ARC Raiders Weapons Tier List: Best Guns After Update 2.3.0’s Shield and Flame Spray Buffs
ARC Raiders Weapon Tier List After Update 2.3.0
ARC Raiders’ Live Update 2.3.0, released October 27, 2026, reworked two of the extraction shooter’s most important gear pieces and reshuffled blueprint drop rates for several top-tier weapons. Combined with the established weapon rankings from the community, here’s where everything stands heading into November.
What Changed in Update 2.3.0
- Heavy Shield: base charge increased from 80 to 90, a direct survivability buff for a piece of gear the devs said was still seeing relatively low use.
- Flame Spray: damage increased from 10 to 13 per second, with durability drain reduced by 50%, making it far more viable against groups and swarms.
- Adrenaline Shot: can now be used at max stamina; its effect no longer stacks, but reusing it refreshes the duration.
- Firefly Burner: now activates on impact when thrown instead of needing to settle first.
- Blueprint drops: the Dolabra, Bobcat, Equalizer, Jupiter, Tempest, and Vulcano blueprints can now drop in any major map condition (at a slightly reduced rate), making top-tier weapons easier to chase down.
- The Expedition Vault is being disabled, with Bronze Statuettes awarded as compensation, and the Emperor Key’s drop chance from Redirection pods has been lowered.
S-Tier Weapons
Hullcracker (epic launcher) — a dedicated anti-Arc cannon that melts elite machines like the Matriarch and the Queen, though it’s useless against other players.
Jupiter (legendary) — consistently rated among the best all-around weapons in the game.
Equalizer (legendary energy minigun) — the best raw damage against elite Arc machines, though it’s expensive to craft, repair, and keep fed with ammo.
Venator (rare pistol) — fires two shots at once for a very fast time-to-kill at close and mid-range, and a top pick in player-vs-player fights.
With the Update 2.3.0 drop-pool change, the Dolabra (pictured above), Equalizer, and Jupiter blueprints are now noticeably easier to farm, since they can drop in any major map condition.
A-Tier Weapons
Tempest (epic assault rifle) — accurate and strong against players, though it wears out fast and is costly to repair.
Bettina (epic assault rifle) — high, fully automatic damage, best at mid-range.
Anvil (uncommon hand-cannon pistol) — very high damage for its price against both Arcs and players at close range.
Vulcano (epic semi-auto shotgun) — a close-range powerhouse, if an expensive one to maintain.
Bobcat (epic SMG) — a faster fire rate than the Stitcher, though it needs grip and barrel attachments to control.
Renegade and Aphelion round out this tier as solid, if more situational, picks.
B-Tier, C-Tier, and D-Tier
B-Tier: Ferro (common battle rifle, cheap to craft and strong against Arcs), Stitcher (common SMG, free in starter loadouts), Osprey (the game’s only bolt-action sniper), plus Torrente, Il Toro, Arpeggio, and Burletta.
C-Tier: Kettle (common semi-auto rifle, cheap and in free loadouts, weak against Arcs) and Rattler.
D-Tier: Hairpin.
The Heavy Shield’s charge buff this update makes it a much easier recommendation to pair with any of the above, especially for raiders who were previously skipping it for lighter gear.
Best Gear to Pair With Your Loadout
With Flame Spray’s damage and durability buffs, it’s now a strong pick for clearing rooms of weaker Arc units before they swarm, freeing up your primary weapon slot for a player-focused pick like the Venator or Tempest. The Heavy Shield’s higher charge also means you can hold a forward position longer during Vault runs.
Gearing up for your next raid? Grab a Steam Wallet Code (US) or a PSN Gift Card (US) at Dragon4Deals. For the full weapon-by-weapon breakdown this list draws on, see PC Gamer’s ARC Raiders weapons tier list.
