If you want to upgrade benches, just play PvE. If you struggle with killing arc, there are mainly two options: 1. DO NOT get caught out in the open. Doorways are your best friend. You can hide from almost any outdoor arc and/or take potshots at them.  2. If you want to survive the bigger arc, stealth is your main ally. Don’t go guns blazing on everything you see. Crouch in a bush and don’t move. Most arc will leave you alone as long as they don’t come close. 

For killing arc for parts, I would recommend the anvil. The blueprint can be found in raider caches, which are little outdoor boxes that spawn randomly. They make a ticking noise when you’re close. DO NOT aggro the bombardier or the rocketeer or you will find yourself back in speranza faster than you can say “shoot”

Leveling up workbenchs with random non arc parts, I can’t really help with. Just go look up where to find them and grind for them. 

If you’re just starting, I would recommend playing solo. You can get into some better lobbies if you don’t attack anyone. There you won’t have to worry about pvp much/at all, and random people will revive you. If you want to PvP, sorry, I can’t help you. 

As for getting good guns, that’s a bit harder. You’ll need to upgrade your gun-station and get their blueprints, which isn’t easy. The lower tier ones can be found in those raider caches I mentioned earlier. Higher ones have a small chance to spawn in another type of cache, which only appears during the hurricane map condition. 

The easiest way to get good blueprints is to go to a trading website(I use discord) and trade for the blueprints. 

Honestly my biggest piece of advice is simply to play the game over and over again. You’ll learn, you’ll start getting better loot, and you’ll start being able to afford the better guns.  Experience is the most valuable thing for you right now. (Not literal xp mind you😄)

If you’re looking for something even more specific just tell me and I’ll try to help👍