The latest Patch Notes 1.29.0 for ARC Raiders have come as a pleasant surprise. Given the developer's previous announcement that the next major update wouldn't arrive until October, many players were left wondering: what exactly would ARC Raiders look like during the interim period?
While the pace of content updates for June and the months that follow remains unclear, the sheer scale of this May update, Patch 1.29.0, has truly exceeded our expectations. This update not only introduces brand-new content but also includes long-awaited balance adjustments that players have been clamoring for.
Today, well walk you through everything you need to know about 1.29.0 Patch, covering all the changes and new features you can expect to see and experience in the game.
Trader
Foremost, the most significant addition in this ARC Raiders update is undoubtedly the brand-new Trader. This new character's design aesthetic is absolutely badass; if they were to create a Raider-faction skin based on Nomadic Envoy style, it would be an absolute showstopper. Below, I'll break down exactly how this new character's trading mechanics work.
Weekly Rotating Trades
The items offered by this character, named Ermal, operate on a weekly rotation system. As it stands, the list of available items appears to be fixed. You must engage in a barter system, exchanging valuable items of your own to acquire what you want. Each item you wish to obtain will clearly display the specific exchange requirements needed to acquire it.
The price displayed for an item actually represents the total value of the items required for the exchange. For instance, let's say you're eyeing that Tempest Blueprint. ARC Raiders system indicates it has a value of 1 million. However, that 1 million figure refers solely to the cumulative value of the specific, designated items required for the trade.
These designated exchange items include Matriarch and Queen Cores, as well as components such as Bombardier, Rocketeer, Bastion, and Leaper Cells, along with Assessor Matrix, Turbine Compressors, and Vaporizer Regulators. In this scenario, you would need to gather a collection of these specific items that collectively add up to a total value of 1 million in order to complete the trade.
If you're looking to acquire these specific ARC Raiders Items, be prepared to invest a significant amount of time and effort into grinding for them. However, if you're currently feeling anxious about the high exchange values required for the items in this week's trading list - or worried that this might make ARC Raiders feel too tedious - Id suggest you hold off on stressing out just yet. The settings you see right now are probably not the final version.
ARC Raiders team has stated that they will be closely monitoring player feedback and data to ensure that in-game balance remains both fair and challenging. Furthermore, these special offers will operate rotating. If you miss a specific deal this week, it is highly probable that it will reappear in a future rotation. The current pricing structure is not set in stone.
This approach is highly commendable; if you find the current difficulty of acquiring certain items to be daunting, rest assured that this situation may not persist indefinitely. As it stands, this new feature genuinely has the potential to make a substantial impact on your actual gameplay experience. I am personally very intrigued by the various goods and services this NPC is offering - both this week and in the future.
Expanded Stash Space
Expanded Stash space is an absolutely excellent perk, with each upgrade directly adding 12 new inventory slots. I am not entirely sure if any limits will be imposed in the future, as ARC Raiders team has mentioned that they are currently gathering player feedback regarding Stash expansion feature.
Expedition Vault
The slots within Expedition Vault allow you to carry up to five items with you into your next Expedition; these slots can be purchased individually. There is one crucial point that we must emphasize here: if you wish to carry a blueprint into the next Expedition, you must not only purchase the corresponding expansion slot but also possess the physical item crafted from that blueprint. This distinction is vital. As of now, provided you have sufficient time to prepare, achieving this is relatively straightforward.
New Weapon: Rascal
This is a Rare class launcher designed with a focus on lightweight construction and compact portability - essentially, it can be thought of as Hullcracker's little brother. Previously, Launcher category in ARC Raiders suffered from a severe lack of options; the only available weapon in this class was Hullcracker, which had an extremely high barrier to entry, requiring the completion of over 40 missions to unlock.
Many players never reached that milestone, particularly those focused on Expeditions, who were often reluctant to backtrack and grind through earlier content. Consequently, prior to this update, the vast majority of players never actually could experience using a launcher. With the introduction of Rascal, however, the situation has improved dramatically.
Rascal is now a relatively common drop item and can reportedly be found within Security Breach zones. Additionally, the corresponding blueprints and crafting recipes have now been made available. You can acquire the ability to craft these items simply by scavenging - no longer do you need to spend hours completing a grueling series of ARC Raiders missions just to earn a single blueprint.
Moreover, the crafting requirements are quite accessible, requiring only 2 Advanced Mechanical Components, 3 Heavy Gun Parts, and 5 Canisters to synthesize. Based on player feedback, Rascal appears to be a single-shot version of Hullcracker - albeit one with slightly lower accuracy. Because of its single-shot design, it requires frequent reloading; however, upgrading the weapon allows you to significantly reduce this reload time. Overall, while Rascal may not necessarily become a mainstream meta choice, it offers a much more easily obtainable option within the launcher category - a welcome addition indeed.
Weapon Balance Adjustments
Bettina SMG has received a buff: its base fire rate has been increased from 235 to 250. This weapon had already received a boost in ARC Raiders Riven Tides update; while this latest adjustment is merely a marginal increase, veteran Bettina users will undoubtedly be able to feel the tangible difference in performance.
The adjustments made to weapon durability are sure to delight many players. ARC Raiders development team acknowledged that the durability changes introduced in the previous patch had an overly severe impact on certain specific weapons.
Consequently, this update focuses on fixing those weapons that were suffering from excessively rapid durability depletion and fragility. By extending their operational lifespan, the goal is to restore their durability performance to a standard level that aligns with the rest of the weapon arsenal.
One weapon benefiting significantly from these adjustments is Pharaoh assault rifle, which has received a substantial 18% boost to its durability. Furthermore, this figure represents only the increase applied to its base stats; as the weapon is upgraded from Tier 1 to Tier 4, the additional durability gains at each tier will further enhance its overall resilience.
Weapon Mods
New: Extended Barrel I, II, & III
In this update, Extended Barrel attachment has undergone a comprehensive expansion and fundamental rebalancing. Extended Barrel variant that players previously possessed has now been renamed and reclassified as Extended Barrel III. Prior to the release of ARC Raiders Patch 1.29.0, this epic-tier attachment had no corresponding lower-tier or transitional versions to accompany it.
This meant that you could not craft it directly using default recipes, nor could you simply stumble upon it in the wild like standard loot; unless you possessed the extremely rare crafting blueprint for it, acquiring this item was virtually an impossible feat. However, now that it has been officially designated as Extended Barrel III, ARC Raiders has naturally introduced its lower-tier counterparts: Extended Barrel I and II. Notably, the crafting recipe for Extended Barrel I is unlocked by default, allowing players to craft it immediately with no need to search for a blueprint.
The stats and bonuses of Extended Barrel III have indeed undergone changes. Following the update, it now not only boosts projectile velocity by 30% but also extends the effective range before damage begins to fall off by 15%; the negative effect - a reduction in vertical recoil control - remains unchanged.
Augments
ARC Raiders Augments have also received a degree of enhancement. The primary targets of this adjustment were Combat Mark III: Flanking and Tactical Mark III: Healing Augments.
For Tactical Mk. 3 (Healing) Augment, the healing output of its Cloud of Renewal effect has been increased from 20 to 45, while its cooldown period has been extended from 30 seconds to 45 seconds. This modification significantly boosts the healing efficacy of the ability, making it far more valuable than it was previously.
As for Combat Mk. 3 (Flanking) Augment, ARC Raiders development team has adjusted its shield capacity, allowing it to now equip Medium Shields. This is a highly significant change, as prior to this update, the unit could only equip Light Shields - a limitation that severely hampered its utility and rendered it a choice simply not worth making.
Thanks to these enhancements, these Augments now perform far better than before, becoming both highly practical and competitively viable options. I am very pleased with these adjustments. What is particularly commendable is that, in an effort to better integrate these components into the game's overall balance, ARC Raiders development team did not resort to nerfing other components as a balancing mechanism. Rather than simply weakening existing elements, they chose to elevate the overall standard by strengthening the weaker components - a balancing philosophy that is truly worthy of praise.
With a volume of content far exceeding expectations, Patch 1.29.0 has injected a powerful surge of vitality into this interim period for ARC Raiders. It serves as far more than a mere content supplement; rather, it acts as a precise response to the core demands of the player base, with every single change aligning perfectly with long-held community expectations.
Although the major October update still lies some distance away, Patch 1.29.0 has undoubtedly infused this waiting period with ample novelty and replayability, reigniting excitement for the future update cadence of ARC Raiders.
