Arc Raiders Augments Guide: Stats, Perks, and Best Uses

Augments are one of the most important gear slots in Arc Raiders. They decide how much you can carry, what kind of shields you can equip, which items you can keep if you die, and even grant powerful passive perks. Choosing the right Augment can be the difference between limping out of a raid with scraps or extracting with a full backpack of high‑tier gear.

This guide breaks down how Augments work, the main categories you can equip, the typical progression from early to late game, and how to match each option to your preferred playstyle—whether that’s pure combat, safe looting, or high‑risk farming.

What Augments Are and Why They Matter

In Arc Raiders, an Augment is a device your Raider wears that shapes your entire loadout. Think of it as a hybrid of backpack, utility belt, and passive talent tree all rolled into one item.

According to the game’s official materials, Augments adjust your backpack space, carrying capacity, and shield compatibility, while rarer ones add unique perks that can heavily influence your combat or survival strategy.¹ You cannot take them off or swap them while you’re Topside, and they lose durability when you’re knocked out, meaning they’re valuable resources that you’re meant to invest in and protect.

Core Mechanics Every Player Should Know

• Weight limit: Each Augment sets your maximum carry weight. Heavy weapons, extra ammo, and shields all eat into this.
• Backpack slots: Determines how many items you can carry at once. More slots mean more loot, consumables, and ammo.
• Quick‑use slots: Dedicated slots for items like medkits or throwables that you want instant access to in a fight.
• Safe pockets: Special slots that protect specific items from being lost when you die or extract unsuccessfully.
• Shield compatibility: Controls whether you can equip light, medium, or (for some advanced models) multiple shield types.
• Unique perk: High‑rarity Augments often add a passive benefit such as health regeneration, smoke on shield break, or enhanced revives.

Because these stats are bundled into one item, your Augment choice effectively defines your role. A looting Augment turns you into a pack mule, a combat model makes you a frontline bruiser, and a survival Augment lets you tank mistakes that would kill other Raiders.

Where to Find and How to Upgrade Augments

As you progress, you’ll get basic Augments from free loadouts, random loot, and enemy players. More advanced versions can be crafted using blueprints and resources you find during raids.

Common Ways to Acquire Augments

• Free loadouts: Opting for a free loadout usually gives you a simple, low‑tier Augment with modest stats and no perk.
• Loot containers: Search lockers, crates, and hidden stash points across the map for Augments and blueprints.
• Enemy drops: Defeated Raiders can drop intact Augments or at least the blueprints needed to craft them.
• Crafting: Once you obtain a blueprint, you can use materials to build that Augment at your base or hub.

The official wiki notes that Augments lose durability in chunks whenever you’re knocked out, and they cannot be replaced mid‑mission, emphasizing their value as semi‑persistent gear across runs.¹

Understanding Augment Roles and Rarity Tiers

While each individual Augment has its own stat spread, most of them fall into a handful of familiar roles. You’ll encounter multiple marks (Mk I, Mk II, Mk III) within each family, with higher marks offering better stats and more impactful perks.

Main Role Families

• General / Free Loadout: Balanced but basic, designed to get you Topside with minimal investment.
• Combat: Focused on firefights—more quick‑use slots, shield flexibility, and combat‑oriented perks.
• Looting: Extra backpack space and weight capacity for dedicated scavengers and economy‑focused runs.
• Survival: Emphasizes staying alive through health sustain, revive bonuses, and protected gear.
• Tactical / Utility: Offers hybrid bonuses like smoke screens, better revives, or team‑oriented support perks.

Typical Rarity Progression

Exact rarity labels can vary, but broadly you’ll see this progression:

• Common: No unique perk, modest stats, good for learning the basics.
• Uncommon: Slightly more capacity; occasionally a minor perk or better shield access.
• Rare: Distinct perks that meaningfully alter gameplay—regeneration, smoke, etc.
• Epic / High‑Tier: Multiple protected slots, strong perks, and high capacity; ideal long‑term goals.

As with many live‑service shooters, patch notes and balance updates can tweak stats and perk values over time.² Treat any specific numbers as guidelines rather than eternal rules, and check official patch information to stay up to date.

The Free Loadout Augment: When and Why to Use It

The free loadout Augment is your safety net. You’ll often receive it automatically when you choose a fully free loadout before queuing into a raid. In return for not spending resources, you accept weaker stats and no meaningful perk.

Typical Strengths

• Decent baseline backpack slots for early game.
• A few quick‑use slots so you can still bring heals and utilities.
• No crafting or currency cost—ideal when you’re broke or just testing the game.

Common Drawbacks

• Lower weight limit compared with crafted models, restricting heavier weapons.
• No specialized perk to help in combat or survival.
• Locked in for the whole raid—no mid‑run upgrade or replacement.

Use the free Augment when you’re:

• Learning the map or AI behavior and don’t want to risk valuable gear.
• Down on resources after a string of bad runs.
• Playing casually and not chasing big loot.

Combat‑Focused Augments

Combat Augments are built for players who expect to be in the thick of every firefight. They trade some backpack capacity for better access to shields and quick‑use items, plus perks that reward aggressive play.

Defining Features

• Moderate backpack space—enough for ammo and essentials, but not the most loot‑oriented.
• More quick‑use slots for medkits, grenades, or buffs.
• Compatibility with at least light shields, often medium as well.
• Perks like faster weapon handling or health regeneration out of combat.

Examples of Common Combat Perks

• Health regen over time: After avoiding damage for a short period, your health slowly recovers, similar in spirit to standard regenerating health systems used in many shooters.³
• Movement or swap speed bonuses: Faster weapon draws, pistol swaps, or sprinting when injured.
• Shield synergy: Extra value whenever your shield breaks or regenerates.

Best Use Cases

• Frontline fighters running assault rifles, LMGs, or shotguns.
• Players who regularly take fights against both AI and other Raiders.
• Squad members who rely on team‑mates to handle most of the looting.

Looting‑Focused Augments

Looting Augments are for players whose priority is economic growth—stacking materials, weapons, and valuable scrap. They usually grant the highest number of backpack slots and very generous weight caps, at the cost of some combat convenience or defensive tools.

Key Characteristics

• Huge backpack capacity: Often among the highest in the game for raw item slots.
• High weight limit: Lets you haul multiple heavy weapons, large stacks of materials, or extra shields.
• Fewer quick‑use slots: You carry more overall, but fewer items are instantly accessible in combat.
• Weak or no combat perks: Focus is almost purely on inventory management.

Why Looters Love Them

In extraction‑style games, securing and extracting loot is the primary way to progress your account. A looting Augment effectively amplifies every run’s return on investment, because you bring home more items per successful extraction. That compounding effect is why some players dedicate an account or character purely to looting roles.

Who Should Run Looting Augments?

• Confident players who can avoid fights or win them despite fewer combat perks.
• Squads where teammates provide most of the firepower and protection.
• Veterans focusing on long‑term progression and crafting.

Survival and Safekeeping Augments

Survival‑oriented Augments prioritize staying alive and keeping your valuables safe. They’re ideal for solo players, cautious squads, and anyone running rare weapons they can’t afford to lose.

Typical Survival Features

• Multiple safe pockets: Slots that permanently protect items like high‑tier guns, shields, or rare consumables.
• Revive and sustain perks: Bonuses to being revived or reviving others, plus passive healing effects.
• Balanced capacity: Not as roomy as looting Augments, but not as restricted as ultra‑combat models.

Common Survival Perks

• Healing cloud on revive: Getting picked up releases an area heal that boosts you beyond the standard revive health.
• Baseline regeneration: Slow but constant health gain, pausing briefly after taking damage.
• Extended downed time: More time before you fully bleed out, giving teammates a bigger window to rescue you.

Why Risk‑Averse Players Prefer These

In high‑risk extraction shooters, losing your best weapon can set your progression back significantly. Research on player psychology shows that loss aversion—our tendency to feel losses more intensely than equivalent gains—is a major factor in how we approach risk in games and real life alike.⁴ Survival Augments are tailored for that mindset: they’re built to minimize worst‑case scenarios.

Tactical and Utility Augments

Tactical Augments sit somewhere between combat and survival, offering clever utility perks that change how you approach firefights and revives rather than simply boosting raw stats.

Key Utility‑Style Bonuses

• Smoke on shield break: When your shield is destroyed, a smoke cloud automatically deploys, covering your retreat or repositioning.
• Integrated defibrillator: Grants the ability to revive downed players (allies and sometimes even strangers) more frequently or from a distance.
• Enhanced safe pocket behavior: Some high‑tier utility Augments allow normally restricted items—like shields or weapons—to be stored in protected slots.

Ideal Players for Tactical Augments

• Squad supports who want to keep teammates alive and fights controlled.
• Solo players who rely on trickery—smoke, movement, and revives—to survive uneven engagements.
• Raider hunters who focus on PvP encounters and want tools to control the flow of combat.

Comparing Typical Augment Stats

The exact numerical values vary between patches, but the general trade‑offs between roles remain fairly consistent. Here’s a simplified comparison to illustrate how different Augment types usually stack up:

Use this framework as a starting point when evaluating new Augments you find or craft. Ask yourself: do the stats and perks align with how you actually play, or are you forcing a role that doesn’t fit your habits?

Choosing the Right Augment for Your Playstyle

To pick the best Augment, first decide what you want from a run. Are you there for loot, PvP, or simply to survive and learn the map? Then match that goal to a role and perk set that supports it.

Key Questions to Ask Before Queuing

• How much risk am I willing to take? If you’re bringing a legendary weapon, prioritize safe pockets and survival perks.
• Am I solo or in a squad? Solo players benefit more from survival and tactical tools; squads can specialize.
• What is my primary objective? Pure loot runs call for looting Augments; raid hunting calls for combat or tactical.
• What weapons am I taking? Heavy builds demand higher weight limits and suitable shield support.

Example Build Concepts

1. Solo Survivalist

• Augment: Survival / Safekeeping type with multiple safe pockets.
• Focus: Protect rare weapons, sustain through attrition, and avoid unnecessary fights.
• Ideal perks: Health regen, extended down timer, healing cloud on revive.

2. Squad Frontliner

• Augment: Combat or tactical with strong shield synergy.
• Focus: Hold angles, engage AI and Raiders first, let teammates loot behind you.
• Ideal perks: Smoke on shield break, combat regen, extra quick‑use slots for grenades and stims.

3. Dedicated Looter

• Augment: High‑capacity looting model.
• Focus: Route‑based looting, avoiding large fights, maximizing extraction value.
• Ideal perks: Anything that boosts movement or inventory; safe pockets are a bonus.

FAQ: Arc Raiders Augments

Can you change Augments mid‑raid?

No. Once you deploy Topside, your Augment is locked for the duration of the run. The official documentation makes it clear that Augments cannot be removed or replaced while deployed.¹

Do Augments break permanently?

Augments lose durability when you’re knocked out. When durability runs out, you’ll need to repair or replace them. This system is designed to make repeated deaths costly and encourage careful play across multiple sessions.

Which Augment is “best” in Arc Raiders?

There is no universally best Augment. High‑tier combat models shine in aggressive squads, while survival and safekeeping Augments are better for solo runs with valuable gear. The right choice depends entirely on your risk tolerance, team composition, and objective for that specific raid.

Is it worth using free loadout Augments in the late game?

They’re still useful when you’re experimenting with new areas, playing casually, or recovering after major losses. However, once you have a stable economy and reliable gear, crafted Augments with strong perks provide a clear edge.

Do perks stack with other bonuses?

Most Augment perks coexist with weapon traits, shields, and consumables, but stacking rules can change between patches. Always read in‑game descriptions and check patch notes or official community updates for the latest interactions.²

Practical Tips for Getting the Most from Your Augment

• Plan your route: Tailor your loot path to your capacity. If you’re running a looting Augment, target high‑value zones; if you’re combat‑focused, stay near hot routes where Raiders pass through.
• Protect durability: Avoid reckless engagements when your Augment is expensive to repair or hard to replace.
• Specialize as a squad: Instead of everyone bringing the same Augment type, mix combat, survival, and looting roles to cover each other’s weaknesses.
• Adapt to patches: Balance changes can reshape the meta; keep an eye on official patch notes to see which Augments are buffed or nerfed.²
• Upgrade with intent: Don’t craft every Augment you see. Focus on one or two that clearly support your main playstyle.

If you treat your Augment as the core of your build rather than an afterthought, you’ll make smarter decisions about what gear to bring, which fights to take, and when it’s time to extract. Over time, that mindset will pay off in smoother runs, safer extractions, and a much stronger overall account.