ARC Raiders Bully, Skulker & Hydra: Weak Points & Kills

The Frozen Trail 2.0 update is live, and with it come the three ARC machines everyone on Pendola Pass is still learning to read: the Bully, the Skulker, and the Hydra. Two of them hunt you on the ground, one of them rules the top of the Frigate, and all three punish players who trade damage the wrong way. This is the consolidated kill page — where each one spawns, the confirmed weak point to aim for, and exactly what is (and isn't) known about their loot.

Quick answer: The Bully is a heavy-armor ground charger — shoot its legs, and when its head "opens" during an attack, hit the head weak spot; use cover and punish openings instead of trading in the open. The Skulker is a light-armor ambusher with tail-mounted weaponry that strikes and retreats — keep eyes on it so it can't reset and re-engage. The Hydra is a stationary three-direction turret you meet on top of the Frigate; its rear is unarmored, so divert its attention, break line of sight, and burst it down from behind. Exact HP values and full drop tables for all three are not published yet — the community ARC Raiders Wiki still lists each enemy's loot as "WiP" — so we cover what is confirmed below and will update when the tables are datamined.

Key takeaways

• Bully weak point: Legs (heavy armor); the head opens to reveal a weak spot when it attacks. Destroying one grants +500 XP.
• Skulker weak point: Light armor (to be confirmed); it fights with tail-mounted weaponry and disengages the moment you lose track of it.
• Hydra weak point: The back/rear is unarmored — it can be killed quickly from behind while distracted. The confirmed encounter is on top of the Frigate.
• Drops: Two named drops are already documented — the Bully Fragmenter (Epic, from the Bully) and the Skulker Targeter (Uncommon, scavenged from Skulkers). The community wiki confirms the Hydra (like the base Turret) has no unique item that drops only from it. Full drop rates and complete loot tables are still unfinished on the wiki.
• Explosive rework matters: Explosive weapons like the Hullcracker now deal over 50% more damage to armor plates but ~30% less to fragile parts — aim explosives at armor, not exposed weak spots.

Where do the Bully, Skulker and Hydra spawn?

Two of the three are field enemies on the new Pendola Pass map; the third is tied to the new Frigate map condition.

• Bully — roams Pendola Pass as a roaming ground threat. The Wiki codex notes it is "believed to guard valuable ARC infrastructure" and will "pursue threats well beyond the point of caution" — which is exactly the tendency you exploit (more on that below).
• Skulker — a ground-based ambusher that favors the edges of your vision. Its codex entry ties it to low-visibility conditions (blizzards, electromagnetic storms, sandstorms) and a "symbiotic relationship with the Turbine and the Frigate," so expect it where sightlines are already bad.
• Hydra — the confirmed encounter is on top of the Frigate, the new airborne-carrier map condition, where the community wiki places it. Embark's launch post describes the Hydra as a "multi-tasking squad killer that protects the Emperor and Frigate with a vengeance," so treat it as a guardian of those objectives rather than a roaming Pendola Pass field enemy.

How do you kill the Bully?

The Bully is the aggressive one — a heavy-armor machine that gallops at your position and keeps constant pressure on you. Trading shots with it in the open is how most Raiders die to it.

Weak points: Aim for the legs to break it down. Its head "opens" and reveals a weak spot during attacks — that is your damage window. Because it is heavily armored, remember the explosive rework: a Hullcracker or other explosive hits its armor plates over 50% harder than before, but explosive shots into the exposed head weak spot do slightly less damage than they used to, so use the right tool for the right part.

Method: Use cover and let it come to you. The codex itself hands you the exploit: the Bully "will pursue threats well beyond the point of caution," a tendency Raiders exploit "around tight passages and uneven ground." Bait it into a choke or around terrain, break its charge, and punish the recovery. Destroying one is worth +500 XP, with additional XP (around +200/250, to be confirmed) for looting its parts. The Bully also drops the Bully Fragmenter, an Epic recyclable item that "fragments into exploding clusters when thrown" — a confirmed named drop, even though its full drop rate isn't published yet.

How do you kill the Skulker?

The Skulker is the Bully's opposite: an opportunistic ambusher that "lies in wait," strikes with a flurry of blows, and glides away the instant you are distracted. It's built to disengage on purpose and re-engage from a new angle, which is what makes it annoying rather than deadly.

Weak points: The Wiki currently lists the Skulker as light armor (to be confirmed), with no published weak-point multipliers or HP. Treat it as a soft, mobile target — it does not soak damage the way the Bully does; the challenge is landing shots before it resets.

Method: The entire fight is about denying the retreat. Keep your reticle on it and do not get tunnel-visioned on another threat, or it vanishes and returns from a new angle. Fight it in a spot where it can't easily break line of sight, and burst it down the moment it commits to an attack. It thrives in low-visibility hazards, so if a blizzard or storm rolls in, assume one is nearby. Destroyed Skulkers can be scavenged for the Skulker Targeter, an Uncommon deployable (Damage 9, 25m range) that recycles into Simple Gun Parts plus ARC Alloy and sells for around 1,000 Coins.

How do you kill the Hydra?

The Hydra is the signature encounter atop the Frigate: a stationary turret split into three stacked, autonomous sections, each with its own weaponry, able to pressure multiple Raiders at once. It does not walk, but it tracks and repositions its fire.

Weak point: The rear is unarmored. The front and sides are heavily armored, but the Wiki confirms "the behind of the Hydra is unarmored allowing for it to be killed quickly if it is distracted." The Frigate's top deck has cover you can duck behind to avoid its barrage and take pot shots when it finishes firing.

Method: This is a diversion fight. Split its attention — in a squad, one Raider pulls aggro while another flanks to the exposed back; solo, bait a firing cycle, break line of sight behind the deck cover, then burst the rear during the reload window. One r/ArcRaiders player's takeaway after launch was that a coordinated team of three handles the Frigate far better than an uncoordinated lobby — so if you can, go in with a plan rather than improvising with randoms.

Known issue to watch: Embark's notes confirm the Hydra can detect and shoot players through walls in the Cargo area, but those shots deal no damage — it's a detection quirk, not a reason to abandon cover. Separately, Embark confirms that standing on the side of the Cargo drop can eliminate you instantly; the notes don't attribute that death to Hydra fire, but treat the Cargo-drop edge as dangerous regardless.

What do the Bully, Skulker and Hydra drop?

Here's the honest picture. Embark has not published full loot tables or drop rates for the three new enemies, and the community ARC Raiders Wiki still lists the loot section on each enemy page as "WiP." But that does not mean nothing is known — two named drops are already documented on the wiki's item pages:

• Bully Fragmenter — an Epic recyclable item that drops from the Bully. Its in-game description notes it "fragments into exploding clusters when thrown." Its exact drop rate is not yet listed.
• Skulker Targeter — an Uncommon item scavenged from destroyed Skulkers. It's a deployable (Damage 9, 25m range) that recycles into 1× Simple Gun Parts + 1× ARC Alloy and sells for around 1,000 Coins.
• Hydra — no unique drop. The wiki's trivia is explicit: "The Turret and Hydra are the only ARC that do not contain a unique item that only comes from them." You fight the Hydra for the Frigate run's objective loot, the XP, and to stop it from killing your squad — not for a signature item.

General ARC loot behavior still applies: components live in destructible parts, and after the Frozen Trail rework, higher-tier loot sits in the protected pieces (for example, Queen and Matriarch had their high-tier loot moved into the leg pieces behind the armor plates) — so strip armor to reach the good parts, though armor pieces can still hold some loot.

We'll update this section with the complete drop rates and any additional named items as soon as they're datamined or confirmed.

Fastest way to clear the Frozen Trail enemies and bosses

If you're chasing the Frozen Trail quest line, the Reward Pass, or the Frigate's endgame loot and don't want to grind the learning curve on the Bully, Skulker, and Hydra, our carry team can take down the new threats and extract the objective loot for you.

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• ARC Raiders Frozen Trail Boss Kill — we take down the Hydra and the new Pendola Pass threats for you.
• ARC Raiders Frozen Trail Runs — full Pendola Pass and Frigate loot runs, objective complete, loot extracted.
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FAQ

What is the Bully's weak point in ARC Raiders? The Bully is heavy-armored, so aim for its legs, and watch for its head to "open" during an attack — that exposes a weak spot you can burst. Destroying one is worth +500 XP. Use cover and punish its charges around tight terrain rather than trading damage in the open.

How do you kill the Skulker? The Skulker is an ambusher that strikes and retreats, so the fight is about not losing track of it. Keep your reticle on it, fight where it can't easily break line of sight, and burst it down when it commits to an attack. Its armor is listed as light (to be confirmed) and no HP or weak-point multipliers have been published yet, but it does not soak damage like the Bully.

Where is the Hydra and what's its weak point? The Hydra's confirmed encounter is on top of the Frigate, the new map condition. Its front and sides are heavily armored, but its rear is unarmored — divert its attention, use the deck's cover, and hit the back during its reload windows. It's far easier with a coordinated squad than in a solo or random lobby.

What do the Bully, Skulker and Hydra drop? Full drop rates aren't published yet (the community wiki lists each enemy's loot section as "WiP"), but two named drops are already documented: the Bully Fragmenter (Epic, from the Bully) and the Skulker Targeter (Uncommon, scavenged from Skulkers). The Hydra has no unique drop — it shares that trait with the base Turret — so you fight it for the Frigate's objective loot and XP, not a signature item.

Is the Hydra a solo fight? It can be done solo by baiting its firing cycles and hitting the exposed rear from behind cover, but it's built to pressure several Raiders at once and is considerably safer with a coordinated team. Watch the known Cargo-area wall-detection issue while Embark works on a fix.