Best Solo Loadouts for Safe Stella Montis Farming (2026)

Best Loadouts for Safe Stella Montis Solo Runs in ARC Raiders 2026 — Complete Tier-by-Tier Build Guide

The biggest mistake solo players make on Stella Montis isn't the route they run or the time they drop in. It's the loadout they bring. Too expensive and one bad engagement wipes your session's profits. Too cheap and you can't handle the ARC enemies guarding the best loot. Too heavy and you're slow — and slow Raiders get killed in Stella Montis's narrow corridors before they even see who shot them.

The ideal solo Stella Montis loadout exists in a precise sweet spot: light enough to move fast, strong enough to handle ARC encounters, cheap enough that death never destroys your economy, and smart enough that your Safe Pocket guarantees profit even on your worst run.

This guide gives you five complete loadout builds organized by budget and playstyle — from the absolute zero-cost Free Loadout for maximum risk protection, all the way to the premium endgame build for players running Stella Montis as their primary farming map. Every build includes weapons, attachments, augments, shields, utility items, and the exact strategic reasoning behind each choice.

🧠 The Core Philosophy: Stella Montis Loadout Design Principles

Before the builds, here are the four principles that every effective Stella Montis solo loadout shares — regardless of budget:

Principle 1: Protect your economy above everything
Every item you bring into Stella Montis is at risk. Stella Montis is the most contested map in ARC Raiders — the lobbies are PvP-heavy, the ARC enemies are aggressive, and wipes happen to everyone. Your loadout cost must never exceed what one successful extraction can recover. If dying costs you 20,000 coins of gear, you need to extract 20,000+ coins of loot to break even before making actual profit. Keep loadout costs as low as possible.

Principle 2: Mobility is survival
Stella Montis's corridors punish slow movement. A Heavy Shield and max-weight backpack feel safe but make you a predictable, sluggish target. The best solo loadouts stay light — small shields, small backpacks for early runs, medium when you're confident. The ability to break contact and sprint to a hatch is worth more than any extra armor piece.

Principle 3: CQC-first weapon selection
Most Stella Montis engagements happen at close range: doorways, hallways, inside workshop rooms, through window frames. Long-range ARs are overkill in most situations and underperform in the tight spaces where fights actually happen. SMGs, shotguns, and short-to-mid range ARs dominate this map.

Principle 4: The Safe Pocket is your loadout's most important slot
No matter which build you run, the moment you find a trinket worth 3,000+ coins, it goes in your Safe Pocket. That one habit turns every death from a total loss into a partial win. Build your mindset around the Safe Pocket — it's the reason you can run an affordable loadout on the most dangerous map in the game and still come out profitable.

🏗️ BUILD 1 — The "Custom Free": Zero Risk Farming Build

Cost: ~1,000–2,500 coins
Safe Pocket: ✅ Active
Style: Passive loot farmer, disengage over everything
Best For: Players below 100,000 coins stash, all experience levels

This is the loadout the community has iterated on for months as the safest possible Stella Montis farming setup — and it's built on a simple insight: the Free Loadout gives you nothing to lose, but it also removes your Safe Pocket. The Custom Free solves this by spending the absolute minimum to activate the Safe Pocket while keeping your death cost near zero.

🔫 Weapon: Anvil Mk.1 or Mk.2

The Anvil is the most recommended weapon for this build across community guides for one reason: it's cheap to craft, easy to use, and genuinely good at holding angles — Stella Montis's most important combat skill.

At Mk.1 or Mk.2 it costs almost nothing to bring into a raid
Excellent at close-to-medium range with the right attachments
Holding doorframes with the Anvil gives you a significant advantage against anyone rushing through

Anvil Attachment Setup:

Alternative weapons for this slot:

Kettle Mk.1 — silenced by default, incredible for stealth farming
Rattler Mk.1 — fast fire rate, excellent CQC presence
Stitcher Mk.1 — reliable mid-range, works in most Stella Montis engagements

🛡️ Shield: Small Shield (1 slot)

The smallest available shield. Here's why:

Activates the Safe Pocket — that's the only reason it exists in this build
Costs 200–500 coins at vendor or crafted for near-free at Gear Bench Level 1
Movement speed is barely affected compared to medium/large shields
At this budget tier, extra shield capacity isn't worth the cost difference

🩺 Medical: 2× Herbal Medkit

Cheapest craftable healing item
Enough to survive one moderate ARC encounter or recover from a low-damage PvP graze
Don't bring more — excess medical weight isn't worth it on this budget

🎒 Augment: Looting Mk.1 (minimum) or Looting Mk.2 (preferred)

Faster container interaction = less time exposed per container
On Stella Montis where every second you're looting is a second you're stationary and vulnerable, Looting speed is direct risk reduction

⚡ Utility:

1× Smoke Grenade — primary escape tool when spotted
1× Adrenaline Shot — sprint to hatch after disengaging

💰 Total Loadout Cost: ~1,000–2,500 coins

Death scenario: You lose 2,000 coins of gear. Your Safe Pocket item survives. If your Safe Pocket held a Music Box (5,000 coins) you net +3,000 coins even on death. This build is structurally profitable as long as you Safe Pocket within the first 3 minutes of every run.

🥈 BUILD 2 — The Budget Farmer: Consistent Mid-Tier Build

Cost: ~8,000–15,000 coins
Safe Pocket: ✅ Active
Style: Balanced loot + ARC combat capability
Best For: Players with 100,000–500,000 coins stash, intermediate players

Once your stash can absorb occasional losses, this build opens significantly more of Stella Montis — including the ARC-guarded breach rooms and boss encounters that produce the map's best loot. It's the first loadout tier that can reliably handle a Bastion encounter using the door-frame method.

🔫 Primary: Venator Mk.3 + Fire Rate Mod

The Venator remains one of the best all-round weapons for Stella Montis solo despite the Season patch nerfs — and at Mk.3 with a Fire Rate Mod, it's affordable and highly effective.

Why the Venator on Stella Montis:

Tight corridors reward automatic fire and fast TTK — the Venator's strongest attributes
At Mk.3, upgrading to Level 4 reduces reload time and increases fire rate by 40% — making it significantly stronger than the base version
Effective from the 0–30m range that defines most Stella Montis fights

Venator Mk.3 Attachment Setup:

🔫 Secondary: Il Toro Mk.2 (Shotgun)

The Il Toro handles anything that gets inside the Venator's optimal range — and in Stella Montis's doorways and corners, things get inside your optimal range constantly.

Il Toro Attachment Setup:

🛡️ Shield: Medium Shield

52% damage reduction vs the Small Shield's basic protection — the 10% difference in damage reduction from Medium vs Small is enough to survive one extra ARC burst or PvP graze and reach your extraction safely.

🩺 Medical:

2× Shield Recharger (Surge if available)
3× Herbal Medkit
1× Vita Spray (quick top-up)

🎒 Augment: Looting Mk.2

Faster looting — critical for all farming builds
If available: Looting Mk.3 (Survivor) variant — protects most valuable equipped item on death

⚡ Utility:

2× Smoke Grenade — primary and backup disengage
2× Adrenaline Shot — one for route movement speed, one for emergency hatch sprint
1× Impact Grenade — ARC crowd control in enclosed workshop areas

💰 Total Loadout Cost: ~8,000–15,000 coins

Break-even extraction: Approximately 20,000 coins of loot (Assembly Workshop pass alone consistently delivers this). One successful run pays for two loadouts — comfortable risk ratio.

🥇 BUILD 3 — The Solo Specialist: High-Efficiency PvE Build

Cost: ~20,000–35,000 coins
Safe Pocket: ✅ Active
Style: PvE-optimized farming, Bastion/Sentinel hunting
Best For: Players with 500,000+ coins stash, experienced farmers

This is the loadout for players who've learned the map and want to maximize loot value per run by handling all ARC enemies confidently and accessing every loot room including the boss-guarded breach rooms. GameRant's best solo builds guide is the foundation for this tier.

🔫 Primary: Venator Mk.4 + Full Mod Setup

At Mk.4 with full attachments, the Venator is the best all-round weapon for Stella Montis. Despite the nerfs, the +40% fire rate mod combined with the extended mag and reload speed improvements make it objectively dominant in close-to-mid range.

Full Venator Mk.4 Attachment Build:

🔫 Secondary: Il Toro Mk.3 with Choke 3

Full Il Toro Mk.3 Attachment Build:

🛡️ Shield: Medium Shield

The Medium Shield's 52% damage reduction is the sweet spot for this build. Heavy Shield provides more protection but the movement penalty on a map demanding fast repositioning costs more than the extra defense provides.

🩺 Medical:

3× Vita Spray — instant rapid top-up after ARC encounters
5× Surge Shield Recharger — instant shield recovery without delay
1× Defibrillator (if Shrouded Sky version available) — self-revive after DBNO

🎒 Augment: Looting Mk.3 (Survivor)

The Survivor variant of Looting Mk.3 protects your most valuable equipped item on death — stacked with the Safe Pocket, you're protecting two items through death. On a map where your best single-run haul can be 70,000+ coins, that double-item death protection is significant.

🎽 Augment Slot 2: Explosive Mine × 1

Placed at the most likely ambush entry point when looting a high-value room
Provides warning AND damage to any Raider pushing you from behind
Essential when spending extended time in the workshop breach rooms

⚡ Utility:

3× Smoke Grenade — primary, secondary, and emergency disengage
5× Adrenaline Shot — sustained movement advantage throughout the run
2× Jolt Mine (Safe Pocket or quick slot) — perimeter defense when looting stationary
1× Snap Hook — mobility tool for reaching elevated breach room access points

💰 Total Loadout Cost: ~20,000–35,000 coins

Break-even extraction: ~40,000 coins. A standard Assembly Workshop + Cultural Archives pass during Night Raid comfortably exceeds this. Running both thruster breach rooms typically doubles the expected return.

🏆 BUILD 4 — The Night Raid Blueprint Hunter: Premium PvE Build

Cost: ~40,000–60,000 coins
Safe Pocket: ✅ Active (Double item protection with Survivor)
Style: Blueprint farming, Night Raid specialist, maximum loot efficiency
Best For: Endgame players, stash-full Raiders chasing legendary blueprints

This is the highest-investment safe solo build — designed specifically for Night Raid conditions on Stella Montis when blueprint drops are at peak probability and Epic/Legendary loot fills every container. The cost is justified because Night Raid returns on Stella Montis regularly exceed 100,000 coins per run.

🔫 Primary: Aphelion Mk.4 (Post-Shrouded Sky S-Tier)

The Aphelion received a significant buff in the Shrouded Sky update — −1 second reload time, −50% vertical recoil — making it S-tier for endgame farming and the top choice for players who want maximum performance in ARC combat.

Why Aphelion on Stella Montis Night Raid:

Exceptional ARC DPS — Bastions and Sentinels go down significantly faster
Vertical recoil reduction means it's easier to control in the rapid engagements of Night Raid
Blueprint-drop rate from Night Raid weapon cases favors players who clear ARC enemies quickly — faster kills = more loot time per minute

Aphelion Mk.4 Attachment Build:

🔫 Secondary: Kettle Mk.3 (Silenced SMG)

The Kettle is the best stealth secondary for a Night Raid farming build.

Silenced by design — doesn't ping your position on the minimap
Large magazine — doesn't require frequent reloads during ARC patrol clearing
Great range for an SMG — handles the mid-range situations the Aphelion slightly overkills
Night Raid specific advantage: Suppressed weapons produce less audio signature, meaning you can clear lower-level ARC patrols without alerting nearby Raiders to your position

Kettle Mk.3 Attachment Build:

🛡️ Shield: Medium Shield + Shield Recharger stack

Night Raid ARC enemies hit harder. Medium Shield with 5× Surge Shield Rechargers gives you near-infinite sustain through sustained ARC combat as long as you're not taking damage from multiple angles simultaneously.

🩺 Medical:

1× Vita Spray — emergency instant heal
5× Surge Shield Recharger — primary sustain
1× Defibrillator — self-revive insurance on the most dangerous map condition

🎒 Augment: Looting Mk.3 (Survivor)

Non-negotiable at this investment level — Survivor protects your most valuable item on death alongside the Safe Pocket. On a Night Raid run where your loot bag might hold 80,000+ coins, double death protection is the most important piece of your entire setup.

⚡ Utility:

3× Smoke Grenade
5× Adrenaline Shot
2× Blaze Grenade — area denial for enclosed breach room access (forces ARC and Raiders away from doorways)
1× Explosive Mine × 2 — perimeter defense in high-value rooms
1× Snap Hook — access elevated breach points faster

💰 Total Loadout Cost: ~40,000–60,000 coins

Break-even extraction: ~65,000 coins. A complete Night Raid loop (Assembly Workshops → Thruster Breach Rooms → Cultural Archives) exceeds this comfortably. Matriarch event adds 50,000–100,000+ coins in a single bonus encounter.

🆓 BUILD 5 — The Pure Free Loadout: When to Use It and How

Cost: 0 coins
Safe Pocket: ❌ Not available
Style: Kill or loot, zero stakes
Best For: Learning the map, rage-quitting sessions, peak-hour PvP lobbies

There's a time and place for the Free Loadout on Stella Montis — but it's not for serious farming. Here's the honest assessment:

When Free Loadout makes sense:

You're learning Stella Montis for the first time and want to practice routes without economic consequences
It's peak hours and PvP lobbies are extremely aggressive — running Custom Free would lose money
You're practicing a specific mechanic (door-frame Bastion technique, thruster room jumps) and want unlimited attempts
Your stash is genuinely low and you can't afford the Custom Free cost

Why it's NOT for serious money farming:
Without a Safe Pocket, you can't protect your best item through death. The average Stella Montis run finds at least one 3,000–5,000 coin trinket. On the Custom Free build, that item survives death and generates profit. On the pure Free Loadout, it dies with you and the run produces zero coins. The 1,000–2,500 coin cost of the Custom Free build is always worth paying over the pure Free Loadout for anyone who cares about progression.

How to play Free Loadout if you use it:

Play aggressively — you have nothing to lose
Target other Free Loadout players (they also have nothing worth taking, but the practice is valuable)
Avoid investing time in long loot routes — extract as soon as you find something decent

📊 Build Comparison Table

BuildCostSafe PocketARC CapabilityPvP SurvivabilityBest Condition🆓 Pure Free | 0 | ❌ | Low | Very Low | Learning / peak PvP hours
💰 Custom Free | ~2,000 | ✅ | Low-Medium | Low | All players, budget farming
🥈 Budget Farmer | ~12,000 | ✅ | Medium | Medium | Mid-game, standard days
🥇 Solo Specialist | ~28,000 | ✅ | High | High | Experienced, all events
🏆 Night Raid Hunter | ~50,000 | ✅ | Elite | High | Endgame, Night Raid only

🔧 Choosing Your Build — Decision Flowchart

Step 1: Check your current stash balance

Under 50,000 coins → Custom Free Build only
50,000–200,000 coins → Budget Farmer
200,000–500,000 coins → Solo Specialist
500,000+ coins → Night Raid Hunter

Step 2: Check active events

No event active → Custom Free or Budget Farmer (standard returns)
Night Raid active → Solo Specialist or Night Raid Hunter (premium returns justify investment)
Cold Snap active → Budget Farmer or higher with Cultural Archives priority
Electromagnetic Storm active → Solo Specialist (more Bastions = more Workshop drops)

Step 3: Assess your map confidence

First 10 runs on Stella Montis → Custom Free regardless of stash
Know the Assembly Workshop routes → Budget Farmer minimum
Know all 3 hatches + thruster breach rooms → Solo Specialist ready
Can do the thruster jumps from memory + know ARC patrol timings → Night Raid Hunter

🏁 Final Thoughts: The Right Loadout Removes the Fear

The reason Stella Montis feels dangerous to most players isn't the map — it's mismatched loadouts. Players bringing expensive gear they can't afford to lose into a PvP-heavy map become anxious, play reactively, and make bad decisions. Players running appropriate loadouts for their stash level play relaxed, make good decisions, and extract consistently.

Match your loadout to your stash. Protect your Safe Pocket like it's your entire run's value — because it is. Run lighter than you think you need to. And remember that the best Stella Montis farming sessions aren't won by the player with the most expensive gear. They're won by the patient player who knew exactly where to go, spent the least to get there, and was already at the hatch while everyone else was still fighting over the Assembly Workshop doorways.

Which build are you currently running on Stella Montis? Have you tried the Aphelion post-buff for ARC farming? Drop your setup in the Farfosh comments and let's optimize it together. 🎯

Best Solo Loadouts for Safe Stella Montis Farming (2026)

Best Loadouts for Safe Stella Montis Solo Runs in ARC Raiders 2026 — Complete Tier-by-Tier Build Guide

🧠 The Core Philosophy: Stella Montis Loadout Design Principles

🏗️ BUILD 1 — The "Custom Free": Zero Risk Farming Build

🔫 Weapon: Anvil Mk.1 or Mk.2

🛡️ Shield: Small Shield (1 slot)

🩺 Medical: 2× Herbal Medkit

🎒 Augment: Looting Mk.1 (minimum) or Looting Mk.2 (preferred)

⚡ Utility:

💰 Total Loadout Cost: ~1,000–2,500 coins

🥈 BUILD 2 — The Budget Farmer: Consistent Mid-Tier Build

🔫 Primary: Venator Mk.3 + Fire Rate Mod

🔫 Secondary: Il Toro Mk.2 (Shotgun)

🛡️ Shield: Medium Shield

🩺 Medical:

🎒 Augment: Looting Mk.2

⚡ Utility:

💰 Total Loadout Cost: ~8,000–15,000 coins

🥇 BUILD 3 — The Solo Specialist: High-Efficiency PvE Build

🔫 Primary: Venator Mk.4 + Full Mod Setup

🔫 Secondary: Il Toro Mk.3 with Choke 3

🛡️ Shield: Medium Shield

🩺 Medical:

🎒 Augment: Looting Mk.3 (Survivor)

🎽 Augment Slot 2: Explosive Mine × 1

⚡ Utility:

💰 Total Loadout Cost: ~20,000–35,000 coins

🏆 BUILD 4 — The Night Raid Blueprint Hunter: Premium PvE Build

🔫 Primary: Aphelion Mk.4 (Post-Shrouded Sky S-Tier)

🔫 Secondary: Kettle Mk.3 (Silenced SMG)

🛡️ Shield: Medium Shield + Shield Recharger stack

🩺 Medical:

🎒 Augment: Looting Mk.3 (Survivor)

⚡ Utility:

💰 Total Loadout Cost: ~40,000–60,000 coins

🆓 BUILD 5 — The Pure Free Loadout: When to Use It and How

📊 Build Comparison Table

🔧 Choosing Your Build — Decision Flowchart

🏁 Final Thoughts: The Right Loadout Removes the Fear

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