ARC Raiders Dev Discusses Weapon Balancing

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Following a recent update to ARC Raiders, Embark Studios’ design director, Virgil Watkins, explained how the team balances weapons and their effectiveness based on how rare they are. ARC Raiders has remained very popular since its release, successfully keeping most of its players engaged through the holidays. While the game is well-received, Embark Studios is continuously working to improve the experience and fix existing problems.

Despite ongoing concerns about cheating, players are also talking about the recent Update 1.11.0 for ARC Raiders. While this first update of 2026 was relatively small, two changes have significantly impacted gameplay. The popular Trigger ‘Nade has been adjusted to deal less damage the further a target is from the blast center, and its detonation time is now slightly longer. Additionally, the Kettle’s fire rate has been modified to address an issue where players were using macros to make it fire much faster than intended, causing problems in the game lobby.

How ARC Raiders Approaches Weapon Balancing

As a big fan of ARC Raiders, I’ve been following the discussions about the weapons, and it’s clear a lot of us have strong feelings about them! The developers at Embark have said they’re looking into making some changes, which is great to hear. I’ve noticed a lot of players, myself included, tend to stick with the Stitcher. It’s just so much easier to get and upgrade than something like the Venator or Bobcat. When you’re constantly worried about losing everything you’ve worked for to an ARC or another player, it makes sense to go with the reliable, cheaper options. It’s all about balancing risk and reward, and right now, the Stitcher feels like the safest bet for a lot of us.

Embark Studios aimed to create a game where skill, not necessarily the best gear, would determine the winner in ARC Raiders. Design director Virgil Watkins recently explained that every weapon should be viable in the right hands. However, the game isn’t quite there yet. Watkins acknowledges that some weapons currently offer too little benefit for their cost, especially the more powerful ones. Currently, better gear does give players an advantage, which the developers don’t want. They believe that skill and strategy should be more important than simply having better equipment.

I think our calculations for how much extra power you get for the cost of certain weapons – especially the more expensive ones – are a little off. We were aiming for a system where spending more money gives you an advantage, but not a guaranteed win. We don’t want it to be as simple as ‘better weapon equals automatic victory.’

Watkins shared a quick look at the studio’s plans for balancing the game. Embark is currently working to improve the value players get from items, particularly powerful weapons in ARC Raiders like the Venator. The team wants players to feel thrilled when they find a rare weapon, and they’ll keep making adjustments until they achieve that.

Image via Embark Studios

Watkins also mentioned the studio is willing to make significant changes to weapons. This could include adjusting how rare certain guns are, or changing the cost of materials needed to craft and upgrade them, possibly making some weapons easier to obtain. While nothing is set in stone, the team might move a weapon to a different rarity level if it’s performing better or worse than expected, and then have another weapon take its place. Watkins emphasized that Embark isn’t fixed on the current state of any weapon and will likely make adjustments if it benefits the game in the long run.

Image via Embark Studios

Although it might take a little while for players to see some improvements and weapon adjustments, it looks like new content is coming to ARC Raiders. A recent update revealed a new set of Trials scheduled for January 20, 2026, and a task called “Toxic Swamp” was included, suggesting a long-rumored new map feature – a swampy, poisonous environment – is finally being added.

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2026-01-15 04:29