ARC Raiders Patch 1.7.0 PvE Weapon Tier List | Budget Firearms Outperform Legendary Gear
Category: ARC Raiders Posted: Jan 05, 2026 Views: 4775
Weapons in ARC Raiders have different qualities, but a high-quality weapon doesn't necessarily mean it's powerful. Some weapons that players love to use are actually just uncommon or rare quality.
While players believe Epic weapons need significant upgrades to improve their usability, this won't begin until the developers return from their vacation. Due to significant differences in performance between PvE and PvP, different weapons must be discussed separately, so here primarily focuses on their performance in PvE.
In PvE, the main enemies are various ARC robots. Therefore, when considering weapon reliability, the primary factors are damage efficiency, ammo consumption, and the weapon's performance without excessive investment in upgrades.

Tier S
Renegade
This rare combat rifle truly deserves the tier S+ designation, especially after its full upgrade. It becomes the most stable, accurate, and efficient PvE weapon across all ranges and scenarios. Its high rate of fire combined with accuracy allows it to unleash massive damage on weak points in a short time. If you need to eliminate large ARCs like Queen or Matriarch, this gun is the best choice.
Hullcracker
Although Hullcracker has been nerfed and its blueprint is extremely rare, its damage is still very high when you accurately hit weak points. It focuses more on armor penetration than directly eliminating ARCs, so you need good aiming skills.
Anvil
Anvil can be considered an enhanced version of Ferro, featuring a six-round burst capability. Its Heavy Ammo effectively penetrates armor, reliably exposing and attacking weak points at various distances without the need for attachments.
Equalizer
Equalizer boasts excellent accuracy and range, allowing it to quickly strip armor and expose weaknesses when facing large Arc Wardens (ARCs). It's highly effective on well-coordinated teams.
Tier A
Ferro
While Ferro is only a common-quality weapon, a single heavy round can significantly damage most Arc Wardens. Upgrades primarily improve its reload speed, but it's generally very effective even without upgrades. In terms of cost-effectiveness, it's an excellent weapon.
Bettina
Bettina received buffs in Patch 1.7.0, including reduced durability consumption, increased magazine capacity, and faster reload speed, and official data claims it's the highest-performing PvE weapon in its tier.
It excels at using heavy ammunition to target weaknesses and strip armor, but Bettina's low rate of fire and severe horizontal recoil make it difficult to handle. Investment and upgrades are necessary to make it usable.
Tempest
Tempest is an assault rifle that fires medium ammo. Its damage is comparable to Bettina. Similarly, it only becomes truly effective after upgrades and attachments. Its high rate of fire easily destroys enemy weak points.
Torrente
Torrente deals the highest damage when firing at weak points at close range with a tilted angle. It performs best against enemies like Bastion that expose their core.
Aphelion
Aphelion has a high projectile velocity, effectively stunning flying ARCs and stripping armor, but its single-shot damage is average, often requiring weapon switching for a fatal blow.
Jupiter
Jupiter possesses a unique charged burst and penetration mechanism, making it a nemesis of small flying ARCs, and at certain angles, it can even inflict instant fatal damage on Bastions.
Venator
After upgrading to gain a double-shot mode, Venator boasts a good rate of fire and easily controllable trajectory, primarily due to vertical recoil. It also performs well against flying ARCs using medium ammunition.
Tier B
Rattler
Rattler is another weapon that received a minor buff in patch 1.7.0, with an increased base magazine capacity. Rattler, using medium ammo, is effective against ARCs, allowing you to at least fight back when in danger. Given its common quality, it's well-suited for quick looting and extraction.
Arpeggio
Arpeggio is a three-round burst medium ammo weapon, quite reliable after upgrades. Many players are obsessed with this gun, but its burst damage isn't particularly high, and Rattler, with similar functionality, is more economical as it doesn't require upgrades.
Burletta, Kettle, And Stitcher
Burletta is a high-explosive light ammo pistol that empties its magazine quickly. Upgrades speed up reloading, but similar missions can be accomplished with Kettle or Stitcher, which are less efficient.
Osprey
This bolt-action sniper rifle is used for precise long-range attacks on weak points; against small flying ARCs, you can almost eliminate them with a single shot. However, its single-shot reload mechanism results in slow sustained fire; improving the reload speed would significantly improve its handling.
Bobcat
Bobcat is a high-rate-of-fire, lightweight SMG that can unleash massive damage on weak points when enemies are controlled, but requires significant investment to optimize its performance. While the upgraded Bobcat feels better to handle at Tier 1, it's comparable to Kettle and Stitcher.
Vulcano And IL Toro
Both are shotguns capable of dealing massive burst damage to unarmored weak points, but their extremely short range and poor armor penetration limit their versatility.
Tier D
Hairpin
This weapon is overrated even in Tier C, hence its placement in Tier D. It's fun to use and can accurately hit ARC's weak points. However, its slow rate of fire makes it inefficient overall, requiring a significant increase in damage or rate of fire to be effective.
Overall, while patch 1.7.0 adjusted some weapons, the differences between weapon tiers remain significant. Common-quality weapons remain the preferred choice in many situations due to their high cost-effectiveness, while epic weapons are not particularly outstanding. High-quality weapons need more substantial changes.
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