Free loadouts cut risk and keep you playing when Coin and materials are tight. You can queue as often as you like, spawn with a basic kit, and still build momentum by extracting and converting the free augment into a useful starter augment.

Enable a free loadout before deployment

Step 1: From the main screen, select Play and choose the map you want to raid. This opens the loadout screen, where you usually prepare a custom kit.

Step 2: At the top of the loadout screen, switch to the Free Loadout tab. This replaces your custom kit for this run and locks the kit’s augment for the match.

Step 3: Ensure your stash has enough space for anything currently equipped in your custom kit. If there isn’t room, you won’t be able to switch to a free loadout.

Step 4: Select Ready Up. You can’t add items to a free loadout; your starter gear is applied automatically when the raid begins.

What a free loadout includes

A free loadout spawns you with a minimal but functional kit that prioritizes survival and learning the map over raw power.

  • A Free Loadout Augment with no Safe Pocket slot.
  • A Light Shield at full durability.
  • One basic weapon with matching ammo; commonly an entry-tier Stitcher I, Kettle I, or Ferro I.
  • Two bandages and one shield recharger.
  • One or two throwables (random).

The kit is intentionally weaker than a typical custom setup. You’ll have limited ammo and healing, a smaller inventory capacity, and no way to protect a guaranteed item via Safe Pocket if you die.

Extract and trade the free augment at the Clinic

Step 1: Complete an extraction while using a free loadout. Everything you carried out, including the Free Loadout Augment, moves to your stash.

Step 2: Unequip the Free Loadout Augment so it sits in your stash. This avoids conflicts when trading.

Step 3: Visit Lance at the Clinic via the Traders tab in Speranza. He lists MK1 augments (Combat, Tactical, Looting) with two purchase lines: one for Coin and one that accepts a Free Loadout Augment as payment.

Step 4: Select the MK1 augment that shows the free-augment trade option and confirm the swap. You can equip the new augment for your next raid or sell it if you need Coin. Any Free Loadout Augment you extracted—whether it was yours or looted from another raider—can be traded this way.

When to use a free loadout

Free loadouts are best used to reduce risk while you learn or when you’re rebuilding after losses. They also excel for objective-focused runs where fighting is optional.

  • Learning routes and extracts on new maps without risking valuable gear.
  • Completing traversal or discovery quests where survival matters more than combat.
  • Attempting higher-difficulty areas to scout enemy paths and points of interest.
  • Rebuilding your stash after a rough session without spending materials.

Switch back to a custom kit for sessions where you want stronger PvE/PvP performance, mid-raid augment swaps, or you have resources you’re comfortable risking to secure bigger wins.

Playstyles for free loadouts

Method 1: Loot-and-extract route (most reliable)

Step 1: Skirt high-traffic zones and listen for gunfire. Your goal is to collect materials and easy loot while avoiding avoidable fights.

Step 2: Prioritize lightweight, high-value pickups and stash upgrades over bulky scrap. Watch your carry capacity to keep sprint speed and mobility.

Step 3: Rotate early to a nearby extraction once your inventory is meaningfully filled. Extracting consistently fuels your stash and secures the augment trade.

Method 2: Opportunistic PvP upgrade

Step 1: Third-party active fights. Take flanks and angles rather than opening duels—you start at a gear disadvantage.

Step 2: Grab a better weapon or shield from a downed raider, then stabilize—heal, reload, and reassess the area before pushing again.

Step 3: Decide quickly: keep snowballing or extract with the improved kit. If your resources are thin, extraction is usually the smarter call.

Avoid these common mistakes

  • Dragging the Free Loadout Augment into a normal kit and deploying. Use the Free Loadout tab for the full starter kit; otherwise you’ll enter severely undergeared.
  • Forgetting stash space before selecting the Free Loadout tab. Make room first to allow the switch.
  • Taking straight fights against heavily armored ARCs with light weapons. Pick battles, reposition often, and disengage when needed.
  • Assuming safety on death. With no Safe Pocket in a free loadout, everything is at risk until you extract.

Use free loadouts to keep momentum, secure safe extracts, and turn each successful run into a better MK1 augment at the Clinic—steady progress without spending a single Coin.