Embark Studios has rolled out Arc Raiders update 1.18.0, and it's live now. The patch lands just one week after the Shrouded Sky event kicked off, and its biggest target is the First Wave Caches found on Hurricane map conditions. Players had been farming these for rare blueprints at an absurd rate, and Embark has put a stop to it.
The update also patches out two safe pocket exploits and squashes several bugs. It's a smaller patch overall, but the cache nerf alone will change how a lot of players approach their runs.
Hurricane Caches Take a Hit
Rare blueprint drop rates from First Wave Caches on Hurricane maps have been lowered. To compensate, the caches now drop better materials at a higher rate.
Embark's dev note lays out the reasoning. Players got too good at tracking down and looting the caches, which flooded the blueprint economy faster than intended. The studio says caches will still be a solid source for blueprints, but reliably pulling three to five from a single session is no longer realistic.
The timing lines up with the end of the most recent Arc Raiders Expedition on March 1. In the days before that deadline, players rushed to squeeze every blueprint they could out of Hurricane Caches before any adjustments landed. That farming frenzy likely accelerated Embark's decision to step in.
Safe Pocket Exploits Patched
Players had discovered a way to stash weapons in their safe pocket without the Safekeeper Augment equipped. That exploit is now closed. A separate bug let players tuck the Snaphook into a safe pocket while actively using it, and Embark has patched that one out as well.
Both of these gave players unintended ways to protect gear that should have been at risk during raids.
Bug Fixes and Stability Patches
A handful of other issues got addressed in 1.18.0.
Embark applied what it calls a "very hot fix" to the Dam Controlled Access Zone, though the patch notes don't go into detail on what was wrong. Performance drops caused by certain ARC have also been resolved.
On the quest side, the final stage of "Worth Your Salt" could break if another player in the same raid had already completed it. That bug is gone now. A rare crash tied to the Player Proximity menu has been fixed as well.
Players Mostly Agree With the Nerf
Community reaction to the Hurricane Cache changes has been largely positive, which is unusual for a nerf that removes a farming advantage. Most players on Reddit acknowledged the drop rates were clearly overtuned.
One user called the change necessary, pointing out they'd pulled 4 Tempest Blueprints from a single run. Another said everyone saw it coming because the rates were too generous to last.
Some frustration did surface from players who missed the farming window entirely. One commenter blamed streamers for publicizing the method and drawing the nerf down faster. Most of the community, though, seems to accept the change as fair.
A recurring piece of feedback is that Hurricane Cache rewards felt too extreme before this patch, giving players either amazing loot or almost nothing. Many are hoping 1.18.0 brings more consistency to the feature.
Looking Ahead
The Shrouded Sky event is still running and continues to tease new enemies and locations. Beyond the event, Embark is reportedly working on multiple new maps for the rest of the year along with new weapons and enemies. As Arc Raiders keeps growing and players keep finding creative exploits, more balance adjustments like this one should be expected.
