Level Up Your Survival – The Arc Raiders Skill Tree

Arc Raiders Skill Tree: The Backbone of Your Survival

You know that feeling? The one where your heart is pounding against your ribs, you’ve got a backpack full of rare loot, and you can hear the mechanical screech of an ARC drone just around the corner? Yeah, that’s the magic of Arc Raiders. But here’s the thing: surviving that extraction isn’t just about having a steady aim or the biggest gun. It’s about how you’ve built your Raider from the ground up. It’s about the Arc Raiders skill tree.

Honestly, when you first boot up the game, the progression system might look a bit simple. You see three colors – Yellow, Red, Green – and think, “Okay, standard RPG stuff.” But don’t be fooled. This isn’t just about +5% damage. This is about shaving seconds off a vault animation that would have otherwise gotten you killed. It’s about carrying that extra battery that saves your squad.

In this guide, we’re going to tear apart the skill system. We’ll look at every branch, the must-have perks, and the traps you should avoid. We’re going to talk about builds that actually work in the current beta meta, not just what looks good on paper. Because in the Rust Belt, a bad build is just a fancy way to donate your loot to someone else.

The Three Pillars of Progression in Arc Raiders

The system is split into three distinct branches. You earn Skill Points (SP) by leveling up your Raider through XP – mostly from extracting loot, completing quests for vendors like Celeste, and just generally not dying. You have a cap (currently around 75 points in testing), so you can’t have everything. You have to choose:

• Mobility (Yellow): Speed, stamina, and traversal. If you can’t be hit, you can’t be killed.
• Survival (Red): Looting, crafting, and utility. For the goblins who want to grab everything.
• Conditioning (Green): Health, resilience, and weight management. The tanky stuff.

Mobility: Why Speed is King

Let’s be real for a second. In extraction shooters, movement is life. If you are standing still, you are dead. The Mobility tree is widely considered the “meta” choice for a reason. It doesn’t matter how much health you have if you can outrun the bullets.

Marathon Runner is likely the first skill you should look at. It reduces stamina cost for sprinting. Simple, right? But think about the map size. You are traversing massive, ruin-filled landscapes. Being able to sprint 30% longer than the guy chasing you means you get to the extraction elevator first. It means you get to cover before the sniper lines up his shot.

Then you have Effortless Roll. Dodging is your “get out of jail free” card in combat. But dodging eats stamina for breakfast. This perk makes rolling cheap. You can weave through ARC drone fire like you’re in an action movie:

• Youthful Lungs: Increases max stamina. Combine this with Marathon Runner, and you are basically a track star with a gun.
• Nimble Climber: You vault and climb faster. This is huge in vertical areas like the city ruins. Slow climbing animations are death sentences.
• Carry the Momentum: This is a high-tier skill. After a dodge roll, your sprint costs zero stamina for a short burst. It allows for this fluid, infinite-motion playstyle that feels incredible.

Why focus on Mobility?

Because the environment is your enemy. Gravity, distance, and exposure kill you just as often as robots do. Investing here makes the game feel smoother, faster, and more responsive.

Survival: The Looter’s Paradise

Okay, maybe you aren’t the “run and gun” type. Maybe you’re the “grab the loot and sneak away” type. The Survival tree is for you. This branch is all about efficiency and maximizing your haul.

The absolute game-changer here is In-Round Crafting. Without this skill, you are dependent on what you brought with you. If you run out of meds, you’re done. But with this skill? You can open your inventory mid-raid, combine some random junk you found, and boom – fresh bandages. It turns a desperate situation into a manageable one. It’s arguably the single most valuable point you can spend in the entire game.

Broad Shoulders is another fan favorite. It increases your carry weight. More weight means more loot. More loot means more money and upgrades back at Speranza. It’s a simple loop, but it’s addictive. If you are constantly finding yourself over-encumbered and walking like a snail, you need this perk:

• Looter’s Luck: A chance to find double items in containers. This is pure dopamine. Opening a crate and seeing two rare components instead of one feels like hitting the jackpot.
• Agile Croucher: Move faster while crouching. For the stealth players who want to avoid the ARC patrols entirely, this is essential.
• Silent Scavenger: Reduces the noise you make while looting. Sounds minor, right? But in a PvPvE game, sound is information. If I can hear you rummaging through a toolbox from the next room, I’m coming to take your stuff.

Conditioning: The Tank’s Best Friend

This tree gets a bad rap. People say, “Just don’t get hit.” But we all make mistakes. Sometimes you turn a corner and there’s a heavy ARC unit right in your face. Conditioning is your insurance policy.

The star here is Used To The Weight. In Arc Raiders, carrying heavy gear (like big shields) slows you down. This skill mitigates that penalty. It allows you to wear the heaviest protection available and still move like a normal human being. If you want to be the squad’s anchor, standing in front and soaking up damage, you need this.

Fight or Flight gives you stamina back when you take damage. It’s a panic button. You get shot, you get a burst of energy to run away. It saves lives.

Who is this for?

This is for the aggressive players who know they are going to take fights. If you are pushing objectives and engaging other squads, you need the extra durability.

Best Skill Builds for Every Playstyle – Exploring the Arc Raiders Skill Tree

You can’t unlock everything, so you need a plan. Here are three archetypes that are dominating the beta right now.

1. The Ghost (Solo Farmer)

• Focus: Survival & Mobility
• Key Skills: Agile Croucher, Silent Scavenger, In-Round Crafting, Nimble Climber.
• Playstyle: You are never seen. You move through the shadows, loot the high-value areas, and vanish before the big fights start. You use In-Round Crafting to stay sustained without needing to visit resupply stations. You use Nimble Climber to take weird, vertical routes that other players can’t follow.

2. The Vanguard (Squad Leader)

• Focus: Conditioning & Mobility
• Key Skills: Used To The Weight, Loaded Arms, Team Medic (if available/allied revive perks), Marathon Runner.
• Playstyle: You are the distraction. You wear heavy shields and draw the aggro of the ARC machines. Your job is to stay alive while your teammates flank. The movement perks ensure that even with heavy gear, you don’t get left behind.

3. The Loot Goblin (Resource Runner)

• Focus: Pure Survival
• Key Skills: Broad Shoulders (Maxed), Looter’s Luck, Traveling Tinkerer, Security Breach.
• Playstyle: You are here for the money. You want to fill every slot in your backpack. Security Breach lets you open locked doors that others can’t, giving you access to premium loot. You rely on your squad to do the shooting; you are just here to carry the bags (and get rich).

The Hidden Mechanics of Progression

Here is something the game doesn’t explicitly tell you: skills act as a force multiplier for your gear.

Think about it. A high-tier weapon is great. But a high-tier weapon in the hands of a Raider who has Loaded Arms (less encumbrance from weapons) is deadly because they are more mobile. A Medkit is useful. But a Medkit used by a Raider with Good as New (increased stamina regen while healing) allows you to reset a fight instantly.

The “tree” isn’t just about passive stats; it changes the rhythm of the game. A level 1 Raider feels clunky, heavy, and desperate. A level 50 Raider feels like a specialized operator.

The Respec Option

Made a mistake? Don’t panic. You can respec. The game allows you to reset your points (usually for a cost or during specific intervals like expeditions). This encourages experimentation. Don’t be afraid to dump all your points into Conditioning just to see if a “melee tank” build works. (Spoiler: It probably doesn’t, but it’s fun to try).

Tips for Spending Your First 10 Points

You’ve just started. You have a few levels under your belt. Where do you put those precious first points:

1. Unlock In-Round Crafting (1 Point): Do this immediately. It’s in the Survival tree. Just having the option to craft a bandage is worth more than any 5% stamina buff.
2. Dump 5 Points into Marathon Runner: Max this out early. The early game involves a lot of running away from things you can’t kill yet.
3. Get Nimble Climber (2-3 Points): The basic vault speed is a bit sluggish. Speeding this up moves feel much more modern and fluid.
4. Pick up Silent Scavenger: If you are playing solo, this helps you avoid unwanted PvP attention while looting the early zones.

Advanced Tactics: Synergies

The real pros mix and match. You don’t have to stick to one color:

• The “Infinite Slide” Combo: Combine Slip and Slide (Mobility) with Revitalizing Squat (Survival). You slide further, and while you are low/crouched, you regen stamina. It creates a loop where you are hard to hit but constantly gaining energy back.
• The “Combat Medic”: Combine Crawl Before You Walk (move faster when downed) with Good as New. If you go down, you can crawl to cover quickly. Once revived, your healing items make you combat-ready faster.

The Psychological Edge

Having a maxed-out skill tree gives you confidence. And in an extraction shooter, confidence wins fights. When you know you have Looter’s Luck, you search containers faster and more aggressively. When you know you have Effortless Roll, you take risks in combat that catch enemies off guard.

But remember: Skills do not make you invincible. A level 1 player with a rusty pistol can still kill a max-level player if they outsmart them. The skill tree is a toolset, not a shield.

FAQ

Can I unlock every skill in the Arc Raiders skill tree?

No, there is a cap on skill points (currently around 75). You have to choose a build, you can’t have everything maxed out at once.

Which skill tree is best for solo players?

The Survival tree mixed with Mobility is best. You need In-Round Crafting to self-sustain and movement perks to escape squads since you can’t fight 1v3 easily.

How do I reset my skill points?

You can respec your character, though the exact cost/method can change between beta patches. Look for the option in the character menu at Speranza.

Does the “Conditioning” tree increase my health?

Not directly like a “+100 HP” bar. It mostly focuses on resilience, stamina recovery when hit, and carrying heavier armor/shields which effectively gives you more health.

What does “In-Round Crafting” actually let me make?

It unlocks a field crafting menu for basics like bandages, smoke grenades, and shield rechargers using materials you have in your backpack.

Is there a skill to carry more loot?

Yes, Broad Shoulders in the Survival tree increases your maximum carry weight capacity, allowing you to haul more items without being slowed down.

Do skills apply to all my Raiders or just one?

Progression is generally tied to your account/character slot, but check the specific beta rules as Embark Studios has tweaked how “Classes” (Raiders) interact with account-wide XP.

Final Thoughts

The Arc Raiders skill tree is your personal story in the Rust Belt. Are you the ghost who leaves no trace? The heavy trooper who holds the line? Or the greedy scavenger who risks it all for one more battery? The beauty is that there is no “wrong” answer, only different ways to survive. Just remember: all the skills in the world won’t save you if you miss the extraction elevator.

Good luck topside, Raider from the Rover SD team! Make sure to support this post by sharing. Write us directly if you want to collaborate!