Arc Raiders: Five essential tips to help you survive Topside

For as accessible as it is, Arc Raiders includes a surprising amount of depth for gamers. It is an extraction title, but there’s more to it than swiping the shiny things and extracting. Although, of course, you can do that if you want. What about the dangers, Topside? What Arc Raiders tips do we have to share with you to aid you with survival?

Glad you asked, and happy to help. Below, we’ll go through our top survival suggestions to help you make the most of your time Topside. More importantly, we want you to get back to Speranza without being knocked out. So expect a few tricks, some of nature’s finest treats, and a bit of integral item-reading to help smooth a passage to your extraction point.

The first rule of Arc Raiders shields is: don’t depend on them. Shields are important, and they will help you to survive. But they’re not an additional health bar. That probably explains why your health is getting shredded so quickly, even with a full shield charge. Shields simply reduce the damage coming in, so if you have low health, bandage up first.

Arc Raiders’ item descriptions are helpful here, and to understand shields, we’ve read these descriptions, so you don’t have to. As we say, shields offer damage reduction, not complete protection. The Light, Medium, and Heavy Shields offer varying percentages of reduction, too. Light Shields, 40% damage reduction; Medium, 42.5%; Heavy, 52.5%.

Not just this, though, the Light Shield is the only shield not actively reducing your movement speed. Medium Shield? 5% less movement speed. Heavy? 15% less. That’s a tradeoff you really need to account for. You’ll likely want less damage reduction with more mobility (Light Shield) in a firefight. Against BIG Arcs, when you can predictably take cover, maybe less so.

There’s a skill in the Arc Raiders skill tree under the ‘Survival’ branch, called ‘in-round crafting’. This handy skill allows you to create bandages, shield rechargers, and more, as long as you have the components with you while you’re Topside. This is definitely a skill worth picking up.

However, even without this skill, you can make the best of bad situations with a few key items. If you’re out of shield rechargers, Arc cores, lootable from Arcs you’ve destroyed (or that already litter the landscape), will help. These recharge 50% of a Light Shield over several seconds. Additionally, raw fabric you find restores small amounts of health. 

This is possible by equipping these items in your Quick Use area. Similarly, olives, lemons, apricots, and prickly pears can restore a small amount of stamina from Quick Use. That may not seem so useful, but if you’re running from Arc and can take cover to chomp on something, it can make the difference to help you escape. 

A top tip here is to use a microphone and try to avoid enabling the audio setting that says “Raider voice beta,” which can make you sound like your character. You are perhaps less likely to be shot if you talk with an actual voice, because it immediately marks you out as someone willing to converse and potentially provide backup.

One thing to avoid doing (please, for the love of Speranza), is running around everywhere spamming the “Don’t Shoot” emote. You may not know it, but the people using mics are secretly plotting a Topside takeover. Just kidding, but do vary the emote wheel communications. Spamming “don’t shoot” can have the opposite effect. 

Lastly, for Raider engagement, choosing the moment to engage has a huge impact on your survivability. If you try to help another survivor surrounded by Arcs, you may find a friend for the rest of the round. On the other hand, if you run in and try to sweep up all the loot, you may survive the Arcs only for the other Raider to turn on you shortly after.

One of the sneaky things about being Topside is using your shiny loot to good effect. That means not just keeping loot for use in projects for the next Arc wipe window. You may know that some Arc drop ammo, but there’s more you can do. A dropped fireball burner from a Fireball Arc can be used as an offensive weapon. Throw it like a grenade for flame damage.

You can also dive into your bag for a few more tricks in a tight situation. Got a spare Snitch Scanner? Throw it at your enemies and have them targeted by Arc (even other Arc) while you shoot or run away. Additionally, a Wasp Driver will explode if shot, and a Hornet Driver stuns Arc for 10s and Raiders for 0.5s. Got a volcanic rock? Throw it as an Arc distracter.

Such items shouldn’t be primary weapons when you’re putting together a loadout. Yet they can help to protect yourself, attack others, and allow you to escape if used inventively. After all, what you really want to do is get back to an extraction point with as much loot in your bag as possible. Any way you can make that happen is a good idea. 

If you’ve been caught out while attempting to reach an extraction point, then you know the struggle. It’s the last 10 minutes of the round, extractions are limited, you’re overencumbered, and the ‘no ammo’ warning is mocking you. Worse, a Snitch is floating around your only route home, threatening to tell on you.

Don’t underestimate the power of the Raider Hatch Key, which can help in this very situation. You can find these Topside, earn them in missions, buy them, and even craft them. Keep one where they’re useful (on you) if you’re on a mission for critical loot, trying to complete a quest you’ve failed several times, or in case you get those Bastion cells you wanted.

Ideally, you’ll want to keep your Hatch Key in your Safe Pocket. If you find an item you need more urgently, you can swap it out. Yet you don’t want to be blocked from the only extract point, or risk being taken out by other raiders by trusting their good graces. Keys are only useful if you use them; better that than a painful, ill-fated trudge across the map. 

So there you are, there are quite a few ways to make your survival easier when you’re out battling and avoiding other Raiders and Arc. Keep these in mind for the current Arc Raiders roadmap and beyond; although this Raider is confident there will be more tricks to uncover as the game continues to mature, evolve, and new items emerge.

Our final tip would be to stay curious, explore, and learn the maps’ best spots for survivability. But keep in mind you have extra items, skills, and information available to keep you a bit safer during your runs across the barren landscapes. It’s nice to know you have some extra options for health, shields, weapons, and distractions, isn’t it?