Embark stealthily nerfs Arc Raiders skill everyone was using to farm legendary loot: 'We’re exploring the possibility of adding a skill reset mechanic'

Arc Raiders: Artwork for the new Leviathan bundle showing a close-up of a player in a divers helmet reloading on the left, and a player modelling the barnacle-covered backpack on the right.
(Image credit: Embark)

Everyone's favorite method of farming rare loot in Arc Raiders isn't what it used to be after this morning's patch. The Security Breach skill, one of the final abilities unlocked on the Survival branch of the skill tree, allows raiders exclusive access to special locked containers on all maps.

Security Breach quickly became the most popular progression path in Arc Raiders after the community realized those padlocked containers were by far the most reliable source of rare and legendary guns, equipment, and blueprints. If you knew where to find them, a typical Security Breach raider could fill their backpack with purple drops and then extract without ever putting themselves in danger.

Oh boy I can't wait to finally try Security Breach tonight after coming home from work! from r/ArcRaiders

While most would agree security lockers were way too valuable as they were—so much that their existence undermined the purpose of exploring the rest of the map—players are understandably miffed that the skill they sunk dozens of hours to unlock got nerfed overnight. There's nothing to be done about it for now, but Embark says it's looking into an easier way to respec skills than the current method, which requires resetting your character through its Expeditions "prestige" system.

"We’re exploring the possibility of adding a skill reset mechanic. Balancing is important for us and both overperforming and underperforming skills will be adjusted over time."

The North Line patch also added a few welcome improvements that I personally worried would take much longer to arrive:

  • Reduced character movement latency on server to improve the "desync" problem where it looks like you get damaged even after behind cover.
  • Fixed an issue that prevented players from completing quests involving multiple objectives or item collections within a single round.
  • Fixed various achievements not working correctly. Players will need to redo some achievements with only one objective item (e.g. “Destroy the Queen”) while achievements with multiple objectives will only need parts of them completed again.
  • Reduced delay between shooting at ARC and seeing impact effects on the target.
  • Fixed various locations where players could fall through the terrain.

You can find the full patch notes on Steam, and then read up about how Embark already had to increase the requirements to unlock the new Stella Montis because players were too generous with their supplies.

2025 gamesBest PC gamesFree PC gamesBest FPS gamesBest RPGsBest co-op games

2025 games: This year's upcoming releases
Best PC games: Our all-time favorites
Free PC games: Freebie fest
Best FPS games: Finest gunplay
Best RPGs: Grand adventures
Best co-op games: Better together

Morgan Park
Staff Writer

Morgan has been writing for PC Gamer since 2018, first as a freelancer and currently as a staff writer. He has also appeared on Polygon, Kotaku, Fanbyte, and PCGamesN. Before freelancing, he spent most of high school and all of college writing at small gaming sites that didn't pay him. He's very happy to have a real job now. Morgan is a beat writer following the latest and greatest shooters and the communities that play them. He also writes general news, reviews, features, the occasional guide, and bad jokes in Slack. Twist his arm, and he'll even write about a boring strategy game. Please don't, though.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.