11 December 2025

How to Craft Items While Topside in ARC Raiders (Field-Crafting)

By newsgame

Your HP is low, your Shield is depleted, and the extraction point is miles away. You have so many valuable items that you can’t risk getting knocked down by ARC Raiders‘ merciless drones. What do you do? An experienced raider would start crafting Bandages and Shield Rechargers.

Yes, it is possible to craft some items mid-match while you are exploring Topside in ARC Raiders. However, the option is not available by default, and you must unlock it with your precious skill points. Here’s how.

ARC Raiders PSA: New Players, Stop Salvaging These Items

Don’t salvage some of these items in ARC Raiders; you’ll need it later.

How to Craft While Topside

You will need to unlock the In-Round Crafting skill from the ARC Raiders Survival skill tree. This adds the “Craft” option to your in-raid inventory, with eight starter items you can make while Topside. Once in a match, press TAB (the Inventory button) to see the option. Note that you will need the specific ingredients for each item to craft it.

One downside of crafting mid-match is that it slows you down. There is no option to craft items in bulk, so if you need more than one item, you must make them one by one. However, since In-Round Crafting lets you make critical items like Bandages and Shield Rechargers, it is considered one of the solid skills in ARC Raiders.

Field-Crafting Skills Explained

There are two key skills on the Survival node tied to mid-match crafting: In-Round Crafting, which unlocks the option, and Traveling Tinkerer, which expands it.

In-Round Crafting

After spending a couple of Skill Points on the Survival skill tree, you gain access to In-Round Crafting. According to the game, “It unlocks the ability to field-craft items while Topside.” However, the options have limits and allow only basic items to be crafted at first. Those looking to expand the list of craftable items will need to unlock the Traveling Tinkerer skill.

Traveling Tinkerer

Unlocked once you reach the second major node of the Survival skill tree, Traveling Tinkerer adds seven additional recipes to the field-crafting option. It is only after getting this skill that you can make the Raider Hatch Key and other useful items like Herbal Bandages.

Reaching the second node of the Survival skill tree requires 15 points.

Every Item You Can Craft Topside

All Resources in ARC Raiders (Loot Guide)

In-Round Crafting	Traveling Tinkerer
Li’l Smoke Grenade Light Impact Grenade Fruit Mix Shield Recharger Adrenaline Shot Agave Juice Bandage Flame Spray	Noisemaker Raider Hatch Key Blaze Grenade Trap Gas Grenade Trap Smoke Grenade Trap Herbal Bandage Lure Grenade Trap

Tips for Crafting Items Mid-Match

Make the most of Fabrics. If you are out of Bandages, all you need is five pieces of Fabric to craft one. Use this to your advantage while Topside.
Exploit salvaging. If you don’t have the ingredients needed for specific items, salvage unwanted stuff in your inventory to get some.
Check the Craft menu when trapped. Many players forget that they can make things mid-match, so be sure to check your inventory whenever the enemy or the ARC is pushing you, because you may be able to save the day with the items you can craft.