Mastering Rusted Tools in Arc Raiders–Best Farming Routes, Gear Loadouts & Extraction Secrets

Rusted Tools occupy a delicate position in Arc Raiders. They are crucial to gameplay and the overall experience, serving as key items from the early to mid-game, but acquiring them is not straightforward.

These mechanical components each weigh 2 kilograms, and each slot can stack three components. They are the key tools for upgrading Gunsmith's Workshop from level one to level two.

I will summarize some key points from my experience acquiring Rusted Tools in Arc Raiders, including how to efficiently obtain, farm, and use them, as well as the best maps, optimal farming locations, and routes to obtain more Rusted Tools during each combat.

1. Respawn Locations

Arc Raiders map is divided into four distinct themed areas: Mechanical, Electronic, Technological, and Old World. Your HUD will only display the current area's label when you enter it.

You can only obtain Rusted Tools from the loot pools in Mechanical area.

Since the spawn points for Rusted Tools are random, you need to remember the locations of multiple Mechanical areas. Simultaneously, you need to plan a route connecting multiple mechanical spawn points. This allows you to efficiently acquire more Rusted Tools in a shorter time.

Even if you open empty chests during your search, you'll still gain experience points. Therefore, open as many chests as you can find as possible to increase your experience while acquiring Rusted Tools.

Opening a chest takes a few seconds, during which you will be unable to attack or defend. Opening a chest also makes noise, so you need to ensure your safety while opening chests to prevent nearby hostile players or ARC patrols from hearing the noise, discovering you, and posing a threat.

To address this, you can use binoculars to remotely observe the spawn points before opening chests, but this doesn't guarantee complete coverage. Therefore, you can carry some ARC Raiders Items, such as Photoelectric Cloak, to conceal yourself from ARC detection, greatly increasing your safety while opening chests.

2. Equipment Strategy

You can choose two equipment strategies when acquiring Rusted Tools.

The first is the free equipment strategy.

The first strategy involves arriving at Mechanical area with a limited-capacity backpack and basic equipment, quickly collecting Rusted Tools if possible, and then safely evacuating through the nearest raider hatch or silent exit. This strategy incurs no losses even if the evacuation fails, but the security and rewards are minimal.

The second strategy is customized equipment.

This involves carrying some advanced equipment, such as a sturdy shield for cover (e.g., Heavy Shield), and weapons with high penetration against machine enemies (e.g., Hullcracker IV and Bettina IV).

Fighting ARCs can have a ripple effect; one engagement will attract more ARC patrols, making it essential to carry targeted weapons with high penetration.

Combined with Photoelectric Cloak I mentioned above, it not only avoids unnecessary combat but also provides a balance of high defense, high attack, and high concealment. This reduces the risk of acquiring Rusted Tools and significantly increases the return on investment.

It's worth noting that it's best to keep a set of Rusted Tools or other high-value materials in your safe pocket. This way, even if your extraction fails, the items you obtained from your safe pocket won't disappear.

3. Extraction Points and Evacuation Strategy

After acquiring Rusted Tools, if you want to take them with you, you need to safely evacuate from the extraction point. The map provides extraction methods with different risk levels. I will list two different extraction strategies for your reference.

First, Raider Hatch Strategy

If you are carrying high-level equipment and valuable items, this extraction method is the preferred choice. You only need to obtain a Raider Hatch Key through crafting, random drops, or from the vendor Shani in Speranza.

This allows you to extract safely and silently.

The second strategy is the standard extraction strategy.

A standard extraction point, once triggered, will emit a piercing alarm, revealing your location and attracting a large number of ARC patrols and nearby hostile players. Therefore, beforehand, you need to clear all ARC patrols stationed near the extraction point and discuss firefight and defensive tactics with your teammates.

However, if you arrive at the standard extraction point early, you can also choose to set traps to ambush other hostile players who arrive after completing the above preparations.

Besides ending the match with gunfights, you can also negotiate with other solo players, perhaps forming an alliance to fight against ARC patrols together. But remember, there are no permanent friends, only permanent interests; don't completely trust others.

Finally, remember to put Rusted Tools you collect into your safe pocket.

4. Workshop Upgrade

The main purpose of Rusted Tools is to upgrade Gunsmith Workshop to level 2. You need to collect 3 Rusted Tools in Mechanical Area. Also, don't forget you need to collect 5 Mechanical Components and 8 Wasp Drivers.

Before setting off, don't forget to check your inventory for any missing items and quantities.

For each Rusted Tool you find, you have three options: sell it to a merchant for 1,000 Coins, recycle it at your base, or dismantle it in a raid.

However, if you don't urgently need currency, it's best to recycle Rusted Tools at your base for maximum benefit. Since Rusted Tools are progress currency, you can use any remaining Rusted Tools to craft other needed items after upgrading your Gunsmithing skill.

After each match, Scrappy the Rooster will give you free materials, so check what you've gained before selling or recycling tools.

5. Stash Management

Before collecting Rusted Tools, consider the weight of your weapons, equipment, and other materials. A stack of Rusted Tools weighs 6 kg. Your default inventory in Speranza has 64 slots, each holding three Rusted Tools (one stack).

Therefore, you need to calculate your warehouse capacity before heading to the mechanical area. If you have enough materials, you can also choose to buy more warehouse slots. This is crucial to how many items and materials you can bring out, not only when collecting Rusted Tools.

The above is a summary of my experience in acquiring Rusted Tools, and I hope it's helpful to you. My biggest takeaway is that you reap what you sow. You can refer to this according to your own needs.