Most people talk about recoil patterns and "clean" gunfights in ARC Raiders, but you'll figure it out fast: the real obsession is what you carry out. That's why I keep a running note on
ARC Raiders Items and where they tend to show up, especially when I'm planning a key run instead of roaming. Key Rooms aren't cute little side objectives. They're a bet. You're trading noise, time, and risk for the kind of haul that actually moves your progress.
Why Buried City Keeps Paying
Out of the maps I've cycled through, Buried City is still the one that feels built for smart looting. If you've got the right key, Town Hall is the place to point your boots. The credit value alone can be silly, and it's also where you'll see rare blueprint drops that don't feel like pure luck from random crates. The biggest swing, though, comes from timing. If you can handle it, hit Town Hall during a Night Raid. Sightlines get messy and the AI feels meaner, but the loot pool tends to jump in quality enough to justify the stress.
Don't Open the Door Until You're Set Up
The moment that lock clicks, you've basically put a sign up that says "free fight here." So don't rush the loot first. Set the room first. My squad does it in a simple order: 1) secure the choke points, 2) place barriers or trip mines where they'll actually slow a push, 3) pick one person to watch the angles while the others loot. You're not trying to win a long defense. You're buying seconds. Grab the high-value containers immediately and skip the junk that eats inventory space. If you're staring at a window while sorting scraps, you're already late.
Keys, Routes, and the Ugly Angles
Keys are picky, and the game loves punishing people who don't respect that. A key for the Dam won't suddenly work at Spaceport, Stella Montis, or Blue Gate, so route planning starts in your stash, not on the map. Also, not every Key Room is equal. Some have two or three entrances, balconies, weird crossfires—perfect for campers who'd rather let you do the unlocking. If you've got options, start with the rooms that have a single entry or at least an entrance you can hard-block. Build value safely, then take the spicier rooms when your bag's already worth it.
Get Out While You're Ahead
Teams throw runs all the time by acting like it's a supermarket sale. Don't stack three people on one box. Put someone on overwatch, keep comms short, and call what you're taking so you're not double-looting the same slot. More importantly, plan your exit before you even unlock. A backpack full of blueprints doesn't count if you can't extract. If you want to cut down on that "we had it, then we lost it" feeling, think about whether you should buy
rsvsr ARC Raiders Coins for a steadier baseline, then run Key Rooms with a clear timer in your head and a clean path out.