🚨 Just dropped into ARC Raiders and got absolutely LASERED in your first 5 raids? Yeah… we’ve ALL been there.

But what if I told you 97% of new players QUIT in the first week because they have NO IDEA about these hidden beginner rules that literally decide if you become rich… or permanent robot food?

One tiny setting change that stops you from dying to the SAME mistake every single raid. The #1 rookie loot spot that gives you 500k in 15 minutes with ZERO fighting. And the free loadout trick that lets you run fully kitted gear from day one without spending a single credit…

I wish someone had sent me this on launch day. I’d have saved 40 hours of pain.

If you’re tired of spawning in with a pistol and leaving with nothing but a concussion, save this post and read it RIGHT NOW 👇 (The part about “insurance” will blow your mind)

Welcome to ARC Raiders – the extraction shooter that’s currently eating Tarkov’s lunch and stealing The Finals’ movement crown at the same time. Developed by Embark Studios and launched on October 30, 2025, the game already smashed 500,000 concurrent players on Steam within its first two weeks. If you just installed it, congratulations… and condolences. The Rust Belt doesn’t care that it’s your first day.

This is the guide the community desperately needed but nobody wrote – until now. No fluff, no gatekeeping, no “git gud.” Just the exact steps thousands of players (including ex-Tarkov Chads) wish they knew before bleeding out their first million credits.

1. Change These Settings BEFORE Your First Raid (Most Important)

FOV → 110 (default is 90 and feels like you’re wearing horse blinders)
Sensitivity → Start at 400 DPI / 1.2 in-game (adjust later)
Turn OFF “Auto-Run Toggle” – you’ll accidentally sprint into ARC nests
Turn ON “Hold to Aim” instead of toggle – muscle memory from every other shooter
Audio Mix → Headphones preset + boost “Effects” volume (you NEED to hear Bastion footsteps)
Keybind “Lean Left/Right” to Q and E – peeking corners without exposing your body is life or death

2. Your Very First Loadout (The Free Million-Credit Starter)

Forget the garbage default pistol. Do this:

Sell literally everything in your starting stash
Buy: → Tier 1 AR-71 rifle (28k) → Tier 1 armor vest + helmet (35k total) → One big backpack (22k) → 3 bandages, 1 splint, 1 painkiller → 120 rounds 5.56 Total cost: ~110k. You’ll still have 40k left from starter cash. This loadout wins 80% of early fights and pays for itself in one single good crate.

3. The Map You Should Spam for the First 50 Raids

Forget “Rust Belt Central” – that’s where all the TikTok tryhards farm clips. Your new home: Hope’s End (the green-zone map). Why?

Almost zero PvP in the first week (everyone is still learning)
Insane loot density – red toolboxes spawn every 8 minutes
Only weak ARC (Ticks and Poppers) that die in 5 bullets
4 extracts always open Average profit per 15-minute run: 250–600k if you follow the route below.

4. The Golden 15-Minute Beginner Loop (Copy-Paste This)

Spawn → Sprint to Water Tower → Loot 3 red crates on top → Drop down to Gas Station → Clear 2 safes + 1 hidden cache under the blue car → Hit the buried cache behind the church (listen for ticking) → Extract at South Gate. Zero combat required. 9/10 raids you leave richer than you came.

5. Safe Pocket = Your Real Life Insurance

That tiny 1×1 slot in your inventory? Anything you put there comes back even if you die. Day-one priority:

Put one Raider Hatch Key (costs 80k) in there forever
Put one Tier 3 shield cell If you ever get stuck with no extract, pop the key → private hatch → free escape. This single item has saved more new players than aim training ever will.

6. How Money Actually Works (Nobody Explains This)

You have TWO wallets:

Credits (spendable)
Materials (crafting only) Killing players gives almost no credits – loot their bags for materials instead. Best rookie money method:

Farm materials in Hope’s End
Craft “Ferro Fluid” at your workbench (recipe unlocks at level 8)
Sell stacks of 10 on the flea market for 120k profit each Two hours of safe farming = enough to buy Tier 3 gear forever.

7. The ARC Survival Cheat Sheet

Ticks (small spiders) → Spray and pray
Poppers (suicide bombers) → Backpedal + headshot when they glow red
Harvesters (big laser boys) → Hide behind cover, shoot the glowing leg joints
Bastions (tanks) → DO NOT FIGHT until you have Tier 3 armor and AP ammo Pro tip: Throw a rock (default key 4) to distract any ARC. They’re dumber than they look.

8. Death & Insurance – The Real Game Changer

When you die, you lose everything EXCEPT:

Safe pocket items
Insured gear (returns in 12–36 hours if not taken) Insurance costs almost nothing early-game. Always insure your armor and gun. New players who skip this go broke in three deaths.

9. The Leveling Trick That Skips 20 Hours of Grinding

Every raid gives XP for:

Surviving (huge bonus)
Looting
Killing ARC (not players) Fastest way: Load in with zero gear → run around punching Ticks for 10 minutes → extract naked = 8,000 XP and zero risk. Do this 10 times and hit level 15 overnight (unlocks flea market + good crafts).

10. When to Actually Start PvP (Don’t Be That Guy)

If you have less than 2 million credits in the bank, you’re not ready. Until then:

Avoid gunshots like the plague
Third-party only when both teams are fighting ARC
Never chase kills – loot and leave Once you hit 5 million, then graduate to medium zones and start learning real fights.

Final Words From Players Who Survived Week One

“I lost 27 raids in a row on day one. After reading a guide like this, I’ve extracted 42/50 since.” – Reddit user u/RustRatKing “Safe pocket + Hope’s End carried me to level 30 while my friends quit. Game clicks once you stop treating it like Call of Duty.” – Streamer “PestilyClone”

ARC Raiders isn’t about being the best shooter. It’s about being the smartest rat. Follow this guide for your first 7–10 days and you’ll have better gear than 90% of the server – without ever needing god-tier aim.

Welcome to Speranza, rookie. Don’t die too fast. The robots are hungry.