The robots are the whole point of ARC Raiders — and knowing which one you're looking at, and exactly where to shoot it, is the difference between a clean extraction and a 30-minute round thrown away. This guide covers every ARC machine in the game, sorted from the lowliest scout drone to the two map-bending bosses, with the verified weak points and the fastest way to kill each one. Every stat and weak spot here is cross-checked against the ARC Raiders Wiki and Embark's official tips, current to patch 1.33.0 (June 2026).
Quick answer (TLDR): ARC machines are split into scouts (Tick, Pop, Snitch, Spotter), flyers (Wasp, Hornet, Firefly, Rocketeer, Vaporizer), ground heavies (Fireball, Comet, Shredder, Leaper, Surveyor, Sentinel, Bombardier, Bastion), and two bosses (the Queen and the Matriarch). The universal rule: glowing yellow panels are weak points — leg joints, rear canisters and exposed cores take critical damage. Flyers die fast if you hit their rear thrusters; heavies like the Bastion (2,050 HP) need their yellow kneecaps and rear canister broken to expose the core; the bosses demand a coordinated trio targeting the red core after stripping armor. Never confuse the Queen and the Matriarch — the Matriarch summons reinforcements and the Queen does not.
The one rule that beats every ARC: yellow = weak point
Before the roster, internalize this: ARC machines telegraph their weak spots with glowing yellow (and on bosses, red) panels. Yellow kneecaps on walkers, yellow canisters on their backs, yellow capsules under turret arms, exposed cores that only open when the machine attacks. Dumping ammo into thick frontal plating wastes a magazine; a few rounds into the right yellow panel staggers or kills. Pair that with the right gun — see our best weapons tier list — and most ARC encounters get dramatically shorter.
Scout & small ARC units (low threat)
These are cheap to kill but dangerous if ignored — several exist to call in bigger ARC, so prioritize the ones that tag you.
| Enemy | Type | How to beat it |
|---|---|---|
| Tick | Small, spider-like crawler | Latches on and chips your health. Kill it with a melee hit from your Raider tool (quiet, one-shot) or a single round before it reaches you. |
| Pop | Small rolling explosive | Rolls in and detonates. Pop it at range with one heavy round; keep distance or vault away so the blast misses. |
| Snitch | Recon drone | Unarmed, but loudly alerts every ARC nearby. Top priority — shoot its thrusters down fast before it calls reinforcements. |
| Spotter | Targeting drone | Marks you and enables target-lock for heavier ARC (often escorts a Bombardier). Destroy it quickly to break the lock. |
Flying ARC units
Flyers share a weakness: their rear thrusters are unarmored. Stop shooting the heavily plated front and hit the back.
| Enemy | Threat | How to beat it |
|---|---|---|
| Wasp | Low–Medium | The most common ARC. Light gun, deadly in swarms. Aim the central body, not the wings, and kill it before it locks on. |
| Hornet | Medium | Armored front, exposed rear thrusters — hit those with anything. It stuns; dodge-roll right after it fires. |
| Firefly | High | Aggressive flamethrower that hunts you into cover. Embark's official tip: shoot its yellow gas tank to blow it up, and a Seeker Grenade knocks it out of the sky (arcraiders.com). Never fight it in the open. |
| Rocketeer | Very High | Large flying artillery that rains missile barrages. Target its thruster with heavy fire and roll through the missiles. As of patch 1.33.0 it drops Launcher Ammo. |
| Vaporizer | High / Elite | Added in the Flashpoint update. Devastating lasers and a projectile-blocking energy shield. Bait the shield with normal gunfire, then hit the underside/ventral thrusters to expose the core. See our dedicated Vaporizer guide. |
Ground heavies & elite ARC
These hit hard and soak damage. Use cover, break their armor, and only commit when their weak point is exposed.
| Enemy | Threat | How to beat it |
|---|---|---|
| Fireball | Low–Medium | Armored rolling unit that opens to spew flame. Shoot the exposed inner core the moment its front panel opens. |
| Comet | Very High | Heavily armored sphere that charges into a squad and self-destructs. Embark's tip: aggro from distance so its armor opens, then strip it with high-fire-rate automatic weapons and spread your squad out. |
| Shredder | High | Fast shotgun flanker (common at Stella Montis). Listen for its skitter, strafe its pellet burst, and hit it from the side or behind. |
| Leaper | High | Agile brute with jump-slams. Dodge the leap, then punish it while it's recovering; target the leg joints. |
| Surveyor | Medium–High | Mobile scanner that flees fast. Chase it down and shoot the core it exposes when it scans/fires. |
| Sentinel | Medium–High | Long-range tracking turret. Break line of sight, then peek and hit the yellow capsule under its arm. |
| Bombardier | High | Mortar walker, usually escorted by Spotters. Kill the Spotters first, shoot its yellow kneecaps to slow it, then the rear canister to disable it. |
Bastion — the heavy you'll actually fear
The Bastion is the most dangerous non-boss ARC, with 2,050 HP and weak points on its rear plate and leg joints (arcraiders.wiki). The wiki describes it bluntly:
"Covered in thick plating, the Bastion is a fortress on legs. While it may be slow, it absolutely dominates wherever it patrols with heavy gatling-gun fire; turning anyone who gets in its way into Swiss cheese." — ARC Raiders Wiki
Its tell is audio: "It emits a loud screech before unloading its gatling-gun for three seconds at the last seen position of any Raiders" — so the play is to break line of sight the instant you hear the screech, then re-peek. To kill it: "Bastions have yellow kneecaps on all of their leg joints and a yellow cylinder on their rear that Raiders can shoot to deal critical damage." Destroying the rear canister or a leg joint stuns it, and destroying that canister peels back its rear plate to reveal its true weak spot — the barrel-like part beneath. It's soloable with patience and cover; bring grenades. If a Bastion is guarding a deposit, it usually means there's loot worth the fight.
ARC bosses: the Queen vs the Matriarch
ARC Raiders has two true bosses, and players constantly mix them up. They are different machines with different fights — get this wrong and you'll walk into the worse one unprepared.
The Queen is "one of the largest and most dangerous ARC machines discovered to date," and "can only be found guarding Harvesters when the relevant Map Modifier is active" (arcraiders.wiki). She has ~33,864 HP (dropping to ~21,000 once you start landing weak-point hits), with the Core and Leg Joints as her vulnerabilities. Her kit: 2–5 mortars lobbed from her dome, a periodic laser beam along line of sight, and an EMP pulse or ground slam if you get close. Strip her armor plates to expose the red core, hit the leg joints, and time your damage to the pauses between her abilities. She drops high-end ARC materials (ARC Alloy, Advanced Powercells, ARC Circuitry and more).
The Matriarch is the harder fight — and the key difference is summons:
"The Matriarch is a colossal ARC machine that makes the Queen look friendly by comparison... Unlike the Queen, the Matriarch has the ability to summon ARC to defend itself; both larger and smaller ARC threats are spawned, and it makes fighting it in the open almost impossible." — ARC Raiders Wiki
Its kit adds a swarm of 3–6 tracking missiles, gas grenades (drain stamina and block vision), flashbangs, and a temporary energy shield. Same weak points — Core and Leg Joints — but you must clear the summoned adds first, fight from solid cover, and break its faceplates before the core opens. Both bosses are trio content; don't solo them. For the full boss breakdown, see our how to kill the Queen & Matriarch guide and the Queen & Matriarch cores farming guide.
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How to fight ARC efficiently
The meta isn't "kill everything" — ARC machines are a risk-versus-reward decision. Scouts and Wasps you clear on sight because they escalate fights. Heavies like the Bastion you only engage when there's loot worth it or you can't avoid them. The bosses are pure profit if you bring a coordinated trio and the right loadout — and a death sentence if you don't. Match your weapons and augments to what you're hunting (our best beginner loadout and best augments guides cover the optimal picks), aim for the yellow, and disengage when a fight isn't paying you.
FAQ
What are the enemies in ARC Raiders called? They're collectively called ARC — autonomous machines. They range from small scouts (Tick, Pop, Snitch, Spotter) and flyers (Wasp, Hornet, Firefly, Rocketeer, Vaporizer) to ground heavies (Fireball, Comet, Shredder, Leaper, Surveyor, Sentinel, Bombardier, Bastion) and two bosses, the Queen and the Matriarch.
What is the difference between the Queen and the Matriarch? They're separate bosses. The Queen guards Harvesters when a Map Modifier is active and uses mortars, a laser beam, and EMP/ground-slam attacks. The Matriarch is bulkier, "makes the Queen look friendly," and — unlike the Queen — summons ARC units to defend itself, plus uses missile swarms, gas grenades, flashbangs and an energy shield. Both are weak at the Core and Leg Joints.
What is the hardest ARC enemy? The Matriarch is the toughest fight because it summons reinforcements and stacks missiles, gas, flashbangs and a shield — the wiki literally says it makes the Queen look friendly. Outside the bosses, the Bastion (2,050 HP, heavy gatling fire) is the most dangerous standard ARC.
Where do I shoot ARC enemies? Aim for the glowing yellow panels — leg-joint kneecaps, rear canisters, and capsules under turret arms — and the exposed cores that open when a machine attacks. On flyers, hit the rear thrusters. On bosses, strip the armor and hit the red core.
How do you kill a Bastion? Shoot its yellow leg-joint kneecaps and the yellow cylinder on its rear for critical damage. Destroying the rear canister stuns it and peels back the rear plate to reveal its true weak spot underneath. Break line of sight when it screeches before its three-second gatling burst.
Are there new ARC enemies in 2026? Yes — the Vaporizer (a flying laser unit with an energy shield) and the ARC Assessor (a deployment machine featured in Close Scrutiny operations) were added in the Flashpoint update (patch 1.22.0, March 2026). The current patch, 1.33.0 "Forgotten Relics" (June 16, 2026), focused on events and balance rather than new ARC types.
