“Rebuy the game, reinstall the cheat, back in a raid within minutes”
that’s the loop one active cheater described when asked what actually happens after Embark bans his account.
Embark’s newest Arc Raiders anti-cheat update rolled out to all players this week, alongside changes to item duplication, matchmaking, and free loadouts. The short version: cheating is down, but not gone, and Embark’s public numbers still don’t match what players are experiencing in-raid.
Here’s what changed, what it means for your next raid, and where the gaps still are.
Table of Contents
- Is the Arc Raiders Anti-Cheat System Actually Working?
- Arc Raiders Duping Fix: Did It Actually Solve the Economy Problem?
- Arc Raiders Matchmaking Update: Solo, Duo, and Trio Now Tracked Separately
- No Free Loadouts on Night Raid and Closed Scrutiny
- Arc Turbine Loot Buff - What Changed
- Other Notable Changes This Patch
- Known Performance Issues
- FAQ: Arc Raiders Anti-Cheat and Update Questions
Is the Arc Raiders Anti-Cheat System Actually Working?
Partially. Embark confirms its new anti-cheat stack - hardware/software detection, machine-learning input analysis, and telemetry monitoring - is now fully enforced. Embark calls early results “promising,” but the studio still hasn’t released hard numbers.
That vagueness matters. Without published data, “promising” is a marketing word, not a metric.
What Embark has NOT disclosed:
- Total bans issued since rollout
- Whether hardware bans are actually being used
- Repeat-offender catch rate
- Any enforcement action against cheat-selling sites
What a real cheater told us:
Arc Raiders cheats are still trivial to get - “just download an exe file” - and updates keep pace with every patch.
He also noted that a ban barely slows him down, since he can rebuy the game for a few dollars and return within minutes.
Arc Raiders Duping Fix: Did It Actually Solve the Economy Problem?
No - it slowed new duping, but it didn’t undo the damage. Embark released a graph showing “unusually high profit per minute” dropping from May to June, which confirms the duping spike is real and shrinking.
That’s the good news. The bad news:
- Massive volumes of duped gear are still circulating in the live economy
- Prices and drop-value expectations are now permanently skewed
- Embark hasn’t confirmed whether it will roll back progress, strip duped items, or leave the inflated economy as-is Why this matters for you: If loot values feel “off” compared to a few months ago, this is why. Until Embark clarifies remediation, treat current market values as inflated rather than a true baseline.
Arc Raiders Matchmaking Update: Solo, Duo, and Trio Now Tracked Separately
Embark’s biggest structural change this patch is behavior-based matchmaking split by squad size. Solo, duo, and trio queues each now track your playstyle independently.
What this fixes in theory:
- Peaceful solo looting won’t push you into sweaty PvP trio lobbies
- Aggressive trio PvP won’t drag your solo queue into PvP-heavy matches
- You can switch between “chill quest run” and “high-stakes PvP” just by changing squad size
The catch: The last major matchmaking pass (May) misfired - friendly players got dumped into PvP lobbies and vice versa. Until this new system proves itself across a full patch cycle, treat it as experimental.
No Free Loadouts on Night Raid and Closed Scrutiny
Since version 1.33, Night Raid and Closed Scrutiny no longer allow free starter loadouts. This is currently experimental and limited to those two high-value modes.
Why this change makes sense: High-value raids attract “naked” free-kit players who contest rare loot with zero investment, which frustrates geared players and skews risk-reward for everyone else. Removing free kits on high-stakes maps raises the entry cost and filters out low-commitment players.
If you regularly run high-value maps, expect this restriction to expand to more modes if community feedback stays positive.
Check our Best Arc Raiders Loadout Guide to figure out what’s actually worth bringing into a raid where you can’t fall back on a free kit.
Arc Turbine Loot Buff - What Changed
Embark significantly increased loot value from Arc Turbines after players said the reward didn’t match the risk.
The remaining problem: Turbines typically spawn around the 15-minute mark, forcing a long, dangerous approach with no guarantee one even appears. The buff makes reaching a turbine more worthwhile, but spawn unpredictability is still the bigger obstacle. Prioritize turbine runs on Night Raid or storm-condition Spaceport rounds, where turbine spawn odds are reportedly higher.
Other Notable Changes This Patch
- Loot mod visibility: Weapons and items dropped on the ground now display installed mods, so you can evaluate loot at a glance instead of picking it up first.
- Arc Turbine parts: No longer drop from couriers - go straight to turbines instead.
- Rater shelf UI fix: High-value single items now display prominently even when stacked cheap items technically total more value.
- New cosmetics: A Zenith-outfit expedition, the Trial Season 5 outfit, and a crossover contract with The Finals unlocking the Azimuth outfit and Archaeology backpack (requires playing and completing contract tasks in The Finals).
Known Performance Issues
- PC: Some players report lower FPS post-update. Embark recommends updating GPU drivers while investigating further.
- Xbox Series X: Ongoing crashes have persisted for months and remain unresolved. This is currently the most serious outstanding stability issue in the game.
FAQ: Arc Raiders Anti-Cheat and Update Questions
Is Arc Raiders still full of cheaters in 2026?
Cheating has measurably decreased since the new anti-cheat rollout, but it hasn’t been eliminated. Cheats remain easy to obtain and cheap bans don’t fully deter repeat offenders.
Will Embark roll back duped items in Arc Raiders?
Embark hasn’t confirmed a rollback. Current fixes target new duping, not the items already duped into the economy.
What is the no-free-loadout rule in Arc Raiders?
It’s an experimental restriction on Night Raid and Closed Scrutiny that removes free starter kits, requiring players to bring their own gear into high-value raids.
Why did Arc Raiders change matchmaking?
To stop playstyle in one squad size (e.g., aggressive trios) from affecting matchmaking in another (e.g., solo), after the May update caused widespread mismatched lobbies.
