ARC Raiders Baseline Character Stats Comparison: Complete Archetypes Guide

I’ve sunk a stupid number of hours into ARC Raiders. Most of the early ones were spent running around Topside like a headless chicken, dying to the first Wasp I couldn’t outrun, and blaming “bad RNG.” Then it clicked: the game wasn’t punishing me, I was just allocating my skill points like a drunk raccoon.

So here’s the guide I wish someone had slammed into my face on day one. It’s long, it’s opinionated, and yes, I’m a little bit in love with this game’s build system. Let’s go.

The Great Equalizer: Everyone Starts the Same

First thing that blew my mind: there are no classes. No “pick the tank at character creation and live with it forever.” Every Raider drops into the wasteland with the same baseline, and that’s honestly a breath of fresh air after years of hero shooters where your pick locks you out of half the fun.

Here’s what everybody gets at the start:

• 100 base health. Once your shield is gone, ARC machines and rival Raiders chew straight through this.
• A normalized stamina pool. It drives sprinting, dodge rolls and vertical movement, and it refills when you walk, crouch or stand still.
• A baseline carry weight. Go over it and you’re encumbered, which hammers your stamina and wrecks your mobility.

That last one has killed me more times than I’d like to admit. Greed is a hell of a drug. You find a juicy stack of salvage, you stuff your bag, and three seconds later a Hornet is on you and you can’t even roll properly. Lesson learned. Painfully.

The 75-Point Puzzle

Your actual identity as a Raider comes from spending up to 75 skill points across three branches: Mobility, Conditioning and Survival. Seventy-five sounds like a lot until you realize you can’t have everything. That’s where the real fun (and the real arguing on Discord) starts.

Mobility: for people who hate getting hit

If your philosophy is “you can’t shoot what you can’t catch,” this is your home. A few nodes I genuinely love:

• Marathon Runner: cuts the stamina cost of long sprints. Rotating across open ground suddenly feels free.
• Youthful Lungs: raises your maximum stamina pool. Simple, boring, great.
• Nimble Climber: faster vaulting over obstacles. It sounds minor until you’re being chased and every quarter-second counts.
• Sturdy Ankles: less fall damage. Perfect for the “jump off the building like a lunatic” crowd, which includes me.

Mobility also tweaks things like slide distance, and that all adds up to feeling slippery in a way the other two branches can’t match.

Conditioning: for people who like taking a punch

This tree is for the brawlers. Honestly, it’s where I found the most “oh WOW, that’s clever” moments:

• Used to the Weight: halves the movement penalty from heavy ballistic shields. If you run a big shield, this is borderline mandatory.
• Unburdened Roll: after your shield shatters, you get a free dodge roll that costs zero stamina. That feels incredible in a panic.
• Fight or Flight: stamina regenerates faster when you take a hit. It rewards you for being in the thick of it.
• Downed but Determined: stretches your bleed-out timer by up to 30 seconds at max rank. Thirty seconds is an eternity when your squadmate is sprinting over to pick you up.

Survival: for the loot goblins (hi, it’s me)

Survival is all about economy, utility and carrying capacity.

• Broad Shoulders: +10 kg of inventory space. Yes please.
• Stubborn Mule: softens the stamina penalty of heavy loads.
• In-Round Crafting and Traveling Tinkerer: let you craft medical items, tools and consumables during the raid instead of waiting to get back to Speranza.

I can’t overstate how good it feels to patch yourself up from scrap in the field when you were fully ready to write off the run.

The Four Builds Everyone Keeps Talking About

You can respec at the Speranza workshop using Coins, which means you’re never stuck with a mistake. Because of that, the community has settled on four main archetypes. Here’s the quick-glance table, then my honest takes on each.

Aggressive Assault: loud, fun, a little reckless

Split: 45 Mobility / 23 Conditioning / 7 Survival

This is the “kick the door in” build. You trade away inventory space for speed and weapon handling, and you lean on Conditioning perks to survive the first exchange of fire.

Loadout I’d suggest: Jupiter LMG (Tier 3), Tempest AR (Tier 2) and an Atlas sidearm, with Stabilized Grip, Armor Weave, Shock Grenades and Stim Packs.

My verdict? It’s a blast, but you will go home empty-handed more often than not. Your bag is tiny, so every good find hurts to leave behind. If you want adrenaline over profit, this is it.

Long-Range Sniper: patient, smug, deadly

Split: 50 Mobility / 15 Conditioning / 10 Survival

I was so surprised to see how much Mobility a sniper wants. But it makes sense: you’re constantly relocating to new high ground, and you don’t want to arrive exhausted with shaky sway.

Loadout: Ferro Anti-Materiel Rifle (Tier 3), Rattler DMR and a Bobcat SMG as backup. Add Breath Control, Spotter Augment, Sensor Mines and Smoke Grenades.

Quick warning from experience: the Ferro hits like a truck against armored ARC weak points, but its durability drains fast with every shot. It’s expensive to keep alive. Plan your scrap and Coins accordingly, or you’ll be crying at the workshop.

Support & Combat Medic: the build every squad secretly needs

Split: 35 Mobility / 25 Conditioning / 15 Survival

Nobody brags about playing the medic. Everybody wins because of the medic. This hybrid gives you solid down-state defense, faster revives, and a deployable shield for instant cover at choke points.

Loadout: Hydra Burst Rifle (Tier 3), Tempest AR and Bobcat SMG, plus Combat Medic Augment, Deployable Shield, Med Gel and Ammo Beacon.

Conditioning is the quiet MVP here, since it softens the shield-handling penalties while you hold a line against ARC forces. I’ve had matches where a decent medic literally carried a squad that was getting out-gunned.

Stealth Loot Rat: my heart, my soul, my shame

Split (fixed to 75): 15 Mobility / 20 Conditioning / 40 Survival

Yes, this is my personal favorite. Pure Survival investment unlocks nodes like Broad Shoulders and Security Breach, which lets you crack valuable lockers quietly. You avoid fair fights entirely and slip past heavy ARC patrols to loot hot zones nobody else dares touch.

Loadout: Vesper Suppressed Carbine (Tier 3), Orion DMR and Throwing Knives, with Silent Steps, Cloaking Emitter, Flash Drones and a Hacking Kit.

It’s less about combat skill and more about patience and nerve. Is it the strongest? Probably not in a straight fight. Is it the most satisfying when you extract with a bag full of goodies while two squads fight each other three buildings away? Absolutely.

Weapons Matter More Than You Think

Here’s something I wish the game explained better: your build lives and dies by your weapon upkeep. Guns degrade with use, and the more you fire, the closer you get to a critical failure at the worst possible moment.

Here’s how I think about the trade-off:

• High-tier weapons (like the Ferro) deliver huge damage and armor penetration, but cost a lot in scrap and Coins to maintain.
• Lighter options (like the Bobcat SMG or Rattler DMR) have great fire-rate efficiency and sustain, but they struggle against the reinforced plating on heavy bosses.

So don’t just pick the biggest gun and call it a day. Match the weapon to your stamina budget and your carry weight. A heavy loadout on a low-Mobility build is a recipe for gasping for air in the middle of a firefight.

Mistakes I Made (So You Don’t Have To)

1. Spreading points evenly. It feels “balanced,” but you end up mediocre at everything.
2. Ignoring weight. Encumbrance is a silent killer. Respect it.
3. Never respeccing. Coins exist for a reason. Experiment!
4. Copying a build without a plan. Pick a role first, then pick nodes.

Best ARC Raiders Abilities Ranked: Complete 2026 Skill Tree Guide

Final Thoughts

If you take one thing from this wall of text, let it be this: ARC Raiders rewards intention. Everyone starts equal, so every death is a lesson in your own choices rather than some invisible stat gap. That’s rare, and it’s a huge part of why I keep coming back.

Respec often, test weird combinations, and don’t be afraid to fail a few runs. The Speranza workshop is basically a laboratory, so treat it like one.

Now tell me, forum: which archetype are you running, and what’s your hottest hot take on it? I’ll be Topside, probably sneaking around a locker I shouldn’t be near.

How To See Your Stats On Arc Raiders (EASY Tutorial)