Best PvE Weapons In Arc Raiders

In Arc Raiders, surviving topside means constantly dealing with hostile ARC machines that roam nearly every point of interest. These AI enemies aren’t just background threats either, as they vary in armor, mobility, and firepower, and can quickly overwhelm you if you’re underprepared. While Arc Raiders gives you access to a wide range of weapons, not all of them perform equally well against bots, since some are clearly tuned more for PvP than sustained PvE fights. Choosing the right gun can make the difference between clearing an area smoothly or burning through resources just to stay alive. That’s why this guide focuses purely on PvE performance, breaking down which weapons are the most reliable for taking down ARC units efficiently so you know exactly what to bring when your goal is blasting bots and getting out with your loot intact.

Overall PvE Weapon Tier List

Before breaking down the rankings, it’s important to explain how this PvE tier list is put together. Every weapon here is judged purely on how well it performs against ARC enemies in Arc Raiders, not against other players. PvP effectiveness doesn’t matter in this list at all, since bot fights demand very different strengths compared to Raider encounters.

The main factors used for ranking are raw damage against ARC units, how flexible the weapon feels in different PvE situations, ammo efficiency during longer fights, and how accessible the weapon is for most players. All weapons are evaluated in their base form, without attachments, upgrades, or heavy investment. While some guns become monsters once fully upgraded, this list is built around realistic, everyday use, especially for players who don’t always have spare materials to dump into gear.

It’s also worth saying that this tier list isn’t meant to force you into one “correct” loadout. If you enjoy a certain weapon and it works for your playstyle, there’s nothing wrong with running it. That said, some guns are simply far more efficient at deleting ARC enemies, saving ammo, time, and risk during a raid.

Here’s how the weapons stack up for PvE performance:

S Tier
Hullcracker, Bettina, Anvil, Renegade, Ferro, Jupiter

A Tier
Venator, Equalizer, Tempest, Aphelion

B Tier
Torrente, Kettle, Burletta, Arpeggio, Osprey

C Tier
Rattler, Vulcano, Bobcat, Il Toro

D Tier
Hairpin, Stitcher

Weapons in the higher tiers excel at consistent ARC clear, while lower-tier options tend to struggle with damage efficiency, ammo usage, or survivability during tougher encounters.

S-Tier PvE Weapons

Hullcracker

Sitting at the very top for PvE, the Hullcracker is built to erase ARC threats of every size in Arc Raiders. This grenade launcher excels at both crowd control and deleting large targets, thanks to its strong blast radius and armor-piercing damage. A single magazine can wipe out clusters of Hornets or heavily damage tougher enemies like Bastions and Leapers. It’s also one of the best boss-fighting tools in the game, often used against high-threat targets like the Queen or Matriarch. What really pushes it over the edge is accessibility, since you can secure the blueprint through progression or buy it directly, making this top-tier PvE weapon available to almost everyone.

Bettina

The Bettina has climbed the ranks over time, and recent durability changes turned it into a true PvE monster. This Heavy-ammo assault rifle trades fire rate for raw stopping power, making it perfect for lining up weak-point shots and dropping ARC quickly. It performs well against almost every enemy type you’ll encounter topside. The only real drawback is ammo management, since Heavy rounds take up space fast, but with the right setup or higher-tier loadout, that downside becomes much easier to manage and the Bettina really starts to shine.

Anvil

A reliable favorite for many players, the Anvil is a Heavy-ammo revolver that hits hard without feeling clunky. It offers excellent accuracy, solid range, and a fire rate that feels great for PvE encounters. The Anvil is especially effective against enemies like Hornets, Wasps, Shredders, Fireballs, and even tougher units like Bastions. While it doesn’t quite match the explosive power of the Hullcracker, for everyday raids and consistent ARC clearing, it’s easily one of the strongest and most dependable PvE weapons available.

Renegade

The Renegade is a standout choice for players who value efficiency and flexibility. This lever-action rifle uses Medium ammo, which means you get far more mileage per raid compared to Heavy weapons. Its strong range and steady fire rate allow skilled players to dismantle standard ARC threats quickly and safely. With a generous magazine and excellent accuracy, it’s ideal for clearing swarms like Wasps while keeping ammo consumption low. It may not be a boss killer, but for general PvE, the Renegade is one of the smoothest weapons to run.

Ferro

If you’re looking for an S-Tier weapon on a budget, the Ferro delivers way more than expected. This single-shot firearm hits surprisingly hard, making it perfect for dropping common ARC enemies without burning through ammo. The forced reload after every shot keeps it from excelling against large groups or elite targets, but its efficiency makes it great for slow, controlled raids. The Ferro can also appear in free loadouts, which makes it an excellent option for rebuilding gear or saving resources while still staying lethal.

Jupiter

The Jupiter represents raw power taken to the extreme. As a legendary weapon, it boasts the highest damage output in the game and can obliterate even the toughest ARC enemies in seconds. Its charge-up mechanic adds a slight delay before firing, but the payoff is massive, especially against heavily armored targets like Leapers, Rocketeers, and Bastions. The biggest downside is availability, since unlocking the blueprint requires completing the Harvester puzzle and finding one in the wild is extremely rare. If you do manage to get your hands on it, though, the Jupiter is unmatched in pure PvE damage.

A-Tier PvE Weapons

Venator

The Venator is one of the most versatile guns you can bring into Arc Raiders, and while it’s often picked for PvP, it performs surprisingly well in PvE too. Its balanced mix of fire rate, damage, and accuracy makes it ideal for clearing out lighter ARC enemies like Wasps and Hornets without slowing your run down. It’s not the weapon you grab for tanky bots or bosses, but as a reliable tool for dealing with constant pressure from smaller threats, the Venator fits perfectly into most raid loadouts.

Equalizer

The Equalizer ispure destruction wrapped in a legendary frame. This weapon feels like a handheld laser cannon, melting ARC enemies almost instantly once you pull the trigger. Its armor penetration lets you tear straight through plating and hit cores fast, which makes it deadly against nearly anything you encounter. The trade-off is ammo consumption, because the Equalizer chews through rounds at an insane pace, especially during longer fights or boss encounters. If you can afford the ammo and inventory space, though, this gun absolutely earns its spot in A-tier.

Tempest

As one of the strongest assault rifles for PvE, the Tempest shines during standard raids where you’re dealing with waves of low to mid-tier ARC. It offers a smooth, controllable fire rate, respectable damage, and enough armor penetration to stay effective in most situations. The 25-round magazine makes it easy to move between targets quickly, which is great when fights get chaotic. Its main weakness shows up at longer ranges or against heavily armored enemies, where it can start to feel underpowered compared to heavier options.

Aphelion

The Aphelion is a high-skill, high-reward weapon that trades speed for brutal impact. Each trigger pull fires two rounds, which can absolutely shred ARC enemies if both shots land cleanly. It takes time to master the recoil and timing, but once you get comfortable with it, the Aphelion can drop tough targets in just a few shots. One of its biggest advantages is accessibility, since its blueprint can be farmed on Stella Montis, making it one of the easiest legendary weapons for players to work toward.

B-Tier PvE Weapons

Torrente

The Torrente is pure chaos up close. As one of the few light machine guns in Arc Raiders, it trades precision and range for raw bullet spam and close-range damage. Inside tight buildings or corridors, this thing absolutely melts standard ARC in seconds. The downside is consistency, because once enemies are more than a few meters away, the spray becomes hard to control and effectiveness drops fast. On top of that, the heavy ammo usage and slower movement can make it feel awkward on larger, open maps like Spaceport.

Kettle

The Kettle is best known as a PvP menace, but it can still hold its own in PvE when needed. It’s accurate, easy to control, and works well for tapping weak points on lighter ARC like Hornets or Fireballs. The problem is damage. Even with clean shots, it takes time to bring enemies down, especially flying targets. It’s a decent fallback weapon or something you’re happy to see in a Free Loadout, but it’s not something you’d normally bring specifically to farm ARC.

Burletta

The Burletta fills a similar role to the Kettle and comes with many of the same strengths and weaknesses. It’s reliable against weaker ARC and feels good for clearing small threats like Wasps, Pops, Ticks, and Fireballs. However, since it relies on Light Ammo, its armor penetration is very limited, making it nearly useless against anything with serious protection. It’s a fine utility weapon, but it struggles to keep up once tougher bots enter the fight.

Arpeggio

The Arpeggio sits firmly in the middle of the pack. Its burst-fire design makes it easy to control and helps with landing shots on weak points, especially on enemies like Snitches or Hornets. That said, its overall damage output is underwhelming, which becomes a real issue against bulkier ARC like Leapers or Shredders. With mediocre armor penetration, this weapon works best as a general-purpose option for basic enemies, but it won’t carry you through harder encounters.

Osprey

The Osprey is one of the most unique weapons in the game, mainly because it’s the only gun that lets you properly aim down sights. This makes it excellent for precision shots, allowing you to pick off weak points on enemies like Bastions from long range. The trade-off is speed. Being bolt-action, every shot requires rechambering, which can be dangerous when things get hectic. While it dominates at distance, the Osprey becomes a liability in close quarters, especially when swarms of fast-moving ARC rush you.

C-Tier PvE Weapons

Rattler

The Rattler is one of those weapons that feels like it’s almost good, but never quite gets there in its base form. While the recoil is manageable and the damage isn’t terrible on paper, the tiny magazine and painfully slow reload make it unreliable when fighting multiple ARC. You’ll often find yourself reloading at the worst possible moment, and in some cases, a single magazine isn’t even enough to drop a Hornet. Upgraded versions fix most of these problems, but when we’re judging base weapons only, the Rattler is best left for Free Loadouts rather than something you intentionally bring into a raid.

Vulcano & Il Toro

Shotguns struggle in PvE, and both the Vulcano and Il Toro fall into the same trap. Yes, they hit hard up close, but Arc Raiders is full of flying enemies and dangerous bots you really don’t want breathing down your neck. Their short range and pellet spread make it difficult to consistently hit weak points, which is a big problem when dealing with tougher ARC. They can work in very specific situations, like tight interiors on Stella Montis, but in most cases, there are far better weapons you could be using for PvE.

Bobcat

The Bobcat is another weapon that looks better than it performs. Its extremely high fire rate combined with a small magazine makes it burn through ammo fast while missing a lot of shots unless you’re practically hugging the target. Against mobile enemies like Wasps, you’ll need to burst fire constantly just to stay accurate. At point-blank range, it can get the job done, but outside of that narrow window, the Bobcat quickly becomes frustrating to use. For PvE, almost any other weapon will give you more consistent results.

D-Tier PvE Weapons

Stitcher

The Stitcher really struggles when it comes to PvE. While it’s perfectly fine for dealing with Raiders or cleaning up tiny ARC like Ticks, Pops, or Fireballs, it completely falls apart once you face anything more dangerous. Flying enemies are especially annoying to deal with unless they hover low, and even then it feels inefficient. You can improve it with upgrades or a bigger magazine, but at its core, the Stitcher just isn’t built for fighting robots. It’s far better suited for PvP than taking on ARC in serious PvE runs.

Hairpin

The Hairpin sits at the absolute bottom for a reason. If you’re bringing this into a PvE raid, you’re either messing around, broke, or trying to pull off a highlight clip. It offers almost nothing against ARC and puts you at a disadvantage in nearly every situation. For PvE, there’s no real reason to use it when literally any other weapon will do a better job.

Conclusion

When it comes to PvE in Arc Raiders, choosing the right weapon can make the difference between a smooth extraction and losing everything to a swarm of ARC. While every gun can technically get the job done, some weapons are clearly built to handle robots better than others, whether through armor penetration, ammo efficiency, or raw damage. S-tier options like the Hullcracker or Anvil shine in almost every situation, while lower-tier weapons can still work if you understand their limits and play around them. At the end of the day, the best PvE weapon is one that fits your playstyle, your budget, and the type of ARC you expect to fight. Use this tier list as a guide, not a rulebook, and you’ll be far more prepared to survive topside and bring your loot back safely.