BrokenBuilds

ARC Raiders Shrouded Sky Patch Notes (Update 1.17.0)

Embark's February 24 update adds the Hurricane map condition, two new Rust Belt ARCs, and a weapon-tuning pass that walks back the Stitcher and Kettle outliers from 1.13.1.

v1.17.0By BrokenBuilds WikiUpdated

What Changed in Shrouded Sky

Update 1.17.0 went live on February 24, 2026. The patch is the late-winter content drop: the Hurricane map condition that compresses sightlines and forces close-range play, two new Rust Belt ARC enemies, the Weather Monitoring System seasonal project, and a weapon-tuning pass that corrected the input-buffering bug from 1.13.1 along with several tier outliers. More than 100 bug fixes shipped underneath.

Hurricane map condition

A violent storm overlay that drops visibility to a fraction of normal. Long-range engagements are suppressed because you cannot see past 30 to 40 meters in the heaviest gusts. Indoor spaces become survival pockets where players crowd up and shotgun engagements decide fights. The condition rewards item:vulcano and item:il-toro loadouts that already wanted close range, and it punishes item:jupiter and item:osprey sniper builds that cannot find sight lines.

Two new Rust Belt ARCs

The Rust Belt sector got two ARC additions tuned to feel different from the Bastion and Rocketeer family. Their exact names did not surface in the patch notes summary at launch and are folded into the broader entity:bastion and entity:rocketeer threat tier in current build-archetype thinking. Both punish under-equipped Raiders who push too aggressively in poor visibility.

Weather Monitoring System

A seasonal player project tied to surviving and exploiting the Hurricane condition. Reward tiers and merit thresholds were not enumerated in the patch summary at launch.

Quality of life

Expedition Departure Window feature added so players can preview the next expedition cycle before committing. Facial hair customization joined the Raider editor. Dam Battlegrounds received geometry updates that opened new sight lines in the central control area.

Balance Changes

  • Input buffering: the unintended weapon input-buffering bug introduced in 1.13.1 resolved. Weapons stop queuing the next swap or fire input across animation cancels. PvP TTK on rifle-to-pistol swap loops dropped by a noticeable margin because the 1.13.1 buffer was letting players fire faster than the animation system intended.
  • item:stitcher: headshot multiplier 2.5 to 1.75. Base damage lowered. Accuracy reduced. The SMG had become the default Light-ammo PvP pick because the headshot math beat every comparable weapon. The nerf moved it back into a balanced slot.
  • item:kettle: base damage 10 to 8.5. The starter Light-ammo AR was overperforming for new Raiders; the cut keeps it as a tutorial weapon without turning it into a mid-tier pick.
  • item:venator: headshot multiplier 2.5 to 2.0. Base damage 9 to 8. The semi-auto Medium pistol was edging toward item:anvil consistency at much lower weight cost; the trim restored the gap.
  • item:jupiter: improved ADS magnification, faster equip and unequip times. The Energy sniper got a quality-of-life polish that helps the Boss Hunter swap-finisher loop.
  • item:aphelion: reload time 4.5s to 3.5s. Improved handling and recoil control. The Aphelion was sitting at niche placement in the Weapon Tier List largely because the reload window punished panic firing. The 1-second reload reduction repositions it as a real A-tier option for ARC-focused loadouts.
  • Equipment buffs: Deadline, Trailblazer, Wolfpack, and Vita Spray equipment values increased; crafting costs adjusted to match. Quick-use grenade slots now carry more impact per slot, which raises the case for item:tactical-mk3-defensive over item:combat-mk3-aggressive in PvP loadouts that lean on grenade pressure.

Bug Fixes

  • Animation glitches across player and ARC models cleaned up.
  • ARC behaviour and pathing corrections.
  • Audio system optimization pass.
  • Map collision gaps closed across Buried City, Spaceport, and Stella Montis.
  • UI improvements across inventory, end-of-round, and HUD elements.

Build Impact

The Stitcher nerf is the biggest tier-list shift in the patch. Pre-1.17.0, Light-ammo PvP loadouts converged on the Stitcher because the 2.5x headshot multiplier turned every chest-aim flick into a 2.5x head-tap winner. The drop to 1.75 plus the accuracy reduction means item:stitcher is now a balanced SMG instead of a default. PvP-leaning Raiders should look at item:tempest for human combat and the item:anvil secondary for the finisher slot.

The input-buffering fix is the change every veteran felt within the first hour. Rifle-to-pistol swap loops stopped letting Raiders fire faster than animations supported. PvP rotations are slower by a small but measurable margin. Builds that relied on the swap exploit (some item:combat-mk3-flanking Pistol/Hand Cannon kits in particular) lost some of their burst ceiling.

The Aphelion reload buff is the second-largest tier-list shift. The Energy battle rifle now has a usable panic-fire window. ARC-focused PvE loadouts that previously skipped it for the item:bettina or item:ferro gain a real Energy-ammo option for armored ARC encounters. Expect the item:aphelion to climb out of Niche/Situational on the next ARC Raiders Weapon Tier List refresh.

The Hurricane condition reshapes which loadouts win on rotation. Shotgun loadouts pull ahead during Hurricane windows because sightlines collapse. item:hullcracker launcher kits also gain because the storm hides the projectile arc that normally telegraphs the shot.

Updated Tier Lists

The ARC Raiders Weapon Tier List needs a refresh after this patch. The Stitcher drops from S to A on Light-ammo loadouts. The Kettle confirms Niche placement. The Aphelion moves from Niche to A on ARC-focused builds. The Bettina and Vulcano hold S placement; nothing in this patch displaced them.

See Also