Arc Raiders is finally dishing out bans for cheaters, but some players think the punishment is too lenient: 'Anyone with cheats active just gets non-stop arc spawning on them'

close-ups of players in Arc Raiders shot in a war documentary style — (Image credit: Podgor on YouTube)

The day of reckoning has arrived. Those who have been cheating in Arc Raiders (or at least some of them) have been handed down their sentence: a 30-day ban. Embark promised last week that it would begin dealing with cheaters, and now the "significant changes" to the detection and ban systems have arrived.

"Dear cheaters, the reckoning has begun," player Subsplot says in a Reddit post. "Have fun trying to make up that expedition progress." The post also shares an image of a temporary suspension pop-up that is circulating Raider circles right now.

Arc Raiders: A player standing on a metal platform on a tall tower overlooking the Dam Battlegrounds map, with a player flying in front of them. — (Image credit: Jinko on YouTube)

It reads: "Your account has been temporarily suspended for behaviour that violates our code of conduct. Your access will be restored: 2026.02." Which is a month from now, hence the 30-day ban.

It's a great day for anyone who's been at the mercy of cheaters in Arc Raiders, even if Embark has been good enough to give loot back to those who have had it stolen by players who are cheating. But, as with anything, there are some who don't think the punishment has gone far enough.

"If they're cheating, then why isn't it permanent?" one player asks. To which I say, because that's not how the cookie crumbles. Permanent bans tend to be dished out to repeat offenders, plus Embark may want to take into consideration the extent to which individuals have been cheating. It's one thing to mess with the game files to get a trippy first-person perspective, and a totally other issue to aimbot.

But even still, some players have decided on special kinds of punishments for cheaters that go way beyond a simple suspension. "Anyone with cheats active just gets non-stop arc spawning on them," one player says. Other punishments include:

Making cheaters clip through the floor.
Encumber cheaters with 10% slower walking speed.
Cover every inch of the map with infinitely respawning fireballs.
Condemn the cheaters to fight each other in a gladiatorial arena.

I would like to see cheaters condemned to only spawning into matches late and having nothing to find but plastic parts and the occasional fabric, but that's just an idea.

The main thing is that Embark is finally doing something to combat cheaters, and hopefully, as time goes on, its detection systems will improve, and the punishments will escalate accordingly. Because no one likes losing to a dirty little rat.

Elie is a news writer with an unhealthy love of horror games—even though their greatest fear is being chased. When they're not screaming or hiding, there's a good chance you'll find them testing their metal in metroidvanias or just admiring their Pokemon TCG collection. Elie has previously worked at TechRadar Gaming as a staff writer and studied at JOMEC in International Journalism and Documentaries – spending their free time filming short docs about Smash Bros. or any indie game that crossed their path.

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