Arc Raiders' new update puts the Il Toro in its place (a grave) at long last: 'This is an adjustment many of you requested'

Arc Raiders: Promotional art for the Wasp Hunter outfit, showing two versions next to each other. The leftmost one has a character on one knee with a Hullcracker over their shoulder, while the rightmost character is holding the Equilizer at the ready.
(Image credit: Embark)

The Il Toro is infamous for haunting the halls of Stella Montis in Arc Raiders. It was good anywhere, of course, but Stella Montis' tight corridors made the shotgun an absolute menace in PvP, where you could rush at someone and one-tap them pretty reliably. Embark promised its time in the spotlight would come to an end, and that moment is now.

In the update 1.20.0 patch notes, Embark explains that it has tuned the Il Toro "so it performs more like a weapon of its rarity," in that it's less versatile with no upgrades and more dependent on attachments. It is a green-quality shotgun, after all.

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  • Pellet damage reduced from 7.5 to 7
  • Base fire rate reduced from 43 to 38
  • Base dispersion increased from 4.5 to 6
  • Total reload time increased from 4.3s to 5.7s
    • Looping reload entry increased from 0.8s to 1s
    • Looping reload time increased from 0.5s to 0.7s
  • Damage loss from fall-off increased from 40% to 50%

Most notable is its reduced pellet damage, base dispersion, and damage fall-off, which combine to significantly rein in the Il Toro's ranged performance. Now you'll have to get much closer to your enemy to deal the maximum damage. The slower fire rate is important too, as it'll be harder to guarantee a follow-up shot. Don't miss.

And don't overlook the much slower reload speed. While reloading individual shells isn't quite so bad, if you need to reload from empty, you're looking at a 1.4-second longer reload. Those precious seconds matter when you're running around Stella Montis.

Embark rightly points out that the Il Toro nerf is "an adjustment many of you requested," though I'd say this nerf went a little harder in one fell swoop than most players expected, myself included. It'll take some time to see where this toned-down Toro sits in the meta, and whether Embark were perhaps a bit overzealous. Thankfully, the devs note that they'll keep a close eye on it and make adjustments if needed.

Another major fix in this update comes to Energy Clips, which has had its sell price reduced from 1,000 to 200 coins. Only the sneaky few of you will immediately know why this seemingly random change was made, but it's because it was a very easy money cheat. You could craft Energy Clips for just one Advanded Arc Powercell and two Batteries, then sell them for a big profit. Now its profitability is more in line with other craftable items. You'll have to look elsewhere for your money now, perhaps, say, looting high-value items instead of cheeky crafting exploits.

Arc Raiders roadmapArc Raiders best skillsArc Raiders best weaponsArc Raiders ExpeditionsArc Raiders questsArc Raiders Weather Monitor ProjectArc Raiders Trophy Display Project

Arc Raiders roadmap: New and improved
Arc Raiders best skills: Survive the surface
Arc Raiders best weapons: Just don't lose them
Arc Raiders Expeditions: Retire your Raider
Arc Raiders quests: All the missions and how to beat 'em
Arc Raiders Weather Monitor Project: Beat the wind
Arc Raiders Trophy Display Project: Big game hunter

Rory Norris
Guides Writer

Rory has made the fatal error of playing way too many live service games at once, and somehow still finding time for everything in between. Sure, he’s an expert at Destiny 2, Call of Duty, and more, but at what cost? He’s even sunk 1,000 hours into The Elder Scrolls Online over the years. At least he put all those hours spent grinding challenges to good use over the years as a freelancer and guides editor. In his spare time, he’s also an avid video creator, often breaking down the environmental design of his favourite games. If you can’t track him down, he’s probably lost in a cave with a bunch of dwarves shouting “rock and stone” to no end.

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