TL;DR
- Prioritize mobility skills like Marathon Runner and Youthful Lungs for survival in firefights
- Invest in Looter’s Instincts early to maximize resource gathering efficiency
- Unlock In-Round Crafting to create essential items without extracting first
- Combine fall damage reduction with stamina skills for superior vertical mobility
- Plan skill progression around prerequisite chains to avoid wasting limited points
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Arc Raiders features a deliberate progression system where levels advance gradually, awarding just one skill point per level. This scarcity demands strategic allocation to ensure your raider can effectively combat both ARC threats and opposing players. While the skill tree offers flexibility without strictly “wrong” choices, certain abilities deliver disproportionate benefits for mobility, resource acquisition, and crafting efficiency. Later stages will require branching into utility skills, but we’ve identified eight foundational abilities that provide the strongest early-game advantages.
For comprehensive strategies on Embark Studios’ extraction shooter, consult our Complete Guide to advanced tactics.
Pre-requisite skill: Nimble Climber
Stamina depletion occurs rapidly during intensive movement actions like sprinting, vaulting obstacles, evasive dodges, and sustained jumping. Marathon Runner becomes essential by significantly reducing stamina consumption across all movement types. This conservation allows extended mobility during critical engagements where positioning determines survival.
Pre-requisite skills: Nimble Climber, Marathon Runner
Following Marathon Runner, Youthful Lungs dramatically expands your total stamina pool. This additional endurance often determines whether you reach protective cover during enemy encounters or suffer elimination with valuable loot. The combination creates a mobility foundation that supports aggressive playstyles and emergency retreats alike.
Pre-requisite skills: Nimble Climber, Slip and Slide
Maintaining the mobility focus, Sturdy Ankles warrants early investment of at least one or two points. This skill minimizes damage taken from survivable falls, enabling confident descent to lower areas without sacrificing substantial health reserves. This vertical freedom complements the horizontal mobility from other skills.
Pre-requisite skills: Nimble Climber, Slip and Slide, Sturdy Ankles
Calming Stroll provides tactical breathing room by accelerating stamina regeneration when moving cautiously. This skill proves invaluable during prolonged engagements where brief respites from combat allow rapid recovery without complete disengagement.
Looter’s Instincts transforms resource gathering by highlighting valuable items through environmental cues. This perception enhancement drastically reduces time spent searching containers and surfaces, allowing more focused attention on threat awareness and mission objectives.
Revitalizing Squat offers crucial sustainability through accelerated health regeneration while stationary. This ability enables strategic positioning in secure locations to recover from engagements without consuming limited medical resources.
In-Round Crafting represents a game-changing capability, permitting item creation during missions rather than requiring extraction first. This flexibility allows adaptation to evolving tactical situations where specific tools become unexpectedly necessary.
Three Deep Breaths provides emergency stamina recovery through controlled breathing techniques. This skill can save your raider during desperate situations where immediate mobility is required but stamina reserves are exhausted.
The most effective skill builds combine complementary abilities that enhance your preferred playstyle. Mobility-focused raiders should prioritize the Nimble Climber → Marathon Runner → Youthful Lungs progression path, creating a foundation for aggressive positioning and emergency escapes. For players emphasizing resource collection, early investment in Looter’s Instincts paired with In-Round Crafting delivers maximum efficiency.
A common mistake involves spreading points too thinly across multiple skill trees early. Instead, concentrate on completing essential prerequisite chains before diversifying into secondary abilities. This focused approach ensures you unlock game-changing skills when they provide maximum benefit.
Advanced players should plan their progression around intended Class Guide specializations, as certain skills provide disproportionate advantages to specific combat roles. The stamina regeneration from Calming Stroll, for instance, synergizes exceptionally well with reconnaissance-focused builds.
Endgame preparation requires strategic foresight regarding later skill requirements. While these eight skills form an excellent foundation, eventually you’ll need to branch into utility options that complement your established capabilities. Consult our Weapons Unlock guide to coordinate weapon proficiency with skill selections.
Action Checklist
- Unlock Nimble Climber as your foundational mobility skill
- Invest in Marathon Runner to conserve stamina during movement
- Acquire Youthful Lungs for expanded stamina capacity
- Add Looter’s Instincts to improve resource detection efficiency
- Unlock In-Round Crafting for tactical flexibility during missions
- Complete mobility foundation with Sturdy Ankles for fall damage reduction
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