How to Master Raider Hunting in ARC Raiders: The Complete Guide

This guide breaks down the secretive philosophy and highly effective tactics used by veteran Raiders to secure essential supplies. Learn how to approach engagements, manipulate the battlefield, and safely escape with your haul.

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How to Raider Hunt in ARC Raiders: Noise, Tension, and the Art of the Getaway

Understanding the Raider Philosophy

For those living in the harsh ‘Fringes’—far from the comforts of Speranza—Raiding is not about chaos, but survival and the necessary redistribution of supplies. The core of this philosophy is built on a specific, non-deceptive approach that veterans use to distinguish between targets and potential allies.

The Raider’s Calling Card

Every engagement starts with a very specific verbal ritual. This system is designed to provide fair warning and immediately assess the mark’s awareness and intent:

• Initial Approach: Always secure an advantageous fighting position and be the first to announce yourself.

• The Greeting: Simply say, “Hey Raider.”

• The Response Test:

  • If the mark says anything other than “Don’t Shoot,” you move on or consider teaming up. They are being careful.

  • If the mark says “Don’t Shoot,” you reply “No” out of respect for their awareness, and the fight begins.

This ‘Hey Raider’ serves as a warning and a nod to the dangers of the Topside. The ‘No’ confirms that the fight is acknowledged and inevitable.

Key takeaway: Every loss is a lesson. You gain Topside fighting experience by accepting and learning from every encounter.

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The Approach: Mastering Stealth and Observation

The ability to successfully initiate a fight or avoid one hinges on your ability to control and interpret noise and movement.

Listen and Be Heard

• Noise is First Contact: Your own footsteps are your biggest enemy. Move slowly and pay attention. Slight bumps and clicks in the environment can reveal a Raider’s position.

• Use Ambient Noise: When you need to close the distance quickly, use the environment’s existing background sounds (ambient noise) to mask your approach.

• The Power of Stillness: Movement is the second most common cause of contact. By holding perfectly still in a dark corner or a bush, you can often “vanish” from a fight, even if you were previously spotted.

Resources for Solo Travel

For more in-depth knowledge on surviving alone Topside, consult Speranza’s public resources. Ask the desk for The Lone Raider’s Handbook for basics on dealing with hostile encounters.

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Manipulating Tension: Your Most Powerful Weapon

This strategy works because it facilitates a hostile atmosphere, then drops the opponent’s guard by appearing confidently vulnerable when you gain the advantage.

Inciting Chaos

Adding high tension to a populated area can draw out other players (Raiders and ARC) and create confusion. This leads to “more distilled quality supplies on more battered Raiders.”

Tactics for Increasing Tension:

• Snitch Scanning: Use a Snitch to scan populated areas, increasing the presence of ARC forces and the chance of indirect knock-outs.

• Luring Hostiles: Shoot a Rocky (or similar enemy) and lure it towards a high-traffic area. Use your map knowledge to determine the best place and time.

• Warning Shots: Fire wild, unlikely shots at Raiders. You don’t need to hit them; the goal is to make them worry about the next stranger they encounter.

Building Alliances

If a Raider avoids saying “Don’t Shoot,” do not assume hostility. Take a chance and offer gifts, like Defibs. Bringing them along is smart; they are clearly cautious and focused on survival, not conflict. Don’t punish their caution; instead, make an ally.

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The Acquisition: Fighting with Scrappy Thinking

Once the fight begins, the goal is to win aggressively using tactical maneuvering and psychological pressure.

Initiation: Attack and Move

• Maintain Initiative: Once the “No” is delivered, do not wait. Attack often, but move often.

• Positional Dominance: Hold a position for about 15 seconds, then aggressively maneuver to the next one.

• Ambush and Trap: Use your movement to consider potential ambush locations and set traps for your opponent. Scrappy thinking hits much harder than sheer shooting skill.

Advancing: The Weight of Fire

• Listen for Advantage: In the open fight, noise remains your strongest weapon. Listen for reloads, healing, or maneuvering to press your advantage.

• Suppressing Fire: When direct hits are difficult, use suppressing fire to attack the emotional side of the fight. The dazzling sparks from a weapon like the Torrente can stun or down an opponent. Dominate the area with heavy fire and grenades to maintain initiative and keep the opponent in panic.

• Offensive Smoke: While defensive, smoke grenades are excellent offensive tools. Smoke their position to block their vision, then immediately flank, slip away, or slide in behind them to finish the fight.

Withdrawing: Retreat and Retaliate

If an attack pushes you back, retreat immediately to protect your gear.

• Break Eyeline: Quickly escape their line of sight and move unpredictably.

• Hold and Fall Back: Hold a door religiously, then fall back two rooms. Listen for their push and press your advantage.

• Defensive Twist: Every retreat can be twisted into an attack. For example, use a Raider Flare after an ambush. This draws the opponent to search for your body, allowing you to use your callouts to guide them into a trap. This tactic is extremely under-utilized.

Manipulating Third Parties

If you encounter a third party or a complex group infighting, simplify the situation:

• The Team-Up Call: Expose yourself to the new player’s fire and ask to team up: “I am good, they are bad, help me knock out the bad Raider.”

• Never Shoot the Third Party: If you shoot them, the alliance is over.

• Project Confidence: Maintain absolute confidence. Do not point your weapon at the potential ally and continue your fight with the original mark, even while under new fire. You are there to get supplies, not shoot everyone.

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The Getaway: Securing the Haul

Once your bag is full, the objective shifts from maximizing tension to minimizing it for a safe extraction.

Flip the Method

To extract safely, you need to proactively diffuse the hostile atmosphere and minimize the tension others perceive.

• Proactive Callouts: Stop ambushing and proactively call out for other Raiders to team up.

• Share Generously: Hand out cheap, basic supplies (bandages, ammo you don’t need, etc.) to teammates. This builds security and goodwill. Defibs are especially useful gifts.

• Respect and Communication: Communicate the need to holster weapons and maintain a comfortable distance. Create securities for each other by allowing cover.

Everyone is focused on safely offloading their supplies. By flipping your approach from hostile to cooperative, you create a path of security for both yourself and your team to the extraction point.

Good luck, stay tenacious, and stay safe out there.

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Last Updated on December 22, 2025