"This is massive" is how patch watchers described the Flashpoint drop the moment Embark Studios pushed it live. Patch 1.22.0 for ARC Raiders is a sprawling update that touches weapons, enemy spawns, five separate maps, audio systems, and animation quality all at once.
What's new in the arsenal
The headline additions are two new weapons. The Dolabra is a Legendary Energy shotgun, sitting at the top of the rarity ladder and likely to shake up close-range loadout decisions. Alongside it comes the Canto, a Rare Medium Ammo SMG that gives players a more accessible option without requiring a lucky loot pull.
The Surge Coil, a Rare Deployable, rounds out the gear additions. There's also a new High-Gain Antenna Player Project and the ARC Vaporizer to chase, plus two new cosmetic sets: the Wasp Hunter Set and The Brigade Set.
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Free Augments can now be recycled into 6 plastic and 6 rubber parts, which is a small but meaningful change for players who regularly craft their own loadouts.
Shredders hit every map, enemy behavior gets tuned
The bigger enemy-side news is that Shredders are now present across all maps (with the caveat that on Dam Battlegrounds, they only appear during certain map conditions). That's a meaningful shift to threat density that players will feel immediately.
Beyond the new enemy type, Embark adjusted how existing ARC units behave. Rocketeers take less collision damage and won't be instantly destroyed on impact when stunned. The chance for multiple Fireflies to spawn together has been reduced, and ARC identification speed for players standing very close in front of them has been tightened up. The Firefly Burner also received an unspecified "extra-spicy functionality," which the patch notes leave deliberately vague.
Map-by-map breakdown of what changed
All five maps received attention, with Blue Gate and Spaceport getting the most substantive reworks.
On Blue Gate, the Locked Gate event has been restructured: some side entrances now unlock alongside the main gate, Security Codes now come from Code Printers instead of containers, and those codes expire upon extraction. That last point changes how squads coordinate the objective significantly.
Spaceport saw mushroom spawn locations expanded for better resource availability, an increased chance for high-tier loot during the Launch Tower Loot map condition, and a delay added after the final antenna activates before the bunker opens during the Hidden Bunker condition. The elevator shaft stuck-point bug is also fixed.
Buried City and Dam Battlegrounds both received more Sentinel spawn points, navigation adjustments for Leapers, Bombardiers, and Bastions, and Buried City specifically gets more varied enemy distribution during the Night Raid condition.
Audio and animation improvements worth noting
The audio overhaul is more substantial than it might look on paper. Weapon audio latency has been considerably reduced on Windows systems with at least 16 GB RAM. Continuous-fire weapons now respond faster when releasing the trigger, which directly affects how accurate your audio feedback is during sustained fights.
Directional audio clarity has been improved for flying ARC and for sounds coming from behind the player. Doors can now be heard opening and closing from farther away, which adds a real layer of situational awareness. Indoor wind reaction sounds have been removed entirely to stop players confusing ambient noise with looting activity nearby.
On the animation side, sprint transitions are smoother, Comet head jitter is fixed, and the awkward weapon mesh misplacement during door-breach animations is gone.
For the full breakdown of every change, the official patch notes on Embark's site have everything listed in detail. Make sure to check out more:
