ARC Raiders: All Enemy Weak Points & How to Destroy Them Fast

The ARC machines that fill the Rust Belt are what make ARC Raiders so relentlessly tense. Minor threats like Wasps chip away at your composure. Towering death machines like the Matriarch erase entire squads. But knowing each enemy’s exact weak points turns every encounter from a coin flip into a calculated takedown. This guide covers every ARC machine, how their detection and armor systems work, and how to kill each one as fast as possible.

ARC Raiders added three new machines — the Firefly, the Comet, and the Vaporizer — making combat more demanding and more fun. This guide now covers all of them and tactics for the full roster.

ARC (Autonomous Robotic Combatant) machines serve as the primary hostile force across every map. Before you master individual enemies, you need to understand the two systems that govern all of them: detection and armor.

Detection & AI Behavior

Most ARCs operate with a narrow 45-degree vision cone and minimal peripheral awareness. Their audio detection stays weak unless you sprint or fire near them. The color of their state indicator tells you exactly what they know.

Detection State Colors:

• Blue — Passive patrol. The ARC remains unaware of any threat.
• Yellow — Suspicious. It investigates a sound or movement.
• Red — Active engagement. It knows your location and attacks.

The major exception to the weak-audio rule is the Snitch. Its enhanced sensors pick up gunfire from extreme range and instantly summon reinforcements. Always kill it before it calls.

Armor & Weak Point System

Every ARC has three surface types that respond differently to damage. Learn to read them at a glance.

• White — Unarmored
  • Full damage from any weapon and any ammo type. Always aim here when possible.
• Grey — Heavy Plate
  • Significantly reduces incoming damage. Use armor-piercing rounds or target weak spots instead.
• Yellow — Weak Point
  • Primary weak spots. Hitting them deals maximum damage and often disables critical systems.

Pro Tip: Yellow weak spots cluster around rear sections, joint connections, exposed cores, and rotating components. Memorize those positions — they cut your kill time by half or more on armored units.

Ground Units

1. Rollbot

• Armor: None
• Weak Point: Entire body
• Ammo: Light

Tactics: Stay mobile to avoid laser fire. Fire light ammo anywhere on the body for quick takedowns. They engage fast, so don’t let them close distance.

2. Pop

• Armor: None
• Weak Point: Full body
• Ammo: Any

Tactics: Engage from distance before they close in. Two to three light ammo shots destroy them, or one medium/heavy shot anywhere on the body. Never let them latch on.

3. Fireball

• Armor: None
• Weak Point: Exposed core / interior
• Ammo: Medium / Heavy

Tactics: Hold distance to avoid fire damage. Strike the white interior the moment it opens for the attack animation — or one-shot it with heavy ammo before it opens.

4. Tick

• Armor: None
• Weak Point: Whole body
• Best Kill: Melee (silent)

Tactics: One melee hit destroys them silently — ideal for stealth runs. Watch the lunge animation and sidestep. If they latch, they drain health until you knock them off.

5. Comet

• Armor: External shell
• Weak Point: Red charge line on inner mech
• Ammo: Any

Tactics: Listen for the warning noise. When it starts charging, the inner mechanism exposes — shoot the red line running through the middle to trigger an immediate explosion.

Aerial Units

1. Wasp

• Armor: None
• Weak Point: All four rotors
• Ammo: Any

Tactics: Shoot two rotors — it loses flight and crashes on impact. Focus on thrusters, not the body, for the fastest kill. Prioritize them when Hornets are present.

2. Hornet

• Armor: Front rotors
• Weak Point: Two unarmored rear rotors
• Ammo: Heavy (front) / Any (rear)

Tactics: Flank to target the two exposed rear rotors — fastest approach. Alternatively, strip the front rotor shields with heavy ammo, then shoot through. Stay at distance to avoid stun rounds.

3. Snitch

• Armor: None
• Weak Point: Three propeller plates on body
• Ammo: Heavy (fastest)

Tactics: Kill on sight — before it spots you. Shoot two of its three white propeller plates with heavy ammo. It floats high above the battlefield, so scan upward in outdoor areas constantly.

4. Rocketeer

• Armor: Heavy (thrusters)
• Weak Point: Thrusters, glowing core on reload
• Ammo: Heavy

Tactics: Stay moving at all times. Strip armor from a thruster with heavy ammo, then follow up with regular ammo. Attack the exposed glowing core during its reload window. Use EMP grenades to disable it temporarily.

5. Firefly

• Armor: Shell
• Weak Point: Yellow fuel cell (body-to-turret)
• Timing: Before flame deployment

Tactics: Wait for it to descend and deploy its turret. Hit the yellow canister between the body and flamethrower a half-second before it starts spraying — the window is tight but rewarding.

Important: The Snitch is arguably the highest-priority target in the game despite its low direct threat. One missed Snitch can turn a quiet compound into a warzone within seconds.

Heavy Units

1. Bastion

• Armor: Heavy
• Weak Point: Yellow kneecap joints, rear cylinder
• Ammo: Heavy + Explosives

Tactics: Avoid unless fully equipped. Shoot a leg joint with a Hullcracker to briefly disable it, then sprint to the rear and blast the yellow canister at the back of its head. Lure it into chokepoints to limit its mobility.

2. Leaper

• Armor: Heavy
• Weak Point: Central eye, four leg joints
• Ammo: Heavy / AP rounds

Tactics: Shoot the eye with heavy ammo to strip the outer shell and open its HP. Blaza Grenades deal exceptional damage. Use buildings too narrow for it as cover. Dodge jump attacks by moving sideways, not backward.

3. Bombardier

• Armor: Heavy
• Weak Point: Yellow leg joints (after Spotters down)
• Opening Move: Wolfpack grenade

Tactics: First priority: eliminate every Spotter drone. The Bombardier loses targeting accuracy the moment they fall. Then work on leg joints while staying mobile. Open the fight with a Wolfpack to immediately strip Spotters and pressure its legs.

Support Units

1. Turret

• Armor: Armored
• Weak Point: Body behind the barrel
• Ammo: Heavy

Tactics: Approach using cover while the laser stays blue. Flank to the body behind the barrel and fire two heavy ammo shots to destroy it. Never peek the same angle twice once it locks on.

2. Sentinel

• Armor: Armored
• Weak Point: Body behind barrel
• Ammo: Heavy / AP

Tactics: Take cover the instant you see its targeting laser. Change angles before every shot — never peek the same spot twice. At close range, a few explosives take it down fast. Armor-piercing rounds work effectively at range.

Boss Units

Boss units only appear during specific events. Bring full loadouts, coordinate your squad, and treat these fights as multi-stage encounters, not standard combat.

1. Queen

• Weak Points: Exposed head, leg joints

Tactics: Start by destroying all leg armor to expose skeletal weak points. Only attack the head during the laser charge — not while the beam fires. Bring heavy weapons and a full explosives supply. Her slow turning speed rewards flanking teams. Never stop moving.

2. Matriarch

• Weak Point: Red core inside the head

Tactics: Clear the children ARCs first — they shield the Matriarch and create chaos. Then destroy both front armor plates to open the core. Attach a Deadline mine to the exposed core, then focus all fire. Avoid gas mortars by watching the trajectory arcs.

3. Vaporizer

• Weak Points: Belly, side rotors

Tactics: Wait for the Vaporizer to stop hovering — then unload into the belly. Once the Energy Shield activates and then drops, immediately shift fire to the side rotors. Keep rotating between belly and rotors until it crashes. Play Now!

All ARC Machine Weak Points — Quick Reference

Target Priority Order

Snitch → Rocketeer → Hornet → Wasp → Ground Units

Recommended Loadout

Weapons

• Heavy rifle (armor penetration)
• SMG (fast cleanup)
• Explosives (boss fights)

Utility

• EMP grenades
• Wolfpack grenades
• Blaza grenades

Strategy

• Stay mobile
• Always aim weak points
• Control detection states