12-09-2025, 04:14 AM
If you have been playing Arc Raiders for a while, you have probably noticed the Trials tab sitting there on the menu next to your ARC Raiders Items and other bits and pieces, and it is not just some side activity you can ignore. Trials is basically the main competitive mode in the game, where you are thrown into five specific challenges that rotate every week and you are ranked against everyone else. Every time you clear one of those weekly tasks, you score points for that challenge, and that single best run is what pushes you up, or leaves you stuck, on the leaderboard.
How The Scoring Really Works
A lot of players dive in thinking they can just spam runs and slowly climb, but it does not work that way at all. The system only cares about your personal best score for each challenge in that weekly rotation, so ten average runs are worth less than one great one. You are constantly chasing that one attempt where the route feels clean, nobody wipes, and the kills and objectives line up just right. That also means you do not need to burn yourself out doing the same thing over and over; you are better off resetting fast if a run goes bad early, then saving your focus for attempts that actually have a shot at beating your current high score.
Map Conditions And Double Points
The big twist is how much the map conditions matter. When special modifiers like Night Raid, Electromagnetic Storm or the Hidden Bunker event pop up, your Trial Score can double for that run, and this is where people who know what they are doing pull away from the pack. Running Trials on a calm, clear map is basically practice mode once you understand this. The smart play is to keep an eye on the rotation, wait for those stormy or dark conditions to appear, and pounce when they do. It feels rough at first because enemies hit harder and visibility is worse, but the scoring boost is so strong that normal weather starts to feel like a waste if you are going for those higher brackets.
Why You Should Not Go Solo
There is also the simple fact that Trials is tuned around squads, not solo heroes, and that catches people out. Running with two other players does not just keep you alive longer; it massively changes the score potential because the game shares the score across the entire squad. If one teammate is great at clearing mobs fast while another focuses on objectives and callouts, everyone benefits from the combined performance. You can get away with more mistakes, revive each other when things go sideways, and keep pushing a run that would have ended instantly if you were alone. If you are serious about rank, you want at least a duo you trust, mics on, and a basic plan for who handles what before you load into the trial.
Why The Rewards Are Worth The Grind
The reward structure is split, and it is important to know what you are really grinding for week after week. Each challenge gives its own weekly reward for hitting certain score thresholds, usually some kind of loot box that can drop gear, currency or blueprints, and these are nice if you are still building up your account. The real motivation though comes from the seasonal rewards, which kick in based on your overall rank when the season wraps up. These are the items people check first when they inspect your profile, the stuff that shows you actually pushed through the rough weeks and did not just log in for a few casual runs, so if you care about how your character looks or want bragging rights alongside your stash of cheap ARC Raiders Items, Trials is where you earn that reputation.
How The Scoring Really Works
A lot of players dive in thinking they can just spam runs and slowly climb, but it does not work that way at all. The system only cares about your personal best score for each challenge in that weekly rotation, so ten average runs are worth less than one great one. You are constantly chasing that one attempt where the route feels clean, nobody wipes, and the kills and objectives line up just right. That also means you do not need to burn yourself out doing the same thing over and over; you are better off resetting fast if a run goes bad early, then saving your focus for attempts that actually have a shot at beating your current high score.
Map Conditions And Double Points
The big twist is how much the map conditions matter. When special modifiers like Night Raid, Electromagnetic Storm or the Hidden Bunker event pop up, your Trial Score can double for that run, and this is where people who know what they are doing pull away from the pack. Running Trials on a calm, clear map is basically practice mode once you understand this. The smart play is to keep an eye on the rotation, wait for those stormy or dark conditions to appear, and pounce when they do. It feels rough at first because enemies hit harder and visibility is worse, but the scoring boost is so strong that normal weather starts to feel like a waste if you are going for those higher brackets.
Why You Should Not Go Solo
There is also the simple fact that Trials is tuned around squads, not solo heroes, and that catches people out. Running with two other players does not just keep you alive longer; it massively changes the score potential because the game shares the score across the entire squad. If one teammate is great at clearing mobs fast while another focuses on objectives and callouts, everyone benefits from the combined performance. You can get away with more mistakes, revive each other when things go sideways, and keep pushing a run that would have ended instantly if you were alone. If you are serious about rank, you want at least a duo you trust, mics on, and a basic plan for who handles what before you load into the trial.
Why The Rewards Are Worth The Grind
The reward structure is split, and it is important to know what you are really grinding for week after week. Each challenge gives its own weekly reward for hitting certain score thresholds, usually some kind of loot box that can drop gear, currency or blueprints, and these are nice if you are still building up your account. The real motivation though comes from the seasonal rewards, which kick in based on your overall rank when the season wraps up. These are the items people check first when they inspect your profile, the stuff that shows you actually pushed through the rough weeks and did not just log in for a few casual runs, so if you care about how your character looks or want bragging rights alongside your stash of cheap ARC Raiders Items, Trials is where you earn that reputation.