Everything you need to know about ARC Raiders

Hello there, I’m Aleksander Grøndal, the Executive Producer for ARC Raiders and today I want to discuss everything you need to know about what’s in the game.

ARC Raiders is a multiplayer extraction adventure, set in a lethal future earth, ravaged by a mysterious mechanized threat known as ARC. Enlist as a Raider and scavenge the surface to thrive in a desolate world. But beware of the machines. Beware of Raiders preying on others.

In short, you’ll build a name for yourself in Speranza by taking on quests, improving your gear with treasures scavenged from the dangerous world above, and making it back alive. Come back with your pack full or pass out on the surface and return empty handed. Each trip above will weigh risk with reward, and every decision you make comes with a consequence. Let’s dive into some more detail:

Topside

Topside is the place where you spend most of your time in ARC Raiders looking for valuable loot. This could be gameplay items you can use to your advantage or items you can bring back to craft with. More of that later.

The first thing you have to be aware of is you are not alone up there, ARC machines will be looking for you.

The ARC come in many different shapes and sizes, but be aware, they are all significant threats to any Raider. You will face the small 8 legged spider looking machine called Ticks. These are small and stealthy creatures that live inside structures that tend to cling to roofs and walls and will jump and attack any unaware Raider.

The Snitch can be seen in the air looking for suspicious activity, and if they spot a Raider out in the open they will call in reinforcements. Make sure to stay hidden or take them out quick.

We also have larger machines like the Leaper, who patrols outside and poses massive threat with its destructive leap attack.

Or the Bombardier who with the help of Spotter drones will seek Raiders out and target designate for a lethal mortar attack.

There are more ARC, like ground based Pop, Fireball, and Bastion & flying ARCs like Wasps, Hornets, and Rocketeers. Each with their specific strengths and weaknesses which offer unique challenges.

There are even larger machines, as large as an apartment building roaming the surface at times. The Queen is furiously defending the Harvester, a structure with unknown purpose. Taking on the Queen will most likely lead to a quick defeat, but for a seasoned Raider there’s always a way. There are even rumors of other large variants too…

ARC is by far not the only threat topside, there are other Raiders up there, as well. Maybe you can make a friend or two, but watch your back as other Raiders are competing for the same loot. You can choose to go alone or as a squad of up to 3 players, all viable in different ways.The matchmaking will prioritize Squad vs. Squads and Solos vs. Solos.

The Rust Belt

All topside ventures take place in different locations around the Rust Belt. Your first location will be Dam Battlegrounds, a map that offers forests, swamps, old research centers and apartment buildings. It’s a good place to learn the ropes and many places to explore.

After a while you will also visit Buried City, a pre collapse city now covered in sand dunes. Here you will explore Hospital, Mall, Town Squares, Apartment buildings and old architecture.

The Spaceport is a derelict launch facility filled with old technology across different industrial locations.

The Raiders have also found their way to the Blue Gate, a location higher up in the mountains featuring open areas, small towns, tunnels, and underground complexes to name a few.

There are even rumors of a place called Stella Montis, but what that is and how to get there is still unknown…

All locations feature different weather and times of day, and on top of that at times a location might have special conditions applied. These are events that take place on a map that changes how this map is played and what rewards it offers. Some of these are called Night Raids that take place at night (duh), where the loot is better and the threat of ARC is higher. Other conditions are Harvest Season that offers higher yield of nature loot, or Electromagnetic Storm, Hidden Bunkers etc. to name a few. The Rust belt is a place of constant change and offers all kinds of challenges.

Speranza - Home

Due to the ARC threat on the surface, humans have created a new living in the relative safety below the surface. It’s here Raiders come home to after visits topside. Here you can perform various different actions and build your own personal home below.

Performing various actions topside grants your Raider experience points (XP) and when you reach certain thresholds your Raiders level increases. For each level the Raider is also awarded skill points that you can spend to learn new skills and abilities. There are a plethora of choices here, so you will be able to configure your Raider to your personal preference. A more mobile Raider, more stealthy? Carry more? The choice is yours.

Topside there are also Feats to complete, these are small objectives like destroy 5 Wasps etc. that upon completion grants your Raider Cred. These Cred can then be spent to unlock rewards in Raider Decks. These are essentially different pages with rewards, and as you unlock rewards new pages become available. There will be both free and paid Raider Decks over time, and while most of them are permanent, some are time limited as well.

There is also the Codex, this is a growing repository of your Raider’s accumulated knowledge about ARC, the people and places in the Rust Belt. The more you progress, the more entries you will unlock.

Your Workshop is where you will be able to upgrade, craft and repair your gear and weapons. Your workshop itself can be upgraded too and as you progress you will be able to craft more and better gear.

The Traders of Speranza are central figures in the community, and as you will find out - they often have different agendas. They will send you on quests that will tell the story of the Rust Belt and reward you for your help. The Traders will also trade you items and buy items you do not need.

There are also Trials to complete every week, these are harder challenges that come in multiple difficulty levels, and if you perform well you will be ranked on Speranza's Raider leaderboards. Every week, new Masteries and rewards will be available.

You will also do larger Projects in Speranza, and Virgil outlined the details of the Expedition project here.

Preparations

Ready to go topside? You can customise your Raider and make the Raider you want to be.

You can customise your raider with different Faces, Face Styles, Hair Styles and Body type. Additionally you can choose cosmetics that come with a wide array of color options and detail toggles that let you define your style. No Raider is complete without a Backpack, so you will have options there as well as backpack attachment and charm.

Additional cosmetics can be unlocked by completing quests, leveling up, being unlocked in Raider Decks or be purchased in the in-game store.

Looking dapper certainly helps, but looks alone will not be able to carry you through the dangers topside. You need some good weapons and gear as well.

Customize your Raider to fit your playstyle with a plethora of Weapons, everything from the Rattler a simple automatic rifle, to Vulcano - a close range shotgun, to more high tech weapons like energy weapons like the Equalizer and more. There is a lot to choose from here, and you can further specialize your weapons by adding attachments or taking them to your workshop for full on upgrade.

Gadgets are useful tools topside and you can equip your Raider with everything from Lure Grenade to trick the ARCs, to ziplines, mines, door blockers, grenades, flares, bandage, etc the list goes on. You can also find some of these gadgets topside, but in most cases you are better off coming topside prepared.

The Shield and Augments are two items that further allow you to customise your playstyle. Do you want to be fast and light and sacrifice carry capacity? Or perhaps you want to maximise your offensive capacity for more gadgets and ammo? Maybe heavy shields are your thing?

Being a Raider means that sometimes you run low on items. Thankfully there are ways to get back on your feet. First, there are Free Loadouts, these are a set of items given to you by the citizens of Speranza to help you on your way - feel free to use whenever, no strings attached. Secondly there is your trusty rooster friend Scrappy that has a very nice habit of collecting items for you. Thank him by training him or give him some nice cosmetics too!

So, are you ready to become a Raider? The Rust Belt awaits, full of challenges, treasures, and untold stories. Whether you choose to brave it solo or forge alliances, ARC Raiders offers a dynamic and evolving experience we hope you will all enjoy!

Pre-order rewards

To celebrate the Server Slam we have added an additional pre-order reward, The Bruiser Bundle, for all players who purchase any edition of ARC Raiders ahead of launch.

All pre-orders receive:

• The Bruiser Bundle, including Bruised Face Style, Punch Hands Emote, and Boxing Gloves Backpack
• Attachment The Lucky Duck Bundle, including the Hatchling Backpack and Golden Rubber Duck Backpack Charm

You can pre-order ARC Raiders on your favorite platform here!

See you topside soon Raider!

Best of luck, Aleks