Augments in ARC Raiders set the boundaries for how much you can carry and what kind of shields you can wear. The headline stat is capacity, but the real power spike comes from “Augmented Slots” — category-locked extras for things like trinkets, grenades, utility, or healing. You pick these in your loadout and can’t change them while Topside. If you die, augment durability drops in chunks of 30.

What “Augmented Slots” actually are

Augmented slots are bonus, category-specific inventory slots added by certain augments. They don’t replace your standard Quick Use slots or backpack grid; they sit alongside them and are restricted to a single item type, such as:

  • Trinket slots for the Looting line.
  • Grenade slots for the Combat line.
  • Utility slots for the Tactical line (Mk.2).
  • Healing slots for the Tactical line (Mk.3 Healing).

That category lock matters. A Looting augment’s trinket slots won’t hold grenades, and Combat’s grenade slots won’t store heals. The pay-off is predictability: you get guaranteed space for the item type that matches the role of your augment.

Looting Mk.2 augmented slots (and what you gain)

Looting Mk.2 is the first big step where Augmented Slots show their value for pure scavenging. It adds 3 Trinket slots on top of its already strong carry profile. The full slot picture looks like this:

  • Backpack: 22 slots
  • Safe Pocket: 2 slots
  • Quick Use: 4 slots
  • Augmented: 3 Trinket slots
  • Shield compatibility: Light

Compared to Mk.1 Looting, you’re getting more backpack and a second safe pocket, plus those dedicated trinket spaces. The trade-off is the same shield ceiling (Light) and a standard Quick Use count.

Mk.2 augments compared (augmented slots, capacity, shields)

Augment Augmented slots Quick Use Backpack Safe Pockets Shields
Looting Mk.2 3 Trinket 4 22 2 Light
Combat Mk.2 1 Grenade 4 18 1 Light / Medium / Heavy
Tactical Mk.2 1 Utility 5 17 1 Light / Medium

Each Mk.2 variant leans into a role: Looting maximizes carry space and trinket capacity; Combat unlocks heavier shields and a grenade slot; Tactical trades some carry weight for a fifth Quick Use and a utility slot.

Mk.3 augments with augmented slots

Mk.3 expands the concept further in role-specific ways. Not every Mk.3 has extra category slots, but where present they’re impactful.

Augment Augmented slots Quick Use Backpack Safe Pockets Shields
Looting Mk.3 (Cautious) — 5 24 2 Light
Combat Mk.3 (Aggressive) 2 Grenade 4 18 1 Light / Medium / Heavy
Tactical Mk.3 (Healing) 3 Healing 4 16 3 Light / Medium

Looting Mk.3 (Cautious) doesn’t add category slots, but it bumps Quick Use to five while maintaining high carry capacity. Combat Mk.3 (Aggressive) doubles down on throwables with two grenade slots alongside heavy-shield support. Tactical Mk.3 (Healing) shifts utility into survivability with three dedicated healing slots and three safe pockets.

Note: Other Mk.3 variants exist, but full slot details aren’t finalized in the data above.

Quick Use vs Augmented slots vs Safe Pocket

These three are easy to mix up, but they do different jobs:

  • Quick Use: The count of items you can keep on your hotbar — bandages, throwables, gadgets — for immediate access.
  • Augmented slots: Extra, item-type-locked slots granted by certain augments. They don’t replace your Quick Use items; they give you guaranteed capacity for a specific category.
  • Safe Pocket: Items in Safe Pockets extract with you even if you’re eliminated. Everything else is lost on death.

Some augments increase Quick Use at the expense of weight capacity. Tactical Mk.1, for example, jumps to five Quick Use slots but carries less overall weight than its Combat counterpart.

Perks and passive effects to know

On top of slot changes, several augments carry passive abilities that fit their roles:

  • Combat Mk.2: Regenerates 1 health every 5 seconds; the effect pauses for 30 seconds after taking damage.
  • Combat Mk.3 (Aggressive): Regenerates 2 health every 5 seconds; pauses for 30 seconds when damaged.
  • Tactical Mk.2: Emits a small smoke grenade when your shield breaks (fixed cooldown).
  • Tactical Mk.3 (Healing): On revival from downed, releases a healing cloud that restores 20 health over 10 seconds (30-second cooldown).
  • Looting Mk.3 (Cautious): On shield break, automatically injects a weak adrenaline shot (fixed cooldown).
  • Looting Mk.2: Automatically shakes off attached Ticks after a short delay.

These passives don’t change the slot math, but they can decide fights or escapes. Pick with your role in mind: trinket capacity for economy runs, grenade slots for aggressive pushes, or healing/utility for team support.

The simplest rule of thumb: use Augmented Slots to lock in the items that define your run. Trinkets for money, grenades for pressure, utility for problem-solving, and healing for keeping the team on its feet. Build around that anchor, and the rest of your inventory decisions fall into place.