Arc Raiders’ Latest Patch Is A Major Blow To Cheating Scum

Developer Embark has released another cheat-busting patch to its extraction shooter Arc Raiders, just a week after the last. Responding to widespread player annoyance at the amount of cheating that really seemed to kick off over the winter break, the studio made clear it had become a big priority, and really seems to be delivering on that promise. The latest patch addresses two big issues that were spoiling the game for many: people shooting from out-of-bounds, and those who had found exploits that let them shoot through the game’s geometry. It also takes care of a naughty duplication glitch.

Last week’s patch, 1.11.0, nerfed the Kettle and Trigger ‘Nade weapons, which has reshaped PvP quite dramatically within the game, while taking care of a keycard glitch. This week’s patch, numbered 1.12.0, gets far more down to business. The short patch notes rather belie the significance for those who’ve been getting fed up with certain exploits.

• Fixed an item duplication exploit.
• Fixed an ammo duplication exploit.
• Fixed some cases where players were able to damage others from behind geometry.
• Fixed various out of bounds map locations on Stella Montis.

It’s not clear which duplication exploits have been taken care of this time, although some players are claiming that some known examples are still working in the game. It’s the latter two that really matter here, however.

Being shot through various hillsides was becoming a regular complaint from Raiders, with many reports of impossible deaths ruining topside expeditions. While Embark notes that this fix only addresses “some cases,” it’ll hopefully take prevent the more common exploits dreadful cheaters are taking advantage of.

Out-of-bounds exploits were even worse, with people regularly using the trick on the Stella Montis map to be able to kill other players while essentially invulnerable themselves. With that nipped in the bud, those who play PvP should be set up for a far more fair game.

Of course, as we always point out, one of Arc Raiders‘ smartest design choices is to matchmake players into instances that suit their style of play. Those who prefer a PvE approach tend to get grouped with others of a similarly pacifist ilk, and so are far less likely to have encountered many of the issues Embark is dealing with at the moment. This all accompanies a far harsher crackdown on those caught cheating in the game, with new permanent bans.