Skill Tree and Progression
ARC Raiders has a persistent skill tree that carries across every raid. Unlike gear (which you lose on death), skill points are permanent investments in your Raider's capabilities. Choosing where to put them shapes how you play the game at a fundamental level.
How Leveling Works
You earn experience points (XP) for almost everything you do during a raid:
| Action | XP Source |
|---|---|
| Looting containers | Small XP per container |
| Killing ARC machines | XP scales with machine difficulty |
| Killing or downing other players | Moderate XP |
| Completing quests | Large XP chunks |
| Surviving and extracting | Flat extraction bonus |
| Discovering new areas | First-visit XP bonus |
Dying during a raid gives you zero XP for that session. One more reason to prioritize extraction over risky fights.
As your Raider level increases, you earn skill points to allocate in the tree. The tree has 135 total nodes, but you are capped at 76 skill points. You cannot unlock everything. Your build must be deliberate.
You cannot earn enough points to fill the entire tree. Every skill point you spend is a choice to not spend it somewhere else. Read all three branches before committing. Respeccing costs money (covered below).
The Three Branches
The skill tree splits into three color-coded branches. Each focuses on a different aspect of your Raider's performance.
Conditioning (Green)
Conditioning makes you better at fighting. Melee damage, weapon handling, stamina recovery during combat, and the ability to carry heavier gear without movement penalties.
Key nodes:
| Node | Effect | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy Hitter | +25% melee damage | Melee is a last resort, but when you need it, this makes it count. |
| Steady Aim | Reduced weapon sway while aiming down sights | Critical for long-range engagements in Spaceport and Blue Gate. |
| Combat Recovery | Stamina regenerates 30% faster during combat | Lets you dodge more often in sustained fights against elites and bosses. |
| Pack Mule | Heavy gear reduces movement speed by 15% less | Lets you run heavy armor without feeling sluggish. Unlocks at higher tiers. |
| Ironclad | +10% damage reduction while standing still | Rewards positional play. Strong for players who hold cover positions. |
Best for: Players who want to stand and fight. Pairs well with high-tier armor and heavy weapons.
Mobility (Yellow)
Mobility makes you harder to hit and faster at everything. Sprint speed, dodge efficiency, climbing and vaulting speed, and reduced fall damage.
Key nodes:
| Node | Effect | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Quick Step | +15% sprint speed | Gets you to extraction faster and helps you outrun ARC pursuers. |
| Fleet Foot | Dodge costs 20% less stamina | Lets you dodge more often before running out of stamina. Top-tier survival skill. |
| Wall Runner | +30% climbing and vaulting speed | Crucial on vertical maps like Buried City and Blue Gate. |
| Silent Step | Reduced movement noise while crouching | ARC detection cones are shorter against you. Other players hear you less. |
| Cat Fall | -40% fall damage | Lets you drop from rooftops and ledges without taking significant damage. |
Best for: Solo players and scouts. Mobility skills keep you alive when your only option is to run. Also the strongest branch for learning new maps since it rewards aggressive exploration.
Fleet Foot is one of the highest-value single nodes in the entire tree. The ability to dodge twice in quick succession instead of once changes every combat encounter. Get it early.
Survival (Red)
Survival improves your efficiency at looting, crafting, and staying alive through non-combat means. Stamina management, inventory capacity, healing effectiveness, and the ability to craft items during a raid.
Key nodes:
| Node | Effect | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| In-Round Crafting | Craft basic items (bandages, ammo) during a raid using found materials | Saves inventory space. You carry raw materials instead of finished items and build what you need on the fly. |
| Fast Breach | Breach charges activate 40% faster | Less time standing exposed at locked doors. High-value on loot-heavy runs. |
| Deep Pockets | +4 inventory slots | More loot per run. Directly increases your earning potential. |
| Field Medic | Healing items restore 25% more HP | Stretches your medical supplies further. One medkit does the work of almost two. |
| Scavenger's Eye | Nearby loot containers glow through walls within 10m | Quality-of-life node. Helps you find hidden containers without a scanner. |
Best for: Players focused on efficient loot extraction. Strong for material farming and quest-focused playstyles. Also the best branch for players who avoid PvP and want to maximize their haul from safe routes.
Major Nodes and Prerequisites
Some of the most powerful skills in each branch are locked behind "Major" nodes. You must spend a minimum number of points in a branch before these unlock:
| Branch | Points Required | Major Node Unlock |
|---|---|---|
| Conditioning | 15 points | Pack Mule, Ironclad |
| Mobility | 15 points | Silent Step, Cat Fall |
| Survival | 15 points | In-Round Crafting, Deep Pockets |
| Any branch | 25 points | Capstone nodes (branch-specific ultimate skills) |
This gating means you cannot cherry-pick the best nodes from every branch. Building deep into one branch (20+ points) gives you access to that branch's strongest perks. Spreading thin across all three branches leaves you with only low-tier nodes from each.
Recommended Builds
Early Game: Mobility-Survival Hybrid
Goal: Survive long enough to extract, loot efficiently, learn the maps.
Spend your first 30 points like this:
- Mobility: Quick Step, Fleet Foot, Wall Runner (15 points in Mobility)
- Survival: Deep Pockets, Scavenger's Eye, Fast Breach (15 points in Survival)
This build makes you fast, hard to catch, and efficient at grabbing loot. You do not need combat nodes when you are using free loadouts and avoiding fights.
Mid Game: Combat-Mobility
Goal: Hold your own in PvP and PvE while maintaining escape options.
Shift your build toward:
- Mobility: Fleet Foot, Silent Step, Cat Fall (20 points in Mobility)
- Conditioning: Steady Aim, Combat Recovery, Heavy Hitter (15 points in Conditioning)
- Survival: Deep Pockets (remaining points)
This build lets you fight when you need to and run when you do not. Good for players transitioning from free loadouts to custom gear.
Late Game: Full Conditioning
Goal: Stand and fight everything. Boss hunting, PvP dominance, endgame maps.
Push deep into Conditioning:
- Conditioning: All key nodes plus capstone (30+ points)
- Mobility: Fleet Foot, Quick Step (15 points)
- Survival: In-Round Crafting, Field Medic (remaining points)
This build maximizes combat performance. You sacrifice looting efficiency for raw fighting power. Best for players running Stella Montis and boss encounters.
Respec System
If your build is not working or you want to try a different approach, you can reset your skill tree at any time.
The cost: 2,000 coins per skill point you have spent. A full 76-point reset costs 152,000 coins. That is a significant amount of money, especially in the early game.
Partial resets are not available. It is all or nothing.
Do not respec casually. 152,000 coins represents many successful extraction runs. Plan your build using the full tree viewer before committing, and only respec when you are certain your current build is fundamentally wrong for how you want to play.
If you complete an Expedition Project (the voluntary wipe system), your entire skill tree resets to zero along with your character level, coins, and stash. Respec costs are irrelevant if you are planning to wipe soon. See the Expedition Projects guide for details on what survives a wipe.
Progression Beyond the Skill Tree
Skill points are half of your progression. The other half is your Raider Den.
Station upgrades, weapon tiers, and blueprint unlocks all contribute to your power level in ways that the skill tree does not cover. A fully upgraded Gunsmith with Tier IV weapons will outperform any skill tree build using basic Workbench gear.
Treat skill points and station upgrades as parallel investments:
- Skill points make your Raider more capable (faster, tougher, more efficient).
- Station upgrades make your gear more powerful (higher damage, better shields, stronger consumables).
Both matter. Neglecting either one will leave you underprepared for endgame content.