Hey Raiders, Elias here from Rivalsector.com. I’ve been living in the irradiated wasteland of ARC Raiders, grinding out raids, testing every piece of gear, and comparing notes from deep in the community. The number one question I get is always the same: “Elias, what’s the best gun?”
It’s a simple question with a very complicated answer. In a game this deep, “best” is a loaded term. Are we talking best for PvP? Best for farming ARC? Best for a new player? Or best for a high-value loot run?
Most tier lists I see online are, frankly, kind of useless. They just rank guns based on their Epic rarity and ignore the stats that actually win you fights and, more importantly, get you out alive with a full backpack.
So, I’m cutting through the noise. I’ve crunched the numbers, put in the field time, and analyzed the hard data. This is my definitive weapon tier list. It’s based on a weapon’s total value, considering its power, its weight, its cost-effectiveness, and its role.
Here’s the at-a-glance ranking. Right after this, I’ll break down exactly why each gun is where it is.
ARC Raiders Weapon Tier List
| Tier | Weapon | Rarity | Primary Role / Why It’s Here |
| S+ | Anvil | Uncommon | The Perfect Gun. Cheap, light, “Strong” ARC Pen, 6-round mag. Unbeatable value. |
| S | Betina | Epic | The Endgame “Do-it-All” AR. The only AR with “Strong” ARC Pen and great player DPS. |
| S | Pharaoh | Common | The Best Early-Game Gun. “Strong” ARC Pen on a common weapon. S-tier value for farming. |
| S | Hullcracker | Epic | (PvE ONLY) The ultimate ARC-killing tool. Does zero damage to players, literally. |
| A | Osprey | Rare | The PvP Sniper. Top-tier damage per shot for ending player fights at range. |
| A | Ventor | Rare | The Ultimate Sidearm. Incredibly light (2kg) with fantastic burst DPS for PvP. |
| A | Volcano | Epic | The PvP Deletion Tool. Highest CQC damage in the game. Likely nerf-bait. |
| B | Equalizer | Epic | (PvE ONLY) The Boss Killer. A heavy LMG with “Very Strong” pen for big targets. |
| B | El Toro | Uncommon | The Budget Shotgun. A high-risk, high-reward PvP option for close quarters. |
| B | Renegade | Rare | The Heavy Hitter. A good PvP marksman rifle, but very heavy (10kg). |
| B | Tempest | Epic | The “Old Guard” AR. A good PvP assault rifle, but now totally outclassed by the Betina. |
| C | Stitcher | Common | Early PvP Shredder. A decent starter SMG for player fights, but useless vs. armor. |
| C | Torrent | Rare | Niche Anti-Air. Its spread is awful, but it’s surprisingly good at hitting flying ARC. |
| C | Rattler | Common | The Starter Hybrid. Your first gun that can sort of fight players and ARC. |
| D | Bobcat | Epic | The Sad Epic. Weak damage, weak pen. There’s no reason to use this. |
| D | Barleta | Uncommon | A slightly better Hairpin, but still terrible. Outclassed by the Ventor. |
| F | Arpeggio | Uncommon | Just… no. The burst-fire is weak, the damage is low. Skip it. |
| F | Hairpin | Common | (F in Combat) The ultimate stealth/loot tool. It’s not a weapon, it’s a tool. |
The S-Tier Gods: Your Go-To Arsenal
These are the guns I build my loadouts around. They offer the best performance, value, or specialization in the entire game.
The S+ King: The Anvil (Uncommon)
I cannot say this clearly enough: the Anvil is the best all-around weapon in ARC Raiders. It’s not an Epic, it’s an Uncommon. And that’s what makes it so amazing. It’s cheap to craft, cheap to repair, and cheap to upgrade.
But its stats are S-tier. It hits for 40 damage a shot, the same as the single-shot Pharaoh. But the Anvil has a 6-round magazine. Its true power, however, comes from its “Strong” ARC Armor Penetration. This gun is a can opener for tough ARC. It’s also only 5kg, which is incredibly light. This saves your stamina and leaves you so much room for loot. It holds its own in PvP and dominates in PvE. It is, in my opinion, the most perfectly balanced weapon in the game.
The Endgame Goal: The Betina (Epic)
This is what you’re grinding for. The Betina is the true endgame “do-it-all” primary. For a long time, the Tempest was the go-to Epic AR, but it had a fatal flaw: weak armor penetration. The Betina solves this. It is the only assault rifle in the game that boasts “Strong” ARC pen. And on top of that, its DPS against players is even higher than the Tempest. It shreds players, it shreds ARC, it does it all. Its only drawback is that it’s an Epic, so it’s expensive to craft and run.
The Early-Game Farmer: The Pharaoh (Common)
The Pharaoh is your ticket to the mid-game. This common-rarity rifle is a gift. It has “Strong” ARC pen, letting you take down heavily armored bots far earlier than you have any right to. Its 40 damage per shot is massive. Yes, it’s a single-shot reload, but I see this as a plus. It forces you to play smart, use cover, and make your shots count. You can fire, duck behind a wall to reload (while peeking in third-person), and pop back out. Its one downside is its 8kg weight, which is heavy for a loot run. But for pure farming, it’s an S-tier value.
The PvE Specialist: The Hullcracker (Epic)
This gun is a perfect example of ARC Raiders’ design. The Hullcracker is an S-tier weapon for killing ARC. But it is F-tier for PvP. Its grenades literally do zero damage to players. They only explode on contact with an ARC. Against those ARC, however, it has “Very Strong” penetration and just melts them. You bring this gun for one reason: to farm bots.
The A-Tier Contenders: Powerful & Viable
These guns are fantastic, but they are more specialized than the S-tier. They are the core of many of my favorite niche builds.
The PvP Sniper: The Osprey (Rare)
If you are a sniper, this is your gun. The Osprey has a built-in scope and the highest damage-per-shot of any non-shotgun. It’s designed to end a PvP fight with one or two well-placed shots from a distance. Its one weakness is its “Moderate” ARC pen. Your “Uncommon” Anvil is unironically better at killing tough bots. But for player-hunting, the Osprey is king.
The Looter’s Best Friend: The Ventor (Rare)
I love this pistol. The Ventor is the lightest gun in the game at just 2kg. That is a massive deal. That’s 6-8kg more loot you can carry compared to bringing a heavy primary. And it’s not a pea-shooter. It fires a two-shot burst, and its player DPS is shockingly high, even better than the S+ Anvil. This is the ultimate sidearm, or even a primary for a max-loot run.
The CQC Gamble: The Volcano (Epic)
This shotgun is just silly. Its theoretical damage output is the highest in the game, by a mile. If you are in a room with someone and you click on them, they are deleted. End of story. It’s terrible against ARC and is so powerful that I have to assume a nerf is coming. But for now, if you want to clear buildings, this is your high-risk, high-reward tool.
The Niche Picks & The Fodder
This is where the rest of the arsenal sits. Some are usable in very specific situations, and others you should just scrap.
The B-Tier guns like the Equalizer (boss killer), El Toro (budget PvP shotgun), and Tempest (a good, but now outclassed, AR) are fine. They have a job, but they are either too heavy, too niche, or just have a better alternative.
The C-Tier and below are where things get rough. This is my quick-and-dirty breakdown of the rest:
- Stitcher (Common): A good SMG for your very first PvP fights. Its high fire rate melts players, but its “Very Weak” pen makes it useless against any real ARC.
- Torrent (Rare): I call this the “fly-swatter”. Its spread is a joke, but it’s actually decent at staggering and hitting flying bots. That’s it.
- Rattler (Common): It’s the first gun you get that isn’t terrible. It has “Moderate” pen, which is nice, but you should upgrade to a Pharaoh or Anvil immediately.
- Bobcat (Epic): This gun makes me sad. It’s an Epic, but its stats are awful. Weak damage, weak pen. It needs a serious buff.
- Hairpin (Common): This is not a weapon. It is a tool. It is the only gun with a built-in suppressor and high stealth. You use this to loot, not to fight. In combat, it is the worst gun in the game.
Beyond the List: Building Your “Best” Loadout
So, what’s the “best” loadout? It’s not just one gun. It’s a complete kit.
This tier list is your first step, but a gun is useless without the right armor, gadgets, and skill build to back it up. That’s why I have built The ARC Raiders Meta Hub: My Updated Guide to the Best Loadouts to be your central command for putting all these pieces together.
But to give you a quick idea of how I think, here is my personal, all-purpose loadout for 90% of my raids: the Anvil (S+) as my primary and the Ventor (A) as my sidearm. This kit is lightweight (7kg total!), gives me “Strong” ARC pen for farming, and gives me two different guns that are fantastic for PvP (the Anvil at mid-range, the Ventor for CQC).
If I am going pure-PvP, I will take an Osprey (A) and a Volcano (A). It is a heavy, high-risk kit, but it covers all ranges. If I am farming the Queen, I am bringing a Hullcracker (S) or an Equalizer (B).
The tier list is your guide, but the mission dictates the loadout.
That’s the kind of deep-dive strategy we focus on in our Gaming Insights section. It is not just about what’s “meta,” it is about what’s smart.
What’s your ultimate loadout? Are you an Anvil loyalist like me, or have you found a secret-sauce combo with a lower-tier weapon? Let me know your builds in the comments.
I am Elias for Rivalsector.com. Gear up, aim smart, and get that extract.
