ARC Raiders: the Speranza Workshop guide — crafting, station upgrades and weapon mods (2026)

Between two surface runs, everything happens in Speranza. Toledo's old underground district isn't just scenery: it's where you turn your loot into weapons, healing items and gadgets, where you upgrade your stations and prepare for the next expedition. Many Raiders spend hours collecting components without ever optimizing their workshop, then wonder why they can't craft the items that matter. This guide brings order to all of that: the seven workshop stations, the Gunsmith's weapon mods, the materials to prioritize, the merchants, and above all the most cost-effective upgrade order for this Season 5 "Scorta" (patch 1.36/1.37). The goal: head into a raid with gear you crafted yourself, not gear you settled for.

Speranza: the beating heart of the Raiders' hub

Speranza is your base between each surface incursion (Topside). It's here that you choose your map, recruit teammates and track your Feats and active quests. The hub is built around four essential hubs. The deployment center launches your raids and displays ongoing objectives. The Stash stores your gear: it starts at 64 slots and climbs up to 280 slots through upgrades paid for in Cred. The Raider Den, your personal quarters, evolves as you level up and showcases part of your Stash. Finally, the Workshop concentrates all crafting activities.

One detail beginners love: Scrappy, a rooster who has taken up residence in the workshop, passively generates basic materials while you're away. This isn't a cosmetic gimmick, it's a small source of income you shouldn't overlook when you come back from a raid empty-handed. Get in the habit of collecting his output every time you return to Speranza: accumulated over an evening, it's enough to kick off an entire upgrade.

Finally, keep in mind that Speranza is a living space that becomes richer as you progress. New merchants, new quests and new dialogue appear as you earn the community's trust. This hub isn't just a menu in disguise: it's the narrative and economic backbone of your playthrough, and neglecting it means heading to the surface with a permanent handicap.

The workshop: seven stations to level up

The workshop is built around seven stations, each upgradable across three tiers. You start with the free Workbench; the other six must be built using specific materials, then leveled up to unlock more advanced recipes. Here's what each station does and the cost of its first tier.

Remember the logic: the higher a station's level, the wider the catalog of craftable items, but many high-level recipes also require a blueprint learned beforehand. Upgrading a station without owning the corresponding plan therefore unlocks nothing magical — the two go hand in hand.

The Workbench and the Refiner: the foundation of all production

The Workbench is your starting point: ammunition, basic weapons, and elemental consumables. Players tend to abandon it as soon as they have something better, but crafting your own ammo remains the most underrated economy in the game — repeatedly buying rounds from Tian Wen ends up draining your wallet.

The Refiner, meanwhile, is the backbone of any power progression. It converts your raw materials into refined components like ARC Alloy, essential for starting the Medical Lab, the Explosives Station, and the Utility Station at level 1. Without an operational Refiner, you'll quickly find yourself stuck begging merchants for ARC Alloy. Build it early: 60 Metal Parts and 5 ARC Powercells is an investment that pays off within two or three raids.

The Gunsmith and weapon mods: the slots you need to know

The Gunsmith is the go-to station for anyone who really wants to make an impact in combat. This is where advanced weapons and, above all, weapon mods are crafted. Each mod can be obtained in three ways: crafted at the Gunsmith, picked up Topside, or bought from Tian Wen. The game offers seven categories of slots, but each weapon only accepts its compatible slots — always check the weapon's info sheet before farming the wrong components.

As for materials, mods require a mix of Plastic, Metal, and Rubber Parts, as well as rarer pieces: Mechanical components, Mod components, Wires, Steel springs, and Duct tape. These intermediate components alone justify leveling up the Gunsmith to level 2 as soon as possible: higher-tier mods turn a decent weapon into a true cleanup tool against ARC machines.

Farming materials: the resource map

The entire crafting system relies on a handful of recurring materials. Knowing them means knowing what to prioritize picking up instead of filling your bag with trinkets. Here are the resources that come up most often in station and mod recipes.

The winning habit: systematically loot drawers, coffee machines, toolboxes and ARC machine carcasses. Common materials can also be recycled — a useless item broken down is worth more than a wasted Stash slot. Hold on tight to ARC Alloy and ARC Powercell, as they're what unlock the second wave of stations.

Speranza's traders: who sells what

You can't craft everything yourself at the start. The hub's traders fill in the gaps, in exchange for Cred. Each has their own specialty, and knowing their inventory saves you from running from stall to stall.

• Tian Wen: ammo, weapons and weapon mods — your first go-to when you're missing a Gunsmith recipe.
• Lance: medical supplies, as a stopgap while your Medical Lab isn't upgraded yet.
• Apollo: Quick Use items, explosives and gadgets.
• Shani (head of security): binoculars and Raider Hatch Keys, handy for opening certain access points on the surface.
• Celeste: trades your Assorted Seeds for crafting materials — a swap not to be overlooked.

Around them orbit NPCs like Olayemi the craftswoman, Deadshot David, Zahir, Eleonora, Valentina and Gianni, who dole out advice and quest leads. Take the time to talk to them: several blueprints and progression objectives run through them.

The optimal upgrade order: the roadmap

You have limited materials and seven stations all demanding them. Here's the priority order that maximizes your survival and economic self-sufficiency in the early hours.

1. Refiner — absolute priority: it produces the ARC Alloy needed for almost everything else.
2. Gunsmith level 1 — your weapons and first mods, the biggest immediate power gain.
3. Medical Lab level 1 — self-sufficiency in healing keeps you from dying stupidly and endlessly buying from Lance.
4. Gear Bench level 1 — armor and shields to withstand the heaviest ARC machines.
5. Gunsmith level 2 — higher-tier mods, once your rare resources keep pace.
6. Utility and Explosives Stations — gadgets and explosives, valuable in a trio but less vital solo.

This order is based on a simple principle: secure your internal production first (Refiner, healing, weapons), then expand toward tactical comfort. There's no point upgrading the Explosives Station to level 3 if your Medical Lab is still stuck at square one.

Blueprints and progression: unlocking advanced recipes

Upgrading a station isn't always enough: many high-level recipes stay locked until you've learned the corresponding blueprint. These plans are earned by progressing through quests, exploring certain surface POIs (Buried City, Dam Battlegrounds, Space Center, Blue Gate, Stella Montis, Riven Tides) and through the current season's rewards. In Season 5 "Scorta", Trials progression hands out its tiers for free — take advantage of that to tick off the objectives that grant weapon and mod blueprints rather than diving headfirst into farming.

One piece of cross-cutting advice: always sync your station upgrades with the blueprints you already own. Nothing is more frustrating than spending 6 ARC Alloy on a tier you won't be able to craft anything with for several hours. Check your list of unlocked recipes before every upgrade.

Crafting mistakes to absolutely avoid

Even experienced Raiders fall into the same traps. Here are five that cost dearly, both in resources and in time spent on the surface.

• Neglecting the Refiner: without it, you're dependent on traders for ARC Alloy, and your progression gets choked off as early as the second wave of stations.
• Upgrading a station without a blueprint: spending rare materials on a tier you can't get anything out of for hours is the most common waste.
• Buying ammo on repeat: Creds drain at a frightening rate when you restock at Tian Wen's after every raid instead of having the Workbench craft them for next to nothing.
• Throwing away common materials: recycle instead of emptying your bag; even a mundane part ends up being missed when it's time to build a station.
• Ignoring weapon mods: heading into a raid with a bare weapon against the toughest ARC machines means giving up a decisive edge in recoil, stability, and magazine capacity.

One last habit worth cultivating: anticipate your needs before deploying. Check your list of unlocked recipes, spot the material you're missing, then target the POI or zone where it's abundant. This turns every incursion into a precise resupply mission rather than disorganized looting, and your workshop progresses at a steady pace.

Conclusion: make Speranza your edge

The difference between a Raider who survives and a Raider who thrives isn't decided on the surface alone: it's built in Speranza's workshop. Level up the Refiner first, secure the Gunsmith and the Medical Lab, jealously guard your ARC Alloy and your ARC Powercell, and let Scrappy work while you sleep. Talk to the traders to cover your gaps, hunt for blueprints in the POIs, and align every upgrade with the recipes you already own. Do it methodically, and you'll soon head into raids with gear entirely crafted by your own hands — the only true luxury in the ruins of Toledo.