ARC Raiders Guide: The Most Annoying ARCs and How to Deal With Them

ARC Raiders has a lot of threats its players need to contend with. Other players are, of course, near or arguably at the top of that list. Everything else on that list, however, is the ARCs. The robots that come in various shapes and sizes, some more difficult to destroy than others, all of them dangerous, and all of them, to some degree, annoying to deal with.

This guide will take you through the most annoying ones, most of which are also the ones you'll have to deal with practically every time you go Topside, and how to deal with them when you come across them.

One note I will add before getting into how to deal with the following ARCs is that one way to 'deal' with all of the ARCs you'll face is to simply not engage with them. Sneaking around them is always an option that should be explored if it's there, because more often than not, you're better off not wasting the resources and getting into a fight that could just bring more attention to you.

If you attract other ARCs (or other players) to you, that could easily turn into a situation where you're heading back to Speranza empty-handed.

For more guides on ARC Raiders, check out our complete walkthrough and guides hub, and check out our dedicated ARC Raiders hub for all of our coverage of Embark's third-person extraction shooter.

ARC Raiders Guide: The Most Annoying ARCs and How to Deal With Them

Wasps and Hornets

I'm grouping these together because they're often found patrolling together, but also because taking them down requires the same approach. Despite their less-than-intimidating names, they can easily get the better of you if you're not careful, especially when they're travelling in pairs.

Wasps are equipped with a light machine gun that'll pepper you pretty quickly if you can't get behind cover. Thankfully, between them and the Hornets, Wasps are the easiest to deal with, because their weak links are always exposed: their four thrusters.

Shooting two out of four of their thrusters is enough to take them down, and you should only be aiming for their thrusters if you find yourself engaged with one or more of them at once. Hornets have their front thrusters covered by armour, which you can shoot at to knock off and expose their front thrusters, but you're better off getting a clean shot at their thrusters in the first place.

That's because Hornets don't have a light machine gun attached to them; they are instead equipped with an electric shock weapon that shocks and stuns you if you get hit. Engaging a Hornet head-on, especially if you don't have a strong weapon that you know will be able to cut through its armoured plates, is a recipe for disaster. If you need to give yourself more time to find cover or to find a spot to hide, shooting at a Hornet just before it's about to shoot will throw off its aim and give you a chance to get to safety.

Outside of taking down their thrusters, a well-placed grenade (preferably something that'll stick to them) can also do the trick, as you'll get a chance to stick them with a grenade when they hover in front of you for a split second.

What makes these two of the most annoying ARCs in ARC Raiders is the potential combo damage they can do if you're not careful. One stuns you while the other depletes your health. That's why you have to be quick in hitting their thrusters or quick with a sticky grenade. Otherwise, you might not make it back to Speranza.

Pop and Fireballs

Pops and Fireballs are another grouping of ARCs because they can often be found in the same areas, even if they don't patrol together in the same way that Hornets and Wasps do. Both of them also employ similar tactics, since all they'll do is rush you once you get in their sightline. It's that constant pressure that makes them annoying to deal with.

Pops will rush you and blow themselves up at your feet. You can survive one, even two Pops rushing you in quick succession, but you don't want to be caught with more than two rushing you, ready to destroy themselves to get rid of you. That's why dealing with them is all about doing your best to spot them before they spot you. If you know you have a weapon strong enough to take them out from range, and they haven't spotted you yet, then fire away. Otherwise, you're better off using a grenade or a mine to deal with them.

That goes double for Fireballs, which are equipped with armour that'll be tougher to break through if you miss their exposed core when they're not closed up in a sphere. If you hit that core, then you'll have no trouble taking them down with whatever you have on hand. If you miss it, they'll close up and keep themselves protected against your fire, and once they're sitting in front of you, they'll unleash their flamethrowers, which can overwhelm you if you're not careful.

That's why having a mine or a grenade at the ready to take them down when you still have the element of surprise is the way to go. If you do get stuck unloading your weapon on either of them, just make sure you have a weapon with Medium or Heavy ammo on hand, and can get some distance before taking them out. Weapons that use Light ammo will be ineffective against a Fireball's armour. Pops will still blow up wth the potential to damage you, and Fireballs will leave the area immediately around them covered in fire.

Rocketeers

There are some ARCs in ARC Raiders, like Snitches, that'll make a lot of noise and draw more ARCs to you, because ARCs like the ones mentioned above need to be told where you are; they won't be able to spot you from any kind of significant distance. That's not exactly the case with Rocketteers.

These flying monstrosities will be able to pick you up from distance and instantly make you regret not just walking into their sightlines, but playing ARC Raiders in the first place. They're equipped with missiles that'll take you down in a couple of strikes, and similar to how you deal with Pops and Fireballs, the element of surprise is your absolute best strategy.

The other key to taking down a Rocketeer is sticky grenades. If you can get a Trigger Nade or Snap Blast grenade to land on one of its thrusters, that gives you a serious shot at actually taking a Rocketeer down.

If possible, make sure you have somewhere you can duck for cover once you've launched your grenades. Trying to maneuver around its missiles while out in the open is a recipe for disaster, and because of its heavy armour, you'll need a strong weapon to do some damage once the element of surprise is gone.

Shredders

Shredders are just as bad as their name suggests. Like Pops and Fireballs, their main tactic is to rush you, but unlike either of those rolling robos, Shredders hover to get around, and when they rush you, they won't blow themselves up; they'll rapidly expel shrapnel in a large blast and shred through your shield and health.

The only good thing about Shredders is that you're not going to run into them outside of Stella Montis, but that's also what makes them annoying to deal with. They're deadly in close quarters, and the halls of Stella Montis don't exactly have a lot of places to hide, unless you're able to quickly close a door behind you when running into a separate room.

Their armour makes them tough to take down with your weapon alone, which is why, once again, grenades are your best friends here. As is, once again, the element of surprise, if you have it. Once you've engaged a Shredder, you'll want to ensure you have a couple of grenades ready to deal with it, since one won't necessarily do the trick.

Your best chance to get your next hit in after your initial strike is when it's getting ready to attack. It'll stop in place to charge its shrapnel branch, and that's your best opportunity to launch a grenade at its thrusters.

Leapers

Last on this list are Leapers. These leaping giants are heavily armoured and difficult to take down. Not just because they're more than twice your size, but their armour makes them tough to eliminate if you're just trying to shoot at them.

Once again (you may have noticed a pattern here), your best option is to use grenades. Sticky grenades will work fine, but what you'll really want to reach for are Blaze Grenades. You'll need at least two to take it down, and you'll want to try to get both of them off as quickly as possible when you have the element of surprise.

Alternatively, if a Leaper has already spotted you before you can get your first or second grenade to land, wait for it to jump, and when it lands, it will stay in place for a short moment to charge up a blast attack. While that attack is charging, that's when you'll get your chance to throw another grenade. When you run out of grenades, it's best to have a weapon that uses Heavy ammo on hand to finish it off.

NOTE:Guide based on 35+ hours of playtime in the PlayStation 5 up-to-date version as of February 9. Screenshots from the same version.

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