The drones are still flying high in ARC Raiders as it approaches its first full month after launch, we felt the need to scavenge for more useful tips and tricks regarding this unusual extraction shooter that really wants you to have fun.
Weapons feel particularly unique and entirely dependent on your playing style, which begs the question as to which is best. Let’s create a breakdown of the best ARC Raiders weapons and how to use them most effectively. Why keep a weapon in your loadout that doesn’t serve your purposes, right?
Best ARC Raiders Weapons
The Ferro – Heavy Hitting for Early and Mid-Game
The king of guns in ARC Raiders is the Ferro, at least at this very moment. This battle rifle arguably has it all, raw stopping power, pretty reliable accuracy and it chews through armor like it’s butter. The semi-auto mode lets you pick off drones from quite a distance, and the full-auto burst can decimate entire patrols in a jiffy.
What we like most about this rifle is the recoil control, which is quite the rarity, considering most of ARC’s high-damage weapons have a big recoil curve to control. Our tip would be to combine it with the Overcharge mod, which will make you king of the hill in PVP too – if your aim is true, of course.
Best Use Scenario: Long-range firefights and the odd boss encounter. The Ferro is perfect for players who prefer precision without sacrificing damage.
Kettle – The Semi-Auto You’ll Learn To Love
If you ask some of the already impressive Veterans of ARC Raiders (considering the game is so new), most of them would immediately dismiss the Kettle, but that’s a mistake in our opinion. It’s cheap, it’s good in PVP, and has a bigger magazine than the Rattler – with better recoil.
In capable hands, it deals with players quite effectively, but has the drawback of doing nothing to armor. Pair it with the Ferro and use one for bots, one for raiders. Simple.
Best Use Scenario: The Kettle is your anti-player workhorse. Its fast semi-auto shots and 20-round magazine make it perfect for suppressing enemies and melting unarmored raiders.
Stitcher: For When Range Doesn’t Matter
If you’re more of the CQC-type, the Stitcher is your gun. It’s a fully automatic SMG, with light ammo and yes, it kicks like a mule – but if said gun is stuck in your opponent’s ribcage, that doesn’t really matter.
It’s pretty cheap to craft, appears in free loadouts, and with a better mag and muzzle, it becomes one of the most reliable SMG’s in ARC Raiders.
Best Use Scenario: Use the Stitcher when fighting indoors, clearing bunkers, or when third-partying enemies who haven’t noticed you yet.
The Anvil: ARC’s Answer to Apex Legends Wingman
If you’re looking for a significant upgrade, the Anvil might just be the exception to the rule of “disregard blue/green guns”, because this revolver uses heavy ammo – and reminds us of the Wingman, in some way.
Used as a backup for the Ferro, its six rounds, high damage, and high penetration works well on players and robots alike.
Best Use Scenario: Used up close, one of the few uncommon weapons that doesn’t feel like it should just be uncommon. Best used as a backup gun.
Osprey – One Sniper Actually Worth Using
As much as we hate sniping in ARC Raiders most of the time, the Osprey is just one of those instances, where we just can’t stop doing so, ironically. Firing medium ammo and having a slim profile – meaning it doesn’t weigh much – it provides the only proper scope in the game, which warrants its existence in that use-scenario.
True, the Ferro is still better against Arc machines, but the long-range player control can’t be dismissed. If your aim is good, the Osprey let’s you open fights long before your opponent even knows what hit him.
Best Use Scenario: Use the Osprey for scouting, overwatch, and long-range pick-offs. It’s the best tool in the game for initiating fights on your own terms.
The Vulcano: Your Best Friend for CQC
It’s a shotgun named the Vulcano – what more do you need to know? This monster is our favorite shotgun in the game, thanks to the tight spread, huge damage output, and light weight – especially for an epic gun.
It truly vaporizes players, and isn’t half bad against Arcs, if you’re close enough, that is. The caveat is, you can’t use it as your only pick, because at long ranges…well. It’s a shotgun. What’d you expect.
Best Use Scenario: The Vulcano is the perfect weapon for breaching buildings, storming Arc nests, or punishing anyone who dares to run into you.
Tempest – A Great All-Rounder
We’ve talked about a lot of single case usages of guns, but this assault rifle can be used as your only pick, if you really wanted to.
It’s accurate, very consistent and excels at medium range. The repair price is huge, but it’s worth it, in our opinion. The Tempest is great in PVP, pretty effective against Arcs, and should be your gun to handle almost any situation – if you are indeed looking for a jack of all trades.
Best Use Scenario: This is your primary PvP rifle for open-field firefights. Its accuracy and rate of fire make it the ideal choice for medium-range duels.
The Bettina – Heavy, Heavy, Heavy
With a name like that, you’re probably not surprised to tell you that this isn’t some delicate gun – it’s heavy, folks. It fits neatly between the Ferro and an LMG, with its slow fire rate, high damage, and yes – heavy ammo usage.
This could arguably be cited as the premium Ferro, but it trades reload speed for continuous fire. Expensive to maintain, but unbeatable in terms of versatility.
Best Use Scenario: The Bettina excels in mid-range engagements where you need high-damage bursts without committing to a sniper or shotgun.
The Hullcracker – The Arc-Killer
Nothing in ARC Raiders deletes Arc robots faster than the Hullcracker. Nothing.
Its explosive shots don’t even activate on players – this thing is purely designed to crack Arc armor open like a tin can.
Bring it when you know you’re going bot-hunting. Bring literally anything else to deal with players.
Best Use Scenario: This weapon has exactly one job: obliterate Arc machines. Use it against large mechanical enemies, armored patrols, and boss-tier Arcs.
