Arc Raiders provides dangerous environments for you to explore, loot, and hopefully survive. It’s important to know what guns to use and which situations they work well in. Here we highlight the best weapons to equip in Arc Raiders so you can protect yourself and all your valuable loot. This list includes some powerful high-tier options as well as guns you can craft and use early in your game.
The weapons you choose for each raid will depend on your goal for the match. Weapons with heavy ammo are usually better picks for tackling fights with ARCenemies, while medium or light ammo is often enough to down raiders in PvP engagements.
Additionally, these guns can be upgraded to become even more powerful to use, and we have a full guide for upgrading weapons and workbenches in Arc Raiders. For more, check out our Arc Raiders quest list and starter tips.
Ferro
The Ferro is one of the best starter weapons in Arc Raiders. This single-shot battle rifle is a gun of common rarity that you can easily craft or find as loot when you’re just getting started with the game. The Ferro makes up for its slow firing and reload speeds with accuracy, long-range damage, and its ability to deal high penetration to ARC armor. This gun is a smart pick for fights against robot and human threats alike, so long as you can hit your shots.
Ferro weapon details:
- Ammo Type: Heavy ammo
- Firing Mode: Break-Action
- ARC Armor Penetration: Strong
The weapon allows for mods, and the suppressor can be a handy pick for taking long-range fights without giving away your position.
Rattler
The Rattler assault rifle is another great starter weapon in Arc Raiders. This common rarity weapon pairs well with the Ferro battle rifle mentioned above, as this is a full-auto gun that gives you a nice balance for combat. The Rattler is pretty well-rounded in terms of damage, range, and handling. Its high fire rate and moderate armor penetration make it decent for Arc enemies, but even better for PvP encounters.
Rattler weapon details:
- Ammo Type: Medium
- Firing Mode: Fully-Automatic
- ARC Armor Penetration: Moderate
The magazine capacity is low for a fully automatic gun, though. Tapping the trigger in bursts instead of spraying a ton of ammo will help you further improve your accuracy as well as conserve your bullets with this gun. Leveling up the Rattler will also increase the ammo capacity of the weapon.
Anvil
The Anvil pistol is a weapon of uncommon (blue) rarity. This is a powerful hand cannon, and it works well for most engagements. It doesn’t have the same long-range capabilities of the Ferro, but this is another single-shot powerhouse that works great in fights against ARC enemies or raiders. The Anvil being of uncommon rarity means it’s not too difficult to loot, craft, or purchase, and you get a lot of bang for your buck.
Anvil weapon details:
- Ammo Type: Heavy
- Firing Mode: Single-Action
- ARC Armor Penetration: Strong
The Anvil also has its own unique mod called the Anvil Splitter. This attachment is of legendary rarity, and it allows you to fire three separate projectiles per shot. This mod can make the Anvil feel more like a sawed-off shotgun with a tight pellet spread, but it can reduce your accuracy at longer ranges.
Bettina
The Bettina is a weapon of epic rarity. This assault rifle packs a deadly punch, and its strong armor penetration makes it best used against Arc enemies. It does suffer from moderate recoil, but burst firing this gun can allow you to tackle fights against robots at a good range.
It’s worth noting that the Bettina’s weapon durability degrades fast, and it requires valuable resources to repair. However, this is still a fun and powerful gun to use.
Bettina weapon details:
- Ammo Type: Heavy
- Firing Mode: Fully-Automatic
- ARC Armor Penetration: Strong
You can also further increase this weapon’s power with the gun’s unique legendary Kinetic Converter mod, as this will boost the gun’s fire rate by 15%. However, this attachment does add more kick with a 20% increase to both horizontal and vertical recoil.
Tempest
The Tempest is a weapon of epic rarity. This is an assault rifle that is really strong against raiders and decent when fighting Arc enemy types. It’s fully automatic and does have some recoil, but the gun’s kick is very manageable.
Tempest weapon details:
- Ammo Type: Medium
- Firing Mode: Fully-Automatic
- ARC Armor Penetration: Moderate
The mod slots for the Tempest are just the standard variety, but it’s worth considering at least throwing on a suppressor to help keep you from drawing too much attention.
Vulcano
The Vulcano is a weapon of epic rarity. This is a beefy, semi-automatic shotgun meant for close-range engagements. This is best for when you’re clearing buildings and taking out any raiders or small Arc enemies that cause you trouble. Its armor penetration is weak, so it’s not the strongest choice for larger Arc robots.
Vulcano weapon details:
- Ammo Type: Shotgun ammo
- Firing Mode: Pump-Action
- ARC Armor Penetration: Weak
The Vulcano also lets you equip a suppressor mod, so as always in Arc Raiders, it could be worth adding the attachment to remain stealthy on the map.
Hullcracker
The Hullcracker is a special epic-rarity weapon. This is essentially a grenade launcher designed to take down ARC enemies. The Hullcracker doesn’t damage raiders, so you’ll want a secondary weapon meant for PvP fights, but this launcher’s explosive rounds deal massive damage to ARC enemies. It’s especially great for bigger threats like the Leaper and Bastion.
Hullcracker weapon details:
- Ammo Type: Launcher ammo
- Firing Mode: Pump-Action
- ARC Armor Penetration: Very Strong
