ARC Raiders Internal vs External vs DMA
Software cheats (internal/external) vs hardware DMA — how they work, detection risks, costs, and which method fits your setup.
📚 New to cheating? Check out our basics guide first.
⚡ Also available: DMA Deep Dive • Undetected Guide
How Cheats Interact With ARC Raiders
All cheats work by reading or manipulating game memory — but where and how they run makes all the difference .
ARC Raiders uses a sophisticated anti-cheat system based on EAC . The method you choose determines how likely you are to get caught, how much it costs, and what features you get access to.
⚔️ Internal vs External (Software) vs DMA
💻 INTERNAL
Runs inside the game process — injected DLLs, direct memory manipulation .
✅ How it works:
- • DLL injection into game process
- • Manual mapping to bypass detection
- • Direct function hooking/calling
- • Kernel-mode drivers for protection
✅ Advantages:
- • Full feature set (aimbot, ESP, radar)
- • Lowest latency (direct access)
- • No extra hardware needed
- • Works on laptops
❌ Disadvantages:
- • Runs on gaming PC — detectable
- • Kernel drivers can be flagged
- • Frequent updates needed
- • Higher ban risk
Cost: $20-50/month
Detection risk: Medium-High
🖥️ EXTERNAL (Software)
Runs in separate process — reads/writes game memory via Windows API .
✅ How it works:
- • Uses `ReadProcessMemory` / `WriteProcessMemory`
- • Creates transparent overlay window
- • Opens process handle to game
- • No code injection into game
✅ Advantages:
- • No injection — harder to detect than internal
- • ESP/radar via overlay works well
- • No extra hardware needed
- • Easier to code/debug
❌ Disadvantages:
- • Relies on monitored Windows APIs
- • Overlay windows are suspicious
- • Cannot aimbot easily (needs input simulation)
- • Higher latency than internal
Cost: $15-40/month
Detection risk: Medium
🖧 DMA (Hardware External)
Hardware-based memory reading — uses PCIe card + second PC, completely isolated .
✅ How it works:
- • DMA card installed in gaming PC reads RAM directly
- • Data sent to second PC via USB/network
- • KMbox emulates mouse/keyboard for aimbot
- • ESP/radar displayed on second monitor
✅ Advantages:
- • Zero software on gaming PC
- • Virtually undetectable
- • Stable through patches
- • No performance impact
❌ Disadvantages:
- • Requires second PC + hardware ($150-400)
- • Complex setup (BIOS tweaks, firmware)
- • Not portable
- • KMbox adds slight input latency
Cost: $150-400 one-time
Detection risk: Near zero
🛡️ How Anti-Cheat Detects Each Method
🔴 Internal Detection
EAC scans for:
- • Injected DLLs in game process
- • Manual mapping anomalies
- • Hooked functions
- • Known driver signatures
🟡 External (Software) Detection
EAC monitors:
- • `OpenProcess` calls to game
- • `ReadProcessMemory` / `WriteProcessMemory` usage
- • Suspicious overlay windows
- • Process handles with full access
🟢 DMA Detection (Hard)
EAC struggles because:
- • No cheat software on gaming PC
- • DMA reads don't go through CPU
- • Modern firmware spoofs devices
- • Inputs look human via KMbox
But: Some anti-cheats now scan for DMA devices .
📊 Feature Comparison
| Feature | Internal | External (Software) | DMA (Hardware) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aimbot | ✅ Direct | ⚠️ Input sim | ✅ KMbox |
| ESP | ✅ In-game | ✅ Overlay | ✅ Second monitor |
| Radar | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| No Recoil | ✅ | ⚠️ Limited | ⚠️ Firmware dependent |
| Performance Impact | 5-15% FPS loss | 1-5% FPS loss | 0% |
| Detection Risk | High | Medium | Near Zero |
🖥️ External Cheats Explained
External cheats run in a separate process from the game. They use Windows API functions like `OpenProcess`, `ReadProcessMemory`, and `WriteProcessMemory` to interact with the game's memory without injecting code .
📝 How They Read/Write
External cheats obtain a handle to the game process with appropriate access rights, then call `ReadProcessMemory` to read player positions, health, etc., and `WriteProcessMemory` to modify values like ammo .
🎨 Overlay Windows
For ESP, external cheats typically create a transparent, borderless window that sits on top of the game. They draw boxes, text, and radar directly on this window using GDI, DirectX, or OpenGL .
💡 Detection Vector: Anti-cheats hook `OpenProcess` and `ReadProcessMemory` to block access . They also scan for windows with suspicious properties (transparent, always-on-top, same size/position as game) .
🖧 DMA (Direct Memory Access) Explained
DMA cheats use specialized hardware to read game memory directly, bypassing the CPU and operating system entirely .
🔧 Hardware Setup
- • DMA card in gaming PC's PCIe slot
- • Second PC runs cheat software
- • KMbox between mouse/keyboard for aimbot
- • Optional capture card for overlay
📡 Data Flow
- DMA card reads game RAM directly
- Data sent to second PC via USB/network
- Second PC processes ESP/radar data
- KMbox sends aimbot inputs as real mouse movements
💡 Why It's Undetectable: No cheat software runs on the gaming PC — anti-cheat scans find nothing. Memory reads happen via hardware, not monitored API calls . Inputs look perfectly human because they're physical mouse movements .
🤔 Which Method Should You Choose?
🎮 Casual / Budget
External Software
- • Low cost ($15-40/month)
- • Easy setup
- • Good for ESP/radar
- • Expect occasional bans
⚡ Serious / Competitive
Internal (Kernel-Mode)
- • Mid cost ($50-100/month)
- • Full feature set
- • Better protection
- • Can last months
🖧 Paranoid / Streamer
DMA Hardware
- • Higher upfront cost
- • Complex setup
- • Near-zero detection
- • Years of use
📈 2026 Trends
Community data shows a 40% increase in DMA adoption since early 2026 . As anti-cheat gets more aggressive with API hooking and kernel drivers, hardware-based cheating is becoming the gold standard for those who can afford it .
However, external software cheats remain popular for ESP/radar due to lower cost, and kernel-mode internal cheats dominate for full-feature aimbots .
Frequently Asked Questions
❓ Can external software cheats be detected?
Yes. Anti-cheats hook Windows API functions like `OpenProcess` and `ReadProcessMemory` to block external access. Suspicious overlay windows are also scanned .
❓ Is DMA truly undetectable?
Currently, DMA is virtually undetectable because no cheat software runs on the gaming PC . However, some anti-cheats now scan for DMA devices . Quality firmware spoofs them as normal hardware .
❓ Can external cheats aimbot?
External aimbots are possible but require input simulation (mouse_event, SendInput) which is more detectable and has higher latency than internal or DMA methods .
❓ What's the safest method for ESP only?
External software cheats with overlays are popular for ESP/radar. DMA with second monitor display is even safer but costs more .
❓ Do I need two PCs for DMA?
Yes, DMA requires a second PC to run the cheat software. The gaming PC only has the DMA card installed .
❓ Where can I get undetected cheats?
ESHUB's ARC Raiders packages include internal, external, and DMA options with regular updates.
⚔️ Methods for Other Extraction Shooters
Same principles, different games
Choose Your Method
We offer internal software, external overlays, and DMA solutions — all fully undetected.