How to Upgrade Workbench in Arc Raiders: Complete Veteran Player Guide

If you’ve spent enough time in Arc Raiders, you already know one universal truth: your gear decides your fate. And the heart of that gear progression is your Workbench. Whether you’re crafting weapons, building armor, or preparing materials for your next run, the Workbench is the core of your entire progression loop. That’s why learning how to upgrade the Workbench in Arc Raiders isn’t just a small quality-of-life improvement—it’s a straight-up necessity if you want to survive raids, craft higher-tier equipment, and stop depending on RNG alone.

In this complete veteran player guide, I’ll walk you through exactly how upgrading the Workbench works, how to track materials efficiently, where to find resources, and a bunch of practical, experience-backed tips that’ll save you hours of frustration.

Let’s get into it.

Why the Workbench Matters in Arc Raiders

Before we talk upgrades, let’s address why the Workbench is so important. Your Workbench is your gateway to every early-game and mid-game item. From weapons to augments to basic armor pieces, this station is what gets you raid-ready. And as you climb higher in the game’s difficulty curve, your Workbench becomes the bottleneck that decides whether you can craft advanced gear or stay stuck hoping for rare loot drops.

Players who figure out how to upgrade the Workbench in Arc Raiders early progress faster, survive raids longer, and gain access to stronger blueprints before most others. It’s your main progression engine.

And trust me—once you unlock the higher tiers, you’ll wish you had started upgrading sooner.

Understanding the Workshop System

One thing new players often misunderstand is that the Workbench is only one part of the entire Workshop system in Arc Raiders. Each station has its own purpose, and knowing what each bench does helps you prioritize which upgrades matter first.

Here’s a simple breakdown of all benches and what they unlock:

Workbench

Craft basic starter gear such as simple weapons, armor pieces, and essential early utility items.

Gear Bench

Lets you craft advanced armor variations and powerful augments.

Gunsmith

Used to craft and upgrade weapons, including modifications and attachments.

Utility Station

Where you craft useful quick-use items, boosters, and tools.

Medical Lab

Creates healing items, shield rechargers, and health-related utilities.

Refiner

Allows you to craft higher-quality materials and refined components.

Explosive Station

Craft grenades and other explosive gear.

When you understand how the Workshop ecosystem functions, upgrading the Workbench in Arc Raiders becomes clearer. The Workbench is your foundation, and most other benches rely on it being upgraded before they let you craft advanced gear.

Blueprints alone aren’t enough. If your bench isn’t high enough level, you simply can’t use them.

How to Upgrade Workbench in Arc Raiders

Upgrading the Workbench in Arc Raiders is a simple process mechanically, but gathering the resources can be time-consuming if you don’t know where to look. Here’s the complete step-by-step process every player needs to follow:

Step 1: Go to Your Workshop

Head over to your home base and enter the Workshop area. Interact with the Workbench to open its crafting interface.

Step 2: Select the Level Up Tab

At the top of the bench’s interface, you’ll see a tab labeled Level Up. This is where all upgrade-related options are located.

When you click the Level Up tab, you’ll see:

The bench’s current level
The next level’s requirements
All materials needed for the upgrade
A button to begin tracking the resources

This is the core part of learning how to upgrade Workbench in Arc Raiders.

Step 3: Check Upgrade Requirements

Every upgrade has a list of components you must collect. These include materials like metals, mechanical parts, refined components, specialty resources, and occasionally rare drops depending on the tier.

The game clearly displays each item and how many you need. Under each material’s name, you’ll also see where the item can be found. This small but crucial detail saves hours of guesswork.

Step 4: Track the Necessary Resources

This is where many players forget a key feature. You can press the Track Resources button to mark the materials you need. This adds an icon to your HUD whenever you encounter lootable spots that contain the tracked items.

Veteran tip:
Always track your resources before heading into a raid. It drastically reduces wasted time.

Step 5: Gather Materials in Raids

This is the grindy part, but understanding loot tags makes it easier. Every item in Arc Raiders has a loot tag, such as Nature, Industrial, Mechanical, Chemical, or Biological. Landmarks on the map also have tags. When an item’s tag matches the landmark’s tag, the item is more likely to appear there.

For example:

If you need mechanical parts, search Mechanical or Industrial tagged areas.
If you need Nature resources like lemons, go to landmarks with the Nature tag.
If you need explosive materials, look for Chemical or Explosive tagged zones.

Matching loot tags is the single most efficient way to speed up Workbench upgrades.

Step 6: Return to Workbench and Upgrade

Once you have all items needed, go back to your Workshop, open the Level Up tab again, and click the Upgrade button. Your Workbench will level up instantly.

And that’s it—you now know how to upgrade the Workbench in Arc Raiders.

Best Places to Farm Workbench Upgrade Materials

Knowing where to farm is half the battle. Here’s a veteran-backed breakdown of common resource types and where they tend to spawn.

Mechanical Loot

Look for Industrial and Mechanical zones. Factories, warehouses, and machinery-heavy locations usually contain mechanical crates.

Nature Loot

Forests, gardens, and nature-tagged landmarks. These areas are great for organic items and items like lemons.

Refined Materials

Higher-level raids, especially regions with Refiner or Tech tags. You’ll need these for advanced Workbench levels.

Chemical Loot

Places with storage tanks, labs, or chemical processing symbols on the map.

Random Supply Caches

Look for containers and boxes in high-density loot regions. These often give mixed materials but can include rare drops.

Using loot tags correctly will save hours while upgrading the Workbench in Arc Raiders.

Tips to Upgrade Your Workbench Faster

After playing dozens of runs, I’ve learned a few tricks that help speed up the process. Here are some veteran shortcuts:

Always Track Before You Raid

It feels small, but tracking resources reduces wandering by at least half.

Check Item Tooltips

Every material you need includes a description that tells you where it spawns. Never skip this.

Prioritize High-Density Areas

Instead of wandering across the entire map, hit three or four high-loot spots repeatedly.

Play Raids with Clear Objectives

Avoid jumping into raids without a plan. Identify two or three target materials and route accordingly.

Upgrade Other Benches When Needed

Sometimes upgrading a different bench helps you craft the gear needed to survive tougher raids, which then helps you gather materials faster.

Mastering how to upgrade Workbench in Arc Raiders is all about efficiency.

When Should You Upgrade the Workbench

Many players ask if they should rush Workbench upgrades early. The answer is yes—mostly. Upgrading early ensures you can craft higher-quality gear sooner, making raids easier and safer.

Here’s a simple rule:

Upgrade the Workbench whenever possible unless you’re low on essential gear or healing items.

Your Workbench unlocks more crafting options at every level, and the progression is well worth the materials.

Workbench Upgrades and Blueprint Crafting

A common frustration players run into:
unlocking a blueprint but being unable to craft it.

Why?
Because your Workbench isn’t high enough level.

Blueprints from raids, vendors, and world drops depend on bench levels. Even if you get lucky and find a high-tier weapon blueprint early, you still can’t craft it until your Workbench hits the required tier.

Learning how to upgrade Workbench in Arc Raiders ensures you never waste blueprint drops.

Are Workbench Upgrades Worth the Grind

Absolutely. Workbench upgrades unlock more items, better crafting options, and advanced gear. If you enjoy optimizing your build, crafting your loadout, or progressing faster, upgrading the Workbench is one of the most impactful things you can do in the game.

And since many high-end Arc raiders items require advanced bench levels to craft, upgrading early keeps your progression smooth. If you want external help gearing up, sites such as G4mmo offer additional support, but your Workbench will always be the heart of your gameplay progression.

Final Thoughts

Learning how to upgrade the Workbench in Arc Raiders is one of the most important steps in mastering the game’s crafting system. Your Workbench is your core progression tool, and every upgrade unlocks new crafting opportunities, stronger equipment, and more flexibility in your builds.

Track your resources. Understand loot tags. Hit the right landmarks. Upgrade early. Craft smarter.

Do that, and your raids will become smoother, your gear will get stronger, and your entire Arc Raiders experience will level up with you.