Levels 1–11: Early Game Stamina Foundation
The first 11 levels are all about movement efficiency and stamina control, which are vastly more impactful early than niche combat perks.
Skill Choices
Nimble Climber (1 point initially)
Marathon Runner (5 points)
Useful Lungs (5 points)
Nimble Climber will eventually be maxed out later, but for now, only one point is needed. The real focus here is Marathon Runner and Useful Lungs, which dramatically improve stamina regeneration and sprint duration. The difference is immediately noticeable when traversing maps, climbing terrain, and repositioning during fights.
For early gameplay, these perks outperform almost everything else in ARC Raiders BluePrints the tree.
Levels 12–26: Looting Speed and Tree Progression
At this stage, the priority shifts toward unlocking deeper parts of the survival tree while improving looting efficiency.
Skill Choices
Agile Croucher (1 point initially)
Revitalizing Squat (1 point)
In-Raid Crafting (1 point)
Looter's Instinct (5 points)
Silent Scavenger (5 points)
Agile Croucher (final 2 points)
Agile Croucher improves crouched movement speed and becomes more valuable later. Revitalizing Squat is situational and requires being motionless while crouched, making it underwhelming, but it is required for progression.
In-Raid Crafting is genuinely useful, allowing you to craft bandages and shield rechargers during raids.
The real stars here are Looter's Instinct and Silent Scavenger. Faster looting speeds (roughly 20–25%) and reduced noise while looting provide both PvE and PvP advantages. When combined, these perks significantly reduce the time you spend exposed during loot interactions.
Levels 27–37: Looter's Luck Power Spike
This is where the build hits its first major power spike.
Skill Choices
Suffer in Silence (1 point)
Looter's Luck (5 points)
Broad Shoulders (5 points)
Suffer in Silence slightly reduces noise while injured and is mostly taken as a gateway perk.
Looter's Luck is arguably the best perk in the entire game. It allows you to reveal multiple ARC Raiders items at once when looting containers, bodies, and ARC drops. When paired with Looter's Instinct, you will fly through loot containers at unmatched speed.
Broad Shoulders increases carry capacity by 2 kg per point, granting a total of 10 kg at max rank. This directly translates into higher profit per raid and fewer painful inventory decisions.
Levels 38–43: Encumbrance and Stamina Synergy
Skill Choices
Good as New
Stubborn Mule (5 points)
Good as New slightly improves stamina recovery while under healing effects, which is a consistent quality-of-life boost.
Stubborn Mule reduces stamina penalties while over-encumbered. While you should avoid being over-encumbered, this perk outperforms alternatives in ARC Raiders buy Loot this section and is extremely helpful during extraction-heavy raids.
