TL;DR — The fastest answer
There is no single "best" loadout in ARC Raiders — there is a best loadout for what you're doing. A PvP fight, an ARC boss farm, and a budget scrap run each want a different kit. Pick from these four templates and you'll never drop topside under-geared:
| Goal | Primary | Secondary | Shield | Augment | Carry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PvP (player kills) | Tempest (AR) or Il Toro | Stitcher / Bobcat (SMG) | Medium | Combat Mk.3 (Aggressive) | 2× Frag, 1× Smoke, Med-Kit + sprays |
| PvE / ARC bosses | Hullcracker (launcher) or Bettina | Equalizer / Jupiter | Medium | Combat Mk.3 | Wolfpack, Lure Grenade, sprays |
| Solo | Bettina or Anvil | Bobcat / Canto | Light–Medium | Looting Survivor Mk.3 | Smoke, Lure, defib/revive, sprays |
| Budget / scrap run | Ferro or Kettle | Stitcher / Rattler | Light | Free Loadout or Looting Mk.1 | Light grenade, bandages |
The four meta-defining weapons right now are the Ferro, Kettle, Anvil and Dolabra (GamesRadar tier list). Everything below explains why these kits work, how shields and augments change a build, and the exact gadgets to slot for each job. As Embark puts it in the official matchmaking notes, "Topside always carries risk" (arcraiders.com) — the right loadout is how you control that risk.
What is the best loadout in ARC Raiders?
A loadout in ARC Raiders is more than your gun. It's one primary weapon, one secondary, a shield tier, a single augment, and your quick-use slots (grenades, gadgets, healing). You commit to all of it before you drop, because of one rule most new Raiders learn the hard way: you cannot swap your augment while you're topside (arcraiders.wiki). What you bring is what you fight with for the entire round.
The best loadout is the one that matches your intent for the run. Going in to farm coins and extract? You want weight efficiency and a Looting augment. Hunting other players on Stella Montis? You want burst damage, a shield that survives a peek-fight, and the Aggressive augment. The community-tested meta below is built around that idea: build for the job, not for the flex.
New to gearing up? Pair this guide with our ARC Raiders weapons tier list for per-gun rankings and the best augments breakdown for the full augment family.
What is the best PvP loadout in ARC Raiders?
PvP is decided in the first two seconds of a fight, so a PvP loadout is built around burst damage and shield uptime.
- Primary: the Tempest assault rifle is the meta workhorse — reliable DPS and controllable recoil. If you can aim, the Il Toro is one of the most feared PvP guns in the game; a well-built Il Toro can two- or three-shot through almost any shield (GamesRadar).
- Secondary: a fast SMG for the close-range cleanup — the Stitcher or the Bobcat. The Bobcat is an Epic full-auto light-ammo SMG (Bobcat IV: ~400 RPM, 20-round mag, 2,185 durability shots), a forgiving CQC tool but weak against ARC armor, so keep it for player fights (arcraiders.wiki).
- Shield: Medium. Heavy shields slow you down, and in a peek-fight mobility beats raw health. Remember shields don't regenerate on their own — carry a Shield Recharger or grab ARC Powercells.
- Augment: Combat Mk.3 (Aggressive) — the PvP pick, with passive health regen of 2 HP every 5 seconds so you top off between trades (arcraiders.wiki).
- Grenades: a Heavy Fuze for choke points, a Trigger 'Nade for ambush detonations, and a Smoke for repositioning or covering a revive.
What is the best PvE / ARC-killing loadout?
When the enemy is an ARC machine — a Bombardier, a Bastion, or a boss like the Queen or Matriarch — you stop caring about shields and start caring about armor penetration.
- Primary: the Hullcracker launcher is the dedicated big-ARC answer; pair it with the Bettina assault rifle, which was buffed for armor damage and shreds boss leg plates (community tier list).
- Anti-armor secondary: the Equalizer strips ARC armor fast (it peels Rocketeer thrusters in a blink) but has limited range; the Jupiter energy sniper covers distance with very little damage falloff and can pierce armor straight to the ARC core.
- Gadgets: the Wolfpack is a PvE specialist's dream — it splits into homing missiles that target ARC weak points. A Lure Grenade pulls a patrol off you so you can reposition.
- Boss farming tip: Queen and Matriarch Cores drop from the leg armor plates you knock off during the fight, not from the kill — loot each plate the instant it falls, because if you wait for the kill, only the central core remains and rats will grab it. (See our Queen & Matriarch Cores guide for the full farm.)
What is the best solo loadout in ARC Raiders?
Solo means no one is reviving you, so a solo loadout trades a little firepower for survivability and a bigger backpack.
- Weapons: a versatile all-rounder like the Anvil (the most flexible PvP/PvE gun in the meta) or the Bettina, backed by a cheap SMG such as the Canto — a Rare medium-ammo SMG that sells for 7,000 Coins and is cheap to re-craft after a loss (arcraiders.wiki).
- Augment: Looting Survivor Mk.3 — an Epic "pack mule" augment with 80 weight capacity, 20 backpack slots, and a clutch ability: while downed and stationary, your health regenerates up to 75% of max downed health, effectively a second life (arcraiders.wiki).
- Carry: a Smoke to break line of sight and self-revive, a Lure Grenade to peel ARC, a revive item, and healing sprays. Solo is a patience game — extract with profit, don't chase kills.
- Shield: Light to Medium. Staying mobile and unseen keeps a solo player alive far longer than tanking hits.
What is the best budget loadout (and the "naked run")?
You don't need expensive gear to make money — you need gear cheap enough that losing it doesn't hurt.
- Weapons: the Ferro or Kettle as your primary (Kettle is free in basic loadouts), with a Stitcher or Rattler to finish. Hit with the Ferro's opening shot, swap to the SMG for the cleanup — both are dirt cheap to replace.
- Augment: the Free Loadout Augment is a Common starter at just 35.0 weight, but it only supports a Light shield (arcraiders.wiki). For farming runs, a Looting Mk.1 adds carry space.
- The "naked run": experienced Raiders drop with little or no gear, bank cheap loot, and extract — a low-risk way to grind coins or trial points without risking a kit. One thing to watch as of Live Update 1.33.0: free loadouts are disabled during Night Raid and Close Scrutiny (a three-week test to raise commitment in those high-loot scenarios), so you can't naked-run those conditions right now (arcraiders.com).
How do shields and augments shape your loadout?
Two systems quietly decide whether a loadout works.
Shields come in Light, Medium, and Heavy. Light maximizes mobility, Heavy maximizes survivability but slows you, and Medium is the balanced default most builds want. Critically, shields do not auto-regenerate — you recharge them with Shield Rechargers or ARC Powercells found in raids, so always pack a way to top up.
Augments are your one passive perk for the run, split into Combat, Tactical, and Looting families (Mk.1 → Mk.3), and you can equip only one (arcraiders.wiki). The standout picks:
- Combat (Aggressive) Mk.3 — passive 2 HP/5s regen; the PvP default.
- Tactical (Defensive) — your shield recharges while you run.
- Tactical (Healing) Mk.3 — when you're revived, it releases a healing cloud that restores 20 health over 10 seconds (30-second cooldown); a strong squad-support pick.
- Looting (Safekeeper) Mk.3 — a universal safe pocket that protects any item on death, not just a small one.
- Looting (Survivor) Mk.3 — the 80-weight pack mule with downed-health regen.
Because you lock the augment in before the drop, choosing it is choosing your run's identity.
What gadgets and healing should every loadout carry?
Your quick-use slots are where good Raiders separate from great ones. Verified picks worth a slot:
- Lure Grenade — distracts ARC units; the single best "get me out of this" tool against machines.
- Wolfpack — homing anti-ARC missiles for PvE.
- Heavy Fuze / Trigger 'Nade — burst damage and ambushes for PvP.
- Smoke / Li'l Smoke — line-of-sight denial for revives and repositions.
- Healing cadence: sprays for tempo healing while you move, healing Shots for burst recovery, and bandages as cheap fillers. As one common community rule puts it: spray to stay topped up, shots to come back from the brink.
Keep at least one healing item and one utility grenade on every kit, no matter how budget. The cheapest death in ARC Raiders is the one where you had a full backpack and no way to heal.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best all-around weapon in ARC Raiders? The Anvil is widely rated the most versatile gun for both PvP and PvE, which makes it the safest single pick if you only want to learn one weapon. The broader S-tier is the Ferro, Kettle, Anvil and Dolabra, so any of those four is a strong anchor for your loadout (GamesRadar).
What is the best loadout to kill the Queen or Matriarch? Bring armor-shredders: the Hullcracker launcher and a buffed Bettina for the legs, plus an energy weapon like the Jupiter for the core. Shoot the leg armor plates and loot each plate as it falls to collect Cores — don't wait for the kill, or rats grab the central core first.
Can I swap my weapons or augment mid-raid? You can change weapons you pick up, but you cannot equip or unequip your augment while you're topside (arcraiders.wiki). Choose it carefully before you drop, because you're committed for the whole round.
What is a "naked run" in ARC Raiders? Dropping with little or no gear to bank cheap loot at minimal risk — great for grinding coins or trial points. Just note that free loadouts are currently disabled in Night Raid and Close Scrutiny as of Update 1.33.0, so you can't naked-run those map conditions.
Do shields recharge on their own? No. ARC Raiders shields do not auto-regenerate — you must recharge them with Shield Rechargers or ARC Powercells found during raids, so always pack a way to top up your Light, Medium, or Heavy shield.
What's the cheapest effective loadout? A Ferro or Kettle (Kettle is free in basic loadouts) plus a Stitcher, a Light shield, and the Free Loadout Augment (35.0 weight). It costs almost nothing to replace, which is exactly why it's the best kit for high-volume farming runs.
