ARC Raiders has over twenty weapons, and many players judge their effectiveness solely based on weapon quality. This method isn’t entirely reliable, as each weapon has variations in feel and power.
Weapon quality isn’t the sole determinant of strength; performance and practicality are more important in combat. Since the game’s primary loot source is ARCs on the map, IGGM will rank PvE weapons below based on damage, effectiveness against specific enemies, ammo economy, and feel.
Tier-S
Weapons at this tier are the top choice for dealing with Arc enemies, offering exceptional performance. If you want to easily deal with tough ARC enemies like the Queen, then choosing to buy ARC Raiders items at IGGM.com would be your best option.
Hullcracker
- Quality: Epic
Hullcracker feels almost like a developer-given PvE cheat code. Its damage is very high, effectively dealing with large enemies like Bastion, Leaper, and Rocketeer. You can even use it to solo Queen. Moreover, it’s very economical compared to its benefits; you can acquire it for only 30,000 coins.
However, you’ll need time to practice hitting fast-moving small ARC units, and this weapon performs poorly in PvP, making it only suitable for PvE.
Anvil
- Quality: Uncommon
Although Anvil is only a green-quality hand cannon, its performance far exceeds its rarity. It deals amazing damage to Arc enemies, making it suitable for team challenges against Queens. Upgrading to level 3 or 4 makes it an even better weapon, with a faster rate of fire and faster kill speed. It’s like a single-shot shotgun at close range and a headache at long range.
This weapon performs well in both PvP and PvE, proving that weapon strength doesn’t solely depend on rarity.
Equalizer
- Quality: Legendary
Equalizer is a special beam rifle that can eliminate Arc enemies extremely quickly, and it feels very fun to use. The ammo economy is far superior to Jupiter; the same amount of energy ammo can deal more damage, and in PvP, it can also hit and tear other players apart.
Jupiter
- Quality: Legendary
Jupiter is also a legendary laser weapon, which you need to craft by obtaining a reactor by defeating Queen. It is very powerful against Arcs and very effective against enemies like Rocketeer. If your team has multiple Jupiters, clearing out Arcs will be very easy. It feels similar to Hullcracker, but it’s easier to hit targets.
This is also a purely PvE weapon. Its damage is more than 2.5 times that of Anvil or Ferro. As a laser weapon, it has near-perfect accuracy. The biggest drawback is that you need to craft it in large quantities or frequently trade ammo with merchants.
Tier-A
Tier A weapons are powerful and reliable choices, performing excellently in most PvE scenarios.
Ferro
- Quality: Common
Ferro is the most common combat rifle in the game and a perfect beginner PvE weapon. It’s easy to upgrade to level 4 and is very effective against Arcs. In PvP, it reliably deals damage and breaks shields at long range. It’s not useless in melee, but only skilled players can use it effectively.
However, it has the slowest kill time in the game, exceeding 11 seconds even at max level. It’s usually unable to solo a kill from full health.
Venator
- Quality: Rare
Venator is a pistol that uses medium ammunition, but its DPS is incredibly high. It can quickly melt small Arcs like Wasps, Hornets, and Fireballs, but it’s not the best tool against large enemies like Bastions and Leapers.
Venator boasts similar range and damage to Ferro and Anvil, but with a faster rate of fire, lighter weight, and greater maneuverability. It has virtually no weaknesses in PvP, and its low magazine capacity can be mitigated with attachments.
Renegade
- Rating: Rare
Renegade is an upgraded version of Ferro. Its damage is slightly lower than Ferro or Anvil, but its range is excellent, comparable to a sniper rifle. Unlike Ferro, it doesn’t require bolt-loading after each shot, greatly increasing its damage output. The upgraded rate of fire is high, dominating mid-to-long range and even performing well in close combat.
This makes it easy to deal with most enemies except for Bastions and Leapers, especially effective against small units like Wasps, Fireballs, and Snitches. Although its position is slightly overshadowed by Venator’s extreme DPS, it remains very powerful.
Torrente
- Quality: Rare
Torrente is a well-balanced LMG weapon. It can melt everything at close to medium range, without needing to specifically aim at Hornet’s engines like other ARC Raiders gear; just fire directly. It handles all small enemies with ease.
Not only can it destroy enemies at close range like a shotgun, but it can also suppress and lock down an entire corridor or area. The magazine capacity is 60-80 rounds, but only 17 body shots are needed to down a player, with a kill time of just 1.2 seconds. However, it is very heavy and difficult to obtain.
Tempest
- Quality: Epic
Tempest feels great against Arc, especially after level 4, where it’s as stable as a laser gun. In PvE, some Rare quality weapons and Ferro might be slightly better, but Tempest remains a reliable choice.
However, in PvP, it is extremely versatile. Because it combines Ferro’s range with Bobcat’s kill time, it can deal effective damage at close to medium range, and its effectiveness is further enhanced when equipped with a silencer.
Tier-B
Tier B weapons of this tier are usable, but less efficient than A-tier and S-tier weapons, and have some noticeable drawbacks.
Bettina
- Quality: Epic
Bettina is a slow-firing assault rifle, not very strong against Arc. Its biggest problem is its extremely fast durability depletion; it may break within a single game. Its advantage is its ability to fire heavy ammunition at a faster rate of fire than other heavy weapons, effectively suppressing flying units. However, overall, it needs improvement.
Arpeggio
- Rating: Uncommon
If all bullets hit, Arpeggio has the fastest kill time of all uncommon weapons, and is extremely deadly after upgrading and equipping an extended magazine. It performs well against Ark drones, is effective at both close and long range, and is quite versatile.
However, its cost-effectiveness is not high; unless the player particularly enjoys the three-round burst mode, there are usually better options.
Kettle, Bobcat And Stitcher
- Kettle: Common
- Bobcat: Epic
- Stitcher: Common
These three ARC Raiders weapons all use light ammo, and light ammo weapons generally perform worse than medium and heavy ammo. Stitcher is very similar to Bobcat, lacking range and struggling against long-range Wasp and Hornet. Kettle is more agile due to its longer range, but overall, it’s not a priority choice when any Tier A weapon is available.
Burletta, IL Toro, And Vulcano
- Burletta: Uncommon
- IL Toro: Uncommon
- Vulcano: Epic
Vulcano performs reasonably well in PvP, but in PvE, all three weapons have too short an effective range. Against Arc, don’t prioritize them if you have any Tier A weapon.
Rattler
- Quality: Common
Rattler is weak without upgrades, with a slow reload speed. Upgrades are decent, but not an excellent choice.
Osprey
- Quality: Rare
Osprey is the only medium-ammunition sniper rifle that requires aiming down sights. If you enjoy long-range sniping, it can be a low-A tier. However, you need to maintain distance and cannot sprint.
Tier-C
Hairpin
- Quality: Common
While Hairpin is cool as a stealth weapon, many other ARC Raiders items can be equipped with suppressors, and the effect is far superior. It also has the worst range besides shotguns, and stealth cannot compensate for its significant combat disadvantage. If you have any of the weapons mentioned above, you won’t choose it.
The above is the current PvE weapon ranking in ARC Raiders. IGGM suggests you adjust your equipment based on the ranking and your current weapon.