[Ark Raiders]A complete guide to the hidden city money strategy to achieve 5 million coins in the shortest possible time! A thorough explanation of the explosive route with an hourly wage of over 400,000 yen with free loadout[Latest version in December 2025]

To get the most out of Expedition Projects in Ark Raiders, it is essential that the total value of your vault and gold is worth 5 million coins. This Expedition is a large-scale event with a wipe, and completing it will earn you 5 permanent skill points. Many players are suffering from a lack of coins, but by understanding the appropriate money-making route, anyone can clear their goals in a short period of time.

In this article, we will explain in detail the fastest route around the “Buried City” map using free loadouts, in a format suitable for beginners to advanced players. This method requires zero investment in equipment, minimizes risk, and achieves high efficiency with approximately 30,000 coins per lap and a required time of less than 5 minutes. If you put it into practice, you can expect to earn more than 400,000 coins per hour.

1. The need for an expedition fund of 5 million coins and an approach to overcome the challenges of conventional monetary policy

The Ark Raiders Expedition Project is a major update event scheduled to take place around December 22, 2025. In this event, up to 5 permanent skill points will be awarded depending on the total assets at the time of sortie (value of items in storage + coins in possession). Specifically, you get 1 point for every 1 million coins worth, and you get the full benefit at 5 million coins. These skill points cannot be reassigned, so it is extremely important to secure them early. After an expedition, there is also a system in which the buff effect is strengthened for the next three expeditions, giving you a long-term advantage.

There are several issues with traditional money management methods. For example, selling materials by defeating an ARC (enemy machine) can be expected to yield a high reward, but the combat risk is high and the profit is likely to be offset by repair costs and ammunition consumption. Additionally, collecting Rocketeer Drivers and hunting Energy Cores during electromagnetic storm events are highly dependent on luck and are unstable. On the other hand, searching mainly in key rooms requires the cost of bleach tools, making it difficult for beginners. The solution to these problems is to use the free loadout to play around the Buried City. This map has many densely populated residential areas, and high-value items such as lockers and containers often appear. With free loadouts, there is no loss when you die, so you can play infinitely, and the pure rate of return is extremely high. In actual play data, it has been confirmed that there are many players who are stably earning more than 1 million coins by playing around for several hours a day.

Furthermore, during the Speranza period, the drop rate of epic and legendary items increases, and it is not uncommon for one lap to exceed 70,000 coins. This route has been established as a trend among overseas players, and its optimality is maintained even with the latest patch 1.4.0. Break through the coin scarcity wall and lay the foundation for maximizing the benefits of your expeditions.

2. Detailed explanation of the free loadout cycle mechanism and preparations

Free loadouts are low-risk options that can be selected at any time from the Ark Raiders launch menu. The only equipment you need is a basic pistol and minimal consumables, but there are no penalties for death. The key to taking advantage of this is the “Pickup & Extract'' strategy, which allows you to return immediately when your rucksack is full. Maximize turnover by keeping turnaround times under 5 minutes.

The first important thing to prepare for is choosing an augment. Equip the looting MK1 or MK2 augments to expand your backpack capacity to 18 slots. These augments can be obtained by exchanging the “Free Loadout Augments” available during free loadout sorties at Trader's Clinic. With an exchange rate of 1:1, it exhibits performance equivalent to uncommon and dramatically improves financial efficiency. Next, prioritize the red (survival type) or yellow (exploration type) skill tree. If you have security breaking skills, you will be able to unlock lockers faster.

The pre-departure checklist is as follows.

• Check backpack capacity: Ensure at least 12 slots.
• Map selection: Fixed buried town (random spawn location).
• Time of day: Aim during the night attack event (rare item probability increased).
• Restrictions on bringing in: Ammunition and medical supplies will be kept to a minimum (locally procured).

With this preparation, you can run high-speed rounds with zero risk, and instantly solve the coin shortage in the early stages. In fact, there are many cases where the free loadout alone covered the cost of expanding the storage and opened the entire workshop.

3. Full picture of the hidden city map and criteria for selecting the optimal spawn location

The Buried City is the most efficient area for money strategy in all of the Arc Raiders maps. The layout recreates a collapsed urban area, with densely packed homes, apartments, hospitals, and commercial facilities, and an abundance of lockers and shipping containers. There are a total of 26 weapon cases and 2 key rooms, making it a treasure trove of blueprints and expensive accessories. There are multiple hatch escape points in the center of the map, allowing for a quick return.

The spawn location is random, but it is directly linked to the optimal route. The southwest area (around Grandioso Apartment) is ideal, and the appearance rate is about 40%. The runner-up is the east side (hospital/Space Travel Company building), and the northeast area near the water gate is also a hidden high-efficiency spot. Immediately after spawning, scan your surroundings and head straight to a residential area. A feature of the map is that rare materials such as sentinel ignition cores tend to fall under highways and in slope areas, and can be collected at the same time.

The number of lockers in Buried City is 7-8 or more per area, and junk below uncommon is ignored in favor of accessories. The reason this map is so safe is because it has a low ARC encounter rate and medium player density. Perfect for beginners who want to avoid competitive terrain like Blue Gate.

4. Practical guide for the fastest route around Grandioso Apartments when starting from the southwest

When spawning in the southwest, immediately head to Grandioso Apartment. This apartment is the fastest collection spot and has a large concentration of accessory items inside. The route details are as follows.

1. After spawning, go down the slope to the apartment entrance (10 seconds).
2. From the lobby on the first floor, turn clockwise to unlock the three lockers (targeting the alarm clock and decorations).
3. Go up the stairs to the second floor and scavenge the container in the sleeping area (small device – snow globe).
4. Move to the rooftop and check the weapon case (rare weapons and blueprints).
5. If your backpack is full or 3 minutes have passed, you will return to the nearest hatch.

The expected return with this route is 30,000-50,000 coins and takes 3-4 minutes. The view from the rooftop is wide, making it easy to be wary of fishermen (third party intervention). Since it focuses on the wild area where bleach is not required, it is perfect for free loadouts. In the actual play video, we have confirmed cases where multiple epic accessories were collected in one lap.

Please be careful to open the door inside the apartment quietly and be sensitive to the sound of ARC's footsteps. If you make sure to return before the tank is full, you can maintain a 0% loss rate.

5. Developing multiple routes when starting on the east/northeast side and utilizing hidden spots of the water gates

When spawning on the east side, the order is Space Travel Company Building → Hospital → Library. Combining the locker route near the northeast water gate will double the efficiency. The specific steps are as follows.

1. Infiltrate the Space Travel Company building (lots of expensive accessories).
2. Search the weapon case on the roof of the adjacent hospital (valuable material).
3. Collect containers around the library (blueprints often appear).
4. Move to the northeast water gate and unlock the 7 lockers under the slope bus.
5. Escape through the hatch between Galleria.

This route takes 4 minutes per lap and has an expected value of 40,000 coins. The sluice locker is easily accessible without a key, and there is a hidden container inside the buried bus in the slope area. Adding detours such as Rosa Piazza Pharmacy and Santa Maria Houses will increase your earnings even more. Master the technique of breaking in through dormers.

ARC packs are more likely to appear on the northeast route, so avoid them first. Take advantage of ziplines to reduce travel time.

6. Complete list of high-sale items and priority collection criteria

The key to making money is selective collection of accessories. Below is a list of expensive items and their selling prices.

• Alarm clock: 2,500 coins
• Decorations (necklaces, etc.): 3,000-5,000 coins
• Small device: 4,000 coins
• Snow globe: 6,000 coins
• Epic accessories: 10,000+ coins

Immediately ignore anything less than uncommon or junk, and only stack things that are worth at least 1 slot. Legends are more likely to appear during night attacks, and one can cost over 100,000. The blueprint is worth 5,000 coins, so we recommend collecting it next. Check the criteria for determining junk on the trader sale screen, and always prioritize high value. If you keep this list in mind, you can increase your profitability by 20%.

7. Advanced tips to maximize lap efficiency and failure patterns to avoid

Tips for improving efficiency:

• When you unlock the skill “Security Breakthrough”, the locker opening time will be halved.
• The drop rate will increase with fixed night attacks (using Speranza event).
• It is possible to run on multiple accounts at the same time (if possible).
• If you use workshop alchemy together, you can convert materials to coins.
• Alternative map: Blue Gate Outer Gate Tunnel (faster but more risky)

Avoid failure:

• In order to prevent being greedy and exceeding the capacity, we will strictly adhere to the immediate return rule.
• In ARC combat, prioritize avoidance and run away without fighting.
• To prevent damage to fishermen, we will make sure to use doorstops and ensure visibility.
• Inefficient areas ignore areas other than the key room.

If you practice these things, you can stably achieve an hourly wage of 400,000 yen. Even in the latest posts, there are many reports of people who instantly cleared 5 million points using these tips.

8. Summary: Achieve complete conquest of the expedition by circumnavigating the hidden city and move on to the next stage

Surrounding the hidden city with a free loadout is the ultimate weapon in Ark Raiders' money strategy. If you focus on Grandioso Apartment and the water gate route and collect expensive accessories first, you can definitely reach 5 million coins. Start today with this method that will earn you over 400,000 yen per hour with zero risk. Earn 5 skill points on your expedition and enter the new season stronger. I sincerely hope that your Raider life will change dramatically. You can get more blueprints and rare materials by continuing to play, so please have fun as you progress.