ARC Raiders Best Solo Survival Loadout

Solo in ARC Raiders is brutal even before you factor in the ARC machines, there's nobody to revive you and nobody to cover you, so one mistake and you're back to the menu. I used to go solo and just donate my gear, the more expensive my kit the faster I died, until I finally got it: solo loadouts run on a totally different logic from squad play, staying alive beats damage, and being able to disengage beats being able to win. Here's the solo kit I've settled on, weapons, gear, and the habits that keep you breathing.

Start from one rule: staying alive beats damage.

The biggest difference between solo and squad is that you have zero backup, so the first rule of a solo kit is survival and mobility, not stacking stats.

• A medium blue shield is the solo sweet spot, enough protection without the movement penalty, a heavy shield just makes you slow and dead.
• Pick augments with survival built in, the ones that help when you're downed or need to disengage, they beat raw damage augments.
• Always carry smoke grenades, when you're locked on or need to rotate, one smoke is one life.

The whole thing in one line: solo isn't about who shoots hardest, it's about who lives longest and can actually leave.

Cover close, mid, and far with your weapons.

A solo weapon kit has to cover close, mid, and far, because there's nobody to fill the gaps, you handle every threat yourself.

• For mid-range, run the Anvil hand cannon, it breaks shields hard and it's cheap, that's your opening shot.
• Keep an IL Toro or Vulcano shotgun for close range, when someone's in your face just blast them, Vulcano hits even harder.
• For drones at range, the Renegade lever-action is your pick, high damage and ammo-efficient, one tap per drone.
• If your budget allows, Bettina is the full-auto primary for canister runs and sustained output.

Don't chase the most expensive guns here, just cover mid and close first and your solo survival rate jumps.

Augments and tools are what actually save you.

Beyond weapons, what actually decides whether a solo run ends in death is your tools, they save you more than any gun.

• The Looting MK.3 augment is the best all-rounder for solo, safe pockets plus a downed recovery, you can loot and you can tank.
• Tactical MK.2 drops smoke the moment your armor breaks, which is basically a second life when you get jumped.
• Photoelectric Cloak plus a Snap Hook is the golden combo for disengaging and rotating, run when you can't win, solo has no shame.

On healing, bring a Vita Spray and a Surge Shield Recharger, chain a normal recharge into the surge one and your shield is instantly full.

The solo habits that keep you alive.

A full kit means nothing if your habits are wrong. My biggest solo lesson is three words: don't be a hero. Run night maps when you can, darkness hides your movement and the loot is better; walk more than you sprint, and remember that lockpicking and breaking containers are loud, so finish and move instead of waiting in place; pick low-risk, high-value spots like the Blue Gate underground repair area or the Spaceport vehicle bays, and avoid the hot firefights. On skills, get your safe-opening and loot-speed nodes first, and stamina ones like marathon running are worth it too. Solo is patience and judgment, not aim.

Solo is ultimately a fight with yourself, treat every time you're spotted as a potential death and plan around it. Build around survive, move, and disengage, cover close mid and far with your weapons, bring your smoke, cloak, and hook, and drill the night-map, noise, and positioning habits, and you'll find solo isn't scary, it's a kind of control squads never give you. Don't start by donating a full expensive kit, run cheap gear to learn the rhythm first, then switch to this setup once your hands are steady, and your survival rate climbs by a lot.