Arc Raiders Surpasses 12 Million Sales, Nerfs Implemented for Trigger ‘Nade and Kettle in PvP

The developers at Embark have finally delivered on their holiday tease: the long-awaited nerfs for the Kettle gun and Trigger ‘Nade grenade are now live, along with the removal of a troublesome exploit.

The January Update, version 1.11.0, introduces a fresh cosmetic set called Abyss and comes with the exciting news that over 12 million copies of the game have been sold. Initially, there was a plan for a 10 million player giveaway featuring a Gilded Pickaxe Raider Tool, but the game hit an extra two million sales over the holidays. It seems Embark is quite pleased with their decision to set a $40 price tag instead of going free-to-play.

While the Kettle assault rifle wasn’t inherently overpowered for the average player, it was a different story for those using third-party software. According to the patch notes, the maximum fire rate for the Kettle has been reduced from 600 to 450. This might sound drastic, but the original 600 was only achievable through cheating macros.

The nerf to the Trigger ‘Nade is more substantial. Originally designed as a sticky grenade for battling drones and large bots in PvE, it became a go-to for PvP players who discovered its potential for mid-air detonations. Embark has adjusted it so that “damage falloff has been rebalanced to concentrate the damage closer to the center of the explosion, and deal less damage further away.” This means it will still function well as a sticky explosive but will be less effective for those airborne detonations. Additionally, the delay before it explodes has increased significantly from 0.7 seconds to 1.5 seconds, giving players more time to react and making it trickier to time the detonation while in the air.

An exploit that allowed players to retain key cards after using them to unlock special locations has also been addressed. While this may not be a major loss unless someone was absurdly farming high-level loot, it does make those moments feel a bit more special. The frequency of lightning during night raids in Stella Montis has been reduced, aiming to make flashlights and listening more relevant. Personally, I’m still too spooked to attempt night raids.

However, there’s still no dedicated section for grenades and throwable weapons in the inventory. They remain mixed in with bandages, door blockers, and even musical recorders, despite plenty of empty space on the left side of the inventory screen. Am I the only one who finds this utterly frustrating?

Additionally, a quick hotfix was rolled out over the weekend that removed access to the in-game console, which was never intended to be available. This means PC players can no longer eliminate all fog effects for an unfair visibility advantage, as Embark takes steps to combat the recent rise in cheating within the game.