Following on from recent ARC Raiders edit, design director Virgil Watkins discusses the approach Embark Studios takes to balance weapons and the cost-benefit ratio with its rarity levels. Since launch, ARC Raiders continues to be a very popular game that has managed to retain most of its players even through the holiday season. As popular as the game is, it's certainly not perfect, though Embark continues to iron out various issues affecting the core experience.
Despite all the cheating issues currently plaguing the game, player discussion has also focused on the recent 1.11.0 update for ARC Raiders. The first 2026 update was minor in nature, but two changes in particular have already had a big impact on the game, being a big nerf to the popular Trigger 'Nade, which reduces damage the further away the target is from the center, while slightly increasing the detonation time. Another big change was the firing rate of the kettle, as some players were able to use macros that allowed it to fire much faster than normal and cause problems in the lobby.
This ARC Raiders concept would solve some of the biggest gripes players have
A dedicated ARC Raiders player suggested a concept that Embark Studios might want to take note of, as it would solve some of the biggest problems players have.
How ARC Raiders approaches weapon balancing
Over the past few months, players have had strong opinions about various weapons ARC Raidersprompting Embark to announce that it is considering further modifications, although nothing is set at this time. While many weapons feel better when upgraded or modded, more often than not many people rely on the more common options like the Stitcher due to it being much cheaper and easier to use compared to things like the Venator or Bobcat. When players are constantly in danger of losing their loot to the enemy or an enemy ARC player, taking advantage of these cheaper and more readily available options makes sense.
However, this does not appear to have been the intention of Embark Studios, as design director Virgil Watkins indicated in a recent interview that the game's original intention was to ensure that ARC Raiders a weapon in capable hands could win a fight, even what many consider to be the worst in the game. With that, Watkins admits ARC Raiders it's just not there yet and is “definitely a bit off in some cost-benefit ratios, certainly in those [higher-tier] weapons.” As it is, the game gives players who use better gear an advantage, however slight, which Watkins says is something they don't want, saying, “The prize shouldn't inherently fill a skill gap or a tactical awareness gap or anything like that.”
But I think we're definitely a little off in some of the cost-benefit ratios, certainly in those [higher-tier] arms. He was trying to follow the curve, spending more and more money gives you an advantage. It's not clear, like I'm using a purple weapon, so I'm winning this fight, period. We don't want that.
Watkins provided a brief glimpse into the studio's future plans to address this balance. Currently, Embark is trying to improve the cost-benefit ratio, especially for some high-end products ARC Raiders weapons like the Venator. Ultimately, the goal is to maintain a sense of excitement when the player finds a rare weapon, and if that doesn't happen, then Embark will keep tweaking until it does.
Finally, Watkins confirmed that the studio is definitely open to wider weapon changes, hinting that some weapons could change rarity levels or even adjust the cost of production and upgrade material, potentially making them a bit more affordable. Again, nothing has been confirmed, but as a hypothetical situation, if a certain weapon performs well as expected, it could potentially be moved up or down, and another weapon could eventually fill the gap. Watkins confirmed that Embark isn't set up where any weapons currently sit, so if it makes long-term sense to move the weapon around, they probably will.
While fans may have to wait a while to see some of these tweaks and other weapon balances, it looks like new content is on the way after fans adjusted their date and time and revealed a new set of trials for January 20, 2026. As part of the set, the Toxic Swamp quest appeared on the list, seemingly confirming the new state of the map in ARC Raiders which has been rumored for weeks.
- Released
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October 30, 2025
- ESRB
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Teen / Violence, Blood
