ARC Raiders players are taking to social media to express their disappointment with the game’s latest update, specifically regarding the Trailblazer Grenade nerf that was included in the February 10 patch. Despite continued calls for buffs to a variety of different ARC Raiders weapons, Embark Studios has reduced the amount of damage that the Trailblazer Grenade does to larger ARC enemies, such as the Bastion or Leaper, and fans aren’t happy about it.
Although ARC Raiders has been a massive success for developer Embark Studios, winning Best Multiplayer Game at the 2025 Game Awards, selling more than 12 million copies since launch, and earning rave reviews from both critics and players, it hasn’t been without its issues. The development team has kept fans busy with a steady stream of major content updates each month, but it is the weapon balancing that has much of the community up in arms. With many of the weapons included in free loadouts being a viable option against epic guns such as the Bobcat or Bettina, players have been campaigning for change for weeks.
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ARC Raiders’ Trailblazer Nerf Has Angered Fans
Earlier today, Embark Studios released a new update for ARC Raiders, bringing the shooter to version 1.15.0 with a handful of bug fixes, improvements, and the new Shared Watch event, which encourages PvE among players. The patch also marked another week with no significant weapon adjustments, apart from a nerf to the Trailblazer Grenade, which some believe was uncalled for. According to the patch notes, Embark has buffed the item’s damage to smaller ARC enemies, such as Wasps and Hornets, but nerfed its damage to bigger enemies, like Bastions and Leapers. As the Trailblazer Grenade was primarily used against big ARC, many think the nerf now makes the item somewhat useless.
Following the update, numerous posts have appeared on platforms like Reddit and Twitter, as fans protest the nerf. One user said they are “tired” of the constant nerfs, while weapons such as the Bettina, Bobcat, and Tempest are all underperforming, despite being some of the rarest guns in the game. This appears to be a similar sentiment across the community, as another questioned, “So they don’t want to buff the Bettina or nerf the Stitcher?” Another said that they are “yet to see an actual W” in any of the patch notes since the game released, referencing previous nerfs to the Hullcracker and to the sell value of various items, while also making large ARC harder to fight.
While many believe Embark seems to be focusing too heavily on nerfs and not enough on buffs, the studio did respond to fan feedback in the past and nerf ARC Raiders‘ controversial Trigger Nade, which dominated PvP encounters for weeks on end. The item, which is relatively cheap to craft, requiring just processors and crude explosives, was dealing tons of damage to players up until Embark hit the item with a nerf. In a patch earlier this year, the studio rebalanced the item’s damage falloff in order to concentrate the damage closer to the center of the explosion and deal less damage further away, while also increasing the delay time between triggering and detonation from 0.7 seconds to 1.5 seconds.
Although many are unhappy with the Trailblazer nerf, it wasn’t the biggest controversy among the community this week. Players recently discovered yet another duplication exploit in ARC Raiders, and it was possibly the easiest method to date, allowing players to duplicate grenades and throwable items, such as Rubber Ducks, to their heart’s content. Thankfully, Embark has since rectified the issue and stated that those who have excessively duplicated items may be penalized.
- Released
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October 30, 2025
- ESRB
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Teen / Violence, Blood
