The Arc Raiders Canto SMG is not a general-purpose weapon, and the three builds tested in April 2026 show why. It clears rooms fast and handles Arc enemies well, but it consumes hundreds of rounds per raid and its durability drops before the match ends. The best results came from the most expensive build, not the cheapest.
Arc Raiders Canto SMG: What the Three Builds Actually Deliver
The Canto is a submachine gun added to Arc Raiders in the Flashpoint update, and in the three builds covered here it works as a close-range weapon that trades ammo efficiency and durability for very fast elimination times. Green attachments, a blue padded stock setup, and a kinetic converter build each produced different recoil and control behavior in the same Stellantis map.
The source video comes from the Arc Raiders creator Shady, published on 2 April 2026. It documents three raids with the Canto at level 4, measuring outcomes by kill count, ammo burned, and gun condition rather than by drawn-out comparisons.
The three builds tested in the session: one with green attachments only, one with blue attachments and a padded stock, and one with the kinetic converter. Each build was configured on a level 4 Canto, and the presenter deliberately avoided the legendary shotgun that shipped alongside it.
The most expensive build produced the highest kill count with 13 eliminations in a single raid, while the cheapest build still handled close-range fights. The recurring caveat across all three builds is that the Canto consumes ammunition quickly and its durability drops over a long fight.
Green Build: Cheap Attachments and Close-Range Pressure
The green build uses only common-quality attachments on a level 4 Canto, and it remains workable for aggressive players who force close-range fights. In the recorded raid the presenter entered with more than 400 rounds and finished with only 93 bullets, which is the clearest measure of how quickly the weapon drains ammunition.
Long-range performance was the weakest part of this setup. The presenter describes the gun as bad at range during the lobby hold, which made holding open sightlines harder than a rifle would. The compensation is that hip fire and close-range bursts eliminated players quickly enough that aiming down sight was often optional.
The raid ended with the presenter and teammates eliminating multiple squads that pushed from different directions. The Stellantis map, also spelled Stella Montis in some community references, provided the close corridors and doorways that made the green build usable despite its range limitation.
Ammunition consumption is the build's main cost. Starting with over 400 rounds and ending at 93 means the green build alone consumed more than 300 bullets across the raid, and the presenter explicitly planned to bring 500 or 600 rounds into the next session.
Blue Padded Stock Build: The Most Balanced Setup
The blue build with a padded stock was the most balanced of the three, and the presenter calls it the easiest one to trust. It did less damage per burst than the kinetic converter build, but the recoil and handling made it the most consistent option across mixed engagements.
This raid opened with the same aggressive pattern as the first, but the action escalated quickly when multiple teams converged. The presenter recorded six kills in the first raid and expected that to be the lowest total in the video, which held true because the later kinetic converter raid reached 13 kills.
Durability surfaced as a second constraint during this session. The presenter notes that the gun breaks quickly and attributes part of that to running a compensator attachment. The specific condition readings mentioned in the video are 52 and 62, meaning the weapon was already heavily worn before the raid ended.
The blue padded stock build did not solve the ammo problem. The presenter had already concluded that 400 rounds was insufficient, moved to 500 for this raid, and still ran out of ammunition during the final engagement, which forced teammates to share ammo and use secondary weapons.
Kinetic Converter Build: Highest Damage, Highest Kills
The kinetic converter build turned the Canto into the hardest-hitting of the three setups, and the presenter recorded 13 kills in a single raid with it. The converter adds recoil that makes the gun harder to control, but players who land their bursts at close range can end fights faster than with either of the cheaper builds.
The raid was chaotic from the start and included multiple squads pushing the same building. The presenter entered with 700 rounds and still finished the raid having burned through most of them, which reinforces the pattern from the first two builds.
The presenter used a long barrel on the muzzle slot to test the combination rather than optimizing for recoil control, and describes that choice as a deliberate experiment. The tradeoff was visible in the handling, but the close-range damage remained strong enough to win most duels.
A separate observation from this raid is that the presentation of the run itself included kill and profit overlays built by the creator. The presenter shows a profit of minus 164 for the session and attributes the loss to being killed by a team using trigger nades in two consecutive matches, each reportedly worth 90,000.
Canto Ammo Consumption and Durability in Practice
Ammunition consumption is the Canto's most consistent limitation across all three builds. The green build started with more than 400 rounds and ended at 93, the blue build started with 500 and ran dry, and the kinetic converter build started with 700 and finished the raid with almost nothing left in reserve.
The pattern shows that the Canto is not an ammo-efficient weapon at close range. Players who bring it into extended fights should plan for several hundred rounds per raid and should expect to loot ammunition from bodies during the match.
Durability is the second recurring constraint. The presenter observed the weapon breaking quickly while running a compensator, and reported condition values of 52 and 62 during the blue build raid. The kinetic converter raid placed even more stress on the weapon because it produced more engagements.
These figures come from a single creator's gameplay sessions and should be treated as practical observations rather than controlled tests. The presenter's own overlay data is the source for kill counts, profit tracking, and ammo totals.
| Build | Attachments | Ammo brought | Kills recorded | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green | Common quality | 400+ rounds | Multiple squads cleared | Poor long-range accuracy |
| Blue padded stock | Blue quality | 500 rounds | Six plus later fights | Ran out of ammo, heavy wear |
| Kinetic converter | Kinetic converter, long barrel | 700 rounds | 13 kills | Heavy recoil, high ammo burn |
Is the Canto Worth Using in Arc Raiders?
The Canto is worth using for close-range aggressive play, and the presenter's conclusion after three raids is that it functions as a cheaper alternative to the Bobcat. It does not match the Bobcat in overall quality, but it can win close fights and it handles Arc enemies effectively.
The strongest argument for the Canto is the combination of low cost and high close-range damage. Players who push buildings and doorways can get value from it even with green attachments, and the kinetic converter build raises the ceiling for players who can manage the recoil.
The strongest argument against it is the resource drain. Ammunition and durability both disappear faster than they would with a more efficient weapon, which raises the effective cost of each raid even if the gun itself is cheap.
The presenter notes that the gun is insane against Arc enemies and suggests that this may be why it was designed as an SMG. That comment comes from gameplay observation rather than from a developer statement, so it is a player's interpretation rather than confirmed design intent.
The practical recommendation from the session is to bring at least 500 to 700 rounds, run the build that matches your recoil tolerance, and expect the Canto to be a close-range tool rather than a general-purpose weapon.
If you want to compare notes with other players testing similar loadouts, the Arc Raiders community discussions and the game's official channels are the places where those results tend to surface first.
FAQ
- What is the best Canto build in Arc Raiders? The kinetic converter build produced the highest kill count in the tested raids, reaching 13 kills in a single match. The blue padded stock build was more balanced and easier to control, while the green build remained usable for close-range fights on a budget.
- How much ammo does the Canto need per raid? The tested raids started with 400, 500, and 700 rounds respectively, and all three sessions ended with little or no ammunition remaining. The presenter recommends bringing at least 500 rounds and treating the weapon as ammo-hungry.
- Does the Canto break quickly? The presenter observed heavy wear during the blue build raid, with condition values reported at 52 and 62 before the session ended. Running a compensator appears to accelerate the durability loss, though that observation comes from one player's gameplay rather than a controlled test.
- Is the Canto better than the Bobcat? The presenter describes the Canto as a cheaper alternative to the Bobcat and says it is probably not as good overall. The Canto can still win close-range fights, but the Bobcat remains the stronger weapon in the presenter's assessment.
- How do you get the Canto in Arc Raiders? The presenter found the Canto in the Hurricane event and notes that it was brand new in the Flashpoint update at the time of recording. Other players in the raid discussed the same event as the source for the weapon.
Where This Session Leaves the Canto
Across three builds and three raids, the Canto behaved as a close-range weapon that rewards aggression and punishes players who forget to stock ammunition. The green build proved that common attachments can still clear rooms, the blue padded stock build offered the most controllable handling, and the kinetic converter build delivered the highest damage and led to a 13-kill raid.
The recurring costs are ammunition consumption and durability loss. Those two factors are what separate the Canto from a general-purpose pick, and they are the reason the presenter's final verdict is that it works as a cheaper Bobcat alternative rather than a replacement for it.
The creator for this session is known on YouTube as Shady, and the gameplay was recorded on 2 April 2026. If the progression system or attachment options changed after that date, the build behavior in this article would need to be re-tested against the current patch.
This article uses the Arc Raiders Canto SMG as its primary search phrase. If you play the same loadout and track different outcomes, the most useful comparison is between your own kill counts and the ones recorded here.
Turn the Theorycrafting in Your Videos Into a Written Article
The Canto session above is a good example of knowledge that lives inside a video and is hard to search later: specific builds, ammo counts, durability numbers, and kill totals that would help other players if they were written down. If your own channel contains that kind of practical testing, Skalablog can take the YouTube URL, transcribe the video, and generate a written article from the existing content.
You can paste a video link at Skala Blog and review the draft before publishing.
Fork this article
Start a new branch from the same video, shaped your way. You keep the credit; the original keeps the attribution.
A fork in another language is filed as a translation of this article, so the two pages point at each other. You can unlink it later from the editor.
0/240
You are creating
- Format
- For
- Language
- Source
- Your angle
You will be asked to sign in before it is generated.
Buy credits