In Arc Raiders, exploring the surface is fraught with many dangers, the most common of which is enemy AI known as ARCs. These fearsome robots come in all shapes and sizes, creating a variety of challenges that players must overcome to return to Speranza with their loot.
To combat these mechanical monsters, you’ll have access to a variety of weapons. However, not all weapons are created equal: some are better suited for combat with other players than for destroying ARCs. To help you know what to bring, we’ve compiled a weapon ranking that will show you the best weapons for taking down robots.
Overall weapon rating for PvE
Before we dive into the ratings themselves, it’s important to understand the criteria we use to evaluate weapons. The first and foremost criterion is effectiveness in PvE scenarios . How a weapon performs against players is irrelevant here .
Additionally, when evaluating weapons, we will heavily consider factors such as damage, versatility, ammo efficiency, and availability . We also evaluate weapons only in their base form, without attachments or upgrades. While some weapons do improve significantly with leveling, not all have the resources for constant upgrades.
There are many weapons in Arc Raiders, and while some may be better than others, that shouldn’t dictate your choice. If you like a particular weapon, feel free to take it into the raid. Just remember that some are much more effective at killing ARCs.
Also, the order of weapons within the same tier does not mean that one is better than the other.
Here’s a quick overview of how each weapon ranks in our PvE rankings:
| Level | Weapon |
|---|---|
| S | Hullcracker, Bettina, Anvil, Renegade, Ferro, Jupiter |
| A | Venator, Equalizer, Tempest, Aphelion |
| B | Torrente, Kettle, Burletta, Arpeggio, Osprey |
| C | Rattler, Vulcano, Bobcat, Il Toro |
| D | Hairpin, Stitcher |
Level S
Hullcracker
The undisputed king of PvE , the Hullcracker grenade launcher is specifically designed to destroy ARCs of any size. With a standard five-round magazine, it can effectively clear out a swarm of Hornets or deal with larger prey like a Bastion or a Leaper. Widely used against bosses like the Queen and Matriarch, the Hullcracker excels thanks to its high armor penetration, blast radius, and damage output. A blueprint for this weapon is guaranteed to drop from a specific quest or can be purchased from vendors, making it an easily accessible and extremely powerful PvE weapon that almost anyone can obtain.
Bettina
There was a time when the Bettina wasn’t quite as high-ranked, but thanks to its durability changes, this heavy-round-chamber assault rifle has become another fantastic option for countering ARC. Its low rate of fire is offset by its high damage, making the Bettina an excellent choice for hitting enemy robots’ weak points and quickly dispatching them. It’s a reliable weapon against almost any type of ARC. However, since it uses heavy rounds, inventory management can be a bit of a challenge. However, if you can utilize the upgraded Sniper Rifle, this drawback can be mitigated, and then the Bettina truly shines.
Anvil
My primary choice for ARC encounters is the Anvil revolver chambered for heavy ammo. It offers strong damage, a decent rate of fire, excellent accuracy, and is readily available to most players. It’s excellent against enemies like Hornets, Wasps, Fireballs, Shredders, and even Ramparts —the Anvil’s accuracy and range make it easy to exploit specific weaknesses. While it doesn’t have the devastating power of the Hullcracker, for casual raiding, it’s arguably the best PvE weapon in the game.
Renegade
Another fantastic option for PvE is the Renegade, a repeating rifle that fires medium-sized rounds. Its high accuracy and damage per shot make it ideal for pinpointing weak spots. It’s especially effective against flying targets like Hornets or Wasps, which can be downed with a single, well-aimed shot. Despite its low rate of fire, its effectiveness in PvE is undeniable, especially in the hands of a patient and accurate marksman.
While it lacks the devastating power of heavy-round weapons, the Renegade makes up for it with a solid rate of fire and incredible range . This rifle can quickly destroy most standard ARCs, making it a versatile weapon well-suited for most non-boss scenarios. With eight rounds in the magazine, a skilled player can quickly dispatch a small swarm of Wasps or other robots. Furthermore, since it uses medium-round ammo, the Renegade is very economical with ammo—often only a couple of stacks are needed for an entire raid.
Ferro
The cheapest and easiest to obtain weapon in the S-tier, the Ferro is a fantastic budget weapon that deals surprisingly high damage, which makes up for its single-shot nature. While you’ll have to reload after every shot, the Ferro is excellent for taking down standard ARCs without depleting your ammo too quickly. Furthermore, the Ferro can appear in free loadouts , making it ideal for those struggling financially or looking to stockpile a serious supply. Its only drawback is its single-shot nature, which makes it less effective against swarms of enemies or tougher ARCs.
Jupiter
From cheapest to one of the most expensive, the Jupiter is the first legendary weapon on our list. The most powerful weapon in the game in terms of sheer damage , the Jupiter obliterates everything in its path. While there’s a slight charge delay before firing, the Jupiter’s sheer power more than makes up for the wait. Its high armor damage also allows it to quickly take out ARC cores , making it a fantastic choice for large targets like the Jumper, Rocketeer, or Bastion. Its only drawback is its availability, as acquiring the blueprint requires solving the Sweeper puzzle, and finding one on someone else is even rarer!
Level A
Venator
The Venator is a powerful firearm widely used due to its versatility in both PvE and PvP scenarios. While most use it for the latter, it also performs surprisingly well against ARCs. This is facilitated by a favorable combination of rate of fire, damage, and accuracy at medium and close range. While it’s not suitable for taking down tougher robots, it’s a reliable weapon for picking off Wasps , Hornets , and other pesky enemies during a raid.
Equalizer
Another legendary weapon, the Equalizer is a high-DPS machine gun best described as a mini-laser cannon. Capable of literally tearing apart any ARC robot, it’s extremely powerful and effective against any target it encounters. Like the Jupiter, the Equalizer quickly penetrates armor, allowing for direct attack on the enemy’s core. However, its weakness is its ammo consumption, as it consumes it at an incredible rate , especially against bosses. While most owners of this weapon can afford it, you’ll need to dedicate a significant amount of inventory space to its ammo.
Tempest
The second most effective assault rifle in PvE , the Tempest offers moderate armor penetration, a good, controllable rate of fire, and solid damage. With a standard 25-round magazine, it’s similar to the Renegade or Anvil: excellent for casual raids where you’ll encounter a large number of weak and medium-sized robots. Being an assault rifle, it allows for quick target switching, making it possible to quickly dispatch groups of enemies. However, at long range, its effectiveness falls off slightly, and its insufficient heavy armor penetration makes it less effective against tougher and larger bots.
Aphelion
The Aphelion is similar to the Jupiter in that it sacrifices a high rate of fire for a slow but devastating shot.
Firing two bullets per shot, the Aphelion requires some practice to control the recoil and consistently land the second bullet. However, for those willing to put in the time to master this weapon, this legendary rifle is capable of piercing the armor of most ARC robots in seconds. It’s also the most accessible Legendary blueprint, as it can drop in Stella Montis, allowing most players to obtain it simply by clearing that map.
Level B
Torrente
There’s something deeply satisfying about killing enemies with the Torrente. One of two light machine guns in the game, the Torrente sacrifices accuracy and range for rate of fire and close-range damage. This weapon literally spits bullets, and within ten meters, a short burst will vaporize most standard ARC robots. While this makes it an excellent choice in tight spaces or against close targets, the Torrente is much less stable at medium and long range. Furthermore, the need to carry a lot of ammo and the weapon’s low mobility can pose problems on more open maps like Spaceport.
Kettle
The current scourge of PvP , the Kettle is a semi-automatic rifle with good range, accuracy, and decent damage for a weapon chambered for light ammo. While the Kettle isn’t my first choice for PvE, it’s not a bad weapon in a pinch. Its single-shot fire makes it easy to target specific weak points on common ARC robots, like the Fireball core or the Hornet’s vents. However, its low damage means it will take quite a few shots to take down most flying robots, even with accurate aim. It’s serviceable in a pinch or with free gear, but I wouldn’t rely on it specifically for PvE.
Burletta
Like Kettle, Burletta is a flexible weapon that can make quick work of regular ARC robots if needed.
However, the Burletta suffers from the same problems as the Kettle . Its use of light ammo means minimal armor penetration, making it practically useless against the tougher ARC robots. While I love this pistol, it’s mostly only good for taking down Wasps , Fireballs , Pops, and Ticks. I wouldn’t rely on it for quick kills against other robots.
Arpeggio
I know a lot of people make fun of the Arpeggio, but it performs quite average against ARCs. Burst fire makes it easier to control recoil and accurately hit weak points on key targets like Sneetches and Hornets . However, this rifle’s damage output isn’t outstanding, making it a weak choice against stronger enemies like Jumpers or Shredders . Its armor penetration is worse than other weapons in this ranking, so it’s best used against standard ARC robots.
Osprey
The Osprey is a unique weapon in Arc Raiders, as it’s the only weapon you can aim down sights . This alone makes it extremely effective at hitting small weak points, like the joints of Bastions , but it comes at the cost of mobility and speed. As a bolt-action sniper rifle, you’ll have to reload after every shot, and there’s not always enough time to do so. However, the Osprey is excellent for picking off targets at a distance , allowing you to clear a path for any ARC robots. Of course, this is a double-edged sword, as the Osprey is terrible in close combat and can become a liability if a swarm of Wasps is flying around you .
Level C
Rattler
The Rattler is one of those weapons that, with an upgraded version, could be a high-tier B or even A. However, the base version of the Rattler is simply “okay.”
Yes, it can deal decent damage and has manageable recoil, but its very small magazine size and even slower reload time make it difficult to fight multiple ARCs simultaneously . There’s a good chance a single magazine won’t even be enough to destroy a Hornet , putting you in a rather dangerous position. If you have a Rattler IV, you won’t encounter this problem. However, the base version is rarely worth picking up outside of the free loadout.
Vulcano and Il Toro
I’ll cheat a bit and combine these two weapons into one post. Shotguns are generally quite difficult to use against most ARCs in the game. While both deal a lot of damage, their limited range makes it very difficult to deal with flying targets (or any enemies you want to keep your distance from). Furthermore, the pellet spread makes aiming at specific weak points difficult, and you’ll have a hard time shooting off their limbs. Both of these shotguns are decent on maps like Stella Montis, but for focused combat against ARCs, there are so many other weapons that are worth choosing.
Bobcat
The Bobcat is another weapon that suffers in its base form due to its extremely high rate of fire and small magazine. Unless you’re within five meters of your target, this submachine gun will often miss and likely won’t kill whatever you’re shooting at. This can make the Bobcat quite awkward to use, as more agile enemies like Wasps require short bursts of fire. As with shotguns, the Bobcat is effective at point-blank range, but at any other range, almost any other weapon should be used to combat the ARC.
Level D
Stitcher
This may be a controversial opinion, but I find Stitcher to be just deeply disappointing in PvE.
Yes, it’s great against Raiders and smaller enemies like Ticks, Pops, or Fireballs , but it’s useless against anything more serious. Flying targets, unless they’re hovering low, are difficult to deal with. While some of these issues can be addressed by upgrading the Stitcher or equipping it with a larger magazine, ultimately, this weapon is much better suited for dealing with Raiders than robots.
Hairpin
It’s Hairpin. You’re either using it as a joke, you have absolutely no money, or you’re trying to kill someone for a funny video. Please, use something else .
