ARC Raiders Amplified Hairpin: Semi-Auto, Tracker Rounds, or Incendiary Rounds

An amplified Hairpin gets one real build decision. Semi-Auto, Tracker Rounds, and Incendiary Rounds all lock each other out, and Sprint Shooting only opens after Semi-Auto. Every activation is permanent, so know the research task, the material, and the nodes you give up before you spend a Hairpin IV and the ARC Raiders Items it needs at the Gunsmith bench.

What the base Hairpin brings

The Hairpin is a Common slide-action pistol on Light Ammo with a built-in silencer. Damage is 20 per shot with a 2.5x headshot multiplier, the magazine holds 8 rounds, and ARC armor penetration is Very Weak at 0.2x. That last number is why every Hairpin V node works on raiders, movement, or information rather than on ARC plating.

You craft Hairpin I at the Gunsmith from 2 Metal Parts and 5 Plastic Parts. The upgrade path is short:

1. Hairpin I to II: 8 Metal Parts, for 10% Increased Fire Rate and 13% Reduced Reload Time.
2. II to III: 9 Metal Parts and 1 Simple Gun Parts, for 20% Increased Fire Rate and 26% Reduced Reload Time.
3. III to IV: 1 Mechanical Components and 1 Simple Gun Parts, for 30% Increased Fire Rate and 40% Reduced Reload Time.

From a fresh craft to Hairpin IV, the full bill is 19 Metal Parts, 5 Plastic Parts, 2 Simple Gun Parts, and 1 Mechanical Components. Durability climbs from 100 on the Hairpin I to 130 on the IV.

Getting a Hairpin to Level 5

Two station gates come first. Your Gunsmith and your Research Station both have to reach Level 4, and that is the same requirement every gun on the weapon amplification list has to clear. Because the Hairpin is Common, it takes an Amplification Module Mk. I, socketed into a Hairpin IV at the Gunsmith.

Mk. I modules come from two places: cargo inside the ARC Frigate and the inside of the Fallen Emperor on Pendola Pass. Once the module is in, the Hairpin gains +70 Max Durability, which takes it from 130 to 200.

The Hairpin V nodes lock each other out

Semi-Auto, Tracker Rounds, and Incendiary Rounds are mutually exclusive, so a single amplified Hairpin can carry only one of them. Sprint Shooting is the only stackable node, and it requires Semi-Auto first. That leaves four finished builds: Semi-Auto, Semi-Auto plus Sprint Shooting, Tracker Rounds, or Incendiary Rounds. Here is what each node asks for and what it changes:

Semi-Auto and Sprint Shooting

Semi-Auto removes the slide rack between shots and raises the fire rate by 150%. The cost is a 20% cut to the 2.5x headshot multiplier and 40% more spread on every shot, so the Hairpin trades some of its single-tap headshot value for volume. To unlock it, finish the Trigger Reset Systems task in the Research Station by destroying 5 Skulkers with a Raider Tool. Applying the node then takes 3 Pneumatic Actuator, an Epic topside material.

Sprint Shooting lets you keep firing while you sprint, and it can only go onto a Hairpin that already has Semi-Auto. Its research, Mobile-Fire Grip Fittings, asks you to visit seven named locations on Pendola Pass in one raid, including the Electrical Substation, Old Town, and the Deep-Space Telescope. The node itself costs 3 Fluted Rotor Core. Semi-Auto plus Sprint Shooting is the only two-node Hairpin, and it is the build that keeps the integrated silencer firing on the move.

Tracker Rounds

Tracker Rounds is the one Hairpin node with no research step. It costs a single Matriarch Reactor, which you scavenge from a destroyed Matriarch. Any target you hit is revealed for 5 seconds, which is information your squad can use, while the pistol keeps its slide-action rhythm and the full 2.5x headshot multiplier. Taking it closes off both Semi-Auto and Incendiary Rounds for good, and a Matriarch Reactor is a Legendary part that sells for 11,000 on its own.

Incendiary Rounds

Incendiary Rounds sets targets on fire for +5 burn damage per second over 2 seconds. It unlocks through the Thermite-Tipped Rounds research, which asks you to destroy 30 Fireballs with Explosive Mines, so pack mines before you queue for it.

The node costs 3 Fossilized Lightning. That Epic material only turns up at the epicenter of lightning strikes while the Electromagnetic Storm map condition is active. A storm-night Fossilized Lightning run can collect all three in one raid.

Magazine mods that fit every Hairpin

The Hairpin's only mod slot is the magazine, and it takes the same Extended Light Mag line as the Kettle, Stitcher, Burletta, and Bobcat. Extended Light Mag I adds 5 rounds and crafts at Gunsmith 1 from 6 Plastic Parts and 1 Steel Spring without a blueprint. Tian Wen also sells it for 1,920, up to 5 per day.

Extended Light Mag II adds 10 rounds and crafts at Gunsmith 2 from 2 Mechanical Components and 3 Steel Spring, while Extended Light Mag III adds 15 rounds from 2 Mod Components and 5 Steel Spring at Gunsmith 3. Both of those crafts stay locked until you learn the matching ARC Raiders BluePrints. On an 8-round Hairpin, a Mag III takes you to 23 rounds, which matters most on the Semi-Auto build because it empties the magazine faster.

Keeping an amplified Hairpin running

Repairs on a Level 5 Hairpin use Amplified Fragments instead of Metal Parts. A plain amplified Hairpin takes 7 fragments for +50% durability, and an Incendiary one takes 15. Recycle an amplified Hairpin and you get 4 Amplified Fragments back.

If you are knocked out, the raider who loots your amplified Hairpin gets it at 10% durability. Replacing it means taking a fresh Hairpin IV back through the Gunsmith with another Mk. I module and paying for the node again.

The U4GM Team