ARC Raiders
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ARC Raiders: Frozen Trail out forSince Oct 8, 2026

23Days01Hour33Minutes57Seconds

How a Raid Works

In ARC Raiders you choose a loadout in Speranza, deploy Topside on a timer of about 30 minutes, loot, and leave by elevator, Raider Hatch or Ballistic Gondola. If you are knocked out you lose everything except your Safe Pocket; a Free Loadout risks nothing but has no Safe Pocket.

A raid in ARC Raiders is one trip Topside: you pick a kit in Speranza, deploy on a map with other Raiders and ARC machines, loot what you can, and must extract before the round ends, or you lose all you carried except your Safe Pocket. Launch-era guides give the round 30 minutes (Game Rant, Oct 31, 2025; TheGamer, Nov 1, 2025). Embark's own posts read for this page do not state the length and no patch note seen through 2.3.0 changes it, so treat it as a launch figure. This page walks through a round in order. New players should also read the Beginner's Guide. Legacy Gaming's launch-era clip says 30 to 40 minutes.

Quick facts

Raid timer 30 minutes (launch-era guides, Oct and Nov 2025)
Late joins Until around the 15-minute mark (Dexerto, Nov 2025)
Lobby size Not published; Dexerto estimates 15 to 20 Raiders (Nov 2025)
Squad size Up to three
Exits Elevator, Raider Hatch; Ballistic Gondola on Pendola Pass
Lost when knocked out Everything but the Safe Pocket
Free Loadout Free, random, no Safe Pocket
Checked against Embark's notes through 2.3.0, Oct 27, 2026

Sources: Game Rant, Oct 31, 2025; Dexerto on lobby size, Nov 10, 2025; Shacknews, Nov 6, 2025; KeenGamer, Dec 13, 2025; Game Rant on Free Loadouts, Oct 18, 2025; Embark's 2.3.0 notes, Oct 27, 2026.

Before you deploy

You prepare in Speranza, and you cannot swap gear once you are Topside, as KeenGamer says (Nov 2025). A paid-for kit is built on an Augment, which sets your backpack slots, weight limit, Safe Pockets and which shields you can wear: Beebom's Apr 30, 2026 list gives Looting Mk.1 18 backpack slots, 50 kg and one Safe Pocket, for example. Pick your map and condition on the map selection screen, reworked in 2.0; it also shows your matchmaking region since 1.42.0. If you pack a Raider Hatch Key, a warning appears when the map has no active hatches (1.17.0). Maps and conditions are on Maps and Map Conditions; kits on Best Loadouts.

The Free Loadout

The Free Loadout is the free tab on the pre-match screen: a randomized weapon, consumables and throwables, with only the Free Loadout Augment guaranteed (PC Gamer, Oct 31, 2025). Beebom lists that Augment at 14 backpack slots, 35 kg and no Safe Pocket (Apr 30, 2026). Night Raid and Close Scrutiny refuse it since 1.33.0, an experiment Embark explained by saying that meeting Raiders on free kits in a high-value condition "can also feel unfair" (Jul 7, 2026).

The Safe Pocket

The Safe Pocket keeps what is in it when you die: keys, trinkets and upgrade items are good candidates, and weapons do not fit (Game Rant, Oct 2025). Embark closed exploits that let players put weapons in a pocket without the Safekeeper Augment and the Snap Hook while in use. The count depends on the Augment, from 0 on the Free Loadout to 3 on Looting Mk.3 (Survivor) or Tactical Mk.3 (Healing) by Beebom's Apr 30, 2026 list. No reliable source republished that list after 2.0 as of Oct 31, 2026.

In the round

You spawn with others on the map, and players can spawn mid-match until around the 15-minute mark, so a building you cleared can have new company (Dexerto, Nov 2025). Embark has not published the lobby size; Dexerto's estimate from reports and its own play is 15 to 20 Raiders. Noise matters: an elevator's alarm draws both ARC and Raiders. Since 2.0 you can open the map while downed, drop loot straight from containers and scramble up steep slopes by sprinting at them. On Pendola Pass, loot-value zones change from raid to raid under the Dynamic Loot Zone test. In the Frigate and the Emperor, containers near the entrance give lower-tier rewards and better loot sits deeper inside since 2.3.0. In Jiibii's clip, Raiders spawn in around him after he joins nine minutes in.

The round's end is a hard deadline. Two Steam achievements show it: In the Nick of Time asks you to return with less than 5 seconds left, and No Going Back to be Topside when the safe window closes.

Downed, revived, knocked out

When your health runs out you go down and can crawl; a downed Raider who is finished off is knocked out. A squadmate or a passing stranger can revive you. A Defibrillator revives an ally or an enemy near-instantly, is single use and not common, and GamesRadar+ found no way to bring back an outright killed player (Nov 2025; no later note seen changes it). Skills and Augments help: Looting Mk.3 (Survivor) regenerates up to 75% of downed health while stationary, and one player crawled more than 15 minutes to an exit with it (PC Gamer, Nov 2025). Crawl Before You Walk improves downed movement in the 2.0 tree, per KeenGamer (Skill Tree).

You can also escape while downed: being inside the elevator when extraction starts brings you home safely, which is the Not Over Till It's Over achievement. The same now holds on the gondola: 2.3.0 fixed downed Raiders losing health after entering it.

What you lose

Dying Topside costs everything except your Safe Pocket (KeenGamer, Dec 2025), and since 2.0 Raiders who down you can loot your weapon with its Stencil. A knocked-out player's weapons also take 15% durability loss, cut from 30% in update 1.26.0. If a cheater took your loot, Embark says it compensates whether or not you reported them (Jul 2026) (Anti-Cheat and Fair Play).

Extracting

Exit How Catch Dated
Elevator Call it at the console Loud alarm draws ARC and Raiders; leaves on its own after 2 minutes if you do not use the console Game Rant, Oct 2025
Raider Hatch Open with a Raider Hatch Key Needs the key; no timer, no alarm Game Rant, Nov 2025
Ballistic Gondola Use a Gondola Transceiver, wait for green, follow its light Pendola Pass only; holds three; ARC reacts to the Transceiver since 2.2.0 TheGamer and Embark, Oct 2026

Sources: Game Rant on extraction, Game Rant on avoiding PvP, TheGamer, Embark's 2.2.0 notes.

Guides disagree on how fast an elevator opens: Game Rant says the extraction starts after about 5 seconds, TheGamer that the point takes about 15; check it in game. Gondola markers show from 175 meters since 2.1.0, up from 120. Full detail is on Extraction and Raider Hatches.

Back in Speranza

What you brought home goes to your stash, at most 328 slots without Expedition or Nomadic Envoy bonuses since 2.0. Sell, recycle and craft (Stash, Crafting and the Workshop, Money Making Guide), and move your quests along (Quests). A rare bug can strand you after a round: being stuck in the end-of-round tunnel now returns you to the front end since 2.3.0 (Troubleshooting and Error Codes).

Frequently asked questions

How long is a raid in ARC Raiders? Launch-era guides give an ARC Raiders raid 30 minutes (Oct 2025). Embark's posts read for this page do not state it, and no patch through 2.3.0 is seen changing it.

What happens when you die in ARC Raiders? You lose everything you carried except the Safe Pocket, and other Raiders can loot it. Your stash in Speranza is untouched.

What is the free loadout in ARC Raiders? It is a free, randomized kit on the pre-match screen with the Free Loadout Augment and no Safe Pocket. Night Raid and Close Scrutiny do not accept it since update 1.33.0.

What is the Safe Pocket in ARC Raiders? It is a protected slot whose contents survive death. Keys, trinkets and upgrade items fit; weapons do not. The Free Loadout has none.

Can you be revived in ARC Raiders? Yes, while downed: an ARC Raiders squadmate or a stranger can revive you, and a Defibrillator does it near-instantly. GamesRadar+ reported in Nov 2025 no way to revive a player already killed outright.

Can you join an ARC Raiders raid late? Yes: Dexerto reports players can spawn in until around the 15-minute mark (Nov 2025), so areas can fill after you clear them.

How do you extract in ARC Raiders? Call an elevator, open a Raider Hatch with a key, or on Pendola Pass ride the Ballistic Gondola. The elevator's alarm draws attention; the hatch is silent.

Sources

Moments

Arc Raiders- Ultimate Beginner’s Guide (Top Gameplay Tips You Need to Know!)

Legacy Gaming

  1. A raid in ARC Raiders is one trip Topside: you pick a kit in Speranza, deploy on a map with other Raiders and ARC…
  2. You prepare in Speranza, and you cannot swap gear once you are Topside, as KeenGamer says (Nov 2025). A paid-for kit…
  3. The Free Loadout is the free tab on the pre-match screen: a randomized weapon, consumables and throwables, with only…
  4. The Safe Pocket keeps what is in it when you die: keys, trinkets and upgrade items are good candidates, and weapons do…
  5. You can also escape while downed: being inside the elevator when extraction starts brings you home safely, which is…
  6. What you brought home goes to your stash, at most 328 slots without Expedition or Nomadic Envoy bonuses since 2.0…

Become a PvP GOD in Arc Raiders

Jiibii

  1. You spawn with others on the map, and players can spawn mid-match until around the 15-minute mark, so a building you…

Every page

See also

Last updated Oct 30, 2026 by the Vi.ki team. Page text CC BY-SA 4.0.

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