Heavy ammo damage trials in ARC Raiders are much easier when the route, target priority, and extraction plan all work together. This guide breaks down two reliable ways to post a strong score: a high-ceiling Shredder loop on Stella Montis and a safer flyer-focused route in Buried City. The goal is to help players convert ammo into points efficiently, reduce wasted time, and avoid losing a strong run late.

The key idea is simple: do not judge targets only by their maximum score value. Judge them by how quickly you can secure the damage, how often they spawn, and how likely other raiders are to interfere. That approach makes these routes useful whether you are pushing a leaderboard score, finishing a seasonal challenge, or simply trying to make better use of your heavy weapons and ARC Raiders crafting Materials.

How to Think About Heavy Ammo Trial Scoring

The biggest mistake in this kind of challenge is chasing the largest ARC units every time they appear. High-value enemies look attractive on paper, but they are often slow to kill, dangerous to fight, and easy for other players to contest. If another raider chips in, your point return can drop hard.

A better method is to compare points per time spent. Mid-value enemies and dense small-unit packs often outperform large targets because they spawn more consistently and can be cleared faster. If one tougher enemy is worth less than several smaller flyers you can eliminate in the same time window, the swarm is usually the better option.

This is why both routes in this guide work. Stella Montis excels when multiple Shredders are available in a tight loop. Buried City becomes strong when flyer density stays high and you can keep farming without interruption.

Recommended Loadout for Heavy Ammo Runs

Your build should support three things: sustained damage, quick repositioning, and emergency recovery. The exact inventory can vary, but the structure should stay similar.

Primary Weapons

• Patina for higher sustained output and better total ammo efficiency over a long run.
• Anvil for strong burst against weak points and excellent performance into smaller ARC targets.

If you do not have the Patina unlocked through ARC Raiders Blueprints, running double Anvil is a practical substitute. The tradeoff is durability. The Anvil burns through its usable lifespan much faster, so plan around spare weapons or a shorter route.

Support Gear

• Adrenaline shots for tempo and emergency escapes
• Healing items and shield replacements
• Photoelectric cloak for disengaging or crossing exposed lanes
• Snap hook for vertical repositioning
• Zip lines for route compression and safer extraction movement

Bring more heavy ammo than you think you need. These runs are often limited by weapon condition and ammunition management, not by enemy availability. That makes ARC Raiders progression resources and ammo crafting prep part of the challenge itself.

Best Stella Montis Route for High Heavy Ammo Scores

Stella Montis is the higher-risk, higher-reward option. It can be rough because of player traffic, awkward fights, and late-match pressure, but it also offers one of the best concentrated Shredder loops for heavy ammo scoring.

Why Stella Montis Works

Shredders are the core of this route. They offer a strong balance between score value, kill speed, and repeatable spawns. Compared with chasing a larger ARC unit that may be contested or take too long to finish, Shredders give a more stable point flow.

The best Stella Montis areas for this strategy are:

• Cultural Archives
• Robotic Sandbox Lobby
• Robotic Sandbox A
• Control room above Robotic Sandbox A
• Robotic Sandbox B
• Metro
• Lobby
• Atrium
• Medical Research

Atrium can be especially valuable if multiple Shredders spawn there. When that happens, it can become the anchor of the whole run.

A consistent loop matters more than improvising every room. A strong route is:

• Cultural Archives
• Robotic Sandboxes
• Metro
• Lobby
• Atrium
• Back down toward Cultural Archives

This loop is efficient because travel time stays low and enemy respawns often line up by the time the circuit is complete. If a room is empty, do not stall. Keep moving forward until you find active spawns, then consider reversing direction once enough time has passed for the missed area to repopulate.

That small adjustment is one of the easiest ways to maintain score pace during contested lobbies or imperfect spawn cycles.

How to Kill Shredders Efficiently

Weak-point discipline is everything here. Do not dump heavy ammo into the angled armor panels. Those sections absorb too much damage and slow the kill dramatically.

Instead, aim for the thrusters. Breaking two of the three thrusters makes the Shredder much easier to control and finish. This reduces movement pressure and improves your chance of securing the full elimination before another threat joins the fight.

As a rough benchmark, the Patina can take a little over one magazine to finish a Shredder, while the Anvil can do the job in a handful of well-placed shots. The Patina is smoother over a full run, but the Anvil is extremely efficient if your aim is disciplined.

Managing Minor Enemies on Stella

Ticks, Fireballs, and Pops are not major score targets, but they should not be ignored. Their point values are low, yet they create chaos during Shredder fights and can turn a winning run into a wipe.

• Clear Ticks before they flank you
• Remove Fireballs that can pressure your movement
• Clean up Pops if they block your exit path

The rule is simple: do not chase them for points, clear them for safety.

Night Raid vs Day Raid

This route is strongest during a night raid. Spawn density tends to be better, pressure ramps harder, and the total number of scoring opportunities is higher. The downside is that the final minutes become much more dangerous.

If you are running Stella at night, start planning your exit earlier than usual. Five minutes left is the minimum for most players. Ten minutes is safer if the extraction point is awkward.

Loading Bay is the most disruptive extraction for this route because it can force a longer break from your loop. Seed Vault and Metro are much easier to integrate. The ideal play is to shape your final rotation so it naturally drifts toward your extraction rather than forcing a full disengage from the center of the map.

Best Buried City Route for Safer Consistent Points

If Stella Montis feels too contested, Buried City is the better fallback. It may have a slightly lower ceiling in some runs, but it is often more consistent because the route is simpler and the enemies are easier to process quickly.

Take a look at: our broader damage trial route guide

Why Buried City Works

The strength of Buried City is Oldtown. This area can produce dense waves of smaller flying ARC enemies, especially Hornets, Fireflies, and Wasps. Those targets do not look impressive individually, but they add up fast when you are farming uninterrupted.

This route also benefits from Snitches. If you aggro them correctly and let them call reinforcements before finishing them, you create extra scoring opportunities without needing to roam far from your position.

Buried City Positioning

Stay on the rooftops around Oldtown. Vertical control makes the route safer, keeps your sightlines open, and lets you track incoming flyers before they collapse on your position.

However, do not sit on a roof without an escape route. Pick positions with fast drop-down access into attics or nearby cover. A stun from a Hornet followed by close pressure from another flyer can end the run quickly if you have nowhere to break line of sight.

This is the most important mechanical detail of the Buried City route. Smaller flyers often give their best point return when you eliminate them before they crash to the ground.

If you break their wings and they fall, one of two things happens:

• If they detonate immediately, you usually still get full value.
• If they spin on the ground and bleed out over time, environmental damage can reduce the score you receive.

Because of that, center-mass damage is often the better play. Let the armor chip off, then finish the body cleanly instead of forcing a crash. On these targets, the Anvil is especially efficient and can stretch your ammo economy better than the Patina.

When to Engage Larger ARC in Buried City

You do not need large targets to make this route work. In fact, the most reliable version focuses almost entirely on smaller ARC swarms. If a Bombarder or Rocketeer is active and already aggroed onto another player, adding safe chip damage can be worthwhile. It is bonus score with less risk because the enemy is not fully focused on you.

Just do not let those opportunities pull you out of the route. The strength of Oldtown is repetition, not hero plays.

Extraction Planning in Buried City

Buried City has a major quality-of-life advantage: nearby hatch access. If you bring the proper key, you can cut the run cleanly once you are satisfied with your score or once your ammo and durability are getting thin. That short escape path is one reason this route feels better for players who want a lower-variance option.

Anvil vs Patina for Heavy Ammo Trials

Both weapons are viable, but they reward different styles.

Use the Anvil if you want:

• Fast weak-point kills on Shredders
• Excellent efficiency against smaller flyers
• Cleaner burst windows during rooftop defense

Use the Patina if you want:

• Better sustained output over a full match
• Fewer weapon swaps during long loops
• More comfortable handling when farming repeated targets

The main drawback of the Anvil is durability. If you rely on it heavily, expect to bring backups and budget your ARC Raiders upgrade Materials accordingly. The Patina is more forgiving across a long raid, but the Anvil often wins on raw point efficiency against the right enemy types.

Choosing Between Stella Montis and Buried City

Pick the map based on lobby conditions and your confidence level.

Take a look at: this enemy priority breakdown for damage trials

• You want the highest possible score ceiling
• You are comfortable fighting Shredders repeatedly
• You can navigate a more dangerous late game
• You have enough ammo and durable heavy gear

Choose Buried City when:

• You want safer, steadier point gain
• You prefer farming flyers from strong positions
• You need easier extraction access
• You are working with more limited heavy weapon durability

For many players, Buried City will actually be the more practical choice. Stella is explosive when it works, but Buried City is easier to repeat and less dependent on favorable map flow.

Preparation Tips Before You Queue

A strong trial run starts before deployment. Make sure your inventory supports the plan.

• Craft enough heavy ammo for the full route, not just the opening half
• Bring spare healing and shields for prolonged PvE pressure
• Carry mobility tools to shorten rotations and secure exits
• Use backup heavy weapons if your main gun has low durability
• Do not waste rare gear if the lobby feels too contested early

If you are short on ammo components or other ARC Raiders Materials, it is often smarter to farm first and push the trial later rather than force a weak attempt with limited supplies. Efficient prep matters just as much as aim.

Common Mistakes That Lower Your Score

• Chasing large ARC units that take too long to finish
• Shooting armored sections instead of weak points
• Standing still on rooftops without an escape path
• Overstaying the route and dying during extraction
• Ignoring low-value enemies that can disrupt major fights
• Breaking flyer wings too often and losing full elimination value

Avoiding these errors will usually improve your score more than any minor weapon tweak.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Stella Montis or Buried City better for heavy ammo trials?

Stella Montis has the higher ceiling because Shredders can be farmed in a strong loop, but Buried City is often safer and more consistent for solo players.

Which heavy weapon is better, Anvil or Patina?

The Anvil is better for burst efficiency and smaller flyers, while the Patina is usually better for sustained farming over a long raid.

Not usually. Smaller and mid-tier enemies often provide better score per minute because they are easier to secure and less likely to be contested.

Do night raids help this strategy?

Yes. Night raids generally offer more pressure and more scoring opportunities, especially on Stella Montis, but they also make extraction riskier.

What if I do not have the Patina unlocked?

Double Anvil works well. Just plan around durability, spare weapons, and enough ammo support from your stored loot and resources.