Hold onto your helmets, Raiders, because a new update just dropped, and it's shaking things up! You might be wondering why your usual loot runs feel a little different, or why that pesky exploit is finally gone. Well, buckle up, because we're diving into the latest patch notes for ARC Raiders, version 1.18.0, released on March 3, 2026.
First off, the developers have been busy squashing some bugs that were making life a bit too easy (or frustrating, depending on your perspective!). Remember that sneaky exploit that let you stash weapons in your safe pocket without needing the Safekeeper Augment? Poof! Gone. And that clever trick of pocketing the Snaphook while it was still in use? That's also been put to bed. These fixes are all about ensuring a fair and fun experience for everyone on the battlefield.
Now, let's talk loot. You might notice a slight adjustment to the drop rates of rare blueprints. The team has observed that First Wave Caches, especially on the Hurricane map condition, have been incredibly generous with blueprints, perhaps a little too generous, given how adept Raiders have become at finding and looting them. But here's where it gets interesting: to rebalance this, they're slightly lowering the drop rate for rare blueprints while simultaneously raising the drop rate for high-tier materials within these same caches.
Dev note: The developers explained their thinking behind this: "The main reason for this change is that the First Wave Caches have been handing out a lot of blueprints, especially given how good players have been at tracking them down and looting them. To help balance that out, we’re bumping up the drop rates for higher-tier materials inside the caches. So while you might see a few fewer blueprints overall, you’ll be getting better materials in return. Caches will still be a solid way to find blueprints, just not to the point where you can reliably walk away from every session with 3–5 of them."
This means you might not be walking away with a pocketful of blueprints every single time, but the materials you do find will be of higher quality, which is crucial for crafting and upgrading your gear. It's a trade-off aimed at a more sustainable and rewarding progression. What do you think about this shift? Is it a welcome change, or do you miss those frequent blueprint hauls? Let us know in the comments!
Beyond the loot adjustments, a very hot fix has been deployed for the Dam Controlled Access Zone, so expect smoother sailing there. Performance issues have also been addressed; a fix is in place for those occasional performance drops that some players were experiencing due to certain ARC interactions.
For those working on their objectives, a fix is now live for the quest “Worth Your Salt”. Previously, if another player completed the final stage of this quest within the same raid, you might have found yourself unable to progress. That frustrating roadblock has been removed.
And finally, a rare issue that caused players to crash when navigating to the Player Proximity menu has been resolved. This should make managing your squad and understanding your surroundings a much more stable experience.
So, go ahead and restart your client to download this update. We'll see you topside!
//Ossen
