ARC Raiders Budget Loadouts: How to Win More & Spend Less

This is Elias, and welcome back to RivalSector.com.

Let’s be real for a second. We’ve all felt that sting in ARC Raiders. You spend an hour crafting the perfect kit, you load into a raid feeling like a certified operator, and five minutes later, a bush-wookie with a high-tier sniper sends you right back to the lobby. Your stash is lighter, your morale is crushed, and you’re one bad run away from just doing a free loadout.

That, my friends, is gear fear. It’s the curse of every extraction shooter, but I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be this way. I’ve been grinding the Rust Belt since day one, and the most important lesson I’ve learned is this: you do not need meta-tier, high-cost gear to win fights, shred bots, and extract with a backpack full of loot.

In fact, some of the best weapons in this game are cheap, common, and incredibly effective. You just need to know what to bring. So, forget your gear fear, stop hoarding those Epic weapons, and let me show you the absolute best budget loadouts for ARC S that deliver insane value for your hard-earned materials.

Your Foundation: The “Go-Bag” Essentials

Before we even talk about guns, let’s build our universal foundation. This is the “go-bag” I take into every single raid, whether I’m going in kitted or just trying to scavenge. This base setup gives you everything you need to survive a fight and, more importantly, escape one.

• Shield: Light Shield. It’s cheap, it’s craftable, and it’s all you need. Your shield is your first line of defense, but on a budget run, your real defense is not getting shot in the first place. The mobility of a Light Shield is key.
• Augment: Looting Mk. 1. This is non-negotiable for a budget run. The goal is profit. The Looting Augment gives you the most inventory slots and the best weight tolerance for its cost, letting you haul out more scrap.
• Consumables: I run a simple “3-and-5” stack. I take five Bandages (cheap and plentiful) and three Shield Rechargers. Yes, the rechargers are the most expensive part of this kit, but having your shield back in a fight is the difference between winning and dying.
• Utility: Smoke Grenade. This is my secret weapon. I don’t use smokes to push fights. I use them to leave. When you’re at the extraction point, you know someone is watching. Tossing a smoke on your escape route or directly on the extract point will save your run more times than you can count.

This entire setup is dirt cheap and provides a solid base for any weapon you decide to bring.

The Budget King: The “Kettle” All-Rounder

If I had to pick one gun to run for the rest of my ARC Raiders career, it might just be the Kettle. This common, semi-automatic rifle is, in my opinion, the king of budget builds. It is a precise, ammo-efficient, and surprisingly deadly laser beam that punches way, way above its weight class.

Why is it so good? First, it uses Light Ammo, which you will find everywhere. Second, its 20-round magazine is more than enough to handle a 1v1 or 1v2. But its real strength is its accuracy. This gun has almost no recoil, and when you start tapping at an enemy’s head, they go down fast.

Best of all, it’s incredibly cheap to craft and upgrade.

That’s it. For less than 15 common materials, you have a gun that can compete with high-tier weapons. My only must-have attachment is a Compensator I. It costs 6 Metal Parts and 1 Wires, and it makes the Kettle’s “per-shot-dispersion” almost non-existent. You can run and gun with this thing and still land every shot.

This is my go-to “looter-shooter” build. It’s quiet, it’s precise, and it leaves your secondary slot open to bring home a trophy weapon from the player you just out-dueled.

The PvE Farmer: The “Ferro” Bot-Shredder

Maybe your goal isn’t just PvP. Maybe you need to farm those tough, armored ARC bots for quests and high-end materials. If that’s you, then you need to meet my other best friend: the Ferro.

The Ferro (or Pharaoh, as some call it) is a common, break-action battle rifle that uses Heavy Ammo. And that is the key. Heavy ammo is what you need to crack open those armored ARC units. This gun has “Strong” armor penetration, meaning you can take down Snitches, Wasps, and Turrets with ease.

• Pros: S-tier for PvE. It hits like a freight train and lets you farm bots that other budget guns can’t even scratch. It’s also a beast in PvP if you can land that first headshot.
• Cons: It’s a single-shot reload. If you miss your shot in a close-quarters PvP fight, you are probably dead.

This is not an all-purpose gun. This is a tool. I run this when my objective is “kill 10 Hornets” or “farm the Blue Gate.” It’s cheap to craft (5 Metal Parts, 2 Rubber Parts) and insanely efficient at its one job. You can pair it with a Stitcher SMG (another cheap common weapon) for a “sniper-SMG” combo that gives you a close-range panic button.

The Sleeper S-Tier: The “Anvil” Hand Cannon

Alright, now for the real expert tip. If you’ve been ignoring the Uncommon Anvil hand cannon, you are making a massive mistake. This gun isn’t just a budget weapon, it’s arguably one of the best all-around weapons in the game, period.

The Anvil is a “pocket sniper.” It hits for massive damage, has almost no dispersion, reloads fast, and will instantly crack a Light Shield with a single headshot. This gives you a massive advantage in any fight.

What makes it a “budget” weapon? It’s only Uncommon, meaning its crafting and repair costs are shockingly low for the power it provides. It’s craftable at a Level 2 Weapon Bench for 1 Mechanical Components and 3 Oil. That’s a steal.

This is the perfect weapon for a “rat” playstyle. Stay quiet, pick your shot, one-tap an enemy’s shield, and then rush them down while they’re panicking. The Anvil is the great equalizer, and it proves that “budget” doesn’t have to mean “weak.” If you want to see all the nitty-gritty stats, check out a resource like The ARC Raiders Meta Hub to see just how efficient this gun is.

What About the “Rattler”?

I have to mention the Rattler. It’s the first automatic rifle you get, and it feels… okay. It’s a decent all-rounder, and some people in the community love it. But for me, it falls short of being a “best” budget gun.

The problem is its 10-round magazine. In a game with a high time-to-kill, 10 rounds just isn’t enough. You will constantly be caught in a reload, and that’s a death sentence. While it is cheap, the Kettle is also cheap and is, in my opinion, far more reliable and deadly. My advice? Ditch the Rattler for a Kettle as soon as you can.

My Final Verdict: Raid Smart, Not Hard

You don’t need to be afraid of losing your gear. The real meta in ARC Raiders isn’t about running the most expensive gun, it’s about running the most cost-effective one. It’s about maximizing your profit per run.

My recommendation? Master the Kettle. It’s cheap, it’s powerful, and it will teach you the fundamentals of precision and positioning. Once you’re comfortable, craft an Anvil and see how it feels to have S-tier power for a C-tier price.

Stop letting gear fear keep you in the lobby. Grab a Kettle, a Light Shield, and five bandages, and go get your loot.

What’s your go-to budget build? Did I miss a hidden gem? Let me know in the comments below.

For more in-depth guides, reviews, and all things ARC Raiders, keep it locked here at RivalSector, and be sure to check out our Gaming Insights category for more expert tips! This has been Elias. I’ll see you in the Rust Belt.