ARC Raiders players everywhere are contending with the mixed reception of Riven Tides, the update that brought an end to the Escalation roadmap, a four-month pipeline that went out with more of a fizzle than a bang. Many of them are now focused on what’s coming next, hopeful that whatever is lined up will be more substantial.
In a recent post from a dataminer, it was suggested that there is plenty on the horizon. This post went mostly under the radar but is now starting to circulate, uncovering references to the next ARC Raiders map, the next ARC construct, upcoming events, a trading hub, a clan system, and much more.
Pinch of Salt Time, ARC Fans
Datamining efforts should always be taken with a considerable pinch of salt. They’re based on information that anyone, with the right know-how, can obtain, and they’re almost always concerning things that are subject to change, and often do. At no point is this article to be taken as gospel!
In a recent post on pastebin, one dataminer spooled out a stack of upcoming ARC Raiders features, starting with the next new map. It took five months for Embark Studios to bring in the first new map since Stella Montis, so the hope is that this map, reportedly named Frozen Trail, will arrive much sooner.
The post details a string of points of interest in the Frozen Trail map, including:
- Central Station
- Factory
- Loading Platform
- Observatory
- Railyard
- Village
Given the scale of those POIs, that could be one hell of a large map. That would be appreciated, given Riven Tides’ underwhelming makeup.
The post also detailed new map conditions, one of which appeared in the rumor mill several months ago:
- Toxic Swamp: Geothermal fissures have erupted beneath the swamp, releasing both toxic gases and rare natural resources.
- Acid Rain: An especially sour rain corrodes everything on the surface, harming any Raider caught outdoors.
- Heat Wave: A scorching sun has been beating down on everything and everyone, making it exhausting just to get around. Stay in the shadows if you can.
- The Queens: Multiple Queens have been spotted in the area, though no Harvester seems to be anywhere nearby.
There was another minor map condition that suggested extraction points would be buttoned up tight and needing repair before they could be successfully used.
Elsewhere, a reference to a new trading mechanic appeared in the data:
At the shady SPERANZA PIAZZA you will be able to trade with other RAIDERS.
This was noted as being under construction, but it is not the first time that we’ve seen a peer-to-peer trading solution surface in the ARC Raiders rumors space.
More gadgets, all of which were based on instruments, were listed, as were two new weapons: Stanza and Malleus.
A new ARC Operation called Dead Reckoning was named. This would see a new ‘Frigate’ ARC surface, one that’s reportedly large enough to fly around the map and be boarded by Raiders. In the data, it was suggested that this would be based on the cryptic UFOs seen flying around during the Shrouded Sky update.
Finally, there was a mention of a clan system, which would make sense, given the community-focused aspects of ARC Raiders. The dataminer pasted a reference to a clan ‘playstyles’ string that would allow users to pick the focus of their clan. This can be questing, PvP, PvE, or any.
Again, I’ll stress that this information is based on a dataminer post and shouldn’t be taken as a guarantee that any of this will surface in ARC Raiders. But what do you think? What item on this breakdown would you most like to see in ARC Raiders? Let us know on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the news that ARC Raiders now has regional pricing
Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
More from Grant Taylor-Hill
Comments