ARC Raiders Weapon Tier List (March 2026)
ARC Raiders is all about knowing what to do and having the right tools for the job. That’s why it’s so important to know which weapons are at the top of the meta. The ARC is evolving, sending new enemies like the Comet and Firefly, so Raiders must become vicious hunters with the strongest weaponry to face this threat efficiently.
With every Trials season renewing its challenges, having the best weapons will also help players climb the rankings faster. Learn about the current meta, the changes brought with the most recent updates, and dominate the topside battlefields with this comprehensive guide.
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ARC Raiders Weapon Tier List (March 2026)
This is a Tiered list of all the weapons in ARC Raiders and their respective standing in the meta. Grouped from most effective (powerful) to less effective in order:
|
S++ Tier |
Tempest |
|---|---|
|
S+ Tier |
Venator – Bobcat |
|
S Tier |
Anvil – Renegade |
|
A Tier |
Vulcano – Ferro – Il Toro – Hullcracker |
|
B Tier |
Aphelion, Jupiter, Torrente |
|
C Tier |
Burletta – Stitcher – Equalizer – Osprey – Bettina |
|
D Tier |
Kettle – Rattler – Hairpin |
The weapon rankings are in constant shift as Raiders discover new and cool ways to make them work more effectively. Keep tuned for changes on the current meta with this guide.
Next, we will take a look at the top 5 weapons, considering their utility in both PvP and PvE, and adding recommended builds and stats to help players make better use of them in battle.
Tempest (S++ Tier)
Stop everything you are doing and get the Tempest ASAP: There’s a new king in Speranza, and it is not the Venator or the Bobcat. The Tempest has been greatly overhauled, enhancing its damage, recoil control, and correcting its ARC Armor penetration. Now it does real damage to ARC Plating and Thrusters (you can go ahead and throw that Bettina in the trash, where it belongs).
The Tempest is also one of the less noisy weapons in the game, and adding a Silencer III to its build will surprise almost any Raider on its farming route: They’ll never see it coming. It is also useful to destroy drones before they can detect your position, so that’s a big plus for PvE players.
With 50% Reduced Horizontal Recoil, 40% Reduced Reload Time, and +30 Durability, Tier IV Tempest is a monster of an assault rifle, and adding a Tier 3 Medium Mag (Blue) to the mix turns it into a 37-shot nail gun with a ton of range and precision.
Going for body shots or the head, it takes roughly 12 to 15 shots to take down a player (going from Light Shield as the bare minimum, to Heavy Shield as Max), with a ridiculous 1.2 seconds time to kill, meaning, it is currently the fastest weapon to obliterate folks in PvP.
Venator (S+ Tier)
A weapon made for the hunters. The Venator handgun is everything that you’ll need while exploring the topside. It has a moderate ARC Armor penetration, and a few shots can take down most of the lesser drones. Its firing rate is as fast as you can pull (click) the trigger, so whoever shoots and aims faster is always right to carry this beauty around.
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Be it that you want to be a topside Sheriff, keeping Raiders safe from vicious Rats, or you want to become a true menace to the people of Speranza and hunt other players, the Venator is always primed to take down your foes. Making sure to take it to Tier 4 before going out is a plus, since it will have 40% Increased Fire Rate, 50% Reduced Reload Time, and +30 Durability: An absolute beast.
Combine this with a Tier 3 Medium Mag, and the Venator can have up to 22 bullets, which is more than enough to take down a Heavy Shielded enemy Raider, or a pesky Hornet. Unlike other pistols, the Venator doesn’t have a Muzzle Mod slot, but instead, it has a Grip slot, which allows players to equip it with an Angled Grip to better control its Horizontal Recoil.
Bobcat (S+ Tier)
Up until recently, folks relied on the Stitcher IV as the best option in terms of velocity and spread, but the Bobcat, with a few tweaks after recent patches, has become truly powerful.
The most sought-after blueprint, and one of the most coveted weapons in the entire game: Having a Bobcat will not only make you feel absolute power, but put a big target on your back, so watch out for those Rats trying to take your loot. It has a slightly less controlled spread than the Stitcher, but its power is undeniably stronger.
With 50% Reduced Max Shot Dispersion, 45% Reduced Horizontal Recoil, 40% Reduced Reload Time, and +30 Durability, a Tier IV Bobcat equipped with a Tier 3 (Blue) Light Mag, a Compensator III, a Horizontal Grip, and Padded Stock can obliterate a Raider in 1.8 seconds, and that doesn’t even require players to land all shots.
At close range, this SMG will delete any player that dares to play rough, even those Il Toro players that require 2.5 seconds to land the two ‘slugs of certain death.’
Anvil (S Tier)
We already know that the Anvil is a great weapon for PvE, but recently, more and more people are using it for PvP. Why is that? Because it has received a slight buff to its recoil pattern (slightly less vertical, a bit more horizontal) that makes it more precise, and thus, deadlier.
It takes 2 to 4 body shots to take down a Raider with this beast, and it is still the most viable and cheap option to eliminate ARC enemies all around.
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Venator is one of the best weapons for PvP, and here are some of the best locations you can farm for its blueprint in ARC Raiders.
For example, it takes between 55 and 65 shots to eliminate a Bastion (yes, this is tested, just hit the yellow balls, then go around and hit the Fuel Cell on the back, land 4 to 5 shots, then run and repeat).
But that’s not what makes this weapon so good in general terms: The Anvil Splitter, the only Tech Mod currently available in the game, turns this already ridiculously powerful weapon into a sawed-off shotgun. For PvP purposes, the Split Anvil is way better, but it becomes less effective at long ranges.
Some deranged Raiders like to use 2 Anvils at the same time(one with Splitter and one without). And honestly, they might be right on the money. A Tier IV Anvil has 18.75% Reduced Dispersion Recovery Time, 75% Increased Fire Rate, and +30 Durability, and upgrading it is not as expensive as with other guns, so it’s a win-win situation for those with a tight budget.
Renegade (S Tier)
In my honest opinion, the best Rifle Weapon the game has is the Renegade. This lever-action rifle is tremendously effective in taking down all types of ARC drones from a safe distance.
From the fast Wasp to the incredibly annoying Firefly, the Renegade is the ideal tool to blast them away before they become a problem. Plus, tuned with the right Mods, it becomes even more powerful. Use a Silencer III (Purple), a Tier 3 (Blue) Medium Mag, and a Padded Stock for optimal control. Try this, and become the absolute terror of everything that flies on the topside.
A Tier IV Renegade has 50% Reduced Dispersion Recovery Time, 75% Increased Fire Rate, and +30 Durability, which makes it shoot faster, with more precision, and makes you look like a true wild-west sharpshooter in the process.
It has a moderate ARC armor penetration, and it’s not good against heavily armored enemies like the Bastion, the Bombardier, Matriarch, or Queen, though it can cause some serious damage to the Leaper and Shredder, which is also a dangerous foe to beat.
ARC Raiders
10/10
- Released
-
October 30, 2025
- ESRB
-
Teen / Violence, Blood