Extraction is the only thing that turns a good ARC Raiders run into real progress. Surviving fights and filling your backpack doesn’t matter if you die to the timer or get deleted at the elevator. The game is built around that pressure: limited exits, noisy elevators, and one hard 30-minute deadline.
ARC Raiders extraction basics
Every deployment topside runs on a 30-minute match timer. During that window you can leave the map through two types of exits:
| Exit type | Key needed | Has availability timer | Noise level | When you can use it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main extraction (elevators, train stations, air shafts) | No | Yes – each has its own countdown | Very loud siren on activation | Only while its local timer is still running |
| Raider Hatch | Yes – Raider Hatch Key | No – always available in day raids | Silent | Any time until the global 30-minute match timer ends |
On your map, main extractions are shown as white icons with a downward arrow (or train car / fan symbol depending on the map). Each of these has its own countdown. When that local timer hits zero, that specific exit shuts down for the rest of the match.
Raider Hatches use a similar down-arrow icon but without a timer. They sit in fixed spots on each day map and stay usable for the whole round – as long as you brought, or found, a Raider Hatch Key. Night raids disable hatches entirely and only offer a small number of noisy exits.
If the global match timer at the top of your HUD hits zero while you are still topside, the Orbiter wipes the map. You die, and you lose everything that wasn’t in a Safe Pocket.
How to use normal extraction points
Main extraction works the same way everywhere, with a few map-specific details:
| Map | Main extraction form | Where the console is |
|---|---|---|
| Dam Battlegrounds | Cargo elevators | Right outside the elevator doors |
| Spaceport | Cargo elevators | Right outside the elevator doors |
| Buried City | Train stations | Underground, facing the gated train tracks |
| Blue Gate | Air shafts | Next to the shaft opening |
The flow is always the same:
- Open your map, pick a white extraction icon that still has time left on its local timer.
- Move towards it using cover rather than sprinting in a straight line.
- When you arrive, locate the external console and interact with it to call the elevator, train, or air lift.
- A loud alarm immediately starts blaring; ARC machines and players within a large radius can hear it.
- There’s a short delay (around 15 seconds) before the doors open.
- Once the doors are open, get inside, then use the console inside to start departure, or wait for the auto-extract timer.
Once at least one person is inside and interacts with the internal console, the extract will complete after a brief channel. Anyone standing inside the extraction zone when it leaves is pulled back to Speranza with their gear. This includes downed players (DBNO) as long as they are inside when the console is used; you can crawl in if you are close enough.
Many extraction points, especially Buried City train stations, are defended. You may need to clear or dodge ARC units to even reach the console. The trade-off is that once you’ve done that work, fewer enemies are left nearby to respond to the alarm.
How Raider Hatches and Raider Hatch Keys work
Raider Hatches are the “quiet” extraction option. They open directly into a slide down to safety, with no siren and no waiting period. The trade-off is the cost and rarity of Raider Hatch Keys.
Key facts:
- Any Raider Hatch Key opens any hatch; keys are not map- or hatch-specific.
- Hatches have no local availability timer; they stay usable until the match ends, but they only exist in day raids.
- You can initiate and complete a hatch extract even while downed, just like a normal exit.
You can get Raider Hatch Keys in three ways:
- Looting topside as a rare drop.
- Crafting them once your Utility/Workshop station is upgraded to the required level.
- Buying them from Shani, the Security Trader in Speranza, for 9,000 credits (white currency), with a limit of one purchase per 24 hours and a level requirement around mid-game.
If you bring a key, put it in a Safe Pocket before you deploy. Safe Pockets preserve their contents even if you die or disconnect mid-raid. If a key is sitting in your normal inventory and you die, it is gone.
To use a Raider Hatch:
- Open your map and look for hatch icons (down arrow without a timer and a semicircle shape in some legends).
- Travel to the hatch location, avoiding fights as needed.
- Interact with the terminal on the hatch door with a key in your inventory.
- The hatch opens instantly with no alarm; drop in to extract immediately.
Other players can follow you through a hatch you’ve opened if they reach it fast enough, but they don’t consume your key – the key is spent when you unlock it.
Extraction timers, day vs. night raids
Two different clocks control extraction:
| Timer | Where you see it | What it controls | What happens at zero |
|---|---|---|---|
| Global match timer (30:00 at start) | Top of your HUD | Overall length of the raid | Orbital strike wipes the map; everyone left dies, you lose non–Safe Pocket items |
| Local extraction timers | Small timers on each white extraction icon on the map | Availability of each individual exit | That specific exit locks permanently; you must go to another one or use a hatch |
Day raids typically start with several main extraction points active. Roughly every few minutes, one shuts down, until only a single main exit remains for the last part of the match. Raider Hatches remain available the whole time.
Night raids are stricter. Hatches are disabled. Only two main exits appear at the start, and one closes early, leaving a single noisy extraction for the last ~15 minutes. That means a lot of players are funneled into one place, with no silent backup unless they leave early.
If you regularly die with the global timer almost at zero, you are simply leaving too late. Start planning to get out when you are satisfied with your loot, not when the clock forces you. Treat extractions like objectives, not an afterthought.
When to extract: early, mid, or late
There is no single “correct” timing, but the risk changes as the match progresses.
| Phase | Approx. match time | Typical number of main exits | What to expect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early | 0–10 minutes | 3–5 (day), 2 (night) | More spread-out players, more available options, less camping at any single exit |
| Mid | 10–20 minutes | 2–3 (day), often 1 (night) | Some players have left; remaining ones are better geared, exits are more contested |
| Late | Last 5–10 minutes | 1 main exit plus any hatches (day); 1 main exit (night) | All survivors converge; fewer teams but higher chance of campers at the last exit |
Two broad strategies emerge:
- Extract early for consistency. Hit one or two loot areas on the way to a nearby exit and leave while several exits are still open. This means less loot per raid but far more successful extractions, which is crucial when you’re trying to upgrade stations or rebuild after losses.
- Extract late for high-risk, high-reward runs. Fill your bag, then either use a hatch or risk the last remaining main exit. By that point, many players have already left, but the ones still around are often well-armed and willing to camp.
For newer players, focusing on early and mid-game extracts is usually better. Once you have confidence and gear, late extractions and contested elevators become more manageable.
Surviving to the exit when your gear is bad
Early on, your crafted gear is weak and your shields are thin. Many players find the Free Loadouts more effective than their own equipment for the first few hours. Regardless of what you bring, the survival rules are the same:
- Avoid unnecessary fights. Don’t shoot every ARC machine you see. If you can break the line of sight, take a different street, or cut through a building, do that instead.
- Respect ARC shock units. The taser-style attacks that chain or stun are lethal for low-level kits. Watch attack animations and roll right before the zap to completely avoid the stun and damage. Build a rhythm: shoot, roll, reload, roll, repeat.
- Target weak points. For flying drones, break the rotors instead of dumping bullets into the body. For small rolling bots, center mass is fine. Larger threats should usually be avoided altogether until you have stronger weapons.
- Never fight multiple ARCs in the open. If you aggro more than one serious enemy, disengage. Sprint to cover, dive inside a building, or use terrain to break the line of sight. Getting pinned in a field is how runs end.
- Move slowly and quietly. Walk or crouch-walk near likely player routes and around extracts. Sprint only when crossing exposed areas or when you are sure you’re alone.
Think of yourself as a scavenger, not a front-line soldier. Your job is to sneak, pick up what you need, and leave. Once your workbenches and shields are upgraded, you can start actively hunting ARCs and players instead of dodging them.
Positioning and behavior around extraction points
Most deaths in ARC Raiders happen in or around extraction zones. Treat every extraction as an ambush waiting to happen.
- Check the area before you commit. As you approach, stop short of the extract and listen. Gunfire, ARC footsteps, or active flares are signs you should wait or reroute to another exit.
- Use cover to watch the console. Don’t stand on the button as soon as you arrive. Find a position with hard cover and a view of the console. If another team calls the elevator first, you can decide whether to third-party or move on.
- Clear close ARC enemies early. If small drones or ground units are very close, clear them while you still have flexibility and cover. If you trigger the alarm with enemies right on top of you, you’ll be fighting both them and any players attracted by the noise.
- Call, then step back. Once you decide to extract, hit the console and immediately move back to cover. Use the delay before the doors open to watch for anyone rushing the sound.
- Use gadgets if you have them. Smoke grenades, lures, and other utilities can break the line of sight or pull ARC aggro off you while the elevator arrives.
There’s also a more opportunistic tactic: let someone else go first. Because there’s a small window between the doors opening and the extract leaving, you can hide nearby, wait until the elevator is about to depart, then sprint in at the last second to ride it with whoever called it. Even if they knock you down, you still extract as long as they don’t finish you before the transition.
Safe Pockets, disconnects, and what you actually keep
Everything in your normal inventory is at risk every time you deploy. Two systems soften that blow: Safe Pockets and reconnection during a match.
- Safe Pockets are special inventory slots tied to your Augment that always come home with you, even if you die or the timer runs out. Quest items, Raider Hatch Keys, and crucial materials should go here immediately after you pick them up.
- Free Loadouts do not include Safe Pockets. If you’re on a free kit, any item you want to keep must be extracted; there’s no safety net.
- If you disconnect mid-raid, your character stays in the world, frozen. You can reconnect and resume as long as the match is still running, but other players can kill you while you’re offline, and you’ll lose your normal inventory if they do.
This is why high-value items and keys go straight into Safe Pockets, and why it’s not worth hoarding mid-tier gear in your stash. Gear in storage does nothing. Gear brought topside gives you a chance to win more and extract more, even if you occasionally lose it.
Extraction in ARC Raiders is less about perfect aim and more about planning. Know where the exits are, watch the timers, decide in advance when you want to leave, and avoid every fight that doesn’t serve that plan. Once you treat the extract itself as the main objective, your success rate – and your stash – start to grow quickly.
