ARC Raiders ARC Weak Points: Where to Aim and What to Use
Killing ARCs fast without burning your ammo
Every machine in ARC Raiders has a vulnerable spot, and a fight plays out very differently once you know where to aim. Most of the time it is the engines, the "eyes", the rear thrusters or the leg joints. Spraying the hull blindly only works on weak enemies. Everything else will eat your ammo before the raid is over.
The main rule is simpler than any table: position beats weapon choice. Good cover with a clear line of sight wins a fight even if all you carry is an Anvil. The rest of this guide helps you pick an aim point and see which ammo type can even get through a given machine's armor.
Armor colors: the hint is on the hull
ARCs are color-coded by function, so the weak spot is often visible without any reference. Three colors read the same way on most enemies.
White plating is unarmored. Any weapon damages it, and higher armor penetration is better. Medium ammo breaks it quickly.
Gunmetal plating is armored. Light ammo does nothing to it, so you need at least medium penetration. It usually covers the white part underneath, and breaking it exposes the weak points.
Yellow elements are weak points: leg joints, engine nozzles, the ARC Surveyor beacon. This is where your damage counts the most.
If you forget the table, look for yellow and shoot there. That covers most fights.
Small ARCs: where to hit and with what
Speed matters more than tactics here. Most of these die to a couple of accurate shots, but a few have quirks worth knowing in advance. Shot counts below are approximate and depend on your weapon.
ARC | Aim at | Best weapons | Tip |
|---|---|---|---|
Snitch | Two white rotors | Medium ammo except Rattler | Drop it before it calls reinforcements |
Wasp | Engines or center of the body | Any weapon with a decent fire rate | The easiest target |
Hornet | Rear engines, the front ones are armored | Medium ammo or Anvil | Crouch to aim more easily |
Tick | Melee | Almost anything | Do not let it work out where you are running |
Pop | Any part of the body | Light ammo and up | Killed up close, it deals no damage |
Fireball | Middle armor opens the white underbelly, usually two shots | Fast medium ammo or Anvil | Keep your distance, it floods the ground with fire when it dies |
Turret | Mostly unarmored | Any weapon | Peek out when it stops firing |
Sentinel | About 3-4 heavy hits | Anvil or medium ammo | Hits hard, shoot only from cover |
ARC Surveyor | Throw a grenade when it opens up and emits the beam | Snap Blast or Blaze | More of a loot source than a threat |
Shredder | Thrusters in the middle of the body | Anvil or grenades | Hear the attack signal, take cover |
Fireball, Hornet and Shredder go down much faster with a proper loadout, and that means weapon blueprints. Keeping materials for a crafting station upgrade also pays off, since grenades and heavy ammo run out quickly.
Major ARCs and their weak points
These enemies demand cover and patience. Some of the details (Rocketeer's engines, Vaporizer's underbelly) come from player reports, so verify them in the field.
Leaper. Legs and the eye are weak points, and legs kill it faster. One of the easiest major enemies. Just avoid fighting it in the open.
Rocketeer. Hit the engines and the white plating above the "eye". The plating is almost always overhead, so engines are the practical target. Its rockets deal area damage and thin cover will not save you, so players fight it from inside buildings. Player reports say two Wolfpack grenades kill it instantly.
Vaporizer. The most dangerous major ARC short of the bosses. Its beam burns you in seconds, its missiles hit several targets and its shield blocks Wolfpack grenades. Its thrusters are even more reinforced than Rocketeer's, so players recommend shooting the underbelly from cover.
Bastion. Knee joints and the rear canister. In a group, kite it in circles while someone hits it from behind. Another trick is climbing on top and planting a mine. Deadline kills it almost at once.
Bombardier. Same weak points as Bastion, but its missiles hit very hard. Shoot down the Spotter drones first and clear them again every time they respawn.
The Queen and the Matriarch
Both bosses are vulnerable at the leg joints and the head core. The head core is the most vulnerable point, so getting to it is the main task. With an Equalizer you crack the protective shell fast. Without one, take high ground and hit the center of the head with Hullcracker grenades.
The Matriarch is smaller than the Queen and constantly summons other boss ARCs. She has face plates, and player reports say two weak spots sit under them. Break the plates with an Equalizer, and even a medium ammo weapon can then do reliable damage. Save Wolfpack grenades for the ARCs she summons.
DVING has a separate page for the Queen with more detail on the fight. The flying boss Turbine is not covered here, it has its own guide.
Anvil, Hullcracker and the rest of your arsenal
Anvil has long been the go-to answer to ARCs: heavy ammo strips armor fast and the fire rate lets you hit moving targets. The downside is slow projectiles, which makes it poor against raiders. Pair it with a second weapon.
Hullcracker was nerfed in update 1.3.0 on November 20, 2025, when Embark reduced explosive damage spreading across multiple parts of large ARCs. It now works best when you hit exposed weak points, so spend it on major threats. Some players still call it the best boss weapon, but that is an opinion, not a measured fact.
Frozen Trail brought Bantam, a Heavy Ammo revolver that shares the hand-cannon role with Anvil. Two weapons and a stock of grenades make sense for any raid where you plan to hunt machines. Going solo with Hullcracker only pays off if you already own the blueprint and the materials.
New ARCs from Frozen Trail
The Frozen Trail update of October 8, 2026 added three enemies: Bully (a heavy four-legged ground ARC), Skulker (a sniper) and Hydra (a three-part turret aboard the Frigate). Exact weak points are still being worked out by players, so lean on the armor colors: look for yellow elements and for parts that open up mid-attack.
The game also has Turbine, a flying ARC. It is a boss of its own and is better handled with its dedicated guide.
General survival habits
Skip fights you do not need. ARCs respawn, and gunfire draws other players.
Fight flyers near walls. If an ARC with a broken engine hits a wall, it dies on the spot.
Use machines as a distraction. Bad position with players nearby? Provoke an ARC close to them, throw a Lure grenade or use a Snitch Scanner.
Watch the scanner color. Player reports say blue means calm, yellow means a player alerted it, red means aggressive.
Listen for audio cues. Machines signal before attacking, which gives you time to move.
Loot destroyed ARCs. Parts give experience that feeds your leveling, and points in the skill tree make raids safer.
Hunting machines also moves your quests forward, and the loot can be turned into coins to gear up for the next run.