ARC Raiders Players Aren't Happy With Recent Item Nerfs

A major new content update for ARC Raiders has sparked criticism from the game's community after new balance adjustments made the likes of the Wolfpack, Deadline, Trailblazer, and other items much more expensive to craft. Although the latest ARC Raiders update, known as Shrouded Sky, is filled with tons of great content for players to check out, Embark's latest round of weapon and item nerfs has once again left players questioning the studio's decisions.

On February 24, Embark released the second of four major content updates for ARC Raiders, which were first outlined in the game's 2026 roadmap. In January, the studio released the Headwinds update, which included a new 1v3 matchmaking option, a new map condition exclusive to Buried City, and more. Now, the studio has returned with another major patch, this time bringing a deadly Hurricane map condition to ARC Raiders, as well as a new Raider Deck, plenty of new cosmetic items, two new ARC enemies, and more. But despite the tons of content players have to check out, it is the new balance adjustments that have become the talk of Speranza.

arc-raiders-best-combos-that-feel-like-cheating

5 Best ARC Raiders Combos That Feel Like Cheating (But Aren’t)

Discover the most powerful ARC Raiders weapon combos that make even meek Raiders fearsome foes in PvP battles.

Posts

By Lucas Simons

ARC Raiders Players Criticize New Nerfs

As revealed in the official patch notes for ARC Raiders' Shrouded Sky update, developer Embark Studios has made tons of changes to numerous weapons and items. The likes of the Stitcher, Kettle, and Venator have all received some substantial nerfs, but it is the additional crafting materials required for the Deadline, Trailblazer, Wolfpack, Vita Spray, and Showstopper that really have players baffled. A post on the game's subreddit, which has received nearly 2,000 upvotes and hundreds of comments, questions what the point of these changes is, as all aforementioned items now require additional crafting materials.

The Deadline, which is one of the best items for taking out the Queen or Matriarch in ARC Raiders, now requires one Comet Igniter, three Explosive Compound, and two ARC Circuitry, while the Wolfpack now needs one Rocketeer Driver on top of the Explosive Compound and two ARC Motion Cores already required to craft it. "And just like that, nobody brought explosives to Queen raids ever again," one user said, while another said, "I genuinely have no idea what they were thinking with the Wolfpack/Rocketeer driver change."

Another change that fans are baffled about is to the Vita Spray, a high-value healing item that continuously restores health during use and can also be used on teammates. Prior to the latest ARC Raiders update, players needed three Antiseptic and one Canister to craft the item. Now, however, the crafting recipe for the Vita Spray requires a Tick Pod, which many are confused by. "The infamous Vita Spray user wondering the science behind 'tick pods' being required to craft Vita Sprays..." One user said, while another said the item is now "useless."

It's not all bad news, though, as Embark has also finally nerfed some of the weapons included in ARC Raiders' free loadouts, in order to bring them more in line with their rarity and crafting cost. Fans have long complained that the likes of the Stitcher, which is a common weapon, is outperforming higher-value guns such as the Bobcat. In response, the studio has reduced its headshot multiplier from 2.5 to 1.75, reduced its base damage from 7 to 6.5, and increased its per-shot dispersion by around 50%. The Kettle has also had its base damage reduced from 10 to 8.5, while the Venator has had its headshot multiplier reduced from 2.5 to 2 and its base damage reduced from 9 to 8.