Hello again, Raiders. Elias here from Rivalsector.com.
A little while back, I wrote a guide calling the Rattler the “Budget-Run King.” I stand by that. For a brand-new player with nothing but lint in their pockets, it is a tool to get you started. It is a workhorse.
But I have seen a lot of you taking that to mean the Rattler is an “endgame” weapon. I have seen the S-Tier lists. And I have to be the one to tell you the hard truth: You are being lied to.
As an experienced Raider, as someone who has now run every weapon and fought every fight, the Rattler is not S-Tier. It is not A-Tier. It is not even B-Tier.
For me, for any serious, geared-up player, the Rattler is C-Tier. Today, I am going to explain why. This is not a “beginner’s first gun” guide. This is a guide on why this weapon will get you killed and why you need to replace it.
Let’s get the hate out of the way first. I know half of you are already typing in the comments, “But Elias, it is so cheap!” or “I got a squad wipe with it!”
I get it. But here is the problem: the Rattler has a Time-to-Kill (TTK) that can be measured with a sundial. And in ARC Raiders, the person who wins the DPS race is the person who extracts.
This gun’s entire reputation is built on being a “Common” weapon. That is it. Its strength is its weakness. It is a starter gun, and it plays like one. The moment you graduate from your first few levels, this gun becomes a liability.
The Hard Truth: The Rattler’s Stats Do Not Work
The core of the problem is the math. The Rattler I, the gun you craft, is a trap.
- It has a 10-round magazine.
- It deals 9 damage per shot.
Do the math. That is 90 total damage in a full magazine. The base player health pool is 100.
You cannot, under any circumstances, kill even a naked, unshielded player with a full magazine from a base-level Rattler. You have to land 12 shots, which requires a full mag and a reload. That is a statistical fact.
“But Elias,” you say, “just upgrade it! The Rattler IV has 22 rounds!”
You are right. And a Rattler IV is a usable gun. But it is still a C-Tier gun. Why? Because you are still firing 9-damage bullets. You are just firing more of them, slowly.
What “C-Tier” Means (And Why the Rattler Defines It)
When I make a tier list, C-Tier does not mean “garbage.” It means “Outclassed and Situational.” It means there is never a reason to run this gun if you have a better option.
And the Rattler is outclassed by everything.
It is not a CQC powerhouse, that is the “Vulcano” shotgun. It is not a long-range laser, that is the “Osprey.” It is not even a good budget Heavy-Ammo option, that is the “Ferro.”
The Rattler is a “jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none” that fails at the “jack-of-all-trades” part. It loses in every “fair fight” scenario.
- You lose to SMGs up close. The Bobcat will melt you before you fire 10 rounds.
- You lose to Heavy Rifles at range. The Bettina or Renegade will break your shield and kill you in 3-4 hits.
- You even lose to other Medium Rifles. The Tempest is a direct, objective upgrade in every single way.
Let’s look at the numbers and see why the Rattler just does not make the cut in a real-world fight.
Assault Rifle Comparison: The Brutal Math
| Weapon | Rarity | Damage | Fire Rate | DPS (Damage per Second) | Base Mag |
| Rattler | Common | 9 | 33.3 | 299.7 | 10 Rounds |
| Tempest | Epic | 10 | 36.7 | 367 | 25 Rounds |
| Bettina | Epic | 14 | 32 | 448 | 20 Rounds |
Экспортировать в Таблицы
The Rattler is not just a little worse, it is dramatically worse.
The Tempest fires faster, hits harder, and has 2.5x the magazine size, all while using the same Medium ammo. It is the gun the Rattler wishes it was.
The Bettina is in a completely different universe. It has nearly 50% more DPS than the Rattler. That is the definition of a meta, top-tier weapon. This is the gun that kills you before you can even react.
The Rattler’s 299.7 DPS is a joke. It cannot compete. End of story.
A Guide to Using a Gun You Should Replace
Okay, so you are stuck. You lost your kit, you are broke, and all you can craft is a Rattler IV. How do you make this C-Tier weapon work long enough to get a better one?
You have to accept its limits and play like a rat.
- PVE ONLY: Your number one goal is to avoid other players. Use the Rattler to farm ARC bots. It is “Moderate” penetration is its only good quality. Kill bots, loot, and get out.
- Always Ambush: You will lose 100% of fair, face-to-face fights against a geared player. You must get the drop. Wait for them to fight ARC, wait for them to loot, and then mag-dump them.
- Aim for the Head: This is obvious, but with a 9-damage bullet, it is life and death. You need every multiplier you can get.
- The Extended Mag is NOT Optional: Do not even take this gun out of Speranza without an Extended Magazine. A 22-round base mag is the bare minimum for survival. A 30+ round mag makes it feel like a real gun.
- Drop It Immediately: The second you find a Tempest, a Bettina, a Renegade, or even a Ferro, drop the Rattler. Your goal is not to use the Rattler, your goal is to replace the Rattler.
My Final Verdict
The Rattler is a tool, not a weapon. It is a stepping stone, and a very wobbly one at that.
It is C-Tier because it fails the one test that matters in an extraction shooter: it does not win fights. It is a gun that forces you to play in fear, to run from conflict, and to pray you do not run into a player who is using a real weapon.
If you are looking for a true “meta” build, you need to look at our complete ARC Raiders best weapons guide, where we break down the real S-Tier guns that are winning fights.
The Rattler is a beginner’s trap. Do not let your loyalty to your first gun get in the way of your success. Upgrade your bench, craft a Bettina, and start being the one who wins the fight.
For more no-nonsense guides and analysis, check out our ARC Raiders category right here on Rivalsector.com.
What do you think? Am I being too harsh, or is the community finally waking up to the Rattler’s low ceiling? Let me know in the comments.
– Elias
