Recent tests by YouTuber ModerNik have put Arc Raiders’ attachment economy under the microscope and come away with a clear, inconvenient truth for hoarders: common and uncommon mods often deliver most of the practical benefit while rarer parts demand expensive materials for marginal gains. ModerNik methodically tested every stock, grip, compensator, muzzle brake, silencer, mag, extended barrel, and Anvil splitter, tracking recoil, rate of fire, and other stats down to individual frames. The result is a repeatable pattern across weapon types: mods do what they advertise, but the jump in effectiveness between rarer tiers shows steeply diminishing returns.
The tests break down how different mod families change recoil behavior and dispersion. Stocks can tighten recoil recovery time and reduce dispersion, which is the measurable size of your reticle bloom. That matters more on weapons like the Anvil hand cannon, where a single missed shot is costly. Recoil itself has vertical and horizontal components, and ModerNik visualized how attachments smooth the S-shaped climb many guns make while firing.
Numbers matter here. ModerNik reports a common grip cut vertical recoil by 20 percent, an uncommon by 30 percent, and a rare by 40 percent, while an epic grip in one test returned 30 percent because it bundled other tradeoffs. Muzzle brakes showed a 15 percent reduction on common, 20 percent on uncommon, and 25 percent on rare. Percentage-point gains are predictable, but the proportional improvement shrinks at each step up the rarity ladder.
That shrinking return becomes painful when you price upgrades. Common and uncommon mods are cheap to craft, but epic and rare blueprints need scarce parts. ModerNik calls out an epic shotgun silencer that requires two mod components and eight wires; each mod component, per the Arc Raiders wiki, costs two springs and two mechanical components. Those inputs add up fast if you plan to fit multiple weapons.
The practical takeaway is simple: if you find a rare or epic mod in the field, slot it or recycle it based on your needs, but you probably shouldn’t burn limited crafting resources chasing tiny percentage gains. ModerNik’s work supports what many players already suspect, most of the usable improvement is available at lower rarities, and the crafting premium on top-end gear is steep.
That stance makes a lot of my own uncommon blueprints feel less embarrassing. High-rarity gear still has its moments and looks nice, but when comparing cost to benefit, common and uncommon attachments are often the smarter, more economical play.
Watch ModerNik’s full test on YouTube to see the raw footage and visual recoil patterns:
For players tracking the game’s live changes and new content, ConsolePCGaming has been following Arc Raiders updates and events; read about the upcoming community map unlock and how it ties into the game’s loop in our coverage of Embark’s Stella Montis event.
Join the conversation and tell CPG what attachments you swear by on X, Bluesky, and YouTube.
ARC Raiders
Developed by Embark Studios
