In ARC Raiders, if you occasionally notice new changes that aren't explained in any official patches or hotfixes, don't second-guess yourself, these are very likely hidden changes implemented by the development team!

While these adjustments may not always be significant enough to warrant a standalone entry in the patch notes, missing out on them, especially changes that boost loot drop rates, would be a real shame.

For instance, players recently discovered that the probability of finding rare items seems to have increased within one of the locked loot rooms on Dam Battleground map, specifically, a room that requires Dam Surveillance Key to open.

Based on this discovery, we've conducted some testing to verify this claim. In this guide, we'll show you how to obtain the necessary key and provide other useful information to help you successfully raid this room.

Locked rooms in Dam Battleground

The core gameplay loop of ARC Raiders revolves around conducting repeated raids, engaging in PvEvP combat while scavenging as much loot as possible from your immediate surroundings.

To add variety and challenge, the buildings within each map feature several locked rooms. You must invest extra time to locate the corresponding keys to open them; in return, the items found inside are of significantly higher value.

This mechanic is most prominent on Blue Gate map, where Locked Gate event allows you to use keys to access a greater number of locked rooms while the event is active.

As for Dam Battleground map, here are the locked rooms and their corresponding keys:

• Dam Control Tower Key: Door to Control Tower
• Dam Staff Room Key: Door in Research and Administration Building
• Dam Surveillance Key: Door in Water Treatment Control Building
• Dam Testing Annex Key: Door in Testing Annex
• Dam Controlled Access Zone Key: Door in Controlled Access Zone

The last entry on this list, Controlled Access Zone, was added during Shrouded Sky update in February. To enter the corresponding room, you must first solve a puzzle to unlock the entire zone. Dam Surveillance Key and its associated room are the specific focus of this guide.

It is also worth noting that keys, like other in-game items, possess their own rarity tiers; the higher the rarity level of the key, the more valuable the loot found within the corresponding room tends to be.

Dam Surveillance Room and Key

This locked room is located within Water Treatment Control Building, situated near the southern entrance of Dam Battleground map. To find the exact location of the room, simply follow these steps:

1. Enter the building and locate a desk.
2. Find and enter the doorway situated to the right of the desk.
3. Proceed until you spot the next doorway, then turn right to find your target room.

The loot found in this room primarily consists of Red Lockers, Raider Containers, and Electrical Components; opening these allows you to unlock even more items.

We highly recommend farming this room specifically during high-tier map events, such as Night Raids or Hurricanes, as this significantly increases your chances of finding the specific ARC Raiders blueprints you are looking for.

Secret improvements

Since the farming value of Dam Surveillance Room during standard raids is typically quite low, we decided to enter this area during Hurricane events and test whether the developers had quietly boosted the loot quality.

To ensure the reliability of our findings, we conducted four test runs. The key loot items obtained during each run are listed below:

• 1st Run: Burletta, Snap Hook, Wolfpack, Magnetic Accelerator, Seeker Grenade, and various medical supplies.
• 2nd Run: Toaster, Deadline, Volcano, Torrente, Il Toro, Snap Hook x2, Advanced Electrical Components, a Medium Shield, and various ammo and grenades.
• 3rd Run: Wolfpack, Burletta, Deadline, Snap Hook, Showstopper x1 (weapon) and its blueprint x1, and Tempest.
• 4th Run: Wolfpack, Il Toro, Snap Hook, Kettle, Bobcat, Tempest, and various ammo and weapon parts.

While luck may certainly have played a role, the fact that we found a Snap Hook in every single run is truly remarkable! Even if you don't need that many for yourself, selling the duplicates can net you a substantial amount of coins.

Furthermore, every time you loot this room, you are bound to acquire weapons that boast both high combat effectiveness and popularity, making them valuable assets whether you choose to keep them for yourself or sell them off.

Overall, while the total quantity of loot didn't see a drastic increase, the quality of the items obtained was undeniably much higher than in the past. For a room that requires only a green Uncommon rarity key to access, Dam Surveillance Room is now absolutely worth farming.

How to get Dam Surveillance Keys?

Now that you've established the value of Dam Surveillance Room, your next step is to find the key required to unlock its door. Since this key is not particularly rare, the difficulty involved in farming for it is relatively low.

Almost no keys are exclusive to a single specific map; they can typically be found across multiple locations. Currently, the most common drop locations for Dam Surveillance Keys include:

• Dam Battlegrounds: Pattern House, Ruby Residence, and Pale Apartments.
• Buried City: Grandioso Apartments and the cluster of houses located east of Abandoned Highway Camp.
• Stella Montis: The Lobby, Security Checkpoint, and Business Center areas.

Additionally, there is a guaranteed method to obtain this key in ARC Raiders: completing Greasing Her Palms mission assigned by NPC Celeste, as the mission explicitly requires you to enter this specific room.

Incidentally, the primary objective of this mission involves entering designated locations across three different maps to scavenge for supplies. These locations offer excellent opportunities for extra loot; the other two locations are:

• Spaceport: Rocket Assembly Rocket Thrusters area
• Buried City: Space Travel Building

That wraps up everything we have to share with you in this guide! We hope this walkthrough helps you enrich your loot inventory, and we look forward to seeing even more such hidden secrets and optimizations added to the game in the future!

Following the offseason moves of numerous MLB stars to new teams, MLB The Show 26 has introduced New Threads Program, showcasing these players in their fresh uniforms.

By completing New Threads Program, you can earn several complimentary New Threads players, along with the coveted New Threads Deluxe Pack. However, these rewards aren't simply handed out - let's take a look at how you can earn them.

New Threads Program Rewards

1. 5 Points: 1,000 XP
2. 10 Points: MLB The Show 26 pack
3. 15 Points: 250 Stubs
4. 20 Points: 87 OVR New Threads Devin Williams
5. 25 Points: 1,000 XP
6. 30 Points: MLB The Show 26 pack
7. 35 Points: 250 Stubs
8. 40 Points: 87 OVR New Threads Brandon Lowe
9. 45 Points: 2,000 XP
10. 50 Points: MLB The Show 26 pack
11. 55 Points: 2,000 XP
12. 60 Points: 88 OVR New Threads Ranger Suarez
13. 65 Points: MLB The Show 26 pack
14. 70 Points: 2,000 XP
15. 75 Points: MLB The Show 26 pack (x2)
16. 80 Points: 89 OVR New Threads Dylan Cease
17. 85 Points: MLB The Show 26 pack (x2)
18. 90 Points: 2,000 XP
19. 95 Points: New Threads Deluxe Pack
20. 100 Points: 90 OVR New Threads Pete Alonso

Complimentary Players

While the rewards include some MLB The Show 26 stubs, the focus is undoubtedly on whether the free players are effective on the field.

87 OVR New Threads Devin Williams, CP / Mets

• H/9 Right: 99
• H/9 Left: 98
• K/9 Right: 108
• K/9 Left: 90
• Control: 75
• Pitch Clutch: 101
• Stamina: 24
• Velocity: 71
• Break: 99
• Stuff: 92
• HR/9: 75
• BB/9: 67

Devin Williams, the former star relief pitcher for Milwaukee Brewers, has transferred to New York Mets for the new season. His card boasts solid dominance: a 108 K/9 against right-handed batters and 90 against lefties. His pitch repertoire includes a screwball, splitter, and cutter.

The issue lies in the similar velocities of his splitter and cutter, and he lacks the signature changeup and slider he was known for during his Brewers tenure. As a result, this card may not replicate the dominance of his peak versions, but it still stands as an effective arm out of the bullpen.

87 OVR New Threads Brandon Lowe, 2B / Pirates

• Contact Right: 94
• Contact Left: 64
• Power Right: 106
• Power Left: 80
• Vision: 66
• Discipline: 51
• Clutch: 93
• Bunt: 35
• Drag Bunt: 25
• Durability: 91

Pittsburgh Pirates have bolstered their roster by bringing in Brandon Lowe. This card has a very distinct profile: it features powerful hitting stats of 94/106 against right-handed pitchers, but its effectiveness drops noticeably when facing lefties. While you could theoretically offset its weaknesses with various boosts, this card likely won't be a permanent fixture in your lineup.

88 OVR New Threads Ranger Suarez, SP / Red Sox

• H/9 Right: 70
• H/9 Left: 91
• K/9 Right: 73
• K/9 Left: 90
• Control: 73
• Pitch Clutch: 73
• Stamina: 92
• Velocity: 70
• Break: 99
• Stuff: 80
• HR/9: 36
• BB/9: 90

Ranger Suarez allows 9 hits per nine innings (H/9) against right-handed batters, a rather poor statistic. This becomes a significant disadvantage against the switch hitters who remain prevalent in the current game. His performance against left-handed batters is much stronger, but his overall velocity is low, and he lacks an effective changeup. Overall, it's difficult for him to be considered a top-tier starting pitcher.

89 OVR New Threads Dylan Cease, SP / Blue Jays

• H/9 Right: 84
• H/9 Left: 82
• K/9 Right: 97
• K/9 Left: 92
• Control: 67
• Pitch Clutch: 83
• Stamina: 87
• Velocity: 99
• Break: 99
• Stuff: 83
• HR/9: 63
• BB/9: 65

Dylan Cease features two types of fastballs and three breaking balls, but lacks a changeup or any off-speed offering. More critically, the velocities of his curveball and slider are very similar, making his pitches easier for opponents to read. While his H/9 and control ratings are respectable, the limitations in his pitch mix prevent him from reaching the elite tier of starting pitchers.

90 OVR New Threads Pete Alonso, 1B / Orioles

• Contact Right: 97
• Contact Left: 72
• Power Right: 100
• Power Left: 85
• Vision: 70
• Discipline: 62
• Clutch: 102
• Bunt: 35
• Drag Bunt: 25
• Durability: 99

Pete Alonso is a quintessential power-hitting right-handed batter, boasting excellent contact and power ratings of 97 and 100 respectively against right-handed pitching. While his contact drops against lefties (72), his power remains a solid 85. As a first baseman, his defensive abilities aren't the primary concern. This card features a smooth swing and multiple Quirks, making it a likely cornerstone for many lineups and one of the top rewards in this program.

How to Make Progress？

You'll need to complete various tasks to earn points, or Stars, to unlock rewards. There are multiple ways to accumulate points. As long as you're willing to invest some time, reaching all the rewards is not difficult.

Moments

Complete 12 Moments: 60 points total, 5 points each.

Missions

• Pitch 21 innings with any pitcher(s) (5 points)
• Accumulate 38 total bases with any player(s) (5 points)
• Accumulate 18 extra-base hits with any player(s) (5 points)
• Hit 9 home runs with any player(s) (5 points)
• Accumulate 2,000 PXP with New Threads players (5 points)
• Accumulate 4,000 PXP with New Threads players (5 points)
• Accumulate 6,000 PXP with New Threads players (10 points)

BONUS XP Missions

Earning 500 PXP with each of the following players will grant 5 points:

• Devin Williams
• Ranger Suarez
• Dylan Cease
• Pete Alonso
• Nolan Arenado
• Edwin Diaz
• Kenley Jansen
• Alex Bregman
• Eugenio Suarez
• Kazuma Okamoto
• Luis Arraez
• Willson Contreras
• Owen Caissie

New Threads Player Collection

Collecting the following 88 OVR New Threads players will award 30 points:

• Marcus Semien
• Cedric Mullins
• Sonny Gray
• Framber Valdez
• Nick Castellanos

Collecting the following 90 OVR New Threads players will award 70 points:

• Tatsuya Imai
• Taylor Ward
• Jorge Polanco

It's recommended not to go out of your way to acquire these player cards at high costs just to complete these collections. If you happen to have them, use them to finish the tasks. If not, feel free to skip them, as Moments and tasks alone provide enough progress to reach the end of the program.

That concludes the overview of MLB The Show 26 New Threads Program. Hopefully, you'll secure the players from your favorite teams.