ARC Raiders Early Game Progression and Farming Tips after Expedition 2 | The Secret to Rebuilding in Hours
Category: ARC Raiders Posted: Mar 05, 2026 Views: 762
The second expedition of ARC Raiders has ended, and for some players, this might be their first time participating. Consequently, after the progress reset for levels, workbenches, etc., some players may feel at a loss.
However, with prior experience under your belt, starting over will be quick. Follow the steps below, and you'll soon re-accumulate your gear.

Matchmaking
The matchmaking mechanism in ARC Raiders isn't a secret; it assigns players to different lobbies based on their behavior. During the early fresh start phase, efficiency is paramount. If your goal is simply to accumulate resources and level up as quickly as possible, the best course of action right now is to actively avoid PvP.
Getting into a friendly lobby is simple: just keep entering matches using free gear, find the nearest player, and let them kill you, without fighting back at all. Repeat this process four to five times.
Although the developers haven't given clear official standards, you'll be able to sense when you're in the right lobby. When you're looting and encounter people who don't shoot you on sight, it means you've entered the ideal friendly server pool.
Gear
After getting into the friendly server pool, your next step is to consider what gear to bring.
Ferro
The Ferro is a cost-effective rifle with high per-shot damage and good armor penetration. However, it's best not to use a level 1 Ferro. Upgrade it to at least level 2 using a few Metal Parts, which significantly improves its handling. If you can upgrade it to level 3 to reduce reload speed, it becomes even more effective.
Adrenaline Shots
Early on, before you've unlocked stamina-increasing perks like Marathon Runner and Youthful Lungs, traversing the map can be very painful. Adrenaline Shots perfectly solve this problem. They have a very low weight cost but allow you to sprint much farther in a short time, enabling fast looting and quick extractions. It's recommended to carry five or more.
Workshop
With basic gear secured, your primary objective is gathering resources to upgrade your Workshop. Here are the workbenches you should prioritize upgrading first.
Gear Bench Level 2
Upgrading Gear Bench to Level 2 unlocks Looting Mark 2. Compared to the base version, the Looting Mark 2 adds 4 inventory slots, 1 additional safe pocket, and 3 reinforcement slots. More importantly, it significantly increases your maximum carry weight, allowing you to haul out more valuable items.
Refiner Level 2
To consistently obtain Electrical Components, you'll need to upgrade your Refiner to Level 2. You can acquire the necessary materials for these upgrades by opening containers and defeating smaller ARC units.
When you're short on resources, you can temporarily put aside upgrading workbenches like Medical Lab and Explosives Station. By the mid-game, once you've accumulated a decent stockpile of resources, you can consider working on upgrading all workbenches to level 3.
Making Coins
- Location: Stella Montis
With a better backpack secured, your next step is to make money. Upgrading your Stash requires a significant amount of funds. Earning around 100k coins should generally cover your early-stage needs.
In the absence of PvP, Stella Montis is the map with the most abundant loot spawns. You can easily find ARC Raiders blueprints, weapons, and various high-value loot here.
The key event to watch for is Lush Blooms. During this event, the map spawns numerous Baskets filled with fruit. Fruit can be sold directly for cash, but more importantly, it's essential for your Scrappy.
This event might be temporarily disabled in the current version due to other events, but it's expected to return soon. If it's not active, you can head to Battery Room after it returns, as several baskets consistently spawn there.
Scrappy
Leveling your Scrappy to max as early as possible is highly beneficial, as it can automatically gather many resources for you. The materials it needs for upgrades mostly come from Lush Blooms event, but some specific items need to be found in particular locations.
Dog Collars, Cat Beds, and Very Comfortable Pillows spawn in residential and commercial areas. Dog Collars, in particular, are generally only found in residential zones. It's recommended to search for these items in Buried City, as the residential areas there are quite dense, making for a quick looting circuit.
Skill
Assuming you're avoiding PvP, the priority for allocating skill points should be to enhance efficiency.
- Early Game: Prioritize maxing out Nimble Climber and Marathon Runner. This allows you to traverse and search the entire map much faster.
- Mid Game: Focus on skills in Survival skill tree. Choose perks like Looter's Instincts and In-round Crafting to improve your ability to carry and manage items.
- Late Game: The goal is to work towards and unlock Security Breach in Survival tree. This allows you to open Security Lockers, granting access to even more loot.
- End Game: Choose Loaded Arms to further reduce weapon weight, enabling you to carry more and heavier loot.
Leveling Up
- Location: The Blue Gate
When you have limited resources but want to level up quickly, you need to combine Search XP and Kill XP.
Regardless of which peripheral spawn point you start from in The Blue Gate, make a beeline for the checkpoint. A Bastion spawns outside here, and there's another one inside the tunnel. This area offers excellent cover for kiting and fighting.
You can slowly chip away at them using cover. If you prefer a faster approach, consider investing in the Deadline Mine and Hullcracker, both of which are highly effective for quickly taking down Bastions. Following this method, you can earn approximately 20,000 to 30,000 XP in about ten minutes.
The fun of resetting your Expedition progress lies in the process of accumulating from scratch. Hopefully, the steps above will help you get through the early game faster.
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