If you are trying to unlock all 5 Expedition skill points in ARC Raiders, you already know the ultimate hurdle: hitting that massive 100,000 cumulative damage milestone. It sounds like a staggering number when you're just starting out, but once you understand how the game actually tracks your progress, it becomes a lot more manageable.
The best piece of news? The progression system saves your damage metrics even if you fail to extract. This completely changes how you should approach your runs. Forget sneaking around and playing it safe—it is time to adopt a hyper-aggressive, high-risk playstyle focused entirely on tearing through massive ARC armor pools.
Here is exactly how to optimize your build, where to drop, and how to play to hit that 100k mark and secure your skill points.
The Meta Max-Damage Loadout
If you are hunting for raw numbers, light ammo isn't going to cut it against heavy ARC armor. You need weapons and gear that pack a serious punch. Focus your loadout on heavy, energy, or rocket ammunition.
Primary Weapons
The Hullcracker: This is an absolute beast for top-tier damage. For the best results, kit it out with a Kinetic Converter, a horizontal grip, and an extended barrel. It shreds armor like nothing else.
The Jupiter: If you prefer keeping your distance or need a reliable long-range option to farm damage safely from afar, the Jupiter is your go-to.
Ords and Gadgets
Deadline Mines: Do not leave camp without these. They are essential for chunking enemy health, delivering an immediate 4,000 to 5,000 damage per use when positioned correctly.
Wolfpacks & Seeker Grenades: These are crucial for farming passive damage. Toss them into a crowd of ARCs and let them do the heavy lifting while you reposition or reload.
Top Farming Locations
You can't hit big numbers if you can't find anything to shoot. When you drop in, you want to head straight for high-density AI spawns and specific events.
Riven Tides: Make a beeline for the Wharf and the Stacking Yard. These areas are notorious for high-value AI spawns that offer plenty of health pools to deplete.
Matriarch Raid: When you're in the raid, don't tunnel vision on the boss. Instead, prioritize clearing out the waves of smaller enemies that spawn around the arena. It’s a much faster, safer way to pad your damage stats.
Special Events: Keep an eye out for Locked Gate or Hidden Bunker events. These scenarios trigger extended combat opportunities with waves of tough enemies, making them perfect for farming.
High-Damage Strategy Tips
To truly maximize your output, you need to shift your mindset from standard extraction shooter gameplay to a pure power-farming mentality.
Strip the Armor First
ARC units are walking tanks. Walking up and shooting them with standard bullets is just wasting time. Always use your explosives—like Deadline Mines or grenades—to completely destroy enemy shields and break down their armor before you start engaging with your primary weapons.
Say Goodbye to Light Ammo
Seriously, leave the light ammo weapons in your locker. They bounce right off the heavy plating of tougher ARC variants. Stick strictly to heavy and energy variants if you want to see those high numbers pop up on your screen.
Aggression Over Survival
This is the most important rule for this specific grind: Extraction does not matter. Because the game saves your cumulative damage regardless of whether you make it out alive, you should never back down from a fight. If you see a massive squad of ARCs, push them. Play fast, play loud, and trade your life for maximum damage output. If you go down in a blaze of glory but walked away with 15k damage added to your total, that is a massive win.
Top comments (0)