Discover ARC Raiders Weapon Meta: Tier List, Best Guns & Game-Changing Buffs Revealed

In the perilous battlefields of ARC Raiders, choosing the right weapon often determines whether you emerge laden with loot or become just another corpse in the ruins.

With numerous balance adjustments and new weapon additions in ARC Raiders, the strength of various weapons has subtly shifted. Understanding the advantages, disadvantages, and uses of different weapons can help you find the most suitable one.

Whether it’s PvP or PvE, whether it’s a small Arc or a large Arc, this latest ARC weapon guide can help you.

Not Recommended

Hairpin

Hairpin remains one of the worst weapons of ARC Raiders. Although it has a built-in suppressor, it requires reloading after each shot. Every game probably needs some low-tier weapons, and Hairpin is one of them. It can certainly deal lethal damage, but only if the user is highly skilled.

Kettle

Kettle is a semi-automatic rifle with a decent rate of fire. However, some novice players later exploited macros, allowing Kettle to reach its maximum rate of fire with a single button press, thus disrupting the game balance. Consequently, the gun was nerfed. After the rate of fire cap was lowered, while it could still down enemy raiders, it was significantly slower and lost its former glory.

Arpeggio

Arpeggio is a three-round burst rifle. Tier 4 version of Arpeggio boasts an impressive kill rate, theoretically faster than Venator III. However, the lower-tier versions of Arpeggio have extremely poor handling, especially at long range. Unless you plan to upgrade it to Tier 4, I don’t recommend using it in either PvE or PvP.

Average

Rattler

Rattler is a fully automatic rifle with a magazine capacity of only 12 rounds. It takes 14 rounds to down a fully shielded raider, but this can be mitigated by equipping an extended magazine. Theoretically, its kill rate is faster than Kettle's ; while not amazing, it’s decent.

Pharaoh

Despite its small magazine capacity, slow reload speed, and the need for manual reloading after each shot, Pharaoh is incredibly powerful. Using heavy ammunition, Pharaoh is very effective against low-level Arc enemies, making it a reliable and economical choice for clearing out some of the smaller, more troublesome Arc enemies in Arc Raiders. You can use it to weaken the raider first, then switch to a more lethal melee weapon like Stitcher.

Bettina

Bettina is a fully automatic rifle with a slow rate of fire. However, because it fires heavy ammunition, it’s very effective at medium to long ranges, whether in close-range or wide-range engagements. Bettina’s magazine capacity, durability, and reload speed have now been improved, and upgrading Bettina increases its rate of fire. A level 4 Bettina has a pretty good kill rate, which PvE players will appreciate, but PvP players will usually opt for other, more lethal mid-range weapons.

Burletta

Burletta is a semi-automatic pistol with a decent kill rate. It’s reliable and reasonably priced; even the basic Tier 1 version can take down enemy raiders faster than Venator III. However, it requires rapid fire to reach its full potential.

Torrente

Torrente is a fully automatic heavy machine gun with a top rate of fire. It’s bulky and poorly handled, but Torrente is incredibly powerful. Even at Tier 1, it can deal significant damage to heavy ARC enemies with its hurricane-like medium ammunition. Most players use it to eliminate enemy raiders at close range. If you can overcome its poor handling, it’s a bulky but elite weapon.

Osprey

Osprey is the only weapon in ARC Raiders equipped with a first-person scope. It has low durability and a slow rate of fire, but it’s incredibly fun to kill raiders at infinite range. Experienced players can pull off incredible maneuvers with Osprey, but this requires a lot of practice and skill to consistently hit targets in combat.

Canto

Canto is a fully automatic submachine gun with extremely strong recoil. As one of the two new weapons added in Flashpoint update, Canto boasts a very fast kill rate, but requires upgrades and weapon attachments to control its spread and recoil. Furthermore, obtaining ARC Raiders Canto blueprint is extremely tedious. However, for players who want to quickly eliminate enemy raiders with close-range firepower, the cost is definitely worthwhile.

Anvil Splitter

Anvil Splitter is a unique gold attachment for Anvil, transforming the weapon into something entirely different. Now, each shot fires four pellets, making it function like a mid-range shotgun. Its damage per shot is considerable and can be used against ARC enemies. However, Anvil Splitter is somewhat lacking as a gold weapon attachment, less efficient in PvP than IL Toro, and therefore still needs improvement.

Tempest

Tempest is a fully automatic assault rifle that performs well in both PvP and PvE, and many players appreciate its versatility. Its kill speed is incredibly fast, even faster than Ventor 4, but Tempest is best suited for mid-range combat. In close-quarters combat, it’s inferior to Bobcat, Torrent, and Volcano. In PvE, it’s decent against low-level ARCs, but struggles against high-level ones.

Aphelion

Aphelion is a two-round burst rifle with powerful Arc Armor Penetration. It has also received some enhancements, including reduced recoil, improved reload speed and handling, and faster aiming stability. These changes make it feel lighter and more lethal in PvP, but its kill time is only average, slightly inferior to other mid-range PvP weapons.

Recommended

Anvil

Anvil is a green-tier semi-automatic revolver, adept at destroying low to medium-level ARC enemies and excels at taking down enemy raiders at close to mid-range. Anvil has remained virtually unchanged since ARC Raiders update, making it a top-tier weapon. It’s a nemesis of low-level ARC enemies and is also very useful in PvP. Even as a green-tier weapon, it remains a top-tier all-around weapon in 2026.

Stitcher

Stitcher is a fully automatic short-range submachine gun. When ARC Raiders was first released, Stitcher, although a gray-tier weapon, was a powerful tool for killing raiders. Now, Stitcher has been nerfed, with reduced damage output and increased bullet spread. While its damage isn’t as high as it initially was, its shorter kill time makes it a powerful and reasonably priced PvP weapon.

IL Toro

When ARC Raiders was first released, IL Toro, despite being only a green-tier weapon, was arguably the best weapon in the game for killing other raiders. Although it has now been nerfed with a significantly reduced rate of fire and a slightly shorter damage drop-off point (previously requiring two shots to down a medium-shielded enemy, now requiring three), it’s still very powerful. IL Toro remains an elite-tier and reasonably priced raider killer.

Renegade

Renegade bolt-action long-range rifle performs well against low-flying targets and is highly efficient at eliminating enemy raiders at mid-to-long range. While its kill time may not seem impressive, Renegade’s strength lies in its near-accurate rate of fire for long-range raider kills. Although upgrading this weapon is very expensive, Renegade is definitely worth it if you plan to participate in long-range PvP.

Ventor

Ventor is a semi-automatic pistol that has been the undisputed best PvP weapon in ARC Raiders since its release, far ahead of the competition. Even after several nerfs, and no longer being the undisputed best weapon in the game, a max-level Ventor remains a very efficient and reliable PvP weapon, still very powerful at close to mid-range.

Equalizer

Equalizer is a fully automatic heavy machine gun with an extremely high rate of fire. Equalizer has remained virtually unchanged since the release of ARC Raiders. It can easily strip through the armor of even the toughest ARC enemies, making it a top-tier weapon against Queen and Matriarch, and is considered one of the strongest and most stable PvE weapons in ARC Raiders.

Bobcat

Bobcat is a fully automatic submachine gun with an extremely high rate of fire, making it one of the most lethal close-range PvP weapons in ARC Raiders. If the enemy doesn’t have a Vulcano or other effective defensive measures, they are almost certainly dead once Bobcat user fires first. Bobcat has a large bullet spread and significant recoil. Its fatal weaknesses are low long-range damage and a small magazine capacity, but these can be easily overcome by close-range use and crafting extended magazine attachments. It remains a powerful tool for eliminating Raiders.

Hullcracker

Hullcracker is a pump-action grenade launcher. Hullcracker was very powerful when ARC Raiders was first released, but was later nerfed, for example, by reducing its damage output against wide-area targets and increasing the price of ammunition. Despite these frustrating changes, Hullcracker remains an indispensable primary weapon in PvE, still capable of creating massive holes in large ARC enemies.

Vulcano

Vulcano is a semi-automatic shotgun with a very high rate of fire. Currently, it’s arguably the strongest close-range PvP weapon in Arc Raiders, theoretically boasting the fastest kill speed of all guns. Furthermore, Vulcano’s blueprint has been significantly easier to obtain, suggesting this weapon is likely to be nerfed soon. Be careful of close-range attacks from enemies using Vulcano.

Jupiter

Jupiter is a long-range, anti-arc sniper rifle that requires charging for each shot. Since the release of Arc Raiders, Jupiter has received several buffs, including higher magnification and improved handling. Each shot deals significant damage, and with high accuracy, it can effectively penetrate large, heavily armored ARC targets. It excels particularly against the newest advanced flying arc-shaped enemies like Vaporizer.

Dolabra

Dolabra is a unique weapon. When hip-fired, it functions like a shotgun, but when aimed, it transforms into a more accurate mid-range rail gun. In PvE, its damage is indeed high, but it’s less effective than Jupiter and Equalizer when dealing with wide-area attacks. However, it’s highly efficient in PvP, capable of taking down enemies at close range with just two hip-fire shots, while also providing decent damage at mid-range.

In ARC Raiders, no weapon is absolutely perfect. True survival masters know how to switch weapons flexibly based on the battle situation, enemy type, and their own resources. Learn more about the latest information and find the survival style that best suits you.