Embark Studios has published full patch notes for Arc Raiders update 1.17.0, revealing a wave of nerfs for PvP and PvE players hopping into Shrouded Sky.
The finer details for the new Arc Raiders patch were published on the extraction shooter’s official website today. It comes with the promise that players will be met with more than just Hurricanes and new Arc threats when they log in to check out the new February content drop.
PvP players should know three of the most useful multiplayer weapons – the Stitcher, Kettle, and Venator – have all suffered from reductions to their base damage. The Stitcher and Venator pistols have also had their headshot multipliers reduced. These are targeted nerfs from Embark that will have a noticeable impact on PvP lobbies, while buffs for the Jupiter and Aphelion will likely make them more useful across the board.
PvE players will likely appreciate the update’s improvements for the two energy weapons, but they didn’t make it out of Shrouded Sky without also facing nerfs. Let’s rip the Band-Aid off: the Deadline, Trailblazer, Wolfpack, and Showstopper will now be much more difficult to craft.
As each piece of equipment can be extremely useful when taking down Arc, Embark is asking players to gather at least one more Arc resource to build them. That’s not so bad in the case of the Vita Spray, which only requires an additional Tick Pod. The Wolfpack and its flurry of aerial homing explosives, on the other hand, now asks Raiders for one Rocketeer Driver per craft. The Rocketeer resource is quite rare and notoriously difficult to farm, making this one of the more substantial crafting adjustments and a steep ask for PvE fans.
We knew Shrouded Sky would be one of Embark’s biggest updates so far, but the version 1.17.0 patch notes reveal more highlights following its launch earlier today. For example, players can now interact with topside pianos, adding to the growing list of playable instruments. Raiders will also notice that troublesome feats can now be rerolled three times per day, while PvP feats have been removed entirely. The patch notes also sign off with a message from the team regarding its ongoing anti-cheat initiative, confirming it plans to continue punishing cheaters and exploiters following today’s fixes for a few additional glitches.
The launch of Shrouded Sky now puts Embark halfway through its four-month roadmap for Arc Raiders in 2026. The next update, Flashpoint, is expected to bring more threats and a Scrappy changes in late March, with Riven Tides set to add a new map and a new large Arc in April. We interviewed studio CEO Patrick Söderlund earlier this month and learned all about how the team plans to keep Raiders engaged throughout this year and beyond.
Finally, you can check out all of the nerfs, buffs, and other balance adjustments included today in the full patch notes below.
Arc Raiders Update 1.17.0 Patch Notes
Attention Raiders!
Violent hurricanes are sweeping topside, forcing new strategies for low-visibility combat, powerful gales, and hurtling debris. Scouts have spotted two new ARC types in the Rust Belt; we advise caution while the storm runs its course, but those who know how to read the weather will find opportunity in the chaos.
What’s New?
Read more here:
Shrouded Sky update: The hurricane strikes
February 23, 2026
Patch Highlights
Balance Changes
Weapons
In 1.13 we shipped an update that included an optimization fix for our weapons, but as many of you noticed this had the unforeseen consequence of lowering the total fire-rate of semi-automatic weapons. In 1.13.1 we reverted that fix, but something else made it into the update that shouldn't have.
Many of you have reported a "shadow buff" to the weapons, and after investigating it we found that 1.13.1 had inadvertently impacted our weapon input buffers. Where you previously would have to time your inputs to the intended cadence of a weapon to reach its full potential, you could now instead spam-click the button, effectively bypassing any skill requirement to learn the weapon's cadence. We want to keep some of that skill expression, but we also recognize that what we had previously didn't feel very responsive. To address that and land in some sort of middle ground, we have since added more levers for us to control the weapon input buffering window on a gun-to-gun basis, and we've adjusted the semi-automatic weapons accordingly. The weapons should now still be more responsive to fire when spam-clicking, but the players who choose to pace their shots will see better results.
In addition to these changes, we've also been looking into the balance between our low tier and high tier weapons. A lot of you have expressed concerns that some low tier weapons outperform our higher tier weapons at significantly reduced cost, and we're hoping to shift that balance a bit while still keeping some of that flexibility to punch above your weight if you are skilled enough. We're starting by reducing the overall TTK of the Stitcher and Kettle, and increasing the maneuverability of the Aphelion and Jupiter. We're also taking a second stab at the Venator, which still seems to be dominating a lot of our PvP encounters.
Dev Note: The Stitcher has played its role well as a close quarter weapon that rewards thoughtful positioning, but we've found that its fast TTK can sometimes lead to situations where you're ambushed and killed before you have much time to react. As many of you have pointed out, the high headshot damage is a large contributor to this problem. The TTK is often fine when the weapon is aimed at the center of mass, but when you get close enough to land the majority of the shots in your target's head, we see TTK numbers that are much faster than other weapons. These changes aim to bring that headshot TTK a bit closer to the body shot TTK by both reducing the full-spray accuracy of the weapon, and reducing the headshot multiplier.
Dev Note: The Kettle has been in a bit of a weird place. Its high damage output was intended to be used in a more medium range setting at a more deliberate pace, but we see many of you bringing it up in close quarters and effectively turning into an SMG. We want to distinguish it more from the Stitcher, but we also see that you enjoy the versatility of this weapon. So we're reducing the base damage to bring its TTK more in line, but we're keeping the high headshot multiplier to see if we can push players to go for more headshots.
Dev Note: Since the last nerfs to the Venator in 1.3.0, we've kept an eye on our data to see how it performs. During this time many of you have raised concerns that it's still dominating in PVP, and our data has shown that it is one of the highest performing weapons in the game right now. For a weapon of this tier we want it to perform well, but maybe not this well. We're looking at an overall nerf to its damage to bring down its TTK, and if that doesn't work we might need to look into its ammo consumption and cost efficiency.
Dev Note: In PVP, the Jupiter does the most headshot damage in the game, but it's quite difficult to hit headshots with it at longer ranges. You're also quite vulnerable when you use it in closer ranges since missing one shot will make you a sitting target until you either reload or swap weapons. We're increasing how much you zoom when you use ADS to give you a better view of the targets you're trying to hit, and we're reducing its equip and unequip time to make it easier to swap to a secondary weapon to follow up on your shot.
Dev Note: We weren't quite happy with the previous balancing of the Aphelion. It was intended to be a more PVP focused legendary weapon, but it couldn't quite keep up with the pacing of many of our other PVP weapons. We've made some changes to make it feel less bulky and a bit more nimble to use, to make it more viable in PVP.
Item and Crafting
Following item values and costs have been adjusted with appropriate recycle and salvaging adjustments:
Content and Bug Fixes
Achievements
Animation
ARC
Audio
Cosmetics
Gameplay
General
Maps
Movement
Progression
Quests
Social
UI
Utility
VFX
Known Issues
Anti-Cheat
When we shared our last update about tackling unfair play, we didn’t fully convey the complexity and scale of what goes into cheat detection. Our defenses operate on multiple levels: some checks are simple and definitive, while others are behavioral and data-driven and evolve over time. We also leverage broad gameplay telemetry and machine learning techniques to spot patterns that aren’t obvious at first glance. These methods take longer to develop, must adapt as game systems change, and don’t always offer instant certainty the way blunt software detections can.
We’ve recently taken action against different exploits and we are further tightening our rules and stepping up enforcement. Serious infractions now carry stricter consequences. Strong detections will receive permanent bans right off the bat, while others will receive a temporary suspension and a single chance to correct the behavior. Recent updates to Family Sharing have strengthened our ability to curb misconduct and streamlined the removal of bad actors from the game. We are preparing to launch a systematic manual review of ban appeals. The game is young and the volume of telemetry is enormous, but this process ensures every case is handled with care as we continue to learn quickly and invest heavily in the precision of our enforcement tools.
Our dedicated anti-cheat team works tirelessly to keep the game fair. It’s an ongoing fight, and we’re committed to it.
//Ossen
And the ARC Raiders Team
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
