🚨 EVERYONE CALLS IT THE WORST GUN IN ARC RAIDERS… But one player just DROPPED BODIES SILENTLY across the map – NO SOUND, NO MERCY! 😈 Is the Hairpin the ULTIMATE stealth nuke devs DON’T want you knowing about? You WON’T survive without this trick… Full breakdown inside! 👇
In the high-stakes world of ARC Raiders, where raiders drop into robot-infested zones to scavenge loot amid brutal player-vs-player shootouts, one unassuming weapon is rewriting the rules of survival. The Hairpin – a common single-action pistol dismissed by most as bottom-tier fodder – is proving itself a stealth maestro, allowing crafty players to ghost through raids undetected while others clash in noisy firefights.
Launched by Embark Studios in late 2025, ARC Raiders blends extraction shooter mechanics with PvPvE elements, pitting human “raiders” against each other and swarms of hostile ARC robots on sprawling maps like Stella Montas. Success hinges on loadouts, positioning, and noise discipline – fire a loud gun, and you’ll alert every ARC drone, turret, and rival player within earshot. Enter the Hairpin: a lightweight (3kg), silenced pistol that chambers one round at a time but whispers death without a trace.
The Specs That Doom It in Open Combat
On paper, the Hairpin screams “starter trash.” Base stats include 20 damage per shot, a glacial fire rate of 9, and “very weak” ARC armor penetration – meaning it bounces off tougher robots like the Matriarch boss while light ammo chews through magazines fast. Its 8-round magazine demands manual slide-cocking after every pull of the trigger, turning it into a bolt-action peashooter in frantic PvP. Tier lists from outlets like Rock Paper Shotgun (19th out of 20, D-tier) and GamesRadar (D-tier) label it near-useless for fights, with PC Gamer calling it “the worst gun in the game.”
Upgrades help marginally: Maxing to Hairpin IV (cheap craft: 2 metal parts + 5 plastic for base, plus scraps for tiers) boosts fire rate by 30%, cuts reload by 40%, and adds durability, but damage stays puny. Mods are limited to light magazines for slight capacity bumps, with community calls for tech mods like auto-chambering or poison rounds floating on Reddit.
The Stealth Revolution: Why Pros Are Whispering Its Name
Yet, amid the meta dominated by heavy-hitters like the Anvil SMG or Venator rifle, the Hairpin shines in “rat runs” – loot-grab stealth ops where detection equals death. Its integrated silencer delivers a stealth rating of 70, rendering shots inaudible even to nearby players or ARC sensors. Players one-shot small ARC pests like Ticks, Pops, Wasps, cameras, and alarms from afar, clearing paths without raising alarms.
Rivals Sector’s Elias tested it rigorously: “F-tier weapon, S-tier tool.” In combat trials, it flopped against armored foes, needing 5-7 shots on players. But for looting? Gold. Equip minimal gear, snipe security, hoover components and barter items, extract rich – all silently. Profits fund better kits next raid.
YouTube creators amplified the hype. NeshTV’s “Hairpin Is Secretly an AMAZING Stealth Weapon” video racks views showing silent flanks on Stella Montas, downing unaware foes before vanishing. The Gaming Merchant’s PVP challenge: hairpin-only lobbies wiped via ambushes. ShinyaTheNinja bragged “Wiping Lobbies With Only A HAIRPIN!!!!”
The pinnacle? A raider soloed the Matriarch – ARC’s toughest boss – with three Level 4 Hairpins, 1,200 light ammo rounds, meds, and lures. It took 14 minutes and 650 bullets, targeting weak spots relentlessly, but proved viability. “Overkill,” they joked, as guns held intact.
Community Divide: Meme Weapon or Must-Have?
X (formerly Twitter) buzzes with hairpin evangelism. @GamingMerchant_ posted “ARC Raiders Hairpin Only vs Matriarch 😲,” exploding to 2K likes. @LancesEmporium polled: Free loadouts hairpin-only? 751 likes, heated replies – some cry “pay-to-win fix,” others hail skill check.
Reddit’s r/ArcRaiders echoes: “What’s the point of Hairpin?” threads reveal stealth utility – destroying detectors quietly – but PvP rage quits abound. Streamers like @ClouDzFTW ditch it for Venators, but @sjktv_ calls it “MOST Underrated.”
Fallout Plays’ 30-second tier list: “Arguably one of the worst… only upside: built-in silencer.” Dexerto praises early-game stealth, weak vs. ARC.
Builds and Meta Shifts
Optimal hairpin loadout: Max IV, light mag mod, light shield for agility (78.3 base), smoke grenades, photoelectric cloak. Pair with melee for ARC pests, lures for distractions. Free kits? Proposals limit to hairpin, forcing loot-or-die.
Post-launch patches tweaked metas – Venator nerfs boosted commons – but hairpin’s niche endures. Embark’s silence on buffs fuels speculation: intentional trash for balance?
The Bigger Picture: Extraction Shooter’s Soul
ARC Raiders thrives on risk-reward. Flashy Epics like Jupiter dominate leaderboards, but hairpin raiders extract fat stacks undetected, funding empires. It’s the everyman’s edge in a gear-check genre, proving brains beat bullets.
As Season 1 looms, will buffs elevate it? Or stay the shadow king? One thing’s clear: in a game of noise and fury, silence is golden. Raiders, craft one – your next big haul awaits.
