Recommended Station Unlock Order
This is the ideal order for unlocking the stations. Earlier on, it’s better to have medical supplies and introduce new elements to your craftability, and leave ARC interactions until the loadouts are better, as the Bots in this game are generally tough to defeat.
- Workbench – Free starter (play 1 round)
- Medical Lab – Essential healing
- Explosives Station – Combat advantage
- Gunsmith – Weapon upgrades – Check out our guide on the Gunsmith.
- Gear Bench – Augments and shields
- Refiner – Material conversion
- Utility Station – Situational tools
Typically, all stations have resources that can also be crafted in the Base Workstation; therefore, this does not influence their priority in this list, and they are instead taken out of the equation.
Total Resource Requirements
| Workstation | Resources Needed |
|---|---|
| Workbench | Play 1 Round (FREE) |
| Gunsmith | 20x Metal Parts, 30x Rubber Parts |
| Gear Bench | 25x Plastic Parts, 30x Fabric |
| Medical Lab | 50x Fabric, 6x Arc Alloy |
| Explosives Station | 50x Chemicals, 6x Arc Alloy |
| Utility Station | 50x Plastic Parts, 6x Arc Alloy |
| Refiner | 60x Metal Parts, 6x Arc Alloy |
These are the Level 1 install costs. Every station can be upgraded further, and the Gunsmith goes up to Level 4: that last upgrade needs 3 Radial Press, 3 Magnetic Accelerator, 1 Emperor Modulator and an Outpost at level 4. Our Gunsmith guide has the details.
Arc Alloy Bottleneck: You’ll likely have plenty of base materials but not enough Arc Alloy. You’ll need to fight Arc robots to collect them, which attracts other players. Try to collect Arc Alloy throughout your entire progression to avoid dedicated farming runs if you already are.
Every Station Upgrade, Level by Level
Level 1 is only the start. Every station goes up to Level 3, and the Gunsmith and the new Research Station go to Level 4. The higher levels swap basic materials for salvage and ARC parts, so it pays to keep these items when you find them instead of selling them. Here is every level of every station in update 2.0, with links to our guide for each item.
Gunsmith
×20Metal Parts
×30Rubber Parts
×5
×3
×8
×5
×3
×4
×1
×3
×3All levels: 20 Metal Parts, 30 Rubber Parts, 5 Mechanical Components, 3 Rusted Tools, 8 Wasp Driver, 5 Advanced Mechanical Components, 3 Rusted Gear, 4 Sentinel Firing Core, 1 Emperor Modulator, 3 Magnetic Accelerator, 3 Radial Press
Gear Bench
×30Fabric
×25Plastic Parts
×5
×5
×3
×5
×6
×3All levels: 30 Fabric, 25 Plastic Parts, 5 Electrical Components, 5 Hornet Driver, 3 Power Cable, 5 Advanced Electrical Components, 6 Bastion Cell, 3 Industrial Battery
Medical Lab
×6ARC Alloy×50Fabric
×2
×5
×8
×8
×3
×5All levels: 6 ARC Alloy, 50 Fabric, 2 Cracked Bioscanner, 5 Durable Cloth, 8 Tick Pod, 8 Antiseptic, 3 Rusted Shut Medical Kit, 5 Surveyor Vault
Explosives Station
×6ARC Alloy
×50Chemicals
×5Crude Explosives
×5Pop Trigger
×3Synthesized Fuel
×5
×3
×3All levels: 6 ARC Alloy, 50 Chemicals, 5 Crude Explosives, 5 Pop Trigger, 3 Synthesized Fuel, 5 Explosive Compound, 3 Laboratory Reagents, 3 Rocketeer Driver
Utility Station
×6ARC Alloy×50Plastic Parts
×2
×6
×3
×4All levels: 6 ARC Alloy, 50 Plastic Parts, 2 Damaged Heat Sink, 5 Electrical Components, 6 Snitch Scanner, 5 Advanced Electrical Components, 3 Fried Motherboard, 4 Leaper Pulse Unit
Refiner
×5ARC Powercell×60Metal Parts
×5
×8
×3
×10
×6
×3All levels: 5 ARC Powercell, 60 Metal Parts, 5 ARC Motion Core, 8 Fireball Burner, 3 Toaster, 10 ARC Circuitry, 6 Bombardier Cell, 3 Motor
Research Station
×5
×3
×35
×3
×3
×5
×6
×3
×3
×3
×1
×3All levels: 5 Battered Paperback, 3 Mini Pump, 35 Planks, 3 Calculator, 3 Raider Logbook, 5 Skulker Targeter, 6 Bully Fragmenter, 3 Differential Microphone, 3 Exodus Technical Handbook, 3 ARC Data Module, 1 Frigate Inductor, 3 Thermal Shaker
The Research Station arrived with the Frozen Trail update (2.0). It takes Research Items like Battered Paperbacks, Raider Logbooks and ARC Data Modules, plus a few new parts from the Skulker and the Bully, and spare Research Items can go toward Research Points once it is built.
For Scrappy, the Outpost, the Trophy Display and quest items too, plus what to sell or recycle once you have enough, use our ARC Raiders cheat sheet. It covers every item in one searchable table.
Detailed Workstation Information
Workbench
Unlock: Play 1 round of Arc Raiders
Why it’s essential: Your free starting kit that covers all the basics.
What it unlocks:
- Basic guns and ammo
- Impact grenades
- Bandages
- Shield recharger and shields
- Looting Mk. 1 – Maximizes your topside loot
Early game priority: Craft at least 2 weapons with correct ammo, looting augment, grenades, and bandages.
Medical Lab
Unlock: 50x Fabric, 6x Arc Alloy
Why it’s important: Superior healing keeps you alive longer.
What it unlocks:
- Herbal Bandage – Heals more than stock bandages (requires Durable Cloth + Great Mullein)
- Adrenaline Shot – Fully restores stamina + temporary stamina regen boost (uses Chemicals + Plastic Parts)
Best for: Players who frequently engage in combat or need better escape options.
Explosives Station
Unlock: 50x Chemicals, 6x Arc Alloy
Why it’s powerful: Explosives are incredibly strong in Arc Raiders. Many players use grenades as their primary weapon.
What it unlocks:
- Gas Grenades – Creates smoke clouds that drain stamina, preventing enemy escapes and combat rolls
- Additional grenade types (requires station upgrades)
Best for: Forcing enemies out of cover and dealing massive damage.
Gunsmith
Unlock: 20x Metal Parts, 30x Rubber Parts
Why it’s mid-priority: The initial unlock only adds one gun (Rattler) which is considered inferior to Ferro and Kettle.
What it unlocks:
- Rattler (initial unlock – not highly rated)
- Renegade 1 and Arpeggio 1 (later crafts)
- Weapon attachments and stat upgrades
Max level: Level 4. Upgrading from Gunsmith III needs 3 Radial Press, 3 Magnetic Accelerator, 1 Emperor Modulator and an Outpost at level 4, and Level 4 is required for Weapon Amplification.
Best for: Players who want to min-max weapon performance with attachments.
Gear Bench
Unlock: 25x Plastic Parts, 30x Fabric
Why it’s useful: Unlocks combat augments beyond the basic looting augment.
What it unlocks:
- Medium shields (also available from Workbench)
- Light shields
- Tactical Mk. 1 – More quick-use slots, less backpack space
- Combat augments with trade-offs (more slots vs. less inventory)
Best for: Players who want loadout flexibility.
Refiner
Unlock: 60x Metal Parts, 6x Arc Alloy
Why it’s situational: Only useful when you have excess base materials (Grey/Common).
What it does: Converts 6 base materials into 1 higher-tier material
- Chemicals → Crude Explosives (for explosives crafting)
- Fabric → Durable Cloth (for medical equipment)
- Plastic + Rubber Parts → Electrical Components
- Metal + Rubber Parts → Mechanical Components
Best for: Material optimization when you have surplus commons.
Utility Station
Unlock: 50x Plastic Parts, 6x Arc Alloy
Why it’s last: Most situational workstation with limited early-game value.
What it unlocks:
- Binoculars – Spot players from distance (can be bought cheaply from traders)
- Door Stoppers – Block doors during escapes
- Raider Hatch Keys (Level 2 required) – Safer extraction alternatives to noisy, slow public hatches
Best for: Advanced players focused on safe extractions (once upgraded to Level 2).
This list is subject to an extent, though most players would agree my reasoning is solid – using my own runs as a reference point, I understood that collecting materials for the Stations is also factored in for what you gain from unlocking the Station, and not all stations are created equal.
As a beginner, you may not have optimized settings. To learn more about what the optimal settings are, please refer to our guide.
Other Arc Raiders Items 75
