What are the best skills in Arc Raiders, and which should you unlock first? If you want to find repeated success in Arc Raiders, you won't just need the best gear; you'll need the best selection of skills on offer too. The Arc Raiders skill tree branches out into three paths: the Conditioning path, the Mobility path, and the Survival path.

Every time you earn enough XP to level up, you'll gain a skill point to spend on one of the skills in this tree. But there's a large number to choose from, and the branching nature of the skill tree means you should always plan ahead. Which skills should you unlock now, and which late-game skills should you work your way towards as early as possible?

This guide is designed to give you a solid understanding of the entire Arc Raiders skill tree. Below we'll list the very best skills in the game to unlock first, to give you the greatest possible advantage early on. Further below, we'll guide you along the ideal progression path through the entire skill tree, giving you a handy resource which you can refer back to regularly as you grow stronger throughout your raids.

In this guide:

• Best Arc Raiders skills to unlock first
• Arc Raiders skill tree: Best path for Squad players
• Arc Raiders skill tree: Best path for Solo players

There are 45 skills available in the Arc Raiders skill tree, split evenly across the three different coloured paths. The green Conditioning path on the left focuses on how you respond to danger and physical stress. The yellow Mobility path, as you might expect, contains skills which improve your movement capabilities and your Stamina reserves. And the red Survival path enhances your looting and crafting abilities.

There are outliers which don't quite fit into this categorization, but this should give you a general idea of what to expect of each path in the skill tree. All three branches contain very important skills, and I strongly encourage you to split your attention between all three paths, rather than trying to max out any one branch alone.

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Best Arc Raiders skills to unlock first

The very best skills in Arc Raiders to unlock early are found in the Mobility tree, because your starting Stamina is very low and needs upgrading as soon as possible. After that, you can split your attention across all three branches. Below I've highlighted some of the most powerful and essential skills to unlock in Arc Raiders:

Marathon Runner (Mobility)

Marathon Runner should be your go-to skill if you're just starting out in Arc Raiders, and you should invest all 5 points into it as quickly as possible. This skill reduces the amount of stamina you expend while moving around, making it noticeably quicker and easier to run at a consistent pace along dangerous tracts of open ground.

Youthful Lungs (Mobility)

Hand-in-hand with Marathon Runner is the next node above it, Youthful Lungs. This simple skill increases your maximum Stamina, which is a no-brainer for exactly the same reasons as I laid out above. More stamina not only means you can run further for longer, but you can also make better use of Dodge Rolls to quickly enter and leave cover during dangerous firefights with ARC or other players.

Effortless Roll (Mobility)

Effortless Roll rounds off the holy trinity of movement-based skill upgrades. Found further up the Mobility branch, it specifically reduces the Stamina cost of Dodge Rolls, allowing you to make use of them much more readily.

While you're still relatively new to Arc Raiders, it's very easy in a tense firefight against an enemy team to use up the majority of your Stamina reserves without realising. This skill could save your life in those moments.

Crawl Before You Walk (Mobility)

Crawl Before You Walk is only really useful if you have a squadmate who can revive you, but it's a potential game-changer if you do. This skill increases your movement speed while you're downed, which can make all the difference if you're one of the first to drop in a team vs team fight, and your enemies are still too busy to immediately flush you.

Used To The Weight (Conditioning)

The very first skill in the Conditioning branch of the tree is actually one of the most useful in the game, in my opinion. Each point you put into the Used To The Weight skill increases your movement speed while you're wearing weightier shields (Medium or Heavy Shields, to be exact).

It's not a day-one unlock because you're unlikely to have Medium or Heavy Shields at first; but as you start to gain these higher-level shields, it's very important to invest in this skill to stay as nimble as possible, else you'll really feel the weight difference in your slowed movement.

Downed But Determined (Conditioning)

Like Crawl Before You Walk, the Downed But Determined skill is absolutely essential for players who like to raid in a squad, but far less so for solo players. This skill allows you to survive for longer in the downed state before bleeding out.

Obviously you can still be shot by enemies while downed, and this will kill you just as quickly as always. But you'd be surprised how many times you're left to crawl to safety during a frantic PvP battle, and Downed But Determined gives your team a much greater chance of turning the tide.

Loaded Arms (Conditioning)

Loaded Arms takes quite a lot of time to reach in the Conditioning tree, but it's a splendid one-off skill unlock which makes your equipped weapon have less of an impact on your overall encumbrance.

You'll know if you've ever absolutely stuffed your backpack with loot - being overencumbered is bad. You move at greatly reduced speed, you make lots more noise while moving around, and your all-important Stamina replenishes at a much lower rate. Weapons are among the heaviest items you carry with you, so Loaded Arms can make a very big difference.

In-Round Crafting (Survival)

In-Round Crafting can be found early on in the Survival branch of the skill tree, and spending just one skill point on it will forever unlock the ability to craft simple items such as Bandages, Shield Rechargers, Smoke Grenades, Light Impact Grenades, and other handy items. You should really pay attention to this ability, because the ability to switch over to that crafting tab of your inventory during a match gone south can be a real lifesaver.

Traveling Tinkerer (Survival)

Traveling Tinkerer is basically an upgraded version of In-Round Crafting. Found further along the Survival tree, it expands the selection of items which you can craft during a raid, provided of course you have the resources to do so. Going into a raid with a Free Loadout really isn't such a big deal once you have the ability to craft essentials after just a few minutes of targeted looting.

Broad Shoulders (Survival)

Broad Shoulders may be boring, but it's probably my favourite quality-of-life skill in all of Arc Raiders. Each point you invest in this skill increases the maximum weight you can carry, making it far easier to fill your backpack with the very best of the loot that you find without being struck by the horrors of overencumbrance.

Embark knew how good this skill is, which is why despite its simplicity they placed it so far along the Survival branch of the skill tree. Every player should max out Broad Shoulders at some point.

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Arc Raiders skill tree: Best path for Squad players

In Arc Raiders, you're limited to a total of 75 skill points, which means you cannot unlock every skill in the tree. The very best path through the skill tree is one which finds a balance between the three branches, and wastes as few skill points as possible on "dump" skills which you're only unlocking to reach further nodes along the tree.

I've included two ideal skill tree paths in this guide, because two skills I mentioned above - Downed But Determined, and Crawl Before You Walk - are only useful if you're playing as part of a squad. If you're intending to only play Arc Raiders solo, then consult the alternative skill tree below, which omits these two skills in favour of others.

Here's our recommended progression path through the Arc Raider skill tree for squad players:

1. Nimble Climber 1/5 (Mobility).
2. Marathon Runner 5/5 (Mobility).
3. Youthful Lungs 5/5 (Mobility).
4. Agile Croucher 1/5 (Survival).
5. Revitalizing Squat 1/5 (Survival).
6. In-Round Crafting 1/1 (Survival).
7. Agile Croucher 5/5 (Survival).
8. Looter's Instincts 5/5 (Survival).
9. Silent Scavenger 3/5 (Survival).
10. Suffer In Silence 1/1 (Survival).
11. Traveling Tinkerer 1/1 (Survival).
12. Broad Shoulders 5/5 (Survival).
13. Used To The Weight 5/5 (Conditioning).
14. Gentle Pressure 5/5 (Conditioning).
15. Proficient Pryer 5/5 (Conditioning).
16. Blast-Born 1/5 (Conditioning).
17. Fight Or Flight 1/5 (Conditioning).
18. Survivor's Stamina 1/1 (Conditioning).
19. Downed But Determined 5/5 (Conditioning).
20. Unburdened Roll 1/1 (Conditioning).
21. A Little Extra 1/1 (Conditioning).
22. Loaded Arms 1/1 (Conditioning).
23. Revitalizing Squat 2/5 (Survival).
24. Nimble Climber 3/5 (Mobility).
25. Slip And Slide 2/5 (Mobility).
26. Sturdy Ankles 1/5 (Mobility).
27. Calming Stroll 1/1 (Mobility).
28. Carry The Momentum 1/1 (Mobility).
29. Crawl Before You Walk 3/5 (Mobility).
30. Effortless Roll 5/5 (Mobility).

The most important skills early on in Arc Raiders are those which improve your Stamina. This is why you should devote your first 11 skill points into maximising Marathon Runner and Youthful Lungs in the Mobility tree. After that, I recommend you switch focuses to the Survival skill tree, beelining towards In-Round Crafting before going back to max out Agile Croucher.

From there, the next priority is putting enough points into the Survival branch of the skill tree that you can unlock Broad Shoulders for increased carry weight - an essential skill for any Arc Raiders player - and Traveling Tinkerer, to increase your field crafting capabilities. Don't sniff at the ability to craft during a raid - it can save your life.

Once this is done, it's time to turn to the Conditioning brand of the skill tree, where your goal is really just to max out Used To The Weight, and then beeline all the way up to Downed But Determined and Loaded Arms. Then you can put your final few skill points into Mobility, unlocking both the larger mid-level nodes and then maxing out Effortless Roll for even more manoeuvrability in the late stages of your meta-progression.

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Arc Raiders skill tree: Best path for Solo players

If you intend only to play Arc Raiders as a solo raider, then skills related to being downed are far less important. They're not completely useless, because you can call elevators and extract while downed; but if you're a primarily solo player then you'll be better served placing those skill points elsewhere in the skill tree.

This difference may sound small, but it makes a big difference to the order in which you should unlock your skills. If you're playing solo, then mobility is even more essential than it already was as part of a squad; and there's less impetus to work your way through the Conditioning branch of the tree. So as a solo player, you should make your way to unlocking Effortless Roll in the Mobility tree before moving over to Conditioning.

Here's our recommended path through the skill tree for solo players:

1. Nimble Climber 1/5 (Mobility).
2. Marathon Runner 5/5 (Mobility).
3. Youthful Lungs 5/5 (Mobility).
4. Agile Croucher 1/5 (Survival).
5. Revitalizing Squat 1/5 (Survival).
6. In-Round Crafting 1/1 (Survival).
7. Agile Croucher 5/5 (Survival).
8. Looter's Instincts 5/5 (Survival).
9. Silent Scavenger 3/5 (Survival).
10. Suffer In Silence 1/1 (Survival).
11. Traveling Tinkerer 1/1 (Survival).
12. Broad Shoulders 5/5 (Survival).
13. Silent Scavenger 5/5 (Survival).
14. Used To The Weight 5/5 (Conditioning).
15. Nimble Climber 5/5 (Mobility).
16. Carry The Momentum 1/1 (Mobility).
17. Effortless Roll 5/5 (Mobility).
18. Slip And Slide 2/5 (Mobility).
19. Sturdy Ankles 1/5 (Mobility).
20. Calming Stroll 1/1 (Mobility).
21. Revitalizing Squat 2/5 (Survival).
22. Gentle Pressure 5/5 (Conditioning).
23. Proficient Pryer 5/5 (Conditioning).
24. Unburdened Roll 1/1 (Conditioning).
25. A Little Extra 1/1 (Conditioning).
26. Loaded Arms 1/1 (Conditioning).
27. Blast-Born 1/5 (Conditioning).
28. Fight Or Flight 1/5 (Conditioning).
29. Survivor's Stamina 1/1 (Conditioning).
30. Fight Or Flight 5/5 (Conditioning).

The differences are subtle, but there's no point in wasting skills on being downed if there's no one to rescue you. The points are instead spent further buffing Silent Scavenger, Nimble Climber, and Fight Or Flight. Quite pleasingly, this results in a skill tree path progression which splits your 75 points evenly between all three branches. A well-rounded raider you'll be, that much is certain.

You may be asking yourself whether it's better to commit more points to a particular branch so you can unlock the very final skills in the tree. This is a compelling prospect, but to unlock any of those final skills you need a whopping 36 points in that branch of the tree. This means you need to spend over half of all your points in just one of the branches, which forces you to leave behind a lot of very useful skills in the other two. None of the final skills are game-changing enough to be worth it, in my opinion. It's far better to split your skill points more evenly across the entire skill tree.

Hopefully this has all helped you to get a firmer grip on the skill tree in Arc Raiders, and where you should be spending your first few skill points in the early-game. You should also check out our guide on all the Arc Raiders Blueprints and all the Arc Raiders Field Depot locations if you want to gain a further edge early on during raids. We've also got item guides on where to get Rusted Gears for upgrading your Gunsmith, and how to get Scrappy to max level fast.