Running into an issue where you can’t equip the Medium Shield in Arc Raiders can be frustrating, especially during high-risk runs where survivability is everything. Whether the shield is grayed out, missing from your loadout, or refusing to attach to your character, this problem can stem from several different causes. The good news is that in most cases, it’s not a permanent bug — it’s usually related to progression requirements, inventory conflicts, or loadout restrictions.
TLDR: If you can’t equip the Medium Shield in Arc Raiders, check your character level, class restrictions, and weight limits first. Make sure the shield is repaired, compatible with your build, and not locked behind faction progression. Restarting the game, verifying files, or clearing preset loadouts often resolves technical glitches. Most shield issues are progression or loadout-related rather than permanent bugs.
Understanding Why the Medium Shield Won’t Equip
Before assuming your game is broken, it’s important to understand how equipment rules work in Arc Raiders. The game has several overlapping systems that determine whether you can equip certain gear:
- Character level requirements
- Faction reputation or unlock progression
- Weight and loadout limits
- Class or build compatibility
- Durability and repair status
If even one of these conditions isn’t met, the Medium Shield may appear unavailable or unequippable.
1. Check Level and Progression Requirements
Many players overlook basic progression locks. The Medium Shield is not always available from the start. In some builds of the game, it requires:
- A minimum character level
- Specific faction standing
- Completion of a prerequisite mission
If the shield icon is visible but grayed out, hover over it. The tooltip often explains exactly what requirement is missing.
Fix:
- Complete pending contract missions.
- Increase faction reputation via successful extractions.
- Double-check your character progression tab.
2. Verify Weight and Loadout Restrictions
Arc Raiders uses a weight-based loadout system. If you’re already carrying heavy weapons, ammo, gadgets, or crafting materials, you may exceed your carry limit when attempting to add a Medium Shield.
The Medium Shield typically sits between Light and Heavy defensive gear, but it still adds considerable weight. If you are near capacity, the game will silently block the equip action.
Common signs of weight issues:
- Shield briefly equips and then unequips itself
- No explicit error message appears
- Inventory weight bar is red or nearly full
Fix:
- Remove secondary weapons.
- Store excess crafting materials.
- Swap heavy gadgets for lighter alternatives.
3. Check for Class or Build Compatibility
Depending on your current character setup or specialization, defensive gear may have compatibility requirements. If you’re running a mobility-focused or lightweight build, the Medium Shield may be restricted.
Even if the game does not explicitly label it as “class-locked,” certain perks and armor combinations can conflict.
Try this troubleshooting method:
- Remove all currently equipped armor pieces.
- Unequip perks affecting defense or loadout limits.
- Attempt to equip the Medium Shield alone.
If it equips successfully afterward, you’ve identified a loadout conflict.
4. Inspect Shield Durability
In many survival-extraction games, damaged items must be repaired before use. If your Medium Shield was looted during a raid or extracted at low durability, it may be in a non-functional state.
Items with zero durability sometimes:
- Cannot be equipped at all
- Immediately unequip when selected
- Appear visually intact but are marked as broken in details
Fix:
- Go to the crafting or repair station in your base.
- Spend required materials to restore durability.
- Restart your loadout screen afterward.
5. Preset Loadout Conflicts
If you’re using saved loadouts, the issue may not be with the shield itself but with the preset configuration.
Occasionally, presets become desynced after:
- Patches or updates
- Item balancing changes
- Inventory reorganizations
Solution:
- Delete the affected preset.
- Create a new one from scratch.
- Manually equip each item instead of auto-applying presets.
This resolves many post-update equip bugs.
6. Game Update or Patch Issues
If you suddenly cannot equip the Medium Shield after a recent update, you may be experiencing a temporary bug tied to version changes.
Common patch-related shield issues include:
- Item ID mismatches
- Balance changes altering equip requirements
- Inventory sync errors
Recommended actions:
- Restart the game completely (not just to desktop, but fully relaunch).
- Verify game files through your launcher.
- Check official patch notes for known issues.
File verification fixes corrupted or outdated local files, which can silently prevent item equip functionality.
7. Inventory Sync Glitches
Online extraction shooters depend heavily on server synchronization. If your inventory fails to sync properly with the server, items may exist visually but not register as valid equipment.
Symptoms include:
- Items disappearing and reappearing
- Changes not saving
- Loadout reverting after restart
Fix:
- Log out completely.
- Wait a few minutes before reconnecting.
- Avoid rapidly switching loadouts during connection instability.
8. Make Sure It’s Actually a Medium Shield
This may sound obvious, but similar-looking items can cause confusion. Some event items, broken variants, or cosmetic skins resemble the Medium Shield but function differently.
Check the item details carefully:
- Confirm the rarity tier
- Check item description
- Look at stat values (defense rating, weight, durability)
If stats don’t match standard Medium Shield values, you may have a variant item that operates under different rules.
9. Known UI Bugs and Temporary Workarounds
In some cases, the issue is purely visual. The UI might show the shield as unequipped even when it is technically active, or it may block the equip button due to a display error.
Temporary workarounds that players report working:
- Switch to another shield, then back again.
- Move the shield to storage and re-transfer it.
- Sort inventory (this forces a UI refresh).
These small actions can trigger the game to correctly register item status.
10. When to Contact Support
If none of the above solutions work, and you are certain:
- You meet level requirements
- The shield is repaired
- Your weight is under limit
- The issue persists after file verification
Then you may be dealing with a character-specific bug.
Contact official support and provide:
- Screenshots of your inventory
- Your character level and faction rank
- Game version number
- Description of troubleshooting steps already attempted
Support teams prioritize detailed, evidence-backed reports, and providing full information significantly speeds resolution time.
Final Thoughts
The inability to equip the Medium Shield in Arc Raiders is almost always tied to loadout mechanics, progression gates, or minor technical sync problems rather than a permanent account issue. By methodically checking weight limits, durability status, class compatibility, and progression requirements, most players resolve the issue in minutes.
Remain systematic: eliminate one possible cause at a time rather than randomly changing settings. Extraction shooters are complex systems, and small rule interactions can create seemingly major problems.
With proper troubleshooting, you should be able to get your Medium Shield back into your loadout — and back into the field where it belongs.
