ARC Raiders: Big Update “Shrouded Sky” Begins Today – Contents, Patch Notes & Server Status in the Live Ticker

Weapons

In version 1.13 we released an update with an optimization of our weapons. As many of you noticed, however, this had the unintended consequence of lowering the fire rate of semi-automatic weapons. In version 1.13.1 we have reversed this correction, but something else slipped in that doesn’t belong there.

Many of you reported an unnoticed improvement in weapons. After thorough investigation, we found that version 1.13.1 accidentally affected the input buffering of our weapons. Where one previously had to execute inputs in the correct rhythm to unleash the full potential of a weapon, one could now simply click the button repeatedly to bypass the necessary skill needed to learn the weapon rhythm. We want to maintain the opportunity for engaging gameplay, but we also acknowledge that the previous control did not feel very responsive. To counteract this and find a middle ground, we have added additional settings for the input buffering of the weapons for each weapon individually and adjusted the semi-automatic weapons accordingly. The weapons now continue to respond faster to rapid clicking, but players who pace their shots achieve better results.

In addition to these changes, we have also addressed the balance between our lower and higher-tier weapons. Many of you have expressed concerns that some lower-tier weapons outperform our higher-tier weapons at significantly lower costs. We hope to change this balance somewhat while maintaining the flexibility to deploy stronger weapons with sufficient skill. We are starting by reducing the TTK (Time-to-Kill) of Stitcher and Kettle and increasing the maneuverability of Aphelion and Jupiter. We are also reworking the Venator again, which is still dominant in many PvP fights.

• Stitcher
  • Developer’s Note: The Stitcher has proven itself as a melee weapon that rewards careful positioning. However, we found that its fast kill time (TTK) can sometimes result in being ambushed and killed before one can react. As many of you have noted, the high headshot damage significantly contributes to this problem. The TTK is often acceptable as long as one aims at the body center. However, once one gets close enough to place most shots on the head of the target, the TTK is noticeably faster than that of other weapons. These changes aim to align the TTK for headshots with that for body shots by reducing both the weapon’s spread accuracy and the headshot multiplier.
  • Reduced headshot multiplier from 2.5 to 1.75
  • Reduced base damage from 7 to 6.5
  • Increased spread per shot by about 50% (quicker spread)
• Kettle
  • Developer’s Note: The Kettle was in a somewhat peculiar position. Its high damage was intended for use at medium range and a cautious approach. However, we observe that many of you use it in close combat, effectively turning it into a submachine gun. We want to distinguish it from the Stitcher more clearly, but we also see that you appreciate the versatility of this weapon. Therefore, we are reducing the base damage to adjust the TTK (Time-to-Kill) while keeping the high headshot multiplier to encourage players to land more headshots.
  • Developer’s Note: The Kettle has been somewhat unbalanced. Its high damage was intended for medium-range use and a cautious approach. However, we observe that many of you use it in close combat and thus encourage more headshots. Reduced base damage from 10 to 8.5
• Venator
  • Developer’s Note: Since the last nerfs of the Venator in patch 1.3.0, we have closely monitored our data on the weapon’s performance. Many of you have expressed concerns that it is still too dominant in PvP. Our data shows that it currently belongs to the strongest weapons in the game. We want good performance for a weapon of this tier, but perhaps not to this extent. We are therefore considering a general damage reduction to lower the TTK (Time-to-Kill). If this does not yield the desired result, we may need to address the ammunition consumption and cost efficiency.
  • Reduced headshot multiplier from 2.5 to 2
  • Reduced base damage from 9 to 8
• Jupiter
  • Developer’s Note: In PvP, the Jupiter deals the highest headshot damage in the game, but headshots at greater distances are quite difficult. You are quite vulnerable in close combat, as a missed shot makes you an easy target until you reload or switch weapons. We are increasing the zoom when aiming with the scope (ADS) to give you better visibility on your targets and shortening the equip and unequip time so that you can switch to a secondary weapon and follow up faster.
  • Improved ADS zoom from about 1.9x to about 2.2x
  • Improved equip time from 1.2 s to 1.05 s
  • Improved unequip time from 0.9 s to 0.75 s
• Aphelion
  • Developer’s Note: We were not entirely satisfied with the previous balance of the Aphelion. It should be a legendary weapon focused on PvP but could not keep up with the pace of many of our other PvP weapons. We made some changes to make the weapon more manageable and agile so that it becomes more competitive in PvP.
  • Reduced base reload time from 4.5 s to 3.5 s
  • Reduced time between shots from 0.9 s to 0.7 s
  • Reduced vertical recoil by about 50%
  • Improved aim speed by about 35%

Items and Crafting

• Energy Clip
  • Now available by default at the workbench.

Changes to item values and costs

• The following item values and costs have been adjusted according to recycling and repurposing adjustments:
  • Deadline
    • Increased value from 5,000 to 6,000.
    • Increased seller price from 15,000 to 18,000.
    • New ARC part added as crafting cost.
  • Trailblazer
    • Increased value from 1,600 to 2,200.
    • Increased seller price from 4,800 to 6,600.
    • New ARC part added as crafting cost.
  • Wolfpack
    • Increased value from 5,000 to 6,000.
    • Rocket Gunner Driver added as crafting cost.
    • Costs for refined explosives reduced.
  • Vita Spray
    • Increased value from 3,000 to 3,400.
    • Tick capsule added as crafting cost.
  • Showstopper
    • Reduced value from 2,200 to 2,100.
    • Hornet Driver added as crafting cost.
    • Changed crafting component from “Advanced Electrical Components” to “Electrical Components”.
• Sale value of ARC parts reduced to better reflect their use in crafting and gameplay progression.

• Achievements
  • A bug was fixed where the achievement “Overwhelmed” would sometimes not trigger as intended on the first attempt.
• Animations
  • Diverse animation bugs when overcoming obstacles have been fixed.
  • A bug was fixed where some weapons did not drop magazines when reloading.
  • A bug was fixed where reattaching to a ladder after a jump could distort the climbing animation.
  • The equipment animations for pistols and hand firearms have been overhauled to achieve better timing and reduce visual popping when switching from the unarmed state.
  • The arm and weapon positioning during shoulder swaps has been improved to prevent visual popping during the transition.
  • A bug was fixed where fall damage was not applied when the player was in a recoil animation.
  • The reaction animations at low health have been overhauled for better clarity.
  • The weapon shake animation has been corrected and was mistakenly triggered indoors at negative temperatures; it now occurs only outdoors.
• ARC
  • A bug was fixed where measurers and fireballs could open too early before stabilizing.
  • The irregular movement of ARC parts that stick to a loot item has been reduced.
  • Hornets now retain their top armor after destruction, making it easier to distinguish the loot item from wasps.
  • A bug was fixed where the rocket shooter sometimes would not fire despite having a clear line of sight to its target.
  • The instances where the Guardian’s shots passed through geometry when its weapon was sticking into walls at close range have been reduced.
• AUDIO
  • The number of projectile sounds per trigger pull for rapid-fire weapons has been limited to the salvo size to prevent additional shots.
  • Audio stuttering on lower-performing PCs has been reduced to ensure smoother and more consistent sound in the game.
  • The volume of in-game dialogues (except radio) has been reduced.
  • A bug was fixed where sliding on stairs or debris could cause audio stuttering.
  • Scrappy has received your feedback that he was too loud. He will now try to croak less frequently.
  • The overall volume has been reduced, and the menu sound effects as well as the music mix have been rebalanced to provide a more pleasant Speranza experience.
  • The music for the tube opening has been shortened as it was playing for too long.
  • Birds on zip lines now scream in panic with correct positioning.
  • Audio overlaps/interferences have been generally reduced, particularly for players. The acoustic guitar music pieces have been updated.
• COSMETICS
  • The Volare Set
  • The Surgeon Set
  • The Pendant Set (coming soon)
  • New option to customize facial hair added
  • Fixed defective visor glass material of the green color variant of the Marco outfit
  • Diverse clipping errors in certain outfits fixed
• GAMEPLAY
  • A piano has been added as an interactive object in the game world.
  • A bug was fixed where interactions could be triggered from too far away. This allowed players to open doors, activate hatches, or loot items without being nearby.
  • Pressed and continuous interactions are now canceled when equipping a different item or weapon.
  • A bug was fixed where players could not move after being revived with a defibrillator.
  • Players can no longer stand on thrown grenades or other non-walkable items or carry them.
  • The missing aim assist for guardians, turrets, shredders, and measurers has been added.
  • The queue for the practice area has been disabled to prevent matchmaking errors.
  • A bug was fixed where the corpse of a fallen Raider could block hatch extraction and trigger a search query.
  • The simultaneous activation of all NVIDIA Freestyle filters has been prevented to eliminate an unfair visual advantage.
  • Purchases with seeds and free gear upgrades are now also possible when storage is full.
• GENERAL
  • General performance improvements.
  • Some rendering errors have been fixed.
  • A crash on game startup with DirectX 11 has been fixed.
  • A crash when using zip lines has been fixed.
• MAPS
  • General
    • Fixed faulty interactions at the top of certain ladders.
    • Fixed missing collisions on several objects in the environment to reduce clipping and unintended movement.
    • General lighting corrections on various maps.
  • Buried City
    • The chance to find rare loot in chimneys was slightly reduced in the map state “Bird City”.
  • Stella Montis
    • Several collision errors on Stella Montis (lobby, atrium, loading bay, train station tunnel, seed storage) have been fixed to prevent players from reaching areas outside the map with the “Free” function and to avoid shots from the lobby ceiling.
    • The night lighting on Stella Montis has been adjusted to improve visibility in darker areas.
    • The visibility at night at the extraction point “Seed Storage” has been improved with local lighting.
    • A bug was fixed where lowered overflow bridges still displayed an interaction prompt. The interaction is now correctly disabled once the bridge is lowered.
    • A bug was fixed that allowed players to access subway trains.
  • Blue Gate
    • The thunderstorm lighting has been improved for better visibility.
    • A bug was fixed where players could leave the game world in the Blue Gate tunnels.
• MOVEMENT
  • The jump behavior from ladders has been adjusted to match the jump behavior from jump pads for smoother movements and to prevent unintended swing motions from rapid inputs.
  • A bug was fixed where one could see through when sliding through stairs and escalators.
• PROGRESSION
  • You can now reroll talents three times daily for free.
  • PvP talents have been removed, some existing talents updated, and new ones added.
  • An expeditions catch-up system has been added to obtain missed skill points from previous runs. The interface has been updated to track your progress.
  • A bug was fixed where players occasionally did not receive a skill point as displayed on the result screen. Candle berries in the Blue Gate now count for the achievement “Harvest Plants”.
• QUESTS
  • The markers for quest-related objects in the world have been made more distinct to improve readability.
  • A bug was fixed where the popup for the next objective in multi-stage quests could be missing or display an already completed step. The correct next goal is now always displayed.
  • A bug was fixed where quest items could appear as world loot without the associated quest being active.
• SOCIAL
  • In a group, all locations unlocked by the member with the most played rounds are now displayed when selecting the map.
  • A bug was fixed where former team members could appear in the “Nearby” list in the “Social” tab after starting a new session.
  • Clearer error messages have been added when friend requests fail due to too many outgoing requests or rate limiting.
  • A bug was fixed where friends were shown as offline when they are linked to more than one platform.
  • It is now possible to hide friend requests.
• UI
  • The markers for items in containers are now displayed above the interaction point of the container and no longer appear at the wrong location in certain containers.
  • A warning for readiness has been added when using Raider hatch keys on a map without active hatches.
  • The tooltips in the inventory have been enhanced with symbols to indicate recycling/salvage costs.
  • A bug was fixed where squad colors could be displayed incorrectly after switching squads.
  • A bug was fixed where adding a secondary key binding could overwrite the primary key binding in the next round.
  • The localization for unique loot from new enemy variants has been updated to improve naming and clarity in the game.
  • The matchmaking notifications have been improved when some group members are still on the surface.
  • A problem was fixed where health at the end of the round was not displayed correctly for all players. It is now clearer which group member is on the surface when joining a group while in Speranza.
  • Now you can switch pages in the Raider deck with the mouse wheel.
  • The user interface has been revised, and translations in supported languages have been updated.
  • Additional ping labels for various quest objects have been added to enhance clarity.
  • A problem was fixed where mouse smoothing could remain activated even when turned off. The setting is now correctly applied at the beginning of the rounds.
  • The red zip line preview has been improved when the zip line cannot be placed.
  • The login message has been updated to clearly explain when access is restricted because the holder of the shared account has been banned.
  • A bug in expeditions was fixed where the timer could go negative after the countdown and the sign-in button remained active. The screen is now updated correctly, and the button is disabled.
  • A bug was fixed where the repair preview was not displayed correctly when repairing items.
  • The screens for crafting and recycling now display the costs and rewards of items in a consistent order to improve readability.
  • The VoIP icon in the HUD now more clearly indicates whether the microphone is sending or not when using push-to-talk or toggle-to-talk.
• UTILITY
  • Pop triggers and scout relays can now be used in quick-access slots.
    • The scout relay can now be deployed as a trap that lures nearby ARC.
    • The pop trigger now rolls forward shortly before exploding.
  • A new field crafting item has been added: the shaking instrument.
  • The vita spray has been adjusted to ensure healing works continuously during application to prevent exploits.
  • An unintended behavior of the snap hook has been fixed, which pulled players in after canceling.
  • Zip lines can no longer be placed on portable objects.
  • The placement of zip lines on ARC remains that could consume or partially place the object has been corrected.
  • Mines, traps, and remote detonators can no longer be placed on zip lines or other small, deployable objects.
  • The tactical T3 augment (healing) now correctly indicates that healing takes effect immediately.
• VISUAL EFFECTS
  • A bug was fixed where the animation of Jupiter’s winding effect could be misaligned, causing the beam to display incorrectly.
  • A bug was fixed where the gas effect from Trailblazer could persist indefinitely if interrupted by the Matriarch’s shield.
• KNOWN ISSUES
  • The “Buy Raider Tokens” page can sometimes appear before switching between the inbox and profile page.
  • Player animations may be rendered incorrectly when the search for the Baron shell is interrupted.
  • Certain containers may not be interactive.
  • Zip lines placed on destroyed ARC parts may not be displayed correctly.
  • The “Impact Helmet” and the “Slugger” outfit may not be displayed correctly in the event preview.
  • The achievement “Comparative Study” may not progress correctly after the hanging drone dummies are damaged.
  • The achievement/trophy “Unyielding” does not persist on consoles when Raiders are taken down using the associated prompt.
  • Occasionally, unintended visual effects may occur.
  • One of the new ARC enemies occasionally has a non-usable interaction option when destroyed.
  • Flying ARCs can sometimes hang in midair.
  • Sometimes, the embark ID discriminator does not appear.
  • Pressing the left mouse button outside of the item selection field will close the item selection window in the expedition menu.

ANTI-CHEAT

In our last update on the fight against unfair gameplay, we did not fully represent the complexity and scope of cheat detection. Our defense mechanisms operate on multiple levels: Some checks are simple and straightforward, while others are behavior-based and data-driven and are continually evolving. We also utilize comprehensive gameplay telemetry and machine learning to detect patterns that are not immediately apparent. The development of these methods is more labor-intensive; they must adapt to changing gameplay systems and do not always provide the immediate certainty that simple software detection allows.

We have recently taken action against various exploits and are tightening our rules further. Severe violations are now punished more strictly. In cases of clear detection, an immediate permanent ban will be enforced, while other players will be temporarily banned and given a one-time chance for correction. The recent updates on family sharing have improved our capabilities to mitigate misconduct and facilitate the removal of disruptors from the game. We are preparing to introduce a systematic manual review of ban requests. The game is still young, and the amount of telemetry data is enormous. However, this process ensures that each case is handled with care while we continue to learn and invest heavily in the precision of our enforcement tools.

Our dedicated anti-cheat team works tirelessly to ensure fair play. It is a constant battle, and we are determined to fight it.