In Arc Raiders, your kit isn't "nice to have," it's the difference between walking out with loot or getting melted on the way to extract. People will argue maps and squads all day, but gun choice is where fights start. The Hairpin is the one that always sets things off, and it's easy to see why when you're counting ammo and debating whether to spend your last ARC Raiders Coins on something safer.

Why new players bounce off it

Pick up a base Hairpin and you'll probably hate it. Most folks do. In those first tense raids, you want a weapon that gives you confidence the second you pull the trigger. The Hairpin doesn't. The shots feel light, and the time-to-drop on anything with real plating is rough. You end up doing this awkward dance: dumping a mag, backing off, reloading, then realising you've barely moved the needle. It's not even just the damage. It's the vibe. When a gun sounds and feels like it's tickling a machine that's trying to stomp you into the dirt, you start making worse decisions.

The Level 4 argument

Then the defenders show up, and they're not completely wrong. Their whole point is that the Hairpin is a project, not a pickup. You grind it. You stick with it when it's annoying. And once it hits Level 4, the weapon stops behaving like a pea-shooter and starts acting like a purpose-built tool. The rhythm changes. You can lean into weak points, keep pressure on Arc enemies, and suddenly you're not panicking every time something armored rolls in. It still won't carry sloppy play, but it rewards clean tracking and patience in a way a lot of "easy" guns don't.

So where does it really belong

This is why so many veterans land it in the middle of the pack. Not trash, not god-tier. More like a C-tier gun with an A-tier moment if you've done the work. If you're the type who rotates weapons a lot, you'll never see the payoff and you'll feel cheated. If you like mastering one thing and squeezing value out of it, the Hairpin can be genuinely satisfying. It's also a question of raid goals. Farming machines? It makes more sense. Scrapping with players and needing immediate burst? You might want anything else.

Making the grind feel worth it

If you're set on committing, plan around the ugly early stretch. Bring a backup that can bail you out, and don't pretend the base Hairpin is something it isn't. Upgrade when you can, and treat each level like a checkpoint, not a miracle fix. Some players even streamline their progression by topping up for gear and upgrade needs through marketplaces like RSVSR, which focuses on game currency and item services so you can spend more time raiding and less time stuck in the same loop.