From controls to your first successful extraction — the complete new player guide for ARC Raiders.
ARC Raiders is an extraction shooter by Embark Studios set on a post-apocalyptic Earth where you fight hostile ARC machines and other players. Your goal: collect loot, survive, and extract safely. Sounds simple? It's not — but with this guide, you'll get up to speed quickly and avoid the mistakes that kill most beginners in their first few hours.
Unlike battle royale games, ARC Raiders isn't about being the last one standing. You drop into a map, collect weapons, materials, and blueprints, then need to escape at an extraction point. If you die, you lose everything you were carrying — similar to Escape from Tarkov or The Cycle: Frontier.
💡 Important: Your secure stash (inventory) never loses items on death. Only items you bring into a raid or find during the raid are at risk. So don't take your best gear into unknown territory!
Before you jump in, learn these default key bindings:
| Action | Key |
|---|---|
| Movement | W A S D |
| Sprint | Shift |
| Crouch / Slide | C (while sprinting → Slide) |
| Jump | Space |
| Aim Down Sights (ADS) | Right Mouse |
| Fire | Left Mouse |
| Reload | R |
| Interact / Loot | F |
| Inventory | Tab |
| Open Map | M |
| Switch Weapon | 1 / 2 |
| Use Item | 4 / 5 |
| Ping | Middle Mouse |
💡 Tip: Enable "Auto-Sprint" in settings. It saves your pinky finger and lets you focus on navigation and situational awareness instead of holding Shift.
Don't bring valuable equipment on your first few runs. Start with the default items the game gives you and focus on learning the map layout.
ARC Raiders has several maps, each with its own difficulty and loot distribution. Here's where to start:
Difficulty 2/5. Available immediately. The Dam Battlegrounds (Alcantara Power Plant) is a lush area with a dam, power plant, ranger station, and flooded areas. Low PvP traffic and plenty of PvE loot make this the perfect learning ground. Key landmarks: The Dam (central, high loot), Power Plant (tech loot and mods), Ranger Station (safe loot spot), and the Flooded Area (hidden containers). Use vegetation as cover — bushes hide you from ARC patrols.
Difficulty 3/5. Unlocks after 8 raids. A sand-buried desert city with narrow alleys and rooftops. This is where you'll farm your first big blueprints, including the Tempest. Higher PvP risk but much better loot. Check our detailed Buried City Loot Guide when you're ready.
Difficulty 3/5. Unlocks after 12 raids. A massive abandoned spaceport with hangars, research labs, and a control tower. More open terrain means sniper danger between buildings. 40-minute timer in Hidden Bunker events gives you more time to loot.
Difficulty 4/5. Unlocks after 18 raids. Mountain landscape with tunnels and underground complexes. Use elevation to your advantage — high ground wins fights here.
Difficulty 5/5. Unlocks after 24 raids. The hardest map in the game with the best loot. Snow-covered research facility with the strongest ARC units. Only go here with your best gear and when you're fully confident in your combat skills.
Your weapon choice matters a lot. Here's what beginners should focus on:
The Tempest is the most versatile weapon in the game with 367 DPS, great range, and easy-to-control recoil. It uses Medium Ammo which is everywhere. Once you get the Tempest blueprint (farm it in Buried City Night Raids), you'll have the best weapon for any situation.
The Ferro is free to craft and has the highest single-shot damage (40). Use it as a secondary for opening fights — land the first shot, then switch to your primary. Perfect for budget loadouts when you're still building your stash.
The Bobcat has the highest fire rate in the game and dominates close-quarters combat with 400 DPS. If you like getting in people's faces, this is your weapon. Uses Light Ammo which is abundant.
💡 Tip: Never bring your best items into a raid on a map you don't know yet. Start cheap and learn the routes. Use the Loadout Builder to plan different setups for different maps.
Extraction is the most critical moment. This is where most beginners die. Follow these rules:
ARC Raiders has a gear-risk economy similar to Tarkov. Here's what you need to know:
Once you've got the fundamentals down, here's where to go next:
💡 Final tip: ARC Raiders rewards patience and map knowledge more than raw mechanical skill. Spend your first 10+ hours just learning the maps, understanding spawn patterns, and figuring out loot routes. The kills will come naturally once you know where to be and when.