An Arc Raiders player demonstrates how to kill a Bastion in 16 seconds without a Deadline—now I'm questioning my own skills

arc raiders
(Image credit: Embark Studios)

I am nothing if not a coward and a rat. Not in the sense that I'd be lurking around any extracts in Arc Raiders waiting to jump someone—I could never do something so evil—but in the way that I like to scuttle around in the shadows, staying out of fights, and attacking arcs from odd angles so they can't hurt me back. Like I said: a coward and a rat.

But some people don't have to stoop to such levels, as you can see with one Arc Raiders player, rI1975, who recently took us through a masterclass on how to destroy a Bastion with no Deadline mine in just 16 seconds.

How to kill a bastion in 16 seconds (without deadline). from r/ArcRaiders

"Too often I see people with hullcrackers or anvils just spending multiple minutes fighting Bastions, wasting ammo and time," rI1975 adds. "It's much easier than you think."

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I see your surgical take down of a Bastion and raise you my inherent fear of getting too close, missing a shot, and then getting squished? As other players pointed out in the comments this video makes it look way too easy.

One player manages to summarise my amazement: "You need to be wearing the doctor's outfit with this kind of surgical skin". While others just seem in awe of the accuracy and fearlessness of this player.

All it took to take the Bastion down in the end was three shots to its knee with a hullcracker, knocking it down, three shots to its core at the back to blow it open, and one brutal kill-shot into the internals of the Bastion itself. While it was a close call, from when the first shot hit it did indeed all only take 16 seconds to take it down.

Since Embark recently added the Nomadic Envoy, who only trades for big arc parts, learning how to quickly flatline Bastions is a useful skill, especially as they drop a tonne of cores, and so are one of the most efficient ways to grind valuable big arc parts.

I have certainly relied on Deadlines to take down bigger arcs since they were introduced, but the hullcracker is also a fantastic weapon that shouldn't be taken lightly, as the video above demonstrates. It was actually my favourite weapon from all the way back in the preview and has continued to be a stalwart in my stash ever since.

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Arc Raiders best weapons: Just don't lose them
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Arc Raiders quests: All the missions and how to beat 'em

Elie Gould
News Writer

Elie is a news writer with an unhealthy love of horror games—even though their greatest fear is being chased. When they're not screaming or hiding, there's a good chance you'll find them testing their metal in metroidvanias or just admiring their Pokemon TCG collection. Elie has previously worked at TechRadar Gaming as a staff writer and studied at JOMEC in International Journalism and Documentaries – spending their free time filming short docs about Smash Bros. or any indie game that crossed their path.

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