News Tag: ARC Raiders Riven Tides

The anti-cheat team at the studio behind Arc Raiders released a detailed breakdown of the game's cheating issues on May 7, Ensuring Fair Play. Plenty of players, including several well-known streamers, have run into blatant cheaters during the recent Riven Tides update.

This has led not only to an awful match experience, but because of ban delays, some players have been unable to recover the kits they lost after being taken down by cheaters. In response to these frustrations, the developers have now openly shared their current anti-cheat setup, the difficulties they face, and the improvements they're working on.

Anti-Cheat System

The new anti-cheat system is built on a combination of kernel-level protection and machine learning models. The team makes it clear that the kernel-level defense comes from Easy Anti-Cheat's kernel-level safeguards, supplemented by machine learning detection trained on an ongoing stream of player telemetry data. On top of that, they have several additional, undisclosed layers of protection to keep operations secure.

When it comes to why a kernel-level approach is necessary, the explanation is blunt: the vast majority of commercial cheats operate at the kernel level. Without access at that layer, developers are practically blind to the most damaging cheat tools. The development team is currently testing a new kernel-level solution that is expected to improve detection accuracy in map areas like Speranza and Rustbelt.

On the machine learning side, input telemetry analysis has become one of the most effective tools. Since the very beginning of the project, the team has been working with AI anti-cheat company, deploying a dedicated cluster of models specifically designed to identify anomalies in player input behavior.

You can think of this system as a driver AI—constantly analyzing vast amounts of data, drawing conclusions, and then taking action. Still, the biggest doubt shared by streamers and the community right now is whether this system is actually running at full efficiency. After all, judging by live streams and firsthand encounters, players who are obviously using aimbots or wallhacks still aren't getting banned in time.

Accessibility Devices

One of the trickiest problems in anti-cheat work is how to handle Accessibility Devices that players rely on. The developers stress that those who depend on these devices to play the game must be protected. Because officially certified accessibility devices are often quite costly, many players turn to lesser-known alternatives in order to keep playing.

Additionally, many players use foot pedals and other peripherals for physical needs, but the driver software for these devices can sometimes trigger false positives in the anti-cheat system. This isn't unique to Arc Raiders; it has repeatedly happened in games like CoD as well. The key to solving this challenge lies in determining a player's Intent.

The anti-cheat system analyzes telemetry data and input communication patterns to distinguish legitimate assistive use from malicious abuse. The goal is to let players who genuinely need these devices continue playing without disruption, while precisely targeting cheaters who try to hide behind them. This process is being refined all the time, with the system continuously building knowledge of various assistive hardware to extend its detection range in a smarter and more reliable way.

Manual Review and Bans

Unlike the automated handling seen in many games, the developers state that every single ban appeal is reviewed by an actual human. They see the appeal process as an area that needs constant investment, not a static system that's finished. Even though people filing an appeal still have to wait and will receive a standardized template response to keep handling consistent, the team genuinely reviews each case one by one to ensure fairness and uses the findings to repeatedly calibrate their existing detection models.

The team openly admits that after submitting an appeal, a player may get a formal reply that looks like an automated message, but this is just staff using a template to maintain consistency. Behind every appeal, a real person is investigating and verifying the facts to keep the game environment fair, while testing and refining the current anti-cheat systems and models.

For players, however, it's still unclear exactly how long the appeal process takes. For those watching a streamer get killed over and over by an obvious cheater, unable to even reclaim their gear kits, this kind of delay can drive them to quit the game entirely. The community's patience is wearing thin.

Community

Faced with persistent cheating, the player community hopes the developers will assemble a small team of fewer than ten people whose sole task is to watch live streams featuring popular streamers during peak hours.

Once cheaters using aimbots or wallhacks are detected, they can be manually banned immediately. Even in the event of a misjudgment, a robust manual appeal mechanism can ultimately exonerate the innocent.

From a business perspective, when a streamer's broadcast attracts, repeated cheating could directly lead to the streamer switching games, resulting in a significant loss of fans for the game.

The positive public relations benefits of real-time manual intervention far outweigh the manpower costs. Considering the official team's size of approximately one hundred people, this small investment is easily manageable for them.

All in all, this Arc Raiders anti-cheat update from the developers is also a response to the increasingly rampant cheating inside the game. As time goes on, the multi-layered protection system will be gradually tuned to be more precise. Even though the current real-world results may not satisfy everyone, the fact that the developers are willing to openly talk about the difficulties and their roadmap is already an important step toward rebuilding player trust.

You probably don't want to be associated with cheaters. If you want to improve your skills in a fair and safe way, besides accumulating experience through raids, you can also choose to buy cheap Arc Raiders blueprints and items from IGGM to quickly equip yourself.

After all, acquiring items through trading to improve your strength is a very normal part of the game experience. Ultimately, the outcome of the game depends on your skill, not better equipment.

Legendary items in ARC Raiders are the ultimate chase for every player. While not every single one is incredibly useful, they hold the absolute highest worth.

For now, legendary items in ARC Raiders haven't become oversaturated, and with the release of Riven Tides, new legendary items have been added to the game. Finding them is no easy task. Let's look at where you can get each legendary item and blueprint.

Kinetic Converter

Kinetic Converter boosts your fire rate by 15%, but it also makes your weapon's recoil 20% worse. You can offset this penalty with other attachments. Currently, there is no blueprint for Kinetic Converter, so you'll need to farm the item directly. Here are four recommended locations.

Riven Tides

The hotel on the far west side of the map, fourth floor, is a fantastic loot spot. When approaching the hotel from outside, you can use a zipline that always spawns to go straight up to the fourth floor, then head inside, turn right, and find the loot room.

Search all the red lockers and recycling bins in the room. Here, you have a very high chance of finding high-tier weapon attachments, including Kinetic Converter, Anvil Splitter, and even Snap Hooks.

Damn Battlegrounds

Hydroponic Dome Complex contains both red lockers and destructible supply crates, making it a must-loot location.

If the area has already been cleared, head to Ruby Residence and Pale Apartment Buildings and look for any destructible crates and brown drawer cabinets.

Buried City

You can go to the pharmacy near Piazza Arbosto. Open the door on the ground floor and search every drawer cabinet you can find, as well as any small white cabinet drawers.

The other pharmacy near Plaza Rosa and the adjacent Red Tower building are also good spots. Prioritize searching the brown drawer cabinets and small white cabinet drawers inside.

On the west side of the map, where the buildings are almost connected, there's an apartment building. Use a zipline or grappling hook to reach a nearby platform, then check the drawer cabinets inside. Any of these locations can yield what you're after.

Spaceport

Head to the destructible room on the top floor of the container storage building, and the destructible room on the top floor of the vehicle maintenance building right next to it. Open every drawer and container in these sections - check everything.

After clearing those two buildings, go to the very top of the launch tower structure. On top of the southernmost tower, there's a destructible crate and some red lockers. Finally, the top floor of Trench Tower building is also worth hitting, though you may need a grappling hook.

Anvil Splitter

Anvil Splitter splits your Anvil shot into four separate projectiles, similar to a mini shotgun. Each projectile deals less damage than a standard Anvil shot, but if you manage to land all four on a single target, the total damage actually ends up slightly higher.

There are currently no blueprints for either Anvil Splitter or Kinetic Converter, and you'll farm them in the same locations. If you want to improve your odds, try farming during night raids or when the map has the improved loot quality condition.

Snap Hook

Snap Hook is one of the best and most fun quick-use items in the game. It essentially unlocks a whole new world of vertical mobility for you, and since you can put it back into your secure pocket after use, it's incredibly convenient.

Snap Hook blueprint is actually pretty easy to find. You just need to wait for Electromagnetic Storm event. On Dam Battleground map, head to Research and Administration Building - specifically the top-floor office cubicle area. Get there fast and check every desk drawer and all destructible crates in the area; they can all contain the blueprint.

Also Read: Where is the West Gate Bus in ARC Raiders? | Full A Wrench in the Works Location Guide!

Matriarch Reactor & Queen Reactors

Matriarch Reactor and Queen Reactors are obtained in the same way. The primary method is to load into any map that has a Matriarch or Queen event. Find them, engage from a safe distance, and shoot and break the armor on their legs. The drops from those leg parts have a very high chance of containing a Matriarch Reactor or Queen Reactor.

Scrappy can also give you both types of reactors, but only when you feed it Fruit Mix. The odds are extremely small - you can basically treat it as an easter egg.

Guitar

Guitar is a fun novelty item that serves no other purpose than letting you strum pleasant melodies anytime. You used to be able to get Guitar by completing a very fun in-game activity on Buried City map, but that method has now been removed.

The only way to get Guitar now is to trade for it from the merchant at Speranza, limited to one per day.

Aphelion

Aphelion is an enhanced three-round burst rifle, with improvements focused on better recoil, faster aim-down-sight speed, and a slightly quicker fire rate. It is also the only legendary weapon in the game that can accept weapon attachments.

Aphelion blueprint used to be obtainable only by looting the core of a defeated Matriarch, which was highly contested. Now, in addition to that method, you can head to Stella Montis during night raids and open destructible containers, red lockers, or the green drawers on the sides of shipping containers. These spots may contain Aphelion blueprint.

Equalizer and Jupiter

ARC Raiders blueprints for Equalizer and Jupiter are both found in Harvester map state. After entering the map, look for Harvester icon and make your way there - try not to get killed by Queen. Approach Harvester, breach the door, and enter.

Inside Harvester, you'll need to climb some platforms, then break open several small panels and search for three Power Cells. They can be inside any destructible area, though the game will often just place one on the ground for you.

Once you've collected all three cells, bring them to the center of Harvester, break open the slot beneath the central pillar, and insert the cells. When all three cells are inserted, many yellow buttons will spawn on the walls of the room. You need to shoot each button until it shatters completely - that solves the puzzle.

Afterwards, three loot crates will rise from the central pillar of Harvester. Inside these crates, you have a chance to find the blueprints for Equalizer and Jupiter.

Dolabra

Dolabra is extremely rare and can only be found during Close Scrutiny event. During this event, Assessors will eventually drop from the sky. Simply put, you need to get close to one, break open one of its three pillars, and if you're lucky, it may contain Dolabra blueprint.

Those are all the ways to obtain every legendary item in Riven Tides update. Whether it's the items themselves or their blueprints, getting them to drop requires a bit of luck. But as long as you can quickly hit the loot spots, luck is bound to come your way sooner or later.

With the official launch of Flashpoint update, players have mostly focused their attention on the new gear additions. However, the update also quietly tweaked the world map - a move that actually serves as a clue planted by the developers for the upcoming Riven Tides update in April.

It's been five months since the last new map was introduced, and players have been waiting a long time. Many have even grown tired of the current content and decided to step away. Riven Tides update is your chance to bring your friends back to ARC. Let's take a look at what other exciting content it has in store.

What does Flashpoint Bring?

Flashpoint isn't just a content update - it's a structural adjustment at the system level. The team used it to tweak respawn mechanics, loot density, and pressure levels. Because players had been finding ARC encounters too easy, and the development team wanted to raise the challenge again. However, the developers also introduced new weapons and ARC Raiders blueprints to ensure players had the incentive to tackle this high-difficulty content.

Flashpoint update may also be serving as a prelude to Riven Tides. Since the current roster of ARC enemies no longer poses a significant threat to veteran players, the new map conditions introduced in Flashpoint have raised the game's difficulty baseline. Riven Tides is expected to build upon this foundation by introducing even more challenging content.

Riven Tides Release Date

A community manager for ARC Raiders confirmed on Discord that Riven Tides update will go live at the end of the month. This aligns with the previously shared roadmap, and now it's officially verified. Based on the confirmed late-April timing, the expected release date is April 28.

New Map Details

The new map features a coastal setting and includes a global environmental condition whose specifics have yet to be revealed. It will also introduce a large ARC enemy classified as boss-tier - on par with massive foes like Bastion, Matriarch, and Queen. Players briefly caught a glimpse of this enemy in earlier trailers and on Art Station.

Additionally, the team has confirmed that the third expedition window will open alongside this update. And before the major update arrives, the developers have already been dropping subtle environmental clues in recent patches.

Map changes

Before Flashpoint update, the big map looks standard - nothing particularly eye-catching. After Flashpoint update, when you open the map, you'll notice some changes in the bottom-left corner. 

When you examine the in-game map closely, you'll find sticky notes, stickers, images, and small icons added to that corner. One beach image, in particular, hints at the new map's setting.

The Beach Image

The image shows a coastline with a clear beach aesthetic. It looks a bit worn and faded, but a sticky note underneath clearly states: This image matches the location. That strongly suggests the picture points to an actual place on the map.

Next to the image is a label: Hotel Beachfront. Around this location, you'll also spot many Easter egg-style details. For example, a keychain with the number 9 on it - clearly corresponding to a room number. The development team enjoys using numbers to guide players toward different areas.

The key also features text like "goods access" or something similar, possibly linked to residential supplies noted elsewhere in the bottom-left corner. Specifically, those supplies include cleaning products and chemical components.

Putting all these clues together, the map doesn't point to a vague water area - instead, it indicates a heavily damaged beachfront building complex, centered around a ruined coastal hotel. The seawall view in the photo matches the area marked on the map perfectly.

Although the team hasn't officially announced the exact location for Riven Tides, the new clues, sticky notes, and highly suggestive photos on the world map allow us to reasonably infer that the new map lies in the bottom-left corner of the main map, next to the volcanic uplift and directly below Buried City.

How to Prepare for Riven Tides?

If you don't plan to join the expedition, my advice is to make sure you have enough long-range weapons. The new map seems to feature more elevated open areas, so you'll need firearms with good reach. At the same time, because there will be interiors like hotel buildings, close-quarters weapons are also essential for moving through those spaces.

Given that Riven Tides location sits right next to the volcanic uplift and considering the hinted open coastline, this area is likely to be extremely challenging. So beyond weapons, you should prioritize upgrading your mobility gear. The new map may have many sightline control zones, with an overall open feel. Based on concept art from Artstation, some areas look quite exposed.

Ziplines, portable cover, and smoke grenades are items you should stock up on in advance - especially smoke grenades, which are currently severely underrated in the game. Almost every loadout benefits from carrying smoke grenades. They're highly effective against both ARC enemies and other players, especially on exposed bridges or flooded checkpoints.

Looking at all the maps released so far, the development team has always pursued a distinct identity for each one, ensuring no two maps feel the same. So for players, the new map arriving in the coming weeks is something truly worth looking forward to.