5 Best Workshop Upgrades To Prioritize In Arc Raiders

When you first start playing ARC Raiders, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. The game throws tough enemies at you, demands smart decision-making, and layers in multiple systems you’re expected to learn quickly — from perks to loadouts to crafting materials. On top of all that, your Workshop back in Speranza becomes one of the most important places in the entire game. It’s where you craft gear, upgrade essentials, and slowly build the tools that make each topside run safer and more profitable. Plus, you get to chill with Scrappy the Rooster, which is always a win.

While the basic Workbench is available from the start, you can build six extra stations using materials you gather during your expeditions. The real challenge is deciding which upgrades to prioritize first so you don’t waste resources early on. In this article, I break down the five most important Workshop upgrades you should focus on, ranking them from lowest early-game priority to the absolute must-have. This way, you’ll avoid common beginner mistakes and set yourself up for smoother, more efficient runs right from the beginning.

#5: Utility Station

Resources Needed
• Plastic Parts: 50
• ARC Alloy: 6

The Utility Station is one of those upgrades that’s good to have, but not something you absolutely need right away. It unlocks a handful of handy tools, though most of them shine only in specific situations rather than every single run.

The biggest benefit here is the Raider Hatch Key. With it, you can use hidden hatches scattered across the map to extract quickly without fighting your way to the main exits. These shortcuts can save your life when a run goes sideways, but because each hatch requires a new key, they’re not something you’ll rely on every time you go topside.

This station also lets you craft things like door barricades to buy time when enemies are chasing you, or lures that pull ARC units away so you can slip past unnoticed. They’re genuinely helpful tools, especially if you prefer stealthier or more tactical play, but they aren’t essential in every loadout. Because of that, the Utility Station lands lower on the priority list — useful, but not urgent.

#4: Explosives Station

Resources Needed
• Chemicals: 50
• ARC Alloy: 6

The Explosives Station is one of those upgrades that really depends on the type of player you are. If you love grenades, traps, and blowing things to pieces, this station will feel like a goldmine. But if you’re the kind of player who prefers precision gunplay over throwing explosives around, it might not feel as essential early on.

Once built, this station lets you craft a variety of grenades and mines — all genuinely strong tools when used at the right moment. A perfectly timed stun or well-placed mine can completely shift a fight in your favor. The catch is that explosives only shine when you actually land them, and some players just don’t lean on them as much as their weapons.

In many runs, you’ll naturally stumble upon explosives just by looting buildings and downed enemies, so for a lot of players, the need to craft them isn’t urgent. That’s why the Explosives Station sits in the lower half of the priority list. It’s great for players who enjoy tactical throws and ambush setups, but for everyone else, it’s more of a “good to have later” upgrade than a must-build right away.

#3: Gear Bench

Resources Needed
• Plastic Parts: 25
• Fabric: 30

The Gear Bench is one of the most impactful upgrades you can unlock early, especially if you feel your current loadout grids are too limiting. This station opens the door to crafting augments — and augments are game changers in ARC Raiders. They can expand your backpack capacity, add extra Safe Pocket slots, boost your carry weight, and generally make every topside run smoother and more profitable.

Finding the right augment feels like unlocking a new playstyle. Some give you more room for gear, others help you keep valuable items protected no matter what happens, and a few come with small drawbacks that are usually worth the tradeoff. Once you start experimenting, you’ll quickly see just how much augments affect your survival, mobility, and overall efficiency.

And the Gear Bench doesn’t stop there — you can also craft shields here, giving you an extra lifeline for tougher encounters or greedy loot runs. The best part? Building this station doesn’t require hard-to-find ARC materials, so you can set it up much earlier than the other high-value upgrades.

#2: Medical Lab

Resources Needed
• Fabric: 50
• ARC Alloy: 6

Surviving topside is brutal in ARC Raiders, especially when you’re still learning the game and every misstep can put you one hit from death. That’s why the Medical Lab quickly becomes one of the most valuable upgrades you can build early on. It gives you a steady, reliable way to craft the healing supplies that keep you alive long enough to extract with your loot.

Once the Medical Lab is up and running, you can produce bandages, syringes, stimulants, and other lifesaving consumables that restore health and refill stamina. These items matter more than anything during your first several runs, where every fight feels unpredictable and even a couple of bad engagements can send you right back to Speranza empty-handed.

As you get more experienced and start taking fewer hits, you might find yourself relying on healing a bit less. But in the early game — when every mistake is lethal — having access to homemade meds is the difference between barely scraping by and actually building momentum.

#1: Gunsmith

The Gunsmith should be the very first station you build in your workshop, and honestly, nothing else even comes close early on. It’s cheap to set up — all you need are basic metal and rubber parts, two of the most common resources you’ll collect without having to fight a single ARC enemy. Compared to the rarer materials required for other stations, the Gunsmith is basically a free upgrade.

Once it’s built, the game changes. You can craft your own weapons, attachments, magazines, and handles whenever you need them, giving you full control over your loadouts instead of relying on random loot or vendor stock. Suddenly, bringing a solid kit topside doesn’t feel dangerous anymore, because you know you can always rebuild what you lose.

Even better, the Gunsmith lets you upgrade your guns — and this alone is worth the investment. Level-one weapons are a struggle no matter how skilled you are, but once you start enhancing your gear, the difficulty curve becomes way more manageable. A few upgrades can turn a mediocre weapon into something that reliably melts ARC enemies and keeps you alive long enough to extract.

Conclusion

Upgrading your workshop is one of the biggest steps toward making ARC Raiders feel less punishing and more manageable, especially during your first dozen runs. While every station has its own value, some upgrades simply give you a much bigger boost early on. The Gunsmith sets the foundation with stronger weapons, the Medical Lab keeps you alive longer, and the Gear Bench lets you tailor your loadout so you can survive tougher encounters and haul back more loot. As you expand your workshop piece by piece, each run becomes smoother, safer, and far more rewarding. Prioritize the upgrades that strengthen your consistency, and you’ll be extracting with confidence instead of luck.