ARC Raiders Trials Season 4 Ends July 7 - Blindspot Rewards & Season 5 Prove Your Mettle Explained
In ARC Raiders Trials Season 4, players fought their way through hail of bullets, fire, explosions, and scavenging, ultimately capturing key resources and eliminating ARC invaders. With only a few days left until the end of Season 4, a new season is on its way.
This article will show you what you can get at the end of ARC Raiders Trials Season 4, what will be different in Season 5, and some player feedback.
Trials Season 4 End and Rewards
ARC Raiders Trials Season 4 will end on July 7, 2026. Based on players' final rankings, different colors and features of Blindspot Set will be unlocked. The detailed reward list is as follows:
- Tryhard II - Blindspot Outfit Navy Blue color
- Tryhard III - Hat Outfit Variant
- Wildcard I - Padding Outfit Variant
- Wildcard II - Jacket Outfit Variant
- Wildcard III - Mask Outfit Variant
- Hotshot - Blindspot Outfit Green color
- Cantina Legend - Blindspot Outfit Beige Black color
About Trials Season 5
ARC Raiders Trials Season 5 will officially begin on July 7, 2026 at 12:00:00 UTC and will last until September 30, 2026 at 07:00:00 UTC. This season's theme is Prove Your Mettle. Based on player feedback, Embark Studios development team has updated the objective pool, adding more diverse and challenging missions. The specific new content for Season 5 is as follows:
Weapon-specific Combat Tasks
Players must use specific weapons to attack specific ARC units. This will not simply test the player's equipment, but will focus more on the player's game strategy.
Risk-heavy Survival Mechanics
ARC Raiders Season 5 trials will include some trials that directly subject players to explosive damage, testing their damage mitigation capabilities. The official statement says that new methods will be used to test player equipment.
Returning Favorites
Some of the challenges that players enjoyed in previous seasons will continue to rotate, bringing a sense of familiarity to veteran players.
Season 5 Rewards and Progression
As with previous seasons, the final ranking determines which cosmetic variants are unlocked. The core set reward for Season 5 is The Scorta. Legendary Raiders who reach Hotshot or Cantina Legend rank will unlock exclusive Red and Blue color variants, letting both Raiders and ARC know that you are no ordinary player.
In addition, extra cosmetic rewards are available at the end of ARC Raiders season, as follows:
- Backpack: Green Bruiser
- Backpack Charm: Pressure Gauge
- Backpack attachment: Hydraulic Pump
- Emote: Come at me
Community Feedback
PvPvE Identity Crisis
Many players remain dissatisfied with the new season, feeling it hasn't brought any significant improvements. A recurring theme in the comments is the conflict between PvE and PvP elements in ARC Raiders. While advertised as a PvPvE extraction shooter, many players feel the experience is heavily PvP-oriented, especially in team play.
Camping Problem
Furthermore, the most critical feedback focuses on player behavior, particularly at extraction points. Many reviews describe the game as a Lord of Flies simulator.
Every extraction point is teeming with campers who indiscriminately kill players on every map without any penalty. Most PvE players abandoned the game due to poor camping and a lack of player community, a problem the developers ignored.
Nerf Controversy
Riven Tides update prior to Season 5 significantly nerfed numerous ARC Raiders Items, sparking strong discontent within the player community. For example, Photoelectric Cloak - a crucial tool for evading ARC detection - was doubled in weight and tripled in power consumption. Furthermore, changes to weapon durability also drew criticism, failing to improve gameplay or enhance realism.
Despite player complaints, the developers made no improvements, forcing players to continue using these items in Season 5, further fueling discontent.
Technical and Gameplay Grievances
Players reported screen tearing, frame drops, and stuttering during crucial moments, particularly severe on PS5. One reviewer noted, "The game starts to lag when other players are near me; I can feel it."
Console players face a significant disadvantage compared to PC players. Reports indicate that item management, menu navigation, and interaction speed are slower on consoles. PC players can exit pickups and actions without pressing keys, while console players must wait for the game to recognize input.
In addition, players have reported frequently getting stuck on small terrain obstacles, and platform differences exacerbate navigation issues. PC players can climb obstacles that console players cannot, forcing console players to take detours.
Community Wishlist and Future Direction
Players have expressed clear wishes for the future development of ARC Raiders. First, players hope the game can offer a mode purely focused on ARC raids and exploration, unaffected by PvP. This is a repeatedly raised demand from players.
Second, players hope for a robust matchmaking system to address the imbalance between duo and trio teams. Finally, they hope for performance optimization across all aspects of the game, especially for the console version.
This concludes the analysis of ARC Raiders Trials Season 5. For more information, follow EZG Facebook, where there will be occasional giveaways to help you obtain more game resources.
The arrival of ARC Raiders Season 5 comes at a crucial time. While the new trials bring fresh challenges and enticing rewards, the player community remains deeply dissatisfied with the game's positioning and balance adjustments.
It is hoped that the game developers will fulfill their promise to listen to player feedback and address some long-standing issues that severely impact the player experience.
ARC Raiders Players Are Divided Over Expedition 4 Reward Changes: Here's Why
The fourth ARC Raiders Expedition is set to run from July 7 to July 21, giving players a 14-day window to sign up and complete the challenges. Notably, the developers have implemented the most significant overhaul to Expedition progression system to date.
These changes sparked widespread discussion within ARC Raiders community. Some players feel the developers are undermining Expedition's most appealing feature - permanent progression rewards - while others argue the move helps narrow the gap between new and veteran players, paving the way for a fairer progression system in the upcoming Frozen Trail update.
Debates regarding reward mechanics, fairness, and the future direction of ARC Raiders Expedition 4 have become the hottest topics leading up to the event's launch.
Controversy
The biggest change in the upcoming ARC Raiders Expedition 4 is the shift from skill points to temporary blueprints as rewards - a move that has become the focal point of the community's reaction. Many players believe Embark's major misstep was diminishing the value of Expedition's core feature: permanent progression.
The most disappointing aspect is that Mystery Reward system keeps blueprint acquisition random and luck-dependent. There is even a risk of receiving duplicate blueprints - items you might already own from Ermal Vault - meaning you could toil through an Expedition only to end up with a worthless duplicate.
Players feel Expedition has become significantly less attractive following these changes. While dedicated fans of ARC Raiders' gameplay loop will probably still participate, the game currently needs fresh content rather than a nerf to Expedition rewards.
Some players argue that the benefits gained from participating in Expeditions no longer outweigh the losses incurred by the account reset. Furthermore, failing to keep up with Expedition progress could result in the loss of certain buffs, forcing players to participate even if they are dissatisfied with the changes.
Previously, many players participated in Expedition specifically to earn all skill points and permanent stash space. However, with the introduction of Ermal Vault, stash space - once an exclusive Expedition reward - can now be obtained through other means, effectively weakening Expedition's primary incentive.
With the developers confirming that stash expansion will cap at 60 slots after the fifth Expedition, the prospect of resetting one's account no longer offers an interesting enough reason to continue.
What players find even more unacceptable is that participating in Expedition 4 actually results in the loss of the extra stash space provided by Ermal, whereas opting out allows them to retain those upgrades. Many players find this design difficult to comprehend from a logical standpoint.
Some ARC Raiders players emphasize that the genuine issue isn't just the decline in reward value, but the dwindling number of permanent rewards. Factors such as capped inventory space, a ceiling on skill points, and the random duplication of temporary blueprints have caused Expeditions 4 to lose their long-term appeal.
Support
Although dissenting voices dominate, there are still plenty of supporters within ARC Raiders community. Some players believe that retaining the damage challenge was the right decision.
Moreover, this adjustment didn't come entirely out of the blue; the developers had previously noted that many players had already hit the skill point cap, making a limit on skill points an expected move. The developers could hardly allow players to accumulate infinite skill points and eventually max out the entire skill tree; the progression system requires a cap.
In fact, ARC Raiders team hinted at this future direction in a May announcement. It stated that since many Raiders had reached max level and capped their skill points, Frozen Trail would introduce new progression goals, offering an alternative path for players who had completed multiple Expeditions.
Suggestions
ARC Raiders community has also offered various suggestions on how to balance the value of Expeditions with fairness. One perspective is that players participating in Expeditions should receive five permanent blueprints as a reward for account progression.
Meanwhile, players who do not participate in Expeditions could still obtain the same blueprints through standard means - such as trials, missions, or map scavenging - without enjoying the convenience of a permanent unlock. This approach would prevent veteran players from gaining an overwhelming statistical advantage while preserving the significance of Expeditions.
Other players have suggested designating certain uncraftable, high-value ARC Raiders Items - such as Silencer III, Kinetic Converters, or Horizontal Grips - as exclusive permanent blueprint rewards for Expeditions, making them far more appealing than standard blueprints.
There is also the view that striking a balance for Expeditions is inherently difficult; they arguably require a reset to remain meaningful, yet rewards cannot be so powerful that new players cannot catch up, as this would compromise fairness.
To address this issue, some ARC Raiders players have proposed raising the maximum skill point cap so that full progression is achieved after completing five Expeditions. They also suggest decoupling Expedition Vault from Ermal: adding a vault slot for every one or two Expeditions completed, while granting Raider Tokens as an additional reward.
Regarding stash space, a diminishing growth model could be adopted: adding 12 slots over the first five Expeditions, then gradually reducing the rate of increase to ensure room for long-term progression.
Beyond discussing Expedition rewards, many players believe that October marks a truly critical juncture for ARC Raiders. Currently, it appears Embark is using Ermal to maintain player engagement, hoping to keep the community active until the major Frozen Trail update arrives in October.
ARC Raiders team seems to be actively exploring the game's future direction, including new progression systems, more balanced reward mechanisms, and richer combat experiences, to ensure Frozen Trail update delivers high-quality content.
If you would like to stay updated on the latest ARC Raiders news, please follow EZG Facebook; we also host occasional ARC Raiders Items giveaways.
Overall, although the latest Expedition 4 has not yet officially launched, it has already sparked the most intense community discussion seen in ARC Raiders in recent times. As the major October update approaches, players hope the developers will seize this opportunity to refine the long-term value of Expedition system.
ARC Raiders Expedition July 7 Registration Window, Damage Thresholds, and Reward Structure Full Breakdown
ARC Raiders Expedition departure window is coming soon, and this update is considered the most significant change to the entire expedition mechanics. ARC Raiders development team stated that they bring new content with each expedition and optimize the rules and reward structure based on player feedback.
From a player's perspective, the experience of these changes is mixed. Some appreciate the novelty of Expedition, while many others believe it may be the most missed expedition yet.
EZG will now provide a detailed analysis of the changes to Expedition in ARC Raiders and the points of contention among players.
Start Time
According to the official ARC Raiders announcement, expedition registration window will be open from 1 PM CEST/11 AM UTC/4 AM PST on July 7th to 10 AM CEST/8 AM UTC/1 AM PST on July 21st.
You need to complete the registration and challenge process within the specified time. It's important to note that even completing the prerequisite Caravan doesn't automatically qualify you for Expedition; you must manually confirm your participation.
This expedition was highly praised because you knew what you would face and what you needed to do almost two weeks before the window opened, making the goals very clear.
Compared to past ARC Raiders updates or vague explanations, this longer preview period allows you to plan your game pace in advance. You can also buy ARC Raiders Expedition Material from EZG.com to skip the grind.
However, some believe it would be even better if these requirements appeared earlier, at the beginning of Riven Tides, or even directly indicated Caravan completion progress in ARC Raiders' UI.
Damage Challenge
This expedition continues the structure of the previous expedition, retaining the damage challenge mechanism. You need to deal cumulative damage to ARC enemies or other players within the expedition window to unlock different stages of rewards. These stages roughly cover the range from 5,000 to 100,000 damage.
Reward Structure
The most significant change in this expedition lies in the complete overhaul of the reward system. Players who complete Expedition 4 will receive a brand-new initial stage appearance for Zenith Outfit. Unlike before, the rewards for completing ARC Raiders expeditions are no longer traditional skill points, but blueprints and Raider Tokens.
Blueprints are a crucial resource for restarting ARC Raiders. Each completed stage may reward a random blueprint. While the system prevents duplicate blueprint drops in the same challenge run, you can still obtain duplicate blueprints if you enter Expedition with old blueprints via Ermal's Vault.
Furthermore, ARC Raiders' blueprint pool is very broad, ranging from weapon parts and equipment modifications to various weapon prototypes and tactical modules, further amplifying the randomness. This is one of the biggest points of contention in this expedition.
Many ARC Raiders players initially thought they could choose the blueprint combinations they needed. However, the reality is completely random; you can't choose the rewards and are solely reliant on RNG drops.
Even investing significant time in high-damage challenges during expeditions doesn't guarantee you'll get the blueprints you truly desire. This uncertainty makes many players feel that the relationship between investment and reward has become more unstable.
Another point of contention is the removal of skill point rewards. While some players anticipated the gradual withdrawal of skill points from Expedition system, their actual removal still left some disappointed. For some, skill points were a core attraction of Expedition, now replaced by blueprint and token rewards.
These blueprints are temporary, resetting at the start of your next expedition, while Raider Tokens can be retained as permanent rewards for cosmetic purposes and long-term progression.
ARC Raiders development team also specified that this round of mystery reward mechanisms is a first attempt and will be adjusted based on player feedback; this expedition is more like an experimental design.
Consecutive buffs
Besides the changes to the reward mechanics, Consecutive Buffs system in ARC Raiders has also been adjusted. Previously, participating in consecutive expeditions would continuously increase experience, repair, and ARC Raiders Items bonuses, but this growth is now limited to three levels.
Even if you participate in four expeditions, the buff effect will not continue to increase, but will remain at the third level. This change means that the benefits for long-term participants are compressed, and it also reduces the potential for growth through repeated expeditions.
Furthermore, skill points from ARC Raiders expedition rewards have also been capped, preventing subsequent participants from accumulating advantages through repeated expeditions. The developers intended to balance the gap between new and veteran players in this way.
However, the problem is that this balancing method seems to weaken the appeal of Expeditions themselves. The core cycle of wipes, combined with the reward reset mechanism, should have required more generous rewards to attract ARC Raiders players back.
If you want to learn more about the latest ARC Raiders Expedition, please follow EZG Facebook. We will also be hosting giveaways from time to time.
ARC Raiders Expedition has undergone a major structural overhaul, attempting to find a new balance between new and veteran players while maintaining freshness through random rewards. For players, this expedition feels more like an experiment than a pure return reward cycle. Whether it will be strengthened or adjusted again in the future depends on player feedback and the direction of subsequent updates.
Is Surge Coil Worth Using after Expedition 4? Hidden PvE Effects Explained in ARC Raiders
Expedition 4 window will open on June 22nd, and account resets may take five days to two weeks after the window opens. At the start of Expedition 4, player resources, ammunition, and equipment will be scarce. For players looking to conserve ammunition and improve survivability, Surge Coil is perhaps one of the most overlooked tactical items in the game.
In ARC Raiders, Surge Coil has always been considered a typical PvP item. Most players use it as a trap against other raiders to restrict enemy movement or create surprise attacks, rarely considering its use against ARC mechanical units.
However, after testing it on almost all enemies in ARC Raiders, EZG discovered that this item not only deals damage but also has many unexpected hidden interactive effects.
Disrupting Target Behavior
For ARC Raiders flying units like Hornet and Wasp. While Surge Coil doesn't immediately cause targets to fall upon attaching, as many might expect, it deals nearly 700 damage and significantly disrupts the movement of flying enemies. Hornet, though not instantly killed by Surge Coil, exhibits noticeable imbalance and a erratic flight path.
Using Surge Coil on Surveyor not only inflicts continuous damage but also interrupts its charging roll attack. Timing is crucial; use it just as Surveyor is about to charge, forcibly canceling its attack. While it doesn't instantly kill, this interruption ability is clearly valuable in ARC Raiders gameplay.
Surge Coil exhibits unexpected control effects on Shredder. Testing revealed that, with proper timing, Surge Coil continuously interrupts Shredder's attack animations, preventing it from effectively suppressing fire. While the damage isn't exceptionally high, the ability to frequently cancel attacks is invaluable against this high-threat ARC Raiders enemy.
Bombardier was one of the most interesting targets in this ARC Raiders test. Once attached to ARC Raiders Surge Coil, it spins in place, interrupting many attacks and rendering it helpless. You can then continue attacking without fear of its fierce counterattack.
A similar situation occurred with Bastion, but with a much weaker effect. It is somewhat disrupted, but not as completely out of control as Bombardier, and retains its attack capabilities most of the time. I would recommend walking up with a photo electric cloak because Bastion is a lot more dangerous than a Bombardier.
Infinite Use
The most surprising discovery came from Wasp and Firefly. When Surge Coil is attached to Wasp, not only can its shooting actions be continuously canceled, but you can also retrieve Surge Coil after Wasp is destroyed.
In other words, as long as an ARC Raiders enemy dies before Surge Coil is destroyed, Surge Coil will drop back for you to use again. Theoretically, you can infinitely loop the same Surge Coil to achieve a kill. Even without any ammo, carrying Surge Coil allows you to continuously eliminate Wasps without consuming bullets.
Similarly, Surge Coil interrupts Firefly attacks and is returned to you upon the target's death. Against Comets, Surge Coil causes them to briefly spin uncontrollably before exploding, and you can also retrieve Surge Coil. This is a fairly useful hidden technique for players facing resource shortages in the early stages of Expedition 4.
Limited Effects
However, not all ARC Raiders enemies are significantly affected by Surge Coil. While Surge Coil can break some Leaper armor, it doesn't effectively prevent jumping or significantly interrupt attacks; Leapers exhibit almost no abnormal behavior, resulting in limited benefits.
Surge Coil performs similarly poorly against Rocketeer and Vaporizer. While it deals several hundred damage, it neither causes them to fall nor significantly interferes with their attacks. You often have to expose yourself by getting onto the target to deploy Surge Coil, yet the payoff rarely matches the risk involved. Therefore, Surge Coil is clearly not the best choice for high-level air units.
When facing Queen, you need to use the grappling hook to enter the core area and place Surge Coil. This deals close to 400 damage to the exposed core and quickly depletes its durability. However, it doesn't interrupt Queen's attacks; it only provides additional damage output.
The situation with Matriarch is very similar to that of Queen. Surge Coil doesn't cause any special behaviors in ARC Raiders Boss, nor does it significantly affect its attack rhythm. Overall, it's merely an additional source of damage and not enough to change the combat style.
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After testing with all ARC Raiders enemies, we can see that Surge Coil is far more than just a PvP tool. Its greatest value lies not in damage, but in its unique control effect. The most practical hidden mechanism is that as long as the target is destroyed before Surge Coil, you can infinitely retrieve and reuse it.
This mechanism is crucial for players who lack ammunition in the early stages of Expedition 4 and want to conserve resources. While Surge Coil has limited effectiveness against some high-level targets, its potential in clearing out small to medium-sized ARC Raiders enemies far exceeds most players' expectations. Understanding the hidden uses of Surge Coil can help you progress quickly in the early stages of Expedition 4.
ARC Raiders Ermal Shop Prices Slashed: What Changed and Why Players Are Still Unhappy?
In gaming industry, it's rare for developers to publicly admit to problems with their systems. However, the recent update to Ermal's Shop in ARC Raiders suggests that the developers have quietly acknowledged a serious issue with shop's initial launch.
Simply put, Ermal's Shop in the game was previously ridiculously expensive, drawing negative feedback from players. Now, the prices have been lowered.
Below, I will detail the background and discussions within player community.
What is Ermal's Shop?
The developers added this system to ARC Raiders at the end of May. In the game's lore, he is an envoy from the nomadic surface dwellers, bringing unique items to players.
He brings different rare and valuable rewards each week, including various weapons, items, Blueprints, decorations, and more. The most unique aspect is that you can redeem Extra Stash Space and Expedition Vault from him.
Extra Stash Space provides players with additional stash space; while Expedition Vault is the highlight of Ermal's shop - it allows you to store five items and carry them into the next Expedition.
In ARC Raiders, every time you start an Expedition, everything you've painstakingly accumulated disappears. Instead, you receive exclusive rewards upon completion.
However, recent Expedition rewards have been disappointing, and more and more players are reluctant to lose their valuable items for those rewards, leading to a decline in Expedition participation.
To address this issue, the developers designed Expedition Vault, so players no longer have to lose their most prized items.
Why negative reviews?
However, the idea was promising, but reality was somewhat harsh. When players opened Ermal's shop full of anticipation, their first reaction upon seeing the prices was disappointment.
Outrageous Pricing
When Ermal's shop first launched, everything was priced outrageously. A single cosmetic item required 500,000 Coins worth of materials to exchange for, while some Blueprints required a whopping 1 million Coins. Most players struggled to accumulate enough materials to exchange for these items.
Especially Blueprints; obtaining them through Ermal's shop was arguably more difficult than farming them directly in ARC Raiders. So why didn't players just farm Blueprints directly?
The prices of highly anticipated Extra Stash space and Expedition Vault were also outrageous, requiring massive amounts of materials to acquire.
No Installment Payments
Besides the pricing issues, Ermal's shop had an even more fatal design flaw: materials couldn't be submitted in installments; everything had to be collected at once.
What does this mean? For example, if you want to exchange for a Blueprint that requires 1 million worth of materials, you first need to fill your Stash Space with various materials totaling 1 million worth before you can exchange it all at once.
Even more ridiculous, if you want to exchange for Extra Stash Space in Ermal's shop, you need a large amount of materials. Some players have tested this and found that even if you fill all your Stash Space with materials, you still can't get all Stash Space, making this item practically "unpurchasable."
Ermal's Shop Changes
Following strong protests from ARC Raiders players, the developers made numerical adjustments to Ermal's shop over the next two weeks.
First, they adjusted cost of Expedition Vault, which was of most concern to players. Previously, the price of Expedition Vault slots increased in tiers; now, the price to unlock each slot is fixed.
Furthermore, after a recent item rotation, the prices of most items in Ermal's shop were adjusted to half or a third of their original prices, including some previously outrageously priced ARC Raiders Blueprints. Now, most players can afford to exchange for items they want.
While the developers haven't publicly acknowledged their numerical design flaws or compensated players who suffered significant losses, these adjustments demonstrate that they fully understand their mistakes.
Many players are outraged: Didn't their staff test the numerical values beforehand?
Is problem solved?
While the developers have made reasonable adjustments to the numerical values, this doesn't mean all problems are resolved. According to discussions among ARC Raiders players, Ermal Shop still has the following three issues:
Blueprint Price Controversy
Some Blueprints, even after adjustments, remain expensive. This has sparked controversy among players.
Some players believe the high prices are justified because these Blueprints are inherently difficult to obtain, and setting the price too low would undermine their scarcity.
Other players believe the current prices are still too high. Since Stash space is limited, and Ermal Shop still doesn't allow for phased material deliveries, you'll likely have to use the vast majority of your Stash space to store these materials.
Still No Phased Delivery
The fact that "Ermal's Shop only accepts one-time payments" remains unchanged. In ARC Raiders, most quests allow for phased material deliveries, but Ermal Shop doesn't, which is clearly unreasonable.
Regarding this, most players believe the developers should implement a phased delivery function, as players' Stash space is limited and simply cannot store that many materials.
The above summarizes recent discussion in player community regarding shop in Ermal in ARC Raiders. If you're interested in this article, you can follow EZG Facebook, we'll be giving away various gifts to our followers in the future, possibly including valuable Blueprints.
In short, while Ermal shop has been improved and is now more reasonable, it still has some shortcomings. Hopefully, these issues will be addressed in this week's game update.
ARC Raiders Duplication Glitch Crisis Deepens When Players As Architects' Hard Work Fail to Stop Cheaters
The recent Duplication Glitch in ARC Raiders has escalated significantly. Despite strong player demands for a self-immolation or self-destruct mechanism for cheaters, the official June 9th Update 1.32.0 contained no information regarding a fix for this vulnerability.
In fact, ARC Raiders is currently facing immense pressure, not only from Duplication Glitch crisis but also from changes to the matchmaking system and the tension between PvP and PvE communities. All these indicate a collapsing internal ecosystem and a significant player exodus.
The remaining players are filled with anxiety. What should players and developers do in this pressure-ridden situation?
The Long Hiatus Is Problematic
In May 2026, after the release of Riven Tides update, ARC Raiders announced a decision that sparked strong player backlash - changing the update schedule from monthly to twice a year. The next major update, Forzen Trail, is not expected to launch until at least October 2026.
Meanwhile, the previously announced three-weekly minor updates, including balance adjustments, bug fixes, and shop rotations, have caused considerable confusion regarding the definition of Three Weeks.
After communicating with customer service, some players learned that the three-week period did not begin from the last patch, but rather from the day the official announcement of the change in update frequency was made.
This means that there could be weeks of silence between previous updates and new patches, during which players will have to endure various bugs and cheating behaviors.
Although the official explanation is that this is to allow more time to prepare high-quality content that can truly change the way players play the game, the excessively long wait and the minimal release of new events have turned this period into a void for players, leading to a continuous accumulation of frustration within the player community without any resolution.
Duplication Glitch Remains Unresolved
In fact, the real source of Duplication Glitch can be traced back to the end of January 2026, when patch 1.12.0 attempted to fix the item and ammunition Duplication Glitch.
Just a few days after the fix, in early February, it resurfaced, this time on smaller PvP maps like Stella Montis, where throwables like Trigger Nades could be duplicated almost infinitely.
At that time, ARC Raiders battlefield had become a wasteland, abandoning the original psychological warfare and tactical battles, requiring only relentless bombardment.
On February 11th, Embark urgently released the 1.5.0 update and a hotfix, resolving the unlimited ammo and Duplication Glitch while also initiating the first review and punishment of accounts exploiting the vulnerability. However, this respite was short-lived, as Duplication Glitch continued to reappear.
Duplication Glitch that appeared in early June further exacerbated players' anxiety.
The subsequent ARC Raiders 1.31.0 and 1.32.0 updates were dubbed Store Updates by players and media alike, as they only included cosmetic changes such as new color variations and hairstyles for Macrome Set, without addressing any core system adjustments, weapon balancing, or the cheating behavior players most desired to resolve.
Cheaters using Duplication Glitch could dominate PvP lobby with high-value weapons duplicated at zero cost, making it even more difficult for players who honestly searched for ARC Raiders Blueprints and crafted equipment to survive.
Not to mention, previously rare and high-value weapons are now readily available because of Duplication Glitch, rendering them worthless in Black Market. Unsuspecting players, lured by the low prices, trade with these cheaters, only to be punished by self-destruction.
Duplication Glitch has profoundly impacted the overall state of ARC Raiders. The fact that consecutive updates offer no targeted changes or fixes has exacerbated player frustration.
PvE New Mode Controversy
Besides the unresolved internal system issues and the increasingly difficult PvP environment, PvE players are also living in fear. However, new server received some good news.
On May 1, 2026, Chinese version of ARC Raiders received its game license and was operated. In early June of the same year, a new, almost entirely PvE game mode called Rebellion Incident was leaked during new server's testing.
In this mode, players automatically disable damage. Unless a player actively chooses to betray, no one can harm another. However, betraying players will be highlighted and wanted throughout the lobby. For PvE enthusiasts, Rebellion Incident is arguably an absolutely safe mode.
This is a long-standing demand from international players. Previous updates attempted to use more precise monitoring of player actions within the incident to determine PvE entry limits, but self-defense counterattacks were also considered PvP, causing considerable frustration for PvE-loving players.
The desire for a new PvE mode on new server has led international players to appeal to the developers in the community, hoping to bring this mode to the international servers. This has placed immense pressure on ARC Raiders.
The players' urgent need for bug fixes and their anticipation of new PvE features have forced Embark to make hard decisions with limited resources.
The Architects' Hard Work
Meanwhile, Those players who have endured all this and remain on ARC Raiders are not only loyal fans but also the architects of the game.
Many players have likely experienced kindness from strangers in games, whether it's a rescue, a spared kill, or a generous offer of supplies. You have to believe that it's not just the game mechanics themselves that create strong player engagement, but also the human element in the game.
Some players seem born to create a positive environment for the game. ARC Raiders is more than just a game of looting, fighting, and combat; some players are completely detached from these mechanics, yet they influence the entire game from within. From a psychological perspective, this is a classic example of Emergent-Norm Theory.
The formation of a set of conventional rules within a group, without a formal framework, depends not on the whole, but on the actions of specific individuals who act first. Their behavior is interpreted as the proper course of action by others, thus being repeated, imitated, and spread from one to ten, from ten to a hundred, ultimately becoming part of the game.
In ARC Raiders, there is no medic class, no in-game cues for healing wounded or even hostile players, and no reward mechanism exists either.
Nevertheless, certain players stepped up as pioneers, slowly forging a robust sense of community identity.
A growing number of players embraced this conduct, picked it up, and began applying it.
These individuals may be regarded as the architects of the game; they constructed a wholesome, constructive play environment and a rule system that lives solely in the players' collective consciousness.
What players truly need is not just a well-functioning extraction environment, but a vibrant world. Bugs have appeared in this world, requiring urgent fixing. Whether it's the developers or the volunteer architects, everyone is working hard for ARC Raiders under the same pressure.
Whether the next three-weekly update will address these issues remains to be seen. Players who want to stay updated can follow EZG Facebook. Besides the latest news, we'll also occasionally offer free game resource giveaways.
In short, the next time you land on Speranza, try interacting with unfamiliar players on the opposing side; you might discover something unexpected.
