40% (to about 1.5x), so a four-pellet headshot is well short of the base gun's 100. Base dispersion drops 30% and dispersion recovery is 90% shorter, but ADS dispersion goes up 40%. The Splitter Anvil is built to fire from the hip at close range, not to be aimed down sights at distance.
In practice, the Splitter turns your precision hand cannon into a six-shot spread gun. It's more forgiving when someone rushes you around a corner, but it throws away the headshot value that made the Anvil a top-tier pick in the first place.
Splitter vs X-Rounds: which should you pick?
This is the whole decision, and because amplification is permanent there's no going back. Choose by how you actually use the gun:
- You run the Anvil as your precision secondary, PvP or PvE: take X-Rounds. You keep the headshot ceiling roughly intact, gain body-shot damage, and get a big bonus against ARC plating. The slower bullet is the only real adjustment. This is the default pick for most Anvil mains.
- You mostly fight ARC (Pendola Pass runs, Hornet and Surveyor clears, armored targets): take X-Rounds. +33% vs ARC armor on top of Strong penetration is the strongest anti-ARC bonus a hand cannon can get right now.
- You fight at doorway range and struggle to land single shots under pressure: Splitter is defensible. Four projectiles with tighter hip-fire spread and fast dispersion recovery are more forgiving at point-blank. Just know that ADS gets worse and headshots lose most of their value.
- You want amplification today and refuse to do research tasks: Splitter. It has no Amplified Research requirement on the wiki, only 3 Turbine Compressor once the gun is at Level 5. X-Rounds is gated behind a four-part research project (below).
Our verdict: X-Rounds for nine Anvil players out of ten. The Anvil earned its place on headshot damage and armor penetration, and X-Rounds builds on both of those. Splitter gives both up for close-range forgiveness that a dedicated shotgun or SMG already does better. If close-range spread is what you want, your Mk. III module is usually better spent on a different weapon.
How do you unlock Anvil amplification?
The chain is the same for every amplifiable weapon (Amplified Weapons, ARC Raiders Wiki):
- Unlock and build up your Outpost. Amplification research lives at the Outpost benches, so the Outpost comes first. The Outpost build guide covers the order.
- Raise the Gunsmith to Level 4.
- Raise the Research Station to Level 4. Both benches have to be at Level 4 before Level 5 upgrades and amplifications open up.
- Upgrade the Anvil to Level 5 at the Gunsmith with one Amplification Module Mk. III. Every Level 5 weapon also gets +70 Max Durability on the spot.
- Activate one node. Splitter can be applied right away for 3 Turbine Compressor. X-Rounds needs its research finished first, then 3 Fossilized Lightning.
The X-Rounds research: Embedded Blast Engineering
X-Rounds is locked behind the Embedded Blast Engineering project at the Research Station (Amplified Research, ARC Raiders Wiki). Like every Amplified Research project, it has two steps. First, complete the challenges: deal 1,000 damage each to Fireflies, Hornets, Fireballs and Surveyors using Light Impact Grenades. Then submit 5,000 Research Points plus 5 Rocketeer Drivers. Once it's done, the unlock is permanent and applies to every eligible Level 5 weapon, so it also counts for the Kettle's X-Rounds node. The Bettina's X-Rounds additionally needs its Semi-Auto node activated first, which has its own research.
Two practical notes. Players who have finished it report the Hornet portion goes faster than expected (one needed only around seven Hornets), so bring a stack of Light Impact Grenades and work on several targets per raid. The real bottleneck is usually the 5 Rocketeer Drivers, which only come from destroyed Rocketeers and their husks. Our Rocketeer Driver and Pressure Regulator farm guide covers the route. If Research Points are your limit, see which research pays best.
The materials: Fossilized Lightning vs Turbine Compressor
The node materials pull you toward different activities:
- Fossilized Lightning (X-Rounds, 3 needed) is an Epic item found at the epicenter of lightning strikes, and only while the Electromagnetic Storm map condition is active. You have to plan raids around the condition rotation.
- Turbine Compressor (Splitter, 3 needed) is an Epic item scavenged from destroyed ARC Turbines. It's a combat farm rather than a condition-dependent one.
If you want to skip the bench and research wall behind all of this, the Outpost Research Boost pushes your Research Station up fast, and Frozen Trail Runs farm the Pendola Pass materials and ARC components the research keeps asking for.
Where do you get an Amplification Module Mk. III?
The Rare Anvil specifically needs the Mk. III module. A Common weapon's Mk. I won't work. The wiki lists two sources for Amplification Modules: the Fallen Emperor on Pendola Pass, opened with an Emperor Gateway Conduit, and the cargo inside the ARC Frigate during the ARC Frigate event. Getting into the downed Emperor's husk and clearing it is the route most players farm. The Amplification Module farm guide compares that route with Frigate cargo.
If you don't own an Anvil yet, Tian Wen no longer stocks it after 2.0. Per the official patch notes it moved to the weekly Nomadic Envoys rotation, so the reliable path is crafting it from the blueprint. The Anvil blueprint guide covers the drop sources.
What should you do with your old Anvil Splitter mods?
If you played before Frozen Trail, you may still have Anvil Splitter mods in your stash. They no longer attach to anything. The wiki now lists the old Splitter as a Legendary Misc item that recycles into 5 Amplified Fragments (2 if salvaged) or sells for 7,000 coins (Anvil Splitter, ARC Raiders Wiki). Embark says the item no longer drops and will only stay in the game "for a while" so players can sell or recycle it, so don't sit on a stack forever.
Amplified Fragments matter because Level 5 weapons can only be repaired with Amplified Fragments, and amplified weapons drop at 10% durability when you're knocked out. Before you recycle them all, though, note that the wiki still lists 3 Anvil Splitters as a requirement in a Trophy Display project stage. If you're working on that project, keep three.
Is amplifying the Anvil worth it?
Yes, if the Anvil is already in your loadout and you take X-Rounds. You give up almost nothing at the top end, hit harder on every body shot, and get a real bonus against ARC armor, all on a gun that was already one of the best sidearms in the game. The cost is a Mk. III module, a research project you can clear in a few focused raids with Light Impact Grenades, and three Fossilized Lightning from a storm raid.
Splitter is the niche pick. It's cheaper to unlock and more forgiving up close, but it rebuilds the Anvil into something it was never good at, and permanently. Since there's no respec, only choose it if you specifically want a hip-fire spread hand cannon. Otherwise, take X-Rounds or save the Mk. III for another weapon. For how the rest of the roster compares, the ARC Raiders amplified weapons hub lists every amplifiable gun and node. The Bettina amplification build is the next X-Rounds weapon to look at.
Skip the amplification grind? timesaver.gg runs the Outpost research and the Frozen Trail farm for you:
- Outpost Research Boost: push the Research Station to the level that unlocks amplification.
- Frozen Trail Runs: farm the Pendola Pass materials and ARC components the research grind demands.
FAQ
Can you have both Anvil Splitter and X-Rounds on the Anvil? No. The two amplifications conflict with each other, so the Anvil takes one or the other. Activated amplifications can't be removed or changed, so the choice is permanent.
Which is better on the Anvil, Splitter or X-Rounds? X-Rounds for most players. It adds +5 base damage and +33% damage vs ARC armor while keeping the headshot ceiling roughly where it was. Splitter splits each shot into four weaker projectiles with a much lower headshot multiplier, which only suits close-range hip-fire play.
What module do you need to amplify the Anvil? The Amplification Module Mk. III. Frozen Trail 2.0 moved the Anvil from Uncommon to Rare, and the module has to match the weapon's rarity.
How do you unlock X-Rounds for the Anvil? Complete the Embedded Blast Engineering research at the Research Station (Level 4). Deal 1,000 damage each to Fireflies, Hornets, Fireballs and Surveyors with Light Impact Grenades, then submit 5,000 Research Points and 5 Rocketeer Drivers. Activating the node then costs 3 Fossilized Lightning.
Does Anvil Splitter need research? The wiki lists no Amplified Research for it. Once the Anvil is at Level 5, Splitter costs 3 Turbine Compressor, which you scavenge from destroyed ARC Turbines.
Can you still use the old Anvil Splitter mod? No. Frozen Trail 2.0 retired the mod and removed the Anvil's Tech Mod slot. Old Splitter mods now recycle into 5 Amplified Fragments, the material that repairs Level 5 weapons, though the wiki still lists 3 of them for a Trophy Display project stage.
Where do you buy the Anvil after Frozen Trail? Tian Wen no longer sells it. It moved to the weekly Nomadic Envoys rotation, so crafting it from the Anvil Blueprint is the dependable route.
