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Arc Raiders Best Skill Tree and Passive Points Guide

Arc Raiders Best Skill Tree and Passive Points Guide

Build a stronger Raider with the best Skill Tree setups for Solo play, PvP encounters, and efficient PvE farming.

ARC Raiders: Best Skill Tree and Passive Points Guide

Last Update: October 19, 2026

Introduction

ARC Raiders gives every character a persistent set of passive skills that affects movement, looting, stamina, carrying capacity, and survival. The Frozen Trail 2.0 skill tree divides those benefits among Conditioning, Mobility, and Survival, with several major perks now competing for the same choice slots.

There is still a clear foundation for most players: good stamina management, a few efficient looting perks, and enough carrying capacity to leave a raid with valuable equipment. The final point allocation depends on whether you mostly explore solo, hunt other Raiders, or farm resources and Security Lockers.

How the Skill Tree Works

Each of the three branches has early passives, a middle choice, and powerful final skills. Investing in one branch makes its specialized bonuses stronger, but leaves fewer points for the other two.

  • 76 base skill points are available at the standard maximum level. Expedition rewards can raise the total by up to 15 more points, for a maximum of 91.
  • At 10 invested points in a branch, you can select one of two exclusive middle-node skills, provided you meet the path requirements.
  • At 30 and 40 invested points in a branch, you can unlock one and then a second final skill from a set of three. The final picks themselves cost a point, so your first capstone normally brings that branch to 31 points.
  • Choices are resettable, not freely swappable. Changing an exclusive middle or final selection requires resetting your tree. Check the cost shown in the game before confirming.
Branch Best Uses Notable Final Skills
Conditioning Carry weight, moving while overloaded, staying mobile with heavy equipment Security Breach, Bull Rush, Weapon Bash
Mobility Stamina, dodging, climbing, rotations between objectives Sprinting on Fumes, Wall Run, In the Flow
Survival Loot searching, quiet movement, field crafting and ARC resource efficiency Road Warrior, Nomadic Crafting, Field Repair

Security Breach now sits in Conditioning, alongside Broad Shoulders and the weight-management skills. That is useful for players who prefer to leave every raid with a full backpack: investing toward Security Breach also improves your ability to carry the loot home.

Best Overall Build - Solo / PvPvE

Security Breach + Sprinting on Fumes

76 points | Conditioning 31 / Mobility 31 / Survival 14 | Best for general play and solo farming with occasional PvP

This is our preferred all-around setup because the two major investments solve different problems. Security Breach opens valuable Security Lockers during loot runs, while Sprinting on Fumes helps you cross exposed ground, rotate around threats, and make long escapes. Survival provides faster container searches, quieter looting, and a cheaper dodge with Quick Roll.

Conditioning focuses on carrying and breaching, so it does not spend heavily on downed-state perks. That makes sense when you mostly play alone and cannot depend on a teammate to revive you. Broad Shoulders, Loaded Arms, Mule's Gallop, and Speedy Mule help you extract even after filling your inventory.

Conditioning 31 pts

Used to the Weight 1/1 · Stubborn Mule 5/5 · Three Deep Breaths 5/5 · Vault 'N' Carry 1/1 · Vigorous Vaulter 1/1 · Mule's Gallop 1/1 · Loaded Arms 1/1 · Broad Shoulders 5/5 · Proficient Pryer 5/5 · Speedy Mule 5/5 · Security Breach 1/1

Mobility 31 pts

Youthful Lungs 1/1 · Nimble Climber 5/5 · Fight or Flight 5/5 · Vault Spring 1/1 · Effortless Roll 5/5 · Right Back at It 1/1 · Marathon Runner 5/5 · Off the Wall 2/5 · Swift Start 5/5 · Sprinting on Fumes 1/1

Survival 14 pts

In-Round Crafting 1/1 · Looter's Instincts 5/5 · Silent Scavenger 4/5 · Quick Roll 1/1 · Traveling Tinkerer 1/1 · Looter's Luck 2/5

For a group-oriented version, shift some points from Proficient Pryer and Speedy Mule toward Downed but Determined and Crawl Before You Walk. Both become much more useful when teammates can reach and revive you.

Expedition bonus points (up to 91): Start by raising Looter's Luck from 2/5 to 5/5. This build already maxes Proficient Pryer and Speedy Mule, so invest further into Mobility if you want to unlock a second final skill such as Wall Run. The 76-point setup already covers the essential looting and traversal perks.

Best PvP Skill Tree - Mobility and Stamina

Fast Rotations and Efficient Dodges

76 points | Conditioning 27 / Mobility 32 / Survival 17 | Best for players looking for Raider fights

In PvP, reaching cover and keeping enough stamina for the next dodge are worth more than another loot container. This build prioritizes Fight or Flight, Effortless Roll, Marathon Runner, Swift Start, and Sprinting on Fumes. The Mobility branch is its main investment, with Quick Roll providing a useful short dodge from Survival.

The Conditioning allocation gives you Broad Shoulders, better exhaustion recovery, and additional downed mobility. Security Breach is deliberately left out. If fighting other Raiders is your main objective, those points are more valuable when invested in movement and survivability.

Conditioning 27 pts

Used to the Weight 1/1 · Stubborn Mule 3/5 · Three Deep Breaths 5/5 · Vigorous Vaulter 1/1 · Mule's Gallop 1/1 · Loaded Arms 1/1 · Broad Shoulders 5/5 · Downed but Determined 5/5 · Crawl Before You Walk 5/5

Mobility 32 pts

Youthful Lungs 1/1 · Nimble Climber 5/5 · Fight or Flight 5/5 · Vault Spring 1/1 · Effortless Roll 5/5 · Right Back at It 1/1 · Marathon Runner 5/5 · Off the Wall 3/5 · Swift Start 5/5 · Sprinting on Fumes 1/1

Survival 17 pts

In-Round Crafting 1/1 · Looter's Instincts 5/5 · Sturdy Ankles 3/5 · Silent Scavenger 1/5 · Quick Roll 1/1 · Traveling Tinkerer 1/1 · Looter's Luck 5/5

Important limitation: Sprinting on Fumes extends your sprint after your stamina is depleted, but stopping, taking damage, or performing another action triggers a recovery penalty. It is excellent for travel and escapes with a clear route. It is less reliable when you are forced into constant short combat movements.

Expedition bonus points (up to 91): Work toward 40 invested Mobility points to unlock a second final skill, without sacrificing Quick Roll and the core stamina perks. Put the remaining bonus points into the defensive or utility skills that help most in your fights.

Best PvE Skill Tree - Loot Farming

Security Locker and Resource Runs

76 points | Conditioning 31 / Mobility 26 / Survival 19 | Best for loot-focused PvE and steady resource farming

For a Raider who spends more time opening containers than chasing players, this layout offers a stronger looting package. You still take Security Breach and the key carrying perks, while Survival adds Looter's Luck at full rank alongside Looter's Instincts. Looter's Luck can reveal two items at once while searching; it speeds up finding loot but does not create extra drops. A Little Extra provides additional materials from breaching, and In-Round Crafting gives useful field options.

This setup trades the Mobility capstone for faster looting and utility. The downed-state passives also make more sense in a squad, where a teammate can reach you. For strictly solo farming, the all-rounder above is often the better choice if you value emergency escapes.

Conditioning 31 pts

Used to the Weight 1/1 · Stubborn Mule 2/5 · Three Deep Breaths 5/5 · Vault 'N' Carry 1/1 · Vigorous Vaulter 1/1 · Mule's Gallop 1/1 · Loaded Arms 1/1 · Broad Shoulders 5/5 · Downed but Determined 5/5 · Speedy Mule 3/5 · Crawl Before You Walk 5/5 · Security Breach 1/1

Mobility 26 pts

Youthful Lungs 1/1 · Nimble Climber 5/5 · Fight or Flight 4/5 · Vault Spring 1/1 · Effortless Roll 5/5 · Marathon Runner 5/5 · Swift Start 5/5

Survival 19 pts

In-Round Crafting 1/1 · Looter's Instincts 5/5 · Silent Scavenger 4/5 · Quick Roll 1/1 · Gentle Pressure 1/5 · Traveling Tinkerer 1/1 · A Little Extra 1/1 · Looter's Luck 5/5

What you give up: this build has strong everyday stamina skills, but it does not reach Sprinting on Fumes. That trade works best when you can choose safer routes, prioritize containers, and extract before being forced into long chases.

Expedition bonus points (up to 91): Finish Speedy Mule (3/5 to 5/5) and invest in Proficient Pryer for faster breaching. Looter's Instincts and Looter's Luck are already maxed, so you can finish Silent Scavenger and spend your remaining points improving Mobility for safer resource runs.

Best Skills to Prioritize While Leveling

You do not need to wait until 76 points for the tree to become useful. A sensible early route unlocks practical benefits across all three branches and then commits to the main payoff for your playstyle.

  1. Start with the three root perks. Youthful Lungs is a dependable Mobility point, In-Round Crafting unlocks field crafting, and Used to the Weight reduces the penalty from wearing a shield.
  2. Build a stamina foundation. Nimble Climber and Fight or Flight get you toward the first Mobility choice. Take Vault Spring for a burst of movement after vaulting, or Vaults on Vaults on Vaults if you care more about the stamina cost of repeated vaults.
  3. Invest in everyday looting. Looter's Instincts speeds up container searches. Follow with Silent Scavenger and Quick Roll if you want a quiet, efficient loot-and-escape package.
  4. Choose your major direction. Prioritize Conditioning if you repeatedly run Security Locker routes. Go further into Mobility if you chase PvP encounters or need sustained traversal.
  5. Finish the complementary branch. A Solo/PvPvE player can eventually hold both Security Breach and Sprinting on Fumes at 76 points, while a dedicated farmer can stop short of the Mobility capstone and deepen Survival instead.
Useful rule: prioritize skills that change how you play. A single point in In-Round Crafting, Quick Roll, or the right exclusive choice can be more noticeable than a small increase in an already comfortable stat.

Important Skill Choices Explained

Mule's Gallop vs. Back on Your Feet

Mule's Gallop is our general recommendation in Conditioning. Moving while overloaded is relevant during almost every profitable raid, especially with Broad Shoulders and Speedy Mule. Back on Your Feet has better value for players who prioritize surviving repeated low-health encounters, but it does not solve the problem of extracting with too much loot.

Vault Spring vs. Vaults on Vaults on Vaults

Vault Spring adds a movement option when you finish a vault and works well for Raiders comfortable chaining traversal tools. Vaults on Vaults on Vaults targets stamina efficiency and can feel easier to use. Both are viable; the builds above use Vault Spring, while players who vault constantly can reasonably prefer the alternative.

Quick Roll vs. Minesweeper

Quick Roll is useful in both PvP and PvE because shorter, faster dodge movements cost less stamina. Minesweeper has a real niche in trap-heavy areas, but players benefit from Quick Roll much more frequently.

Security Breach vs. Bull Rush vs. Weapon Bash

Security Breach remains the strongest reward-focused choice if you run Security Locker routes. Bull Rush provides a knockback interaction while sprinting with your weapon holstered, making it more interesting for aggressive positioning and niche encounters. Weapon Bash unlocks a close-range strike, but it does not matter much. 

Which Survival Capstone Is Best?

Road Warrior is a strong specialized pick for frequent ARC combat and resource collection, improving ammo and ARC Powercell returns as well as field recycling efficiency. Nomadic Crafting extends what you can craft in a raid, including additional ammunition and traversal supplies. Field Repair can restore limited durability to gear without extracting. All three demand a deep Survival commitment, so they are excellent reasons to build around that branch, but not mandatory detours for the general-purpose setups above.

Final Thoughts

The best skill tree in ARC Raiders depends on what you want to accomplish on each run. Our preferred all-rounder combines Security Breach with Sprinting on Fumes for both loot access and strong movement, while the PvP option directs more value toward stamina, dodges, and surviving fights.

For quieter farming sessions, deeper Survival investment offers faster searches and more resources. Start with the useful root skills, pick one clear priority for your first major branch, and build around the activities you actually enjoy.

ARC Raiders is a trademark and intellectual property of Embark Studios AB.