ARC Raiders Exploits & Glitches

How it worked: Players could glitch through locked doors without keycards by using barricades in solos or jumping on a teammate's head in squads. This allowed access to high-value loot rooms without paying for keycards [citation:1][citation:2][citation:8].

The fix: Embark added flamethrowers to every locked room. Anyone glitching inside gets instantly cooked alive. The flamethrowers only disappear when the door is opened properly with a keycard [citation:2][citation:8].

How it works: Cheaters can spawn extraction hatches anywhere on the map — even directly underneath themselves when downed. This lets them escape with all their loot instantly, completely breaking the core risk-reward system of extraction shooters [citation:3][citation:9].

Why it's dangerous: Unlike aimbots or wallhacks, this exploit manipulates the game world itself, spawning a key objective at the player's command. It's being sold for real money on social media platforms [citation:9].

Status: Still active as of February 2026. Embark is reportedly working on a fix [citation:3].

How it worked: Players could duplicate items like "Trigger Nades" and spam them repeatedly at enemies. On small maps like Stella Montis, this was a nightmare. Players also duplicated weapon blueprints and valuable trinkets like the "Familiar Duck" (stack of 15 sold for $7,000 each) [citation:5].

The fix: Embark rolled out a server-side hotfix on February 10, 2026, specifically addressing the duplication issue [citation:5].

Ban wave: Embark implemented a three-strike system: 30-day ban (first), 60-day (second), permanent (third). Steam Family Sharing accounts now also get banned if the main account cheats [citation:5].

How it worked: PC players used a launch option ("-newconsole -log") to access hidden developer console commands. This allowed them to [citation:6]:

• Increase FOV to ~120 degrees (normally capped lower)
• Disable environmental fog and shadows
• Reconnect to matches after being eliminated
• See through smoke and darkness

The fix: Embark pushed an emergency hotfix removing the "NewConsole" command entirely. The feature was never intended to be player-facing [citation:6].

How it worked: PC players with Nvidia GPUs used the Nvidia App filters to drastically change the game's appearance. By tweaking contrast, brightness, color, and saturation, they could make night scenes significantly brighter, seeing enemies through darkness that should have hidden them [citation:4][citation:10].

The fix: Nvidia disabled filters for ARC Raiders in a driver update. However, some players found they could roll back drivers to earlier versions to restore the exploit [citation:10].

How it worked: Players reduced their graphics settings to lessen the amount of grass and shrubbery rendered, allowing them to spot other raiders hiding in bushes that should have provided concealment [citation:4].

The fix: Embark implemented rendering changes to prevent this visual advantage.

How it worked: Players could move outside the game world to camp unsuspecting players from invisible positions, especially on Stella Montis [citation:4][citation:5].

The fix: Embark implemented a client-side fix specifically for this exploit [citation:4].

How it worked: Players could use deployable objects to push other players through walls and barricaded doors. In an extraction shooter where positioning is everything, this exploit was breaking competitive matches [citation:1].

The fix: Patch 1.1.0 (November 2025) addressed this issue. Players can no longer be pushed through solid geometry [citation:1].

How it worked: Players could shoot faster by swapping to a quick-use item and back, essentially creating a "double pump" shotgun tactic [citation:2][citation:8].

The fix: Patch 1.4.0 removed this exploit. You can still swap guns instead of reloading, but the fire rate boost is gone [citation:8].

How it worked: PC players used console commands to override settings that create fog, dust, smoke, shade, and other visual impairments. This gave them a massive advantage, especially against console players in crossplay lobbies [citation:4].

The fix: Fixed alongside the dev console exploit in January 2026 [citation:4][citation:6].

How it worked: Cheaters found a way to teleport through walls into the Hidden Bunker, bypassing normal entry requirements [citation:1].

The fix: Patched in a December 2025 update.

How it worked: Occasionally, raiders would be seen flying inexplicably through the air. Not a frequent occurrence, but it happened [citation:4].

The fix: Addressed in an early patch.