Topside is where you’ll spend most of your time in ARC Raiders, pushing into the playable zones to hunt for high-value loot. It’s an umbrella term that refers to all surface maps.
One thing to remember right away: you’re never alone up there. ARC machines roam the surface, and so do other Raiders some of whom aren’t interested in teamwork and will happily hunt you for your gear.
You play as a Raider from Speranza, one of Toledo’s contradas. Raiders are people who choose to venture to the surface called Topside when ARC activity is low to scavenge resources. These hauls include remnants of the old world and components stripped from destroyed ARC units, which can be sold, traded, or used to keep Speranza running. Cooperation is often the smartest way to survive, but there’s no rulebook: raids aren’t policed, and some Raiders make their living by ambushing and stealing from others.