The first expedition always feels like a fresh start and a slap in the face at the same time, because every blueprint, skill, and workshop upgrade you worked for just vanishes and you are thrown back to square one, which is why going in with a clear plan for your gear and key ARC Raiders Items matters more than any fancy aim or reflex, as you will rebuild way faster than players who just log in, shrug, and wander around hoping it all somehow works out.
Early Materials And Workshop Pressure
When all workshops drop to Level 1, the gear pressure hits you straight away, and you notice it the moment you try to push something like the Gunsmith back to Level 2 and realise you are suddenly desperate for Mechanical Components, Wasp Drivers, and Rusted Gears, so you cannot just roam around opening random crates and hoping the game feels generous, you need routes, not vibes, and you need them early.
Smart Farming Routes For Rare Parts
You really want to bank stuff you cannot craft at all, and you will feel that gap with things like Magnets, Springs, and Wires; from most runs, Stella Montis ends up being the best all‑round loot zone, because you get a mix of everything, but you also get sweaty PvP and Shredders that punish any mistake, so if you want something calmer for core mats, there is a room in the Lobby Metro that throws out oil and wires on a steady loop, boring but reliable, while for heavy industrial loot such as metal parts you are better off stripping cars in Bluegate or the Checkpoint and, like a lot of people only learn after a few painful raids, always checking the car seats for extra springs.
Blueprint Hunting Without Losing Your Mind
Getting your blueprints back is where most players burn time, because everyone rushes the Bluegate Security Wing for Augments, turning it into a constant brawl that eats up meds and ammo, so if you are tired of dying to third parties it is worth checking medical areas instead, as med containers seem to share part of that augment loot pool and nobody really bothers to camp them, and when it comes to weapons you are mainly chasing raider caches anyway, so if the usual ones are over‑contested right now, the breachable snow raider caches in Cold Snap are a decent backup, and if you are after the Wolf Pack blueprint specifically, stop wasting raids during the day, as it is almost entirely tied to Night Raids and you will just tilt yourself farming it while the sun is out.
XP, Skills And Rebuilding Momentum
Once you start thinking long term again, XP efficiency becomes the thing that quietly decides who stays ahead, and you will notice that just looting containers in Seed Vault gets you levels surprisingly fast while keeping the danger lower than in the big PvP hotspots, plus it stacks up chemicals for grenades that you will need for tougher enemies later, and on the skill tree side, rushing Security Breach first is huge because those extra doors and locked stashes translate straight into more income, then pushing looting speed and carry weight looks boring on paper but feels massive in practice, since grabbing items faster and hauling more out of each raid snowballs your rebuild in a way that pure combat perks rarely do, especially if you are also thinking about how to spend or save currency and maybe even where to buy game currency or items in RSVSR.
