Arc Raiders is going to be many players’ first foray into the world of an extraction shooter, particularly for the console crowd who have not had access to many of the genre mainstays, and have instead been cursed with things like DMZ.
But players new to the genre might not immediately know what skills are going to make the most immediate difference, and what ones aren’t worth the early investment. There are a handful of skills that are going to make a difference every single round, and they’ll make the transition into the genre quite a bit easier to handle.
8
Looter’s Instincts
You’re going to be spending a lot of time looting in Arc Raiders; that’s going to be true early on, and it’s going to be true later on, as well. There’s no way around that fact, but one thing that can make it a little bit easier is looting faster.
This skill is going to increase the speed at which loot in a container is revealed. On its face, it might not seem like it makes an incredible difference, but that time saved over the course of an entire round adds up to something meaningful.
7
In-Round Crafting
It is going to take you a while to understand every resource that you need to craft crucial items, but one way to quicken that process (and make some valuable things in the middle of a run) is to gain the ability to craft while topside.
Sometimes you’re going to eat through the resources that you carried in your backpack on the way up quicker than you expect, and the ability to replenish some of those by crafting topside can save you from wiping and losing all of your loot.
6
Silent Scavenger
We mentioned it above, but you’re going to be looting quite a bit. You’re also going to be coming across other Raiders quite a bit, too. And there are few easier ways for another Raider to get the drop on you than hearing you looting, and taking advantage of your inability to defend yourself.
Silent Scavenger is going to make your looting quieter, and that might make the difference. If an enemy doesn’t hear you looting, the odds of them discovering your presence are lower. Which means you might end up getting the drop on them, instead.
5
Agile Croucher
Stealth is going to be a tactical necessity often in Arc Raiders. Stealth doesn’t necessarily mean that you don’t ever get into fights or aren’t aggressive; stealth can simply mean you maneuver around quietly in order to get into a fight where you’re at an advantage.
This is often going to require crouching in order to move quietly. Unfortunately, crouching slows down your movement by quite a bit. But with this skill, it’s going to lessen that movement penalty by a noticeable amount.
4
Marathon Runner
There are going to be large portions of every run where stamina is not an issue. But when stamina does become a problem, it’s suddenly the most valuable resource around, second only to health.
This skill is going to ensure that you use less stamina by moving around. This ensures you can use stamina that much more defensively or aggressively, and it can make a big difference in a fight.
3
Youthful Lungs
This is related to the last skill, and is the next one in the tree. What’s better than your actions taking less stamina to perform? Having more stamina to begin with.
Having both of these skills combined is going to make a tremendous difference for you. You’re going to be capable of so much more with this skill combination, and other players are not going to be able to keep up.
2
Gentle Pressure
There are going to be certain containers that you’ll find in Arc Raiders that require breaching in order to open. This is an extremely loud (and occasionally extremely loud) process, and it can attract the wrong kind of attention.
This skill makes breaching noticeably quieter. This does not transform it into a stealthy operation by any means, but it does mean that enemies are going to have to be measurably closer in order to hear it, rather than seemingly anywhere in a 50-meter radius.
1
Proficient Pryer
While the sound aspect of breaching a container is definitely the most worrying, the time it takes to breach can be an important factor, too. This is less so when it comes to stealthy operation, and more important when it comes to breaching items like Arc Probes.
Arc Probes are often lying out in the middle of an open area, and time spent around them is time that might just be spent in the crosshairs of an enemy. Being able to pry things open faster means you can get back to relative safety that much sooner.
ARC Raiders
- Released
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October 30, 2025
- ESRB
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Teen / Violence, Blood
- Developer(s)
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Embark Studios
- Publisher(s)
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Embark Studios
- Engine
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Unreal Engine 5
