ARC Raiders players are reporting widespread issues

Developer Embark Studios encourages the community to avoid playing both ARC Raiders and Final because both shooters will come under massive DDOS attacks today, January 28th. Numerous ARC Raiders players have been logging into the title to check out the new Headwinds update that was released yesterday, but have been experiencing connection issues and server issues resulting in lost gear and progress.

After a much needed Christmas break, Embark Studios is back with the first major content update of the year ARC Raiders this week. Known as the Headwinds update, the shooter's latest patch included a new map condition for Buried City, a long-running fan project for fans to work on, and several new game-changing improvements, one of which allows players to store their weapon in a secure pocket. Of course, the update also included plenty of bug fixes and overall improvements to the game, but many were disappointed after jumping in and experiencing severe connection issues.

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ARC Raiders and The Finals have major server issues

Shortly after the update went live, players took to social media to complain about severe connection issues. One user even posted a rather hilarious and unfortunate clip of them falling off a zipline and dying due to the delay. As fans lose their gear and progress due to connectivity issues, Embark has now urged the community to avoid playing ARC Raiders and Final, as both titles are under extensive DDOS attack. While the connection issues started after yesterday's update, they seemed to stabilize a few hours later, but have now returned in full force as both games have become virtually unplayable.

In a new statement about ARC Raiders Embark community manager Discord confirmed that the extraction shooter and the studio's first title, Finalthey were under a massive DDOS attack. “The strike team is working hard on mitigations and solutions to fix the problem and we are making good progress – but at this point the attacks are still ongoing,” Embark said. This statement was posted at 7:00 AM EST / 4:00 AM PST and has not been updated at the time of writing.

In addition to continuing work to stop DDOS attacks, Embark also announced today that it will release a new hotfix update that addresses unintended changes in the latest ARC Raiders patch. While the Headwinds update didn't mention any weapon balance adjustments, players quickly discovered that a handful of fan-favorite weapons had their rate of fire reduced. This included Kettle and Venator. However, Embark has now confirmed that these changes were not intentional and will be reversed. The team also says that the loot time has been increased randomly, but that will also be reverted in the next hotfix update that should be released later today.

Embark has yet to comment on player disappointment surrounding the new ARC Raiders a matchmaking option that allows players to go against the entire team as a solo player. Many have questioned who this option is aimed at, as no one in the community has asked for such a feature. To top it off, the only benefit that comes with going solo against a team of three is some extra experience. But since most players who would be willing to try the matchmaking option are probably maxed out already, many believe the risk is simply not worth the reward.