ARC Raiders Research Points: What to Unlock First

Quick answer: Research Points are the Outpost currency you spend at the Research Station to unlock blueprints, Outpost furniture Designs, and — at Level 4 — the weapon-perk research that feeds Amplified Weapons. With every unlock priced between 500 and 5,000 RP and roughly 126 total unlocks across four station levels, you cannot buy everything early — and the top-tier nodes cost materials on top of points. Spend first on the Level 4 weapon-perk research for guns you actually run and on the few blueprints that change how you fight (Bettina, Hullcracker, Anvil, your grenade of choice); never burn Research Points on furniture Designs while you still have combat unlocks locked. This page ranks every tier by what it's worth, so your first few thousand points go to the unlocks that win raids instead of decorating a base you look at through a menu.

Research Points arrived with the Frozen Trail — 2.0 Update (live October 8, 2026; third-party coverage lists the console package as build 1.000.061), and they are easy to misread. They are not Reward Points — Embark's patch notes state plainly that "Cred has been removed from the game and replaced by Reward Points," which is the Reward Pass track. Research Points are a separate Outpost resource, and the Research Station spends them on a long, tiered catalog. The question that actually matters once the station is open is not how it works — it's which of its ~126 unlocks to buy before you run dry. That is a ranking problem, and that is what this guide solves.

Every number below is cross-checked against the live ARC Tracker Research catalog and Embark's official Frozen Trail 2.0 patch notes. Where a value is player-reported rather than confirmed in the live catalog or the patch notes, it is flagged as such — no invented numbers.

How do Research Points work in ARC Raiders?

You unlock the Research Station by unlocking the Outpost, which Embark gates behind a Project: "Unlocking the outpost will unlock access to the research station." Once it's open, the station is a four-level upgrade tree. Each level you build out adds a new block of unlockable items, and each unlock has a fixed Research Point price — and most entries, at every level, also cost materials on top of the points (even a Level 1 Yank Grenade Blueprint wants 1,000 RP plus eight Steel Cable). You earn Research Points topside by extracting with the special Research Items the station studies, then spend them here. (For the full build order and how to raise the station from Level 1 to Level 4, see our Outpost guide; this page assumes the station is already open and focuses only on the spend decision.)

The catalog is bigger than a first-week income can cover. Across the four levels the live ARC Tracker Research catalog lists roughly 126 unlocks — about 34 at Level 1, 49 at Level 2, 28 at Level 3, and 15 at Level 4 — splitting into 59 blueprints, 52 furniture Designs and the 15 Level 4 weapon-perk nodes. Prices run from 500 RP for the cheapest furniture Design up to 5,000 RP for every Level 4 node. Buy blindly down the list and you will spend your first several thousand points on chairs and tables while the unlocks that actually change raids sit greyed out. The whole point of this guide is to stop that.

ARC Raiders Research Station unlock tiers at a glance

Here is the shape of the catalog by level, so you can see where your points are going before you commit them. "Type" is what the unlock is; the price range is the lowest-to-highest RP cost within that level.

Station level	Unlocks	Types	RP price range	Also requires
Level 1	~34	Blueprints + furniture Designs	500 – 3,000	Materials on many entries
Level 2	~49	Blueprints + Designs	1,000 – 3,000	Station Level 2 + materials
Level 3	~28	Blueprints + Designs	1,500 – 4,500	Station Level 3 + materials
Level 4	15	Weapon-perk research	5,000 each	Station Level 4, a task, and materials per node

Two things jump out. First, furniture Designs dominate the cheap end — most of the 500–1,000 RP entries are chairs, tables, cabinets and lamps. They are the easiest thing to waste points on and the only category with zero combat value. Second, the points are only half the bill: most blueprints and all 15 Level 4 nodes also want materials, and each Level 4 node adds a task on top, so you cannot rush the good unlocks with points alone.

What should you unlock first with Research Points?

Rank your spending by what each unlock does to your raids, not by what's cheapest. Here is the order that pays back fastest.

1. Level 4 weapon-perk research — for guns you actually run

The Level 4 block is the reason the Research Station exists. These 15 weapon-perk nodes — names like Thermite-Tipped Rounds, Extended Burst Cycles, High-Voltage Exposure, Beam Resonance Tech and Targeted Component Trial — unlock the perks used by compatible Amplified Weapons, the new fifth quality tier Frozen Trail added. Amplified guns are a real power jump, and this is the only place to research their perks.

The catch is a triple cost: 5,000 RP, a task, and materials per node (Thermite-Tipped Rounds, for example, also wants five Firefly Burners on top of its points and task). Several of the tasks are "deal X damage with weapon type" objectives that take genuine raid time. So do not research a node for a gun you don't run. The real decision players keep running into is which line to amplify first — chase the incendiary launcher research (Compact Combustion Charges, for the Hullcracker and Rascal) for the flashy pick, or spend the points and mats on the explosive-round perks (Embedded Blast Engineering feeds the Anvil, Bettina and Kettle) for guns you already carry? The answer is the same every time: amplify the weapon you'll bring into most raids first, then branch out. If you main an SMG, finish the SMG perk line before you touch the launcher research, no matter which node is "stronger" on paper.

2. The handful of blueprints that change how you fight

Not all blueprints are equal, and most cost 2,000–4,500 RP. Prioritize the ones that change your kit, not the ones that are a marginal attachment upgrade:

• New weapons you don't own — Bettina and Hullcracker (both 4,500 RP, Level 3), Anvil, Osprey, Rascal, Torrente and Venator (3,000 RP, Level 2), Stiletto and Bantam (3,000 RP, Level 1). A gun you don't have yet is worth more than a tier-II mag for a gun you already run.
• Your grenade / gadget of choice — Grappling Hook (2,000), Powered Descender (3,000), the mine and grenade blueprints (1,000–2,000). One good utility blueprint changes how you play a map more than a stat-stick attachment does.
• Gun Parts blueprints (Light/Medium/Heavy/Complex, 2,000–3,000) if you craft your own guns — these are the quiet enablers that keep you supplied.

Skip the tier-II attachment blueprints (Angled Grip II, Compensator II, Extended Mags II and friends, 2,000–3,000 RP each) until the above is done. They're real upgrades, but they're the definition of "nice later."

3. Everything else — and the one thing to never buy early

Furniture Designs are last. There are dozens of them (500 RP at Level 1, 1,000 at Level 2, 1,500–2,000 at Level 3) and they do exactly one thing: let you decorate an Outpost you interact with through menus, not by walking around. If you enjoy base-building, unlock them when your combat tree is done — never before. Dropping 500 RP on a Battered Diner Chair Design before you've researched a single weapon-perk node is the easiest way to waste early points.

How do you earn Research Points fast?

You earn Research Points by extracting with the special Research Items the station studies — you don't find "Research Points" as a pickup, and ordinary crafting materials are not the same thing. Community guides single out the Frigate Diagnostic Node as a large RP source, with smaller amounts from other ARC data items; Embark hasn't published a single official RP-yield table, so treat any specific per-item RP figure you see as community-reported rather than confirmed. What is reliable is where the high-value ARC loot lives: the Frigate and the Fallen Emperor interior, both reachable under the new map conditions.

The practical loop is the same one that funds every Outpost project:

• Run the Frigate and Emperor loops for the dense ARC-tech loot — the same route that drops Amplification Modules. Our Amplification Module farm guide covers the exact routes.
• Grab the Research Items, don't vendor them by reflex. The station studies specific ARC data items for RP, so pick those up rather than instantly selling everything. And before you sell "surplus," check what it crafts — Exodus Modules fetch 2,750 Coin at the vendor but are also a crafting material for weapons like the Hullcracker, so dumping them for Coin can cost you a build you're about to research. Keep your Research Items and your recipe materials; sell only the genuine excess.
• Clear the farm content efficiently — see our materials farming guide for routes that double as RP income.

If you'd rather skip the grind entirely and have the Outpost research done for you, that's exactly what our team does.

Want your Research Station maxed without the grind? Our ARC Raiders carries farm the Frigate and Emperor loops and push your Outpost research for you:

• ARC Raiders Outpost Research Boost — we run the loot loops and bank the Research Points so your station and amplified unlocks get done fast.
• ARC Raiders Frozen Trail Runs — Pendola Pass and Frigate loot runs that double as Research Point income.

FAQ

Are Research Points the same as Reward Points? No. Embark's Frozen Trail patch notes state that "Cred has been removed from the game and replaced by Reward Points" — Reward Points are the Reward Pass track. Research Points are a separate Outpost resource you spend only at the Research Station on blueprints, furniture Designs and weapon-perk research.

What should I unlock first with Research Points? The Level 4 weapon-perk research for the gun you run most, then the blueprints for weapons and gadgets you don't already own. Leave furniture Designs for last — they cost points and do nothing in a raid.

How much do Research Station unlocks cost? Prices range from 500 RP (the cheapest furniture Designs) to 5,000 RP for every Level 4 weapon-perk node, and the live ARC Tracker catalog lists roughly 126 unlocks across the four station levels. Most meaningful blueprints land in the 2,000–4,500 RP band. Note that the Level 4 nodes also cost materials on top of their points.

Why can't I research a Level 4 weapon perk even though I have the points? Every Level 4 node has three requirements: 5,000 Research Points, a task (several are in-raid "deal X damage with this weapon type" objectives), and a stack of materials — Thermite-Tipped Rounds, for instance, also wants five Firefly Burners. Points alone won't unlock them.

Where do I earn Research Points fastest? By extracting with the special Research Items the station studies. The richest spots for high-value ARC loot are the Frigate and the Fallen Emperor interior under the new map conditions — the same loops that drop Amplification Modules. Specific per-item Research Point values are community-reported and not confirmed by Embark, so prioritize the loot route, not a single rumored item value.

Should I sell ARC loot for Coin or keep it for Research Points? Depends on what you need. High-value salvage like Exodus Modules (2,750 Coin) is worth a lot at the vendor — but Exodus Modules are also a crafting material for weapons like the Hullcracker, so selling them can cost you a build. Hold the dedicated Research Items the station studies and the materials your recipes need; sell only the genuine excess.