Arc Raiders has received a new update today that’s almost entirely dedicated to balance and economy tweaks. Patch 1.3.0 arrived earlier across all platforms, coming in at just under 1GB. This is an especially interesting patch because many of the changes it makes can be seen as a response to player behaviour on Stella Montis, the game’s latest map, which just joined the roster last week.
Stella Montis is available for players who’ve put in a decent number of rounds, and its close-quarters, enclosed environments have essentially turned it into the new “PvP map”, where constant action can be found.
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That, of course, also means that the map has exposed a few balance issues with some of the game’s weapons and tools. Case in point: the Venator, a pistol that saw a lot of use recently. The weapon is especially powerful when fully-upgraded, something Arc Raiders developer Embark said pushed it beyond what had been originally intended.
In today’s update, the Venator’s fire rate is the thing getting hit the hardest, with each upgrade now offering slower gains to the weapon’s rate-of-fire compared to the way things were. The weapon’s weight is also being increased to five from two.
Another powerful item players have been getting a lot of mileage out of recently has been the Deadline mine. Unlike the Venator, the Deadline is mainly a threat to Arc enemies, and it’s proven incredibly powerful against the largest and most fearsome, such as the Bastion, and Leaper. In fact, the mine was considered essential when taking down a Queen.
The patch vastly increases its purchase price, and makes it more difficult to craft by upping the amount each of its components requires. Perhaps the most effective nerf, however, is the reduction to the Deadline’s stock at traders from three to just one, which means you’re going to be seeing a lot less of it topside.
Beyond those specific changes, Embark has also tweaked explosive damage across the board. According to the developer, explosive damage was being applied to multiple parts at once, which trivialised some encounters.
This change mainly affects larger Arc units, such as the Bastion, allowing them to withstand more explosive damage before bits start coming off of them. The Hullcracker, one of the best explosive damage weapons, has also caught a nerf as part of that.
Check the official blog for the full change log for patch 1.3.0. If you’re just getting started with the hottest extraction shooter ever, our Arc Raiders tips offer plenty of help. You should also learn what all the different Map Conditions do in Arc Raiders, and how to best make use of each of them.
