ARC Raiders Melee Damage Trial Guide

The ARC Raiders melee damage trial asks you to hit robots with your hands. For points. In a game full of guns. The 3-star threshold sits at 3,000 score. A single Shredder gives you ~2,900. You are one enemy away from done: assuming you don't die because you forgot you're in melee range of a machine that does not respect your personal space.

Loadout

This is not a free-loadout trial if you want anything above 3,000. The best loadout for ARC Raiders Trials comes down to one resource: Adrenaline Shots. Stack as many as physically possible. Everything else is backup.

• Survivor MK.3 Augment: non-negotiable
• Medium Shield + 5 Shield Rechargers: you are punching an industrial drone
• 10+ Adrenaline Shots: your entire score output depends on these
• 5–10 Bandages: backup, for when a Shredder reminds you of physics
• Any gun + ammo: insurance policy, not a plan

Free loadout gets you the minimum 3-star. Everything beyond that requires real investment. Your call.

Open the ARC Raiders skill tree before you load in. You need exactly one perk.

Effortless Swing lives in the Conditioning branch. It turns 7 swings per stamina bar into 11. Combined with Adrenaline Shots, this is the only stamina management ARC Raiders optimization you need for this trial. Sky-Clearing Swing is gated behind it anyway, so unlock Effortless Swing first and decide from there.

Score is awarded per hit and per damage dealt. Small ARC units: Ticks, Pops: give you 10 points a swing. Shredder weak points ARC Raiders give you 150. The math is not subtle.

Stella Montis: The Correct Map

The Stella Montis ARC Raiders guide approach is straightforward: load in, find a Shredder spawn with nearby hard cover, bait the Shredder to your position, and start punching its head. That is the entire strategy. You are not discovering fire here.

Shredders on Stella Montis spawn consistently, have predictable patrol routes, and their attack pattern: specifically the 360-degree shotgun burst: can be neutralized completely by stepping behind cover at the right moment. Identify the wind-up, duck, come back out, resume hitting.

Step-by-Step

1. Load Stella Montis. Normal conditions are fine. Use aggression-based matchmaking for a friendlier lobby.
2. Find a Shredder spawn point with solid cover: a wall, container, or structure edge: within immediate reach.
3. Bait the Shredder toward your cover position by walking directly at it. This locks it into an attack pattern you can exploit.
4. Use right-click (PC) or L2/left trigger (controller) exclusively: this is the heavy swing that targets the head. Every hit: ~150 points. Body hits are ~70. Aim up.
5. When stamina drops, pop an Adrenaline Shot mid-swing cycle. Do not wait for empty.
6. When the Shredder winds up its wide burst, step behind cover. Step out. Resume.
7. Full Shredder kill: ~2,900 score. Move to the next one.

Solo uncontested run ceiling: 70,000+ score. The limit is your Adrenaline Shot supply, not the Shredders.

If Stella Montis is contested or you prefer Buried City, the Bastion stun melee strategy works cleanly. The Bastion has a leg joint. Shoot it. The Bastion falls over. Circle behind it. Hit the yellow canister on its back with your Raider Tool repeatedly. When it recovers, use a Photoelectric Cloak, step back, and repeat the cycle. The canister is the weak point; the leg joint is your entry ticket.

Bastions appear near the Hospital or main street Santa Maria Houses in Buried City. Both locations have good cover. The Spaceport Hidden Bunker event sometimes clusters multiple Bastions: time-efficient if you can hit the event window.

Squad Play

The ARC Raiders Trials squad strategy for this challenge is exactly the solo strategy, multiplied. Each player farms a separate Shredder simultaneously. Scores are individual: your teammate destroying their Shredder does not dilute yours. The only variable is lobby aggression: use friendly-lobby matchmaking so your team is not competing with hostile players for the same spawns. Coordinate positions before loading in.