ARC Raiders Carry Run

Raiders, surprisingly, Bettina has been buffed again in ARC Raiders update, receiving significant improvements in both damage and rate of fire. It seems Bettina might be poised to become one of the strongest PvE weapons in the game.

So how will this fully automatic Assault Rifle perform in combat?

Specific Changes from the Two Buffs

In the major Riven Tides update, Bettina's base damage increased from 14 to 16. While the rate of fire reverted from 285 to 235, single-shot dispression was reduced by 40%, recoil recovery was increased by 30%, and damage against ARC armor was increased by an additional 33%.

This means that despite a slight decrease in rate of fire, the accuracy and armor penetration of each bullet are significantly improved.

And the most recent update further increased its rate of fire from 235 to 250. More importantly, upgrading this weapon to level four grants an additional 15% rate of fire bonus, bringing the final rate of fire to over 280.

This almost returns it to the original level of Bettina, while retaining higher single-shot damage and armor penetration.

Furthermore, Bettina's durability has also received a subtle boost. A level one Bettina can fire approximately 759 rounds continuously before breaking; upgrading to level four increases durability by 130%, allowing it to fire nearly 900 rounds, significantly reducing repair frequency and making it ideal for extended combat.

If you're lucky enough to equip Kinetic Converter mod, the rate of fire can be increased by another 15%. At this point, Bettina's burst damage approaches or even surpasses some Legendary weapons.

In summary, this weapon has transformed from a mediocre rifle into an absolute mainstay in ARC Raiders PvE environment.

Kill Efficiency Against Different ARCs

Small ARCs

When dealing with small ARCs, Bettina's clearing ability is key.

• Wasp: Only 2 bullets are needed to destroy its thruster, and about 8 to the body. Using an angled shot from below, even 4 bullets can take down the entire Wasp.
• Fireball: Requires 2 bullets to penetrate its armor on the front, but if you wait for its weak point to open, one shot is enough for an instant kill, extremely efficient.
• Pop: A shot to the top weak point will take it down in one shot, while hitting the side armor requires 2 bullets.

Medium ARCs

• Surveyor: If every bullet hits the core area, it only takes about 20 rounds to kill it, almost an entire magazine. Even with a few misses, one magazine is generally enough.
• Shredder: It takes about one magazine plus a few more bullets to kill it; the reload speed is very comfortable.

Large ARCs

• Bastion: Bettina's sustained damage output is most evident when killing a Bastion. Under ideal conditions without interference, approximately 120 rounds are needed to kill a Bastion. With the presence of smaller ARCs, ammo consumption rises to around 140 rounds.
• Rocketeer: Directly shooting Rocketeer's center requires approximately 100 rounds because of its thick frontal armor. However, if you focus on the side thrusters, each thruster only requires one magazine, and two magazines are enough to take it down.
• Vaporizer: The thrusters of these large flying ARCs are very fragile; a single thruster can be destroyed with just 20 rounds. If your aim is accurate and uninterrupted, two magazines are sufficient to take down a Vaporizer.

Ammo Consumption and Sustain

Bettina's biggest weakness remains its excessive ammo consumption during combat. In ARC Raiders, only killing Rocketeers drops a small amount of heavy ammo; other ARC enemies provide almost none.

This means that if you bring Bettina into a match, you must prepare sufficient ammo beforehand, otherwise you can easily run out of ammo in the mid-to-late game.

If you consecutively kill a Bastion (consuming 120 rounds), then a Rocketeer (consuming 100 rounds), plus several small ARC enemies, your total ammo consumption will easily exceed 300 rounds.

Therefore, it is recommended that players carry at least 400 to 500 rounds of spare ammo before starting, and prioritize killing Rocketeers to replenish ammo. Even though the drops are small each time, they add up to a lot.

You can also equip it with a secondary weapon that uses light ammo to clear out small ARC enemies, saving heavy ammo.

Fortunately, with the increased durability of Bettina, you don't have to worry about the weapon breaking halfway through a match. A lifespan of 900 rounds is enough to support several high-intensity battles.

Attachment Selection

Bettina's base recoil is already better than most rifles, but it can be further improved with attachments.

• Silencer III: Great for stealthy clearing, but controlling recoil is a bit stressful in continuous combat.
• Muzzle Brake III: Highly recommended. It significantly reduces vertical recoil, making recoil control easier, especially advantageous when engaging flying enemies at mid-to-long range.
• Kinetic Converter: Provides an additional 15% rate of fire, maximizing Bettina's burst damage. This also significantly increases the speed at which Bettina hits Bastion's knee.

In actual combat, it's recommended that players develop a cycle of hitting the knee first, then flanking behind the enemy, continuously applying damage, and reloading while moving to hit the other knee.

Bettina's reload speed is above average, allowing you to reload while flanking the enemy, seamlessly transitioning into sustained damage.

After two buffs, Bettina has now transformed from a mediocre transitional weapon into a reliable Assault Rifle. If you haven't seriously tried this weapon yet, you can easily buy ARC Raiders Bettina blueprint from IGGM.com to get started right away!

The developers have been trying to patch their expedition system. After the third expedition, they added a new trader, Nomadic Envoys. This trader not only offers extra stash space but also sells a special expedition vault storage, allowing you to store up to 5 items that will carry over into your next expedition.

However, now might not be the best time to trade with him. There are some flaws in both the goods he sells and the design of the expedition vault storage. Let's take a closer look at what Nomadic Envoys specifically offer and what their problems are.

Nomadic Envoys Guide  

To access this new trader, simply go to Traders interface in the main menu, then select Nomadic Envoys at the bottom right. All exchangeable items will be listed there. Note that you can only visit this trader after reaching level 25. Players who haven't hit that level yet should focus on leveling up first.

Stash Expansion  

One highly practical upgrade he provides is Stash Expansion. Using this feature permanently increases your backpack by 12 stash slots. You'll need to submit 200,000 ARC Raiders coins along with several high-quality materials:

• Queen Reactor  
• Matriarch Reactor  
• Bombardier Cell  
• Assessor Matrix  
• Turbine Compressor  
• Leaper Pulse Unit  
• Bastion Cell  
• Vaporizer Regulator  
• Rocketeer Driver  

If you've gathered all the above items and coins, you can use the auto select function to quickly submit and complete the transaction.

Expedition Vault  

Another important upgrade is Expedition Vault. Redeeming this adds one extra slot to your expedition vault. Its function is that after you finish an expedition and return, any item placed in the vault will be available for your next raider to use.

In other words, it lets you preserve ARC Raiders blueprints or items after an expedition reset - like a safe pocket. Each expedition vault slot carries the same value as Stash Expansion. Keep in mind that each submission unlocks only one expedition vault slot, whereas Stash Expansion unlocks all 12 slots at once.

Weekly Rotating Items  

Nomadic Envoys also brings unlockable cosmetic outfits, decorations, blueprints, and other items, each with different requirements:

Mirage Outfit: 

• 500,000 coins
• Same material requirements as Stash Expansion

Backpack Charm / Emote: 

• 5× Portable TV
• 5× Headphones
• 5× Projector

Weapon Blueprint (Tempest): 

• Any Weapon
• 1,000,000 coins
• Same material requirements as Stash Expansion

ARC Enemy Part (Turbine Compressors):  

• 1× Alien Duck
• 1× Rubber Duck
• 1× Flashy Duck

Legendary Project Item (Ship Model):  

• Any Weapon
• 100,000 coins
• Same material requirements as Stash Expansion

Epic Project Item (Ship Model):  

• Any Weapon
• 30,000 coins
• Same material requirements as Stash Expansion

Raider Tokens:  

• 150,000 coins
• Same material requirements as Stash Expansion

All of the above will be replaced when the weekly rotation happens. But don't worry too much about missing something important, because they will obviously cycle back sooner or later. What you really need to consider is how to gather all those materials and coins.

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Core Issues with The New Trader  

The main problems with the new trader are already clear: most of the goods are overvalued. Even players who don't participate in expeditions might not have enough materials. For those who do take part in expeditions but currently lack coins and materials, Nomadic Envoys are basically out of reach.

Take Tempest blueprint as an example. Even though it's an epic blueprint, you would need to invest a huge amount of time farming Queen and Matriarch - the toughest bosses. You have to cooperate with other players to take them down, and even then you might not get their Reactors, let alone all the other epic materials.

Instead of exhausting yourself collecting materials, following a guide to directly find Tempest blueprint might actually be more efficient.

That said, not everything is bad news. The developers have explicitly stated that during the first week, they will allow players to test one stash expansion and 5 expedition vault slots. The goal is to gather initial feedback and use that opportunity to adjust the costs before adding more slots later. Therefore, it's best not to acquire anything just yet. After the development team sees the community's response to this week's pricing, the costs are likely to go down next week.

Another Mechanic Flaw   

When upgrading a stash slot, you have to submit all the required ARC components at once, unlike with projects where you can contribute gradually over time. This means that to unlock the last vault slot, which demands a value as high as 1,000,000 coins' worth of materials, you would first need to free up 91 stash slots just to hold enough Queen Reactors.

Even if you use Vaporizer Regulators to save space, you'd still need to stockpile 56 stacks of those cores to complete the transaction - making an already difficult situation even worse for players with limited stash space.

The development team might lower the costs after receiving feedback and might also design a feature that allows us to submit ARC components one by one, instead of forcing a one-time transaction. But for now, that feature hasn't been implemented. So the only thing players can do at the moment is to unlock extra stash space first, then keep accumulating ARC components while waiting for the trader's costs to drop.

Nomadic Envoys serve as a stable resource sink and a weekly goal. Whether you want to expand your stash, carry over expedition items, or collect limited-edition cosmetics, you can visit this new trader regularly. However, given that most exchanges offer poor value for what they cost, there's no need to rush into any trades. It's wiser to wait for the developers to make reasonable adjustments to the valuation.