New Arc Raiders patch makes crafting cheaper, Arcs scarier—and fixes one of the worst PvP issues

Arc Raiders loot guide: Three raiders standing shoulder to shoulder in Buried City. The one of the left is reaching for something in their pocket, the character in the middle, wearing an astronaut helmet, is casually looking up, while the one on the right in cowboy attire is aiming their pistol.

It's been a busy few days for Arc Raiders—players have been crawling for their lives, and Embark announced a new community event to unlock the next map, Stella Montis. But amid all that, we've got a set of patch notes which also look pretty stacked.

The 1.20 update doesn't just add Stella Montis into the mix, but it also adds two new arcs, the Matriarch and Shredder, alongside making crafting cheaper, buffing some little arcs, and fixing one of the most annoying issues with PvP fights.

(Image credit: Embark)

Except for the Wolfpack grenade, which now needs an extra refined explosive, other items like Arc motion cores, circuitry, and launcher ammo are now all cheaper to make, with Spotter Relays and Wolfpacks also being worth more coins now. If you're a fan of the Hullcracker like I am, then this will be music to your ears, as cheaper launcher ammo means more arc explosions.

The update also fixed an issue with the Fireball arcs, where they could get stuck on security gates, stopping them from chasing after raiders. Now they'll be able to zoom past the doors right up to your feet and light you up in flames.

But the gold medal in this patch notes has to go to the following fix: "Reduced character movement latency on server to improve the 'desync' problem where it looks like you get damaged even after being behind cover."

(Image credit: Embark Studios)

To make it clear, for players affected by this, you essentially were being damaged behind cover, or at least it looked that way, even if the desync meant you were technically still in a line of sight as you got damaged.

I encountered the issue a couple of times, and it properly freaked me out. Taking cover mid-fight only to be shot at when you thought you were safe is super stressful. It sent my brain into overdrive trying to figure out what happened, whether the person fighting me had magical powers or if I was getting third-partyed.

This desync is crazy from r/ArcRaiders

And clearly I'm not the only one. Maverick2k posted a video on Reddit of what it looks like to get caught out by desync. "The desync is crazy," Maverick2k says. "This happens more often than it doesn't."

The desync issue could make PvP fights way more stressful than they have to be. So I'm very happy to see that Embark have solved the problem so soon, my poor heart probably couldn't take any more.