Aridia

"I got this thing, shows two weirdos ditching their ship. Its got coordinates to a desert planet too."

- The Plumber offering an Infobot to Ratchet & Clank in return for some bolt.

Aridia was a desert world on which nearly all structures built there seemed to be sunk into mud. The few inhabitants lived on Outposts scattered around the planet. Tar seemed to cover much of the planet. Factories were some of the only workable places on the planet due to the extreme conditions. Due to the desert climate, only Sandsharks and Flamethrower Bots, who attacked him with their flamethrowers, were able to inhabit the planet.

Two Weirdos
"Mayday, mayday! This is the Solar Ship Radical, we seem to be under attack from the planet's surface."

- Skid McMarx

"Relax kid, it looks like some sort firework display, probably in your honor."

- Skid's Agent

In Ratchet & Clank the Infobot for planet Aridia was purchased from The Plumber for 500 bolts on planet Novalis in the Waterworks, and showed Skid McMarx and his agent getting attacked and crashing onto the planet. The attackers most likely being Blarg security forces. Ratchet helped save Skidd from Sandsharks, earning him a Z3000 Hoverboard and struck a deal with Skidd's Agent that later earned Ratchet the Sonic Summoner.

Thyhrranoid Invasion
In Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal, Ratchet and Clank had to help the Galactic Rangers to defend the planet from Dr. Nefarious' forces, this time at Outpost X12. The fight was named Operation: DEATH VALLEY. The battle ended in a Galactic victory.

Locations

 * Outpost X11
 * Outpost X12

Items on Aridia

 * Z3000 Hoverboard
 * Trespasser
 * Sonic Summoner
 * Warp Pad

Characters on Aridia

 * Skidd McMarx
 * Skidd's Agent
 * Galactic Rangers

Native Wildlife

 * Sandsharks: Sandsharks are two-legged predators with a huge maw with a shark fin on top. They travel in packs, "swimming" under the sand until prey comes by. They'll bite their foes.
 * Sandshark Generators

Non-native

 * Flamethrower Bots
 * Three-Eyed Robonoids
 * One-Eyed Robonoids
 * Robonoid Commanders
 * Ultra Mecha-Tyhrranoids
 * Attack Ships
 * Noid Missile Stations

Trivia

 * Aridia, along with Kerwan and Rilgar had a different appearance when Ratchet and Clank returned there. It seemed that over the course of two years, Aridia had two purple oceans, though it may be that the image of the Planet in the first game, and the image in the third game, are two different sides of the planet..
 * There is a huge shortcut on Aridia. After defeating all the sandsharks, when you leave the place using the crane of the vehicle (after the crashed ship), instead of going down, you could get to the gold bolt area using your helipack. From there, you just go to Skidd's Agent without going through most of the planet.
 * In addition to a changing landscape, the three planets had also moved vast distances across the galaxy when comparing the galactic map from Ratchet & Clank to the one in Up Your Arsenal.
 * The Sandsharks are only native to the Outpost X11 area of the planet.
 * The planet Aridia in Ratchet and Clank Up Your Arsenal looks like Tabora without the purple oceans.
 * Operation: DEATH VALLEY is named for the national park and canyon of the same name located in California.

Etymology
"Arid" is another word for "dry".

Appearances

 * Ratchet & Clank
 * Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal