Best PvP Tier Weapons in Arc Rider
If you want to survive topside in Arc Raiders, knowing your Arc Raiders PvP weapon tier list is not optional. It is survival knowledge. Every raid will put you face-to-face with another Raider who wants your loot and your extraction slot. Picking the wrong weapon can cost you hours of progress in seconds.
This guide ranks every gun from S tier to D tier for PvP specifically, explains exactly what makes each one strong or weak against real players, and tells you how to get the ones worth carrying.
Arc Raiders PvP Weapon Tier List: Full Rankings for the Current Meta
One important distinction before the list. PvP in Arc Raiders is nothing like fighting ARC machines. Real players strafe, peek quickly, swap shields mid-fight, and punish slow reloads. What matters here is time-to-kill, burst potential, and handling speed, not raw DPS or armor penetration stats.
The Shrouded Sky patch 1.17.0 changed the meta significantly. The Stitcher and Kettle both got nerfed hard. The Venator was hit again. The Aphelion received meaningful buffs. Here is where everything stands right now:
| Tier | Weapons |
|---|---|
| S Tier | Anvil, Renegade, Bobcat, Vulcano |
| A Tier | Venator, Tempest, Ferro, Aphelion |
| B Tier | Stitcher, Bettina, Il Toro, Burletta |
| C Tier | Rattler, Kettle, Jupiter, Pharaoh |
| D Tier | Equalizer, Hullcracker, Jupiter, Hairpin |
S Tier: The Best PvP Weapons in Arc Raiders Right Now
You can choose any of these in any kind of war, as they are the top-ranking S-tier weapons.
Anvil: Best Cost-Efficient PvP Weapon in Arc Raiders
Uncommon rarity, pocket-sniper damage. Two clean shots from the Anvil strips a medium shield and leaves the enemy desperate before they can respond. At Rank IV, it gets 18.75% reduced dispersion recovery, 75% increased fire rate, and 30 extra durability.
Add the Splitter tech mod, and it converts to a sawed-off shotgun configuration for point-blank burst. Many top players run two Anvils simultaneously, one standard and one Splitter. Losing one costs almost nothing to replace, which makes it the best risk-to-reward weapon in the current meta.
How to get it: Buy directly from dealers in Speranza or loot the blueprint from raid caches. Uncommon rarity keeps the crafting cost low enough that replacement never stings.
Renegade: Best Mid-Range Rifle for Arc Raiders PvP
The Renegade sits between an assault rifle and a marksman rifle, doing both jobs well. It fires faster than most precision weapons, scales well with upgrades, and rewards controlled tap-fire at medium range.
It punishes any enemy who peeks carelessly and gives you a genuine threat at distances where most pistols and SMGs fall off. After the Stitcher and Kettle nerfs removed the cheap close-range dominators, the Renegade became the most reliable all-around primary in the current patch.
How to get it: Loot the blueprint from raids, buy from dealers, or craft once you have the blueprint. Medium ammo, which drops consistently across all maps.
Bobcat: Best Close-Range Automatic Pistol
The Bobcat is the aggressive weapon. Its fire rate is blistering, and its close-range time-to-kill is genuinely terrifying. Push a corner with a Bobcat, and you delete the fight before the enemy can process what happened.
The tradeoff is real: high recoil, poor range past close quarters, and a crafting cost that hurts when you die. It rewards players who know the maps, know when to push, and commit fully when they do. After the Stitcher fell to B tier, the Bobcat took over as the go-to for aggressive close-range play.
How to get it: Blueprint drops from caches and security rooms in-raid. Run it when you feel confident about the session, not as a default kit weapon.
Vulcano: Best Shotgun for Arc Raiders PvP
In tight corridors, stairwells, and indoor spaces, the Vulcano ends fights in one trigger pull. Its semi-automatic fire rate and stopping power make it the most dominant weapon in close-quarters environments. It falls apart in open areas, so use it strictly as a secondary paired with a mid-range primary like the Renegade. That combination covers every engagement distance you will realistically face in a raid.
How to get it: Loot from raid caches or purchase from dealers. Rare rarity means it appears occasionally from high-value drops and enemy Raiders.
A Tier: Strong PvP Weapons That Win Fights Consistently
Not quite the top of the meta, but absolutely capable of carrying raids in the right hands.
Venator: Still Dangerous Despite Back-to-Back Nerfs
The Venator has been nerfed twice and still lands in A tier. That tells you everything. Shrouded Sky dropped its base damage from 9 to 8 and its headshot multiplier from 2.5 to 2.0. It is no longer the automatic carry it was at launch, but the double-shot mechanic still delivers burst damage that outpaces most weapons at close to medium range.
Deliberate aim wins with the Venator. Spray and miss, and you are in trouble. Fully upgraded with a Medium Extended Magazine, it remains one of the most effective sidearms in the game.
How to get it: Loot from caches and fallen Raiders, purchase from dealers, or craft once you have the blueprint. One of the more common weapon drops in-raid.
Tempest: Fastest TTK Assault Rifle After Shrouded Sky
The Tempest is a 37-round fully automatic rifle at Rank IV with a Tier 3 Medium Mag. Its documented time-to-kill against players sits at 1.2 seconds, which is currently the fastest among all assault rifles post-patch. Add 50% reduced horizontal recoil and 40% reduced reload time at max upgrade, and it becomes a very clean gun to run.
Adding a Silencer III also makes it one of the quietest weapons in the game, which has real value when catching enemies before they spot you. It dropped out of the S tier only because the Bobcat and Renegade have stronger burst, and the Anvil has better economy.
How to get it: Blueprint drops in the raid. Available from dealers. Medium ammo keeps running costs low.
Ferro: Best Starter Precision Weapon, No Blueprint Required
No blueprint, five metal parts, two rubber pieces. That is all it costs to craft the Ferro, and it competes with Rare and Epic weapons at a fraction of the risk. Its single-shot battle rifle profile delivers strong armor penetration and range, and a Ferro IV paired with a Vulcano secondary is one of the best budget loadouts in the game.
Experienced Raiders run it not because they cannot afford better, but because it punishes enemies reliably without putting expensive gear at risk. It dropped from S tier simply because the Anvil, Renegade, and Bobcat edge it out in pure PvP performance post-patch.
How to get it: Craft it immediately from the start with no blueprint. Five metal, two rubber. Memorise it.
Aphelion: Buffed Back Into Relevance
The Aphelion was borderline useless in PvP before Shrouded Sky. Embark buffed it with reduced reload time, improved fire rate, and better recoil control, specifically to make it viable against players. It is now a legitimate option, especially for players who already have the blueprint and want to try Legendary-tier firepower without committing to the full Venator playstyle.
It does not yet justify its cost over the Renegade for most players, but further buffs are likely given Embark’s stated goal of making it a PvP-focused Legendary. Worth keeping an eye on.
How to get it: Blueprint drops from locked security rooms and high-value raid loot.
B Tier: Situational Weapons That Work in Specific Scenarios
Stitcher: Nerfed Hard, Still Usable as a Budget Secondary
The Stitcher was the dominant cheap PvP weapon from launch through to patch 1.17.0. Shrouded Sky hit it with a damage reduction from 7 to 6.5, headshot multiplier down from 2.5 to 1.75, and 50% increased per-shot bloom during full-auto fire.
Full spraying is now punished. Short controlled bursts at close range still work, but it no longer dominates encounters the way it did. It remains the only weapon in the game with zero blueprint requirement and near-zero crafting cost, which keeps it in B tier as a budget secondary rather than a primary carry.
How to get it: Craft from basic Common materials with no blueprint. Always available regardless of progression.
Bettina: Epic Power With Epic Risk
Highest armor penetration among assault rifles. Strong close to medium range burst. The problem is weight, significant recoil requiring burst-fire discipline, and a loss of cost that genuinely hurts. After the Tempest stepped up post-patch, Bettina’s case weakened. Still a strong weapon, but the cost versus performance equation keeps it in B tier for most player budgets.
How to get it: Blueprint from locked rooms and high-value raid loot. Available from dealers at a significant credit cost.
Il Toro and Osprey
Il Toro is the harder-hitting shotgun option compared to the Vulcano, delivering devastating point-blank damage but with slower follow-up shots and more weight. Osprey is a capable mid-range option that does everything acceptably but nothing exceptionally. Both are worth using if you find them in-raid, but neither is worth crafting specifically for PvP.
C Tier: Only Use These Until You Find Something Better
Jupiter received ADS and equipped speed buffs in Shrouded Sky, and is less painful to use now. Its core problem remains: missed shots leave you dangerously exposed, and its PvP damage output does not justify the risk in player-heavy zones.
Rattler and Pharaoh are early-game options that get outclassed quickly as your crafting develops. Kettle dropped from its pre-patch dominance to C tier after the base damage was cut from 10 to 8.5. It still rewards accurate headshot play at medium range, but its overall value no longer justifies running it over the Renegade or Ferro.
D Tier: Leave These at Home
Equalizer: Its bright, visible beam broadcasts your exact position to every enemy in range.
Hullcracker: Deals zero damage to players. Built for ARC machines only. Hairpin: The worst PvP damage output in the entire weapon pool. None of these belong in a loadout where you expect to fight other Raiders.
How to Get the Best PvP Weapons in Arc Raiders
Crafting is the most reliable method for no-blueprint weapons like the Ferro and Stitcher. Blueprint-dependent weapons like the Renegade, Anvil, and Aphelion require you to find the blueprint first before crafting unlocks. Blueprints drop from raid caches, locked security rooms, and enemy drops.
Looting in-raid gives direct access to weapons on ARC enemies and fallen Raiders. The Controlled Access Zone added to Dam Battlegrounds in Shrouded Sky is worth targeting for high-value drops. Stella Montis remains strong for weapon spawns but consistently draws aggressive players.
Dealer purchasing in Speranza lets you buy weapons without a blueprint. For weapons like the Anvil with occasionally rare blueprints, buying directly is the smarter call. Note that credit costs for several items increased in Shrouded Sky, so budget accordingly.
Security Lockers are the single best source for rare blueprints in the game. Unlocking the Security Breach node in the Survival skill tree grants access to these locked rooms across all raid maps. This is the most efficient long-term investment for building out your crafting options.
Best Arc Raiders PvP Loadout Right Now
For players who want maximum performance at minimum risk, run the Renegade as your primary and the Anvil as your secondary. The Renegade handles all mid-range threats. The Anvil closes out shields and wins close fights with two shots.
Pair this with a Medium Shield, smoke grenades for disengaging bad fights, and Adrenaline Shots for repositioning. This setup costs almost nothing to replace after a failed raid and competes with loadouts that cost 10 times as much.
For players with resources to spend, Bobcat plus Venator is the most aggressive and punishing two-gun combination in the current meta. Push with the Bobcat, finish with the Venator’s double-shot burst. Very few players survive a committed push with this pairing in close quarters.
The Shrouded Sky patch produced the most balanced PvP meta Arc Raiders have seen since launch in October 2025. The cheap dominant options are gone. The Anvil, Renegade, Bobcat, and Vulcano now define S tier because they earn their placement through genuine performance, not exploitable mechanics.
Budget players still have strong options in the Ferro and post-nerf Stitcher. Check this Arc Raiders PvP weapon tier list before you load out, carry the right guns, and you will extract consistently. Good luck out there.
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