The ARC Raiders Stitcher: A C-Tier Warning & Survival Guide

Hey everyone, Elias here for Rivalsector.com.

Let’s have a real heart-to-heart about one of the most common, and in my opinion, most problematic guns in ARC Raiders: the Stitcher.

I know the appeal. You load in, you want to do a “zero to hero” run, and you grab the free Stitcher loadout. It’s a fully-automatic SMG, it’s light, and it spits out cheap Light Ammo. On paper, it seems like the perfect budget tool to rip through other Raiders and steal their loot.

I’m here to tell you to stop. In my experience, the Stitcher is a trap. It’s the definition of a C-tier weapon, and it will get you killed far more often than it will make you rich. It’s a gun that promises you the world but fails at the exact moment you need it most.

Today, I’m not here to praise it as some underrated gem. I’m here to break down exactly why the Stitcher is my C-tier pick, and to give you a guide on what to do if you’re unfortunate enough to be stuck with one.

The Stitcher’s Stats: A Deceptive On-Paper-Promise

First, let’s just lay the data bare. When you look at the Stitcher’s base stats, you can see why it fools so many players. It looks like a CQC monster.

Here are the base-level stats for the common Stitcher I’ve been tracking:

You see the trap? A new player looks at that 362 DPS and thinks, “Wow, that melts!” And they are technically right. If you are standing at a practice dummy in the base, that DPS is fantastic.

But ARC Raiders is not a practice range. It’s a chaotic, brutal world of shielded players who move, and armored robots who don’t care about your feelings. And that’s where the Stitcher’s two fatal flaws, the 20-round mag and the non-existent penetration, combine to make it a C-tier nightmare.

The C-Tier Equation: Why It Fails in a Real Fight

A weapon’s tier isn’t just about its DPS. It’s about its reliability. Can it do the job you need it to do, when you need it?

The Stitcher’s job is CQC PvP. It openly admits this by having “Very Weak” armor penetration. It’s not a PvE gun. Its only role is to kill other Raiders up close.

The problem is, it’s not even good at that.

Fatal Flaw 1: The 20-Round Magazine

This is the gun’s biggest liability. Let’s do some quick math. A fire rate of 45.3 with a 20-round mag means you will empty this gun in 2.6 seconds of sustained fire.

That is an insanely small window of opportunity.

We’ve all been there. You round a corner, a Raider is right in your face, you both panic and hold down the trigger. With the Stitcher, you have 2.6 seconds to hit enough of your 20 shots (8 damage per pop) to burn through their shield and their 100 HP.

If they have even a light shield, you need to land almost all 20 of your shots. If they have a medium shield? It’s mathematically impossible to kill them with one magazine, even if you hit every single shot.

What if they strafe? What if you miss your first four bullets? What if they have a friend? You are now standing in front of an angry, half-health Raider, fumbling with a reload, and you are about to die. That high DPS means nothing if it runs out before the enemy does.

Fatal Flaw 2: “Very Weak” Means “Completely Useless”

Okay, so it’s a “PvP only” gun. That would be fine, if ARC Raiders was a “PvP only” game. It’s not. It’s PvEvP.

The main objective on the map, the reason you are there, is to kill ARC and loot resources. The Stitcher cannot do this.

• Mites? Fine, you can pop Mites.
• Turrets? You’ll waste three mags.
• Fireballs? Don’t even try. It’s like throwing
  pebbles.
• Bastions? You would be more effective running up and hitting it with your fist.

This makes you a complete liability to your team. While your squadmates are burning their heavy and medium ammo to crack open a Bastion, you are… well, you’re just watching. You are loot-caddy who can only (maybe) fight off other players. This singular, crippling lack of flexibility is a hallmark of a C-tier weapon.

The Competition: What a “Common” Gun Should Be

“But Elias,” you say, “it’s a free gun! You can’t compare it to a Legendary Jupiter!”

You’re right. Let’s compare it to the other common, free-loadout weapons.

• The Ferro: This is, in my book, the true S-Tier common weapon. This break-action rifle fires Heavy Ammo and has actual armor penetration. You can one-shot Mites, two-shot Turrets, and (with good aim) crack the plates on a Bastion. It’s a real tool that lets you do the job. It’s bad at CQC, but that’s why you have a sidearm.
• The Rattler: This is the Stitcher’s main rival. It’s a full-auto Assault Rifle that uses Medium Ammo. While its base 10-round mag is also a crime, those 10 medium bullets have better damage, better range, and some armor penetration. It’s a far more flexible “all-rounder” that isn’t great at anything but isn’t useless at everything.
• The Kettle: This semi-auto, light-ammo rifle rewards a skilled hand. It’s a precision weapon. If you can click on heads, it’s a fantastic budget-sniper.

The Stitcher has no “good” matchups here. It’s the most hyper-specialized “specialist” gun that isn’t even dominant in its one specialty. This is why the Stitcher never makes it onto any serious ARC Raiders best weapons list. It’s the gun you use until you find one of the guns I just listed.

My “I’m Stuck With a Stitcher” Survival Guide

Look, sometimes you have no choice. You’re broke, you’re loading in with a free kit, and all you have is a Stitcher and a dream. I get it. If you must use this gun, you have to follow a strict set of rules to survive.

Here is my grudging, how-to-use-it guide:

• Rule 1: This is a PvP Ambush Gun, Period.
  Your only role is to sit in a dark corner, wait for an unshielded player to walk by, and spray at their head. You are not a “front-line” fighter. You are a rat, and you must embrace this.
• Rule 2: Aim For the Head, Always.
  With only 8 base damage, you must get the headshot multiplier to make that 20-round mag count. Bodyshots are a luxury you cannot afford.
• Rule 3: Obey the 10-Meter Rule.
  If an enemy is further than 10 meters away, do not engage. Your damage fall-off is terrible, your spread is awful, and you will waste your tiny magazine hitting them for 3 damage per shot.
• Rule 4: Your New Primary is “Find a New Gun”.
  Your entire raid strategy should be “avoid all ARC, find a building, and look for a gun crate.” Your goal is to find a Rattler, a Ferro, an Anvil… literally anything else. The Stitcher is a key to open a box that has a better gun in it.
• Rule 5: The Extended Mag is Not a Suggestion.
  The Stitcher is basically unusable without an Extended Light Mag I. If you are serious about making this gun “work,” you must complete Tian Wen’s “The Right Tool” quest to get the blueprint. A Stitcher with 30+ rounds is a completely different (and almost viable) weapon. A base 20-round Stitcher is C-tier.3

The Verdict: Drop It As Soon As You Can

The Stitcher is a C-tier trap. It’s a “noob gun” in the worst sense of the word, one that looks appealing but is built on a foundation of failed stats. It fails at the game’s main PvE loop, and it’s unreliable in its one supposed PvP niche.

It’s the gun you use to kill one Mite, take its 200 coins, and immediately use them to buy a Ferro from Tian Wen.

It’s not a “zero to hero” weapon. It’s a “zero to zero” weapon, where you risk nothing and, most of the time, get nothing in return.

That’s just my take after dozens of raids ending in frustration. For more deep dives, guides, and real-talk reviews, make sure to check out our ARC Raiders category here on Rivalsector.