ARC Raiders Augments Guide: Best Frames Ranked 2026

ARC Raiders augments are the most consistently misunderstood system in the game, and not for the reason you might think. Augments are not skill-tree perks and they are not weapon mods. They are the frame you equip that decides how much you can carry, how many gadgets you can quick-use, and which shield you are allowed to run. Pick the wrong frame for a run and you either come home with half a backpack or get caught with a shield two tiers too weak.

This guide covers what augments actually do, the three types, the best Mark III picks, and how to get them.

Updated 2026-10-15: Corrected where augment blueprints drop (Security containers, not Medical areas), what the Defensive frame's recharger actually does, and the full Fourth Expedition blueprint list. Frozen Trail 2.0 (October 8) added a set of Epic Augments to Apollo's trader offers, cut Heavy Shield durability decay from 0.20 to 0.15 and its movement penalty from 15% to 10%, and revamped the skill tree. Our old armor guide now points here (see "Looking for armor?" below).

TL;DR: Augments are equippable frames that set your backpack slots, weight limit, safe pockets, quick-use slots, and shield compatibility. Three types: Combat (shield + grenade slots, less inventory), Looting (max slots and weight, weaker shield), and Tactical (most quick-use slots, smallest backpacks). The best all-round pick is the Looting Mark III Survivor (20 slots, 80 kg, 3 safe pockets, 5 quick slots, deployable). Epic Mark III frames are crafted from blueprints that mostly come out of Security containers.

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ARC Raiders augments: quick answer

An augment in ARC Raiders is the loadout frame you equip before a raid. It is gear, not a passive unlock, and it sets the numbers that decide your run: backpack slots, weight limit, safe pockets (gear that survives death), quick-use slots for gadgets, and your shield compatibility tier. Some frames also add a deployable slot or a small passive.

There are three types, each tuned for a playstyle: Combat, Looting, and Tactical. They come in tiers (Mark I through Mark III), and the Mark III frames are the Epic-grade versions you build from blueprints. Your augment is a bigger decision than any single weapon, because it caps how the rest of your kit fits together.

This is a separate system from the skill tree. The skill tree is passive character progression (Embark revamped it in Frozen Trail 2.0, so check the in-game layout); augments are the gear frame you choose each run.

GODEEPER: Mark III augments are crafted, and the blueprints gate the whole thing. Where blueprints drop and how to build the frames. ARC Raiders Crafting Guide →

The three augment types

Every augment falls into one of three categories, and the category tells you what the frame is built to do.

Combat augments prioritize shield compatibility and combat advantages, and they pay for it with inventory space. If you expect to take fights, a Combat frame lets you run a heavier shield and carry grenades, at the cost of a smaller backpack. This is the frame for players who plan to win contacts rather than avoid them.

Looting augments flip that trade. They maximize backpack slots and weight limit so you extract the most value per run, and they accept weaker shield compatibility in return. If your plan is to move through a zone, fill up, and leave before fights find you, a Looting frame is the highest-value choice.

Tactical augments lead on quick-use slots, which is where your gadgets, mines, and consumables live. The lower tiers carry the smallest backpacks, but the extra quick slots (and, on the Defensive frame, a built-in Shield Recharger) make them the support and gadget-heavy pick.

Screenshot: ARC Raiders Steam store page

Your augment frame decides how much of that loot actually comes home. A Looting frame trades shield strength for the slots and weight to haul it.

Best augments by category (Mark III)

The Mark III frames are the Epic-grade versions and the ones worth building toward. One pick per category covers most players. The official Fourth Expedition reward list included blueprints for Survivor, Safekeeper, Defensive, and Flanking; the Aggressive and Healing variants are part of the wider Mark III roster.

Looting Mark III Survivor (best all-round)

The Survivor is the most flexible frame in the game and the default recommendation for most raiders. It carries 20 backpack slots, an 80 kg weight limit, three safe pockets, five quick slots, and a deployable slot, and while you are downed and stay still, your health regenerates up to 75% of your max downed health. That combination means you extract the most value, keep three items safe through a death, and still have the quick slots and deployable to handle a fight if one finds you. It takes Light and Medium shields only, but the sheer flexibility makes it the frame you reach for when you are not building around a specific fight.

Tactical Mark III Defensive (best shield control)

The Defensive frame runs 20 backpack slots, a 60 kg weight limit, five quick slots, an integrated Shield Recharger, and Light, Medium or Heavy shields. Its ability is the headline: Shield Rechargers can be used while running. That changes how you reposition and disengage, because you are not stopping in the open to top up. For players who get into and out of fights repeatedly, recharging on the move is one of the strongest defensive tools available.

Combat Mark III Aggressive (best for fighting)

The Aggressive frame is built for players who expect contact: 18 backpack slots, a 65 kg weight limit, four quick slots, two grenade slots, and heavy shield compatibility, plus a passive that restores two health every five seconds, paused for 30 seconds whenever you take damage. The grenade slots and heavy shield make it the frame for pushing fights and ARC encounters, at the cost of the smallest backpack of the three top picks.

Looking for armor? ARC Raiders doesn't have armor pieces to pick. Your protection is the shield (Light, Medium or Heavy), and a shield cuts a share of each hit rather than adding extra health. The Light Shield works with every augment; Medium and Heavy need specific augments and slow you down, which is why choosing your defense really means choosing your augment first.

Screenshot: ARC Raiders Steam store page

Surviving a contact like this is where your augment's shield compatibility earns its slot. A Combat frame lets you run a heavier shield and trade fire; a Looting frame bets on never being seen in the first place.

How to get augments

You acquire augments three ways. The first is general looting: lower-tier frames (Mark I and II) turn up regularly in containers, so you will have a usable augment early without much effort. The second is taking them off downed players (our guide to other Raiders covers when that fight is worth it), which is how you upgrade fast in PvP-heavy zones. The third, and the one that matters for the Mark III frames, is crafting.

Epic Mark III frames require a learned augment blueprint before the recipe unlocks. Blueprint drops are random, but the container type matters: augment blueprints mostly come out of Security containers, and only rarely out of Medical ones. Blueprints for rare and epic items also show up more often during double Major Map Conditions. If you are hunting a specific Mark III frame, open every Security container on your route; the maps guide lists each map's unlock and difficulty. Once you have the blueprint, the frame is crafted at Gear Bench 3 (the Survivor takes 2 Advanced Electrical Components and 3 Processors).

Step-by-step: choose and craft an augment

1. Pick the frame category that matches the run: Looting for inventory and extraction value, Tactical for gadgets and shield control, or Combat for fights.
2. Open Security containers (and the occasional Medical one) until the Mark III blueprint drops, then confirm the frame's shield compatibility before spending materials.
3. Craft the frame at Gear Bench 3 and pair it with a shield tier the augment accepts; the official patch history can change those compatibility rules.
4. Re-evaluate the choice after a balance patch. Patch 1.29 changed Healing and Flanking, so an older tier-list recommendation may no longer describe the live trade-off.

Best augment by playstyle

Value-first / stealth runs: Looting Mark III Survivor. Maximize slots, weight, and safe pockets, avoid fights, and extract more per run than any other frame allows.

Aggressive / PvP and ARC pushing: Combat Mark III Aggressive. The heavy shield, grenade slots, and out-of-combat heal are built for players who plan to take and win contacts.

Gadget / support play: Tactical Mark III Defensive. The extra quick slots and the ability to use Shield Rechargers on the run suit players who lean on deployables and need to reset their shield mid-engagement.

Most experienced raiders keep more than one frame built and swap based on the zone and the goal of the run, rather than committing to a single augment for everything.

Current augment patch notes

This guide's frame recommendations should be read against the live balance history. In official Patch 1.29, Embark changed the Tactical Mk. 3 (Healing) Cloud of Renewal from a single-target effect to an area effect, increased its healing from 20 to 45, increased its cooldown from 30 seconds to 45 seconds, and changed the Combat Mk. 3 (Flanking) shield capacity to accept Medium Shields. Live Update 1.45 on September 8 contained general fixes and progression changes rather than a new augment rebalance; Frozen Trail arrived on October 8. Check the in-game tooltip if a later balance pass changes a frame's numbers.

Related Reading

• ARC Raiders Crafting Guide: how to turn augment blueprints into Mark III frames, plus the materials each tier needs.
• ARC Raiders Skill Tree Tier List: the separate passive progression system and which nodes to prioritize.
• ARC Raiders Weapons Tier List: which weapons to pair with the augment frame you pick.
• ARC Raiders Loot Guide: What to Keep, Sell, Scrap: how to fill the backpack your Looting frame just gave you with the highest-value items.
• ARC Raiders Best Solo Loadouts 2026: how an augment frame fits a complete solo kit alongside weapons, shields, and gadgets.
• ARC Raiders Queen Boss Guide: where to hit the Queen and what to bring before you try.
• ARC Raiders Maps Guide: All 7 Maps, Unlocks and Difficulty: each map's unlock rule, difficulty and duration, including Pendola Pass.
• ARC Raiders Endgame Guide: What to Do After Frozen Trail: Trials, Gunsmith level 4 through the Outpost, Envoys stash space and the Expedition pause.
• ARC Raiders Frozen Trail: Everything in the 2.0 Update: what the October 8, 2026 update added and changed.

References

• ARC Raiders on Steam: official store page, patch notes, and updates from Embark Studios
• r/ARCRaiders: community augment tier discussions and Mark III frame comparisons
• ARC Raiders lists at $39.99 on Steam at this audit. Sales and edition pricing rotate, so check the official store page before buying.
• ARC Raiders Patch Notes 1.29.0: official augment balance changes, including Cloud of Renewal and Combat Mk. 3 (Flanking) shield compatibility.
• The Fourth Expedition: official Mark III blueprint reward list naming Survivor, Defensive, and Flanking.
• Live Update 1.45.0: current September 8 live-update notes and the October 8 Frozen Trail timing.
• ARC Raiders official YouTube and official X: current developer channels.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are augments in ARC Raiders? Augments are the frames you equip that define your loadout's core stats: backpack slots, weight limit, safe pockets, quick-use slots, and which shield tiers you can run. Some add a deployable slot or a passive. They are gear, not a skill tree, so the frame you bring shapes whether a run is built for fighting, looting, or utility.

What is the best augment in ARC Raiders? The Looting Mark III Survivor for most players: 20 backpack slots, 80 kg weight limit, three safe pockets, five quick slots, and a deployable slot. It extracts the most value while still leaving room for utility. For shield control, the Tactical Mark III Defensive; for fighting, the Combat Mark III Aggressive.

What are the three augment types? Combat (shield compatibility and combat advantages, less inventory), Looting (maximum backpack slots and weight, weaker shield), and Tactical (most quick-use slots, smaller backpacks). Pick the type that matches how you want to play the raid.

How do you get augments in ARC Raiders? Loot them from containers, take them off downed players, or craft them. Epic Mark III frames need a learned blueprint first, and augment blueprints mostly drop from Security containers, rarely from Medical ones. Mark I and II frames appear regularly through general looting early on.

Do augments affect your shield? Yes. Each augment caps which shield tiers you can equip. Combat frames tend to allow heavy shields and Looting frames mostly trade shield compatibility for inventory. The Tactical Mark III Defensive takes Heavy shields and lets you use Shield Rechargers while running.

Should I use a Combat, Looting, or Tactical augment? Match it to the run. Looting for maximum extraction when you can avoid fights, Combat for aggressive play with shield uptime and grenades, Tactical for gadget-heavy or support play. Most players keep more than one frame and swap by zone.