Arc Raiders Skills Are Lying To You: Here Is What They Actually Do

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We all pressed the big red “Reset” button for the Expedition, and now we are staring at a blank skill tree wondering why we can’t run for more than five seconds without wheezing.

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The Expedition event wiped everyone clean. Your inventory? Gone. Your hard-earned level? Back to square one. That skill tree you spent hours building? Completely empty. But here’s the silver lining: you now have a fresh chance to invest your points wisely instead of blindly trusting those vague tooltips.

The problem is that Arc Raiders doesn’t exactly tell you the truth about its skills. Some descriptions are so cryptic they might as well be written in ancient runes, while others flat-out lie about what they do. Fortunately, dedicated players like KiraTheUnholy and countless data miners on YouTube have done the dirty work. They tested everything so you don’t have to waste points learning the hard way.

The “Must-Haves” vs. The “Do Not Touch” (Arc Raiders Skill)

Before diving into the complete skill breakdown, there are some critical warnings you need to hear. Several skills simply don’t deliver what they promise.

The Broken Stuff (Save Your Points)

Heroic Leap: Community testing reveals this skill produces virtually zero noticeable improvement. Unless someone discovers a hidden activation condition, those 5 points belong elsewhere.

Sky-Clearing Swing: Players who tested this extensively reported no measurable difference when attacking drones. Skip it entirely.

Sturdy Ankles: Even at maximum investment, you only get a measly 10% reduction to fall damage. The solution? Stop throwing yourself off tall structures.

The God Tier

Marathon Runner: Cutting your sprint stamina consumption by 20% is non-negotiable. Arc Raiders punishes players who stand still. Movement equals survival.

In-Round Crafting: Without this skill, you cannot make healing items or adrenaline during a raid. That’s not a build choice—it’s a death sentence.

Proficient Pryer: Opening containers 30% faster might not sound exciting until you remember that breaching creates noise and roots you in place. Faster breaching means less time being a sitting duck.

The Master List: Every Skill Explained

Below you’ll find complete data on all 42 skills. Each entry shows the maximum bonus at full investment (5 points for tiered skills, 1 point for single-tier abilities) plus insights into how they actually function behind the scenes.

MOVEMENT & STAMINA SKILLS

Mobility determines whether you extract with loot or become someone else’s free gear.

SKILL NAME	MAX BONUS	HIDDEN STATS / NOTES
Marathon Runner	20% lower sprint stamina usage	Non-negotiable first pick. Invest immediately.
Youthful Lungs	25% higher max stamina	Combines beautifully with Marathon Runner for extended chase potential.
Nimble Climber	7.5% faster climb/vault	Important caveat: ladders are unaffected. Only wall vaults benefit.
Slip and Slide	20% increased slide distance	Known to malfunction with sprint hold or toggle crouch settings. Proceed cautiously.
Effortless Roll	32.5% lower roll cost	Excellent for dodging during firefights.
Off the Wall	20% further wall leap	Only applies when pushing off from a ledge hang position.
Three Deep Breaths	120% faster exhaustion recovery	Also works against gas-induced exhaustion. Invaluable for surviving gas grenades.
Carry the Momentum	Free sprinting after dodge	Active for 2-3 seconds with a 10-second cooldown. Solid for emergency repositioning.
Agile Croucher	10% faster crouch move	Minimal impact. Only consider if stealth is your entire playstyle.
Revitalizing Squat	20% faster crouch regen	Essentially removes the stamina regeneration penalty while crouching. Recover as if standing.
Calming Stroll	Regen stamina while walking	Functions during ADS and while hauling heavy objects.
Vigorous Vaulter	No exhaustion slow on vault	Exhaustion no longer hampers climbing or vaulting speed. Situational but decent.
Unburdened Roll	Free roll on shield break	Provides a 2-3 second window for cost-free dodges after your shield shatters.
Sturdy Ankles	10% less fall damage	Barely noticeable. Avoid high drops instead of wasting points here.
Heroic Leap	N/A	CONFIRMED BROKEN. Testing showed negligible to zero effect. Avoid completely.

LOOTING & CRAFTING SKILLS

These abilities fund your operations and keep you supplied when things go sideways.

SKILL NAME	MAX BONUS	HIDDEN STATS / NOTES
In-Round Crafting	Unlock basic crafting	Grants access to: Adrenaline Shot, Bandage, Shield Recharger, Fruit Mix, Flame Spray. ESSENTIAL.
Traveling Tinkerer	Unlock advanced crafting	Adds: Trap variants, Herbal Bandage, Noisemaker, Raider Hatch Key.
Proficient Pryer	30% faster breaching	Critical for accessing premium loot without getting flanked.
Looters Instincts	25% faster reveal	Container contents appear faster. Valuable for quick extraction runs.
Looter’s Luck	50% chance for double reveal	Shows twice the items simultaneously. Dramatically speeds up searching large containers.
Broad Shoulders	10 extra carry weight	Straightforward value. More capacity means more profit per run.
Silent Scavenger	Less noise looting	Precise reduction unclear, but sound travels shorter distances.
Gentle Pressure	Less noise breaching	Reduces breach audio. Useful for PvP-heavy areas where stealth matters.
A Little Extra	Resources on breach	Breaking objects generates grey/green materials. Decent passive resource income.
Security Breach	Open Security Lockers	Mandatory for accessing high-quality weapons locked behind cages.
Minesweeper	Disarm mines	Enables disarm prompt. Detection radius remains unchanged.
One Raider’s Scraps	Extra loot (Raider crates)	Adds probability of finding crafted items inside Raider containers.
Stubborn Mule	10% faster regen (encumbered)	Reduces stamina recovery penalty when carrying excess weight.
Loaded Arms	50% lighter equipped weapon	Currently held weapon contributes half its weight. Perfect for LMG loadouts.

SURVIVAL & COMBAT SKILLS

Everything here helps you survive encounters that should have killed you.

SKILL NAME	MAX BONUS	HIDDEN STATS / NOTES
Used to the Weight	50% lower shield penalty	Drops Medium Shield penalty to 2.5%, Heavy Shield to 7.5%. Huge for defensive builds.
Crawl Before You Walk	50% faster crawl	Vital for reaching safety when you’re bleeding out.
Turtle Crawl	30% damage reduction (Downed)	Surprisingly durable while incapacitated.
Downed but Determined	+30 seconds bleed out time	Gives teammates significantly more time for rescue attempts.
Fight or Flight	10% stamina on hit	Taking damage restores stamina. 50-second cooldown. Potential lifesaver.
Blast-Born	-4 seconds ear ringing	Recover from explosion disorientation much quicker.
Flyswatter	1-hit melee Wasps/Turrets	Functions exactly as described. Immensely satisfying.
Survivor’s Stamina	25% faster regen (Critical)	Accelerated stamina recovery at low health. Enables clutch getaways.
Back on your Feet	Regen to 25% HP	Passive healing when critically wounded. Conserves medical supplies.
Suffer in Silence	Less noise when critical	Quieter at death’s door. Difficult to quantify but potentially valuable for hiding.
Good as New	10-15% faster regen (Healing)	Stamina regenerates quicker during active healing effects.
Effortless Swing	50% lower melee cost	Worthwhile for melee-focused players, though firearms usually win.
Sky-Clearing Swing	N/A	CONFIRMED BROKEN. Testing revealed zero damage improvement against drones. Skip entirely.

Credit Where It’s Due

None of this information would exist without tireless community effort. Huge thanks go to KiraTheUnholy on Reddit for data verification and the spreadsheet creators who spent countless hours running experimental tests—repeatedly falling, climbing, and getting shot—to extract these numbers. Their complete findings are available through community channels. You can find their full breakdown here.

Now get back in there and rebuild your character. Just promise you won’t invest in Sturdy Ankles. Seriously.