Copyright Screen Rant
By far the biggest mechanic that sets ARC Raiders apart from its competition in the extraction shooter market is its much greater focus on PvE content, rewarding players who work together to take down the deadly automaton threat. Even games like Hunt Showdown and their greater emphasis on fighting against AI still pit players against each other, which the core premise of ARC Raiders works against, thanks to incredibly deadly ARC enemies. While you can survive most of the smaller threats on your own or with a few friends, many of the larger ARCs in the world of ARC Raiders are drastically harder to face without the help of other players, especially if you aren't coming in with a full PvE build. Thankfully, there are several ways to gain a competitive edge against the AI in ARC Raiders by following a few simple tips for each. How To Detect & Defeat Ticks In ARC Raiders Being the weakest variation of enemy in ARC Raiders, Ticks are more of an annoyance than an actual threat, and can be defeated with a single shot from most firearms or a well-timed melee strike, for them to drop the following rewards. ARC Alloy Tick Pod The main attack of a Tick comes from launching itself at you and slowly draining your health and shield, but paying attention to the tapping sound of its six legs and robotic chirps will let you get the jump on it first. How To Avoid & Destroy Pops In ARC Raiders As one of the most common interior enemies you'll find in ARC Raiders, not paying attention to your surroundings can easily get you killed by these explosive enemies. Rolling towards you at surprisingly fast speeds, you'll know you've been spotted when a Pop starts flashing its red light at you and beeping repeatedly, with the sound speeding up the most right before it detonates. ARC Alloy ARC Powercell Crude Explosives Pop Trigger Thankfully, Pops are susceptible to most ammo types in ARC Raiders, with Heavy ammo being able to take them out in a single strike. It's also safest to fight Pops from as far a distance as possible or on elevated terrain where they can't reach you, especially since they can often be found in groups. How To Spot & Destroy Fireballs In ARC Raiders Looking incredibly similar to Pops but in a more perfectly spherical shape, Fireballs have much less instant death potential. However, they can still be a frustrating hazard when faced alongside other enemies, as they shoot out an area of fire in front of them. ARC Alloy ARC Powercell Fireball Burner Another significant difference is that Fireball shells are much more resistant to non-heavy ammo than Pops, except when they open their plating to attack, which is the best time to fire back if you don't have a heavy weapon handy. The Fireball Burners dropped by these enemies are also a great makeshift incendiary grenade for taking out other raiders or ARC enemies, such as Leapers. How To Spot & Destroy Surveyors In ARC Raiders Despite having the same spherical shape as the much smaller Pops and Fireballs, Surveyors have drastically more health and will flee the moment they take damage for the first time. Thankfully, Surveyors will occasionally open their shells to scan the environment and report nearby player positions to any ARC in the area, leaving them much more vulnerable to your attacks in the process. ARC Alloy ARC Powercell ARC Motion Core ARC Circuitry Advanced ARC Powercell Sensors Surveyor Vault While they will only charge into players as a last resort, the biggest challenge to fighting Surveyors doesn't come from the ARC themselves, but actually managing to chase them down long enough to defeat them. Given their quick speed, you're better off following them until they open their shell and using strong explosives with heavy ammo, as it can be hard to find them again after running away on specific maps. How To Easily Defeat Wasps In ARC Raiders Wasps are by far the most common enemy you'll face on the outdoor surface of ARC Raiders, which can be easily dispatched by targeting one of their four thrusters. After 1–2 thrusters have been destroyed, flying enemies like these will plummet to the ground before exploding instantly, after which you can loot their goods. ARC Alloy Wasp Driver Simple Gun Parts Light Ammo The biggest danger when it comes to Wasps is that they're much faster than most other aerial enemies and often hunt in pairs, making it wise to stay around cover to avoid detection or wait out their bursts of automatic rifle fire before attempting to strike back. How To Identify & Defeat Hornets In ARC Raiders While similar to Wasps, Hornets are a much more heavily armored variation that can be spotted by their larger and darker design. While the front thrusters are armored and require blasts from a heavier weapon to remove, their back thrusters don't have the same protection and are a much better target to prevent wasting your ammunition. ARC Alloy ARC Powercell Hornet Driver Simple Gun Parts Medium Ammo Firing out a single charged taser as opposed to a Wasp attack, Hornets can be more easily dodged with the right timing, but can pack a significant punch in the meantime that does massive shield damage while stunning you in place. Thankfully, the Hornet Drivers dropped by these ARC can be used to temporarily stun enemies, letting you target the weak spots of stronger ARC variants with ease. How To Defeat Snitches In ARC Raiders Snitches can be one of the most unsuspecting deadly enemies in ARC Raiders due to their ability to summon additional ARC, making it best to avoid detection by them altogether if you can help it. If you do alert a Snitch or want to farm their materials, you'll once again want to target one of their three thrusters surrounding the center shaft. ARC Alloy ARC Powercell ARC Synthetic Resin Sensors Snitch Scanner The most challenging aspect of fighting Snitches is how high up they often fly, making long-range heavy ammo weapons like the Ferro a fantastic choice for fighting them, especially with their ability to destroy a Snitch thruster in one hit. The Snitch Scanners dropped by these enemies are also incredibly useful, as they can summon ARC to attack enemy players. How To Avoid & Destroy Turrets In ARC Raiders Like Pops, Fireballs, and Ticks, ARC Turrets can only be found indoors, often spawning within high-traffic rooms like lobbies or elevator shafts of high-value loot buildings. Thankfully, the cone of vision of Turrets is easy to spot with their wide blue light, allowing you to avoid them entirely for a stealthier approach. ARC Alloy Light Ammo Simple Gun Parts If you do get spotted or want to take down Turrets, their lack of armor makes it fairly easy with just about any ammo type, especially if you utilize cover and peak out to attack in between their automated bursts of fire. How To Avoid & Destroy Sentinels In ARC Raiders Acting as a similarly stationed ARC enemy, like the Turret, the main difference between the two is that Sentinels are found outdoors, defending important locations. With a drastically longer range, Sentinels will track you with a red laser before shooting out a single high-damage heavy ammo attack. ARC Alloy Advanced ARC Powercell ARC Coolant ARC Synthetic Resin ARC Thermo Lining ARC Motion Core Sentinel Firing Core Heavy Ammo While these turrets can easily catch unsuspecting players off guard, breaking line of sight with cover will temporarily reset them long enough for you to peek out and shoot the small yellow capsule weak spot under their swiveling arm. How To Take Down Rocketeers In ARC Raiders Being the most powerful aerial ARC and responsible for the most beta deaths with 301,564 Raiders killed during the ARC Raiders' playtest, Rocketeers are the first of the larger ARC enemies that can be a nightmare to take down solo. Being incredibly armored and capable of dealing with area-of-effect rockets, you'll want to have plenty of healing supplies and nearby cover with enough room to avoid splash damage from nearby attacks. ARC Alloy ARC Powercell ARC Motion Core ARC Circuitry Advanced ARC Powercell Heavy Gun Parts Rocketeer Driver Heavy Ammo If you do decide to take on a Rocketeer for yourself, you'll want to focus on targeting a single thruster or its glowing red core that appears when reloading. Well-timed dives are also an excellent way to avoid lethal damage, especially while getting close enough to use any sticky or stun grenades that can help you blast through its armor plating more easily.
