Arc Raiders Takes a Hardline Stance Against Cheaters: ‘Zero Tolerance Policy’

Embark, the team behind Arc Raiders, is ramping up its anti-cheating measures, and this time they mean business. Earlier this year, they announced a shift towards permanent bans for serious offenders, but now they’re tightening the screws even further. From this point forward, anyone caught cheating will face immediate permabans—no warnings, no second chances.

In a recent blog post, Aleks Grøndal from Embark addressed the community’s frustrations regarding cheating. He outlined the ongoing struggle against cheating software creators and detailed the measures already in place to detect and block cheaters, including third-party tools and their own machine-learning models. They’re also planning to implement additional software like Elytra Anti-Cheat to enhance their ability to quickly identify cheating behavior.

Previously, the approach involved warnings before bans, but it seems both players and the developers have reached their limit. Grøndal acknowledged that they were too lenient with first-time cheaters, stating, “We’ve heard the frustration from the community, and we agree that we should have handled this differently. Permanent bans are now standard for all known cheat programs, and any account caught using cheats will be permanently banned. No warnings, no second chances.”

The crackdown will extend to hardware bans, making it harder for cheaters to simply create new accounts. Embark has also managed to lower the threshold for applying these bans.

Grøndal emphasized that the anti-cheat systems can’t issue bans in real-time. Many players express anger when they see streamers cheating and wonder why immediate action isn’t taken. He clarified, “Anti-cheat systems can’t ban a player the moment something looks suspicious. Doing so would risk incorrectly banning legitimate players. The system analyzes behavior over multiple instances to ensure fair play is compromised before issuing a permanent ban.” However, the team is actively monitoring streams and video uploads to respond to blatant cheating.

Another issue they’re tackling is “queue teaming,” where players intentionally group up in solo lobbies to exploit fair players. Embark has started separating known teaming groups, resulting in an 85 percent reduction in this behavior within just five days. Spoiled raids dropped significantly, from about 1 in 50 to 1 in 300, without affecting queue times.

The upcoming update on October 8, titled Frozen Trail, will introduce a new icy map called Pendola Pass, a massive ship called the Frigate to infiltrate, and a host of new enemies. Players can expect to encounter the four-legged Bully, the stealthy Skulker, and a deadly stationary turret known as Hydra. New weapons will also be added, including a grappling hook, which will be handy for retrieving distant items and enhancing movement options.