Major Update March 31, 2026

Patch 1.22.0 — Flashpoint Content Drop & Full Changelog

The Flashpoint update lands with patch 1.22.0 — Arc Raiders' biggest content drop of March 2026. On top of the new Vaporizer enemy, weapons, and ARC Assessor operation, this patch delivers Rocketeer balance changes, a significant reduction in Firefly spawns, loot economy upgrades, Blue Gate security code overhaul, 11 audio fixes, and performance improvements across the board.

Flashpoint Content Vaporizer Enemy Canto + Dolabra Rocketeer Balance Firefly Spawn Nerf 11 Audio Fixes Loot Economy Performance
Looking for the Flashpoint content breakdown?

The ARC Assessor, Vaporizer, new weapons, Shredder expansion, cosmetics, High Gain Antenna project, and the Scrappy Feeding system all have detailed write-ups in the separate Flashpoint article.

Flashpoint — Full Content Guide →

New Content at a Glance

Vaporizer

New flying ARC unit. Laser attacks, unpredictable movement. Patrols around ARC Operations / Close Scrutiny events.

Canto

Rare Medium Ammo SMG. Close-quarters focus. Good against both ARC and Raiders.

Dolabra

Legendary Energy Shotgun. Variable focus — wide burst or concentrated electrical funnel for armor pen.

Surge Coil

New Rare deployable. Periodically electrifies the surrounding area, shocking anything that gets too close.

Close Scrutiny — ARC Operation

New major map condition. The ARC Assessor lands on the map with heavy patrol presence. High-risk, high-reward zone.

High-Gain Antenna Project

New community Player Project. Gather resources collectively to build surveillance equipment and unlock story progression.

Balance Changes

ARC Enemies

Nerf

Rocketeers — Collision Damage Reduced

Rocketeers no longer deal the same punishing collision damage on contact. This should reduce frustrating instant-damage situations from Rocketeer impacts, making them more about their projectile threat than proximity punishment.

Change

Rocketeers — No Longer Instantly Destroyed When Stunned

Stunned Rocketeers now survive the stun state. Previously, stunning a Rocketeer would kill it outright — now it's a window of opportunity to deal damage, not an instant kill button.

Nerf

Firefly — Multiple Spawn Occurrences Reduced

Embark has pulled back on how many Fireflies can be active simultaneously. If you've been overwhelmed by multiple Fireflies stacking on you at once, this patch directly addresses that. Firefly spawn density is reduced across all maps.

Change

ARC Identification Time — Reduced for Nearby Players

ARC units now identify nearby players faster — shorter time before an ARC spots and engages you when you're in close proximity. Be more careful around ARC patrol zones.

Improvement

Comet — Improved Stun Behavior & Target Switching

Stunned Comets behave more predictably now, and ARC enemies in general have improved target selection — they can now switch targets more freely. This makes ARC fights feel more dynamic, especially in squad scenarios where multiple Raiders are engaged.

Items & Economy

Change

Free Augments → 6 Plastic + 6 Rubber Parts on Recycle

Free Augments now recycle into 6 plastic and 6 rubber parts instead of their previous value. If you've been sitting on unneeded Free Augments, this changes their recycling value.

Buff

Firefly Burner — "New Extra-Spicy Functionality"

Embark's patch notes call it "new extra-spicy functionality" for the Firefly Burner item. No specifics given beyond the enhancement — test it in-raid to see what changed.

Buff

Locked Room Loot — Increased, Scaled by Key Rarity

Locked rooms now have more loot overall, with bonus loot scaled to the rarity of the key used to open them. Higher-rarity keys reward better returns — a meaningful incentive to use and hunt for rare keys.

Buff

Baron Husk Loot Spawns — Increased

Baron Husks now drop more loot on death. Worth targeting when you encounter them, especially on runs prioritizing economy.

Change

Custom Loadout Players — More Likely to Join Fresh Servers

Matchmaking adjustment: players using custom loadouts are now more likely to be placed into fresh server instances rather than joining mid-run servers. Should reduce the disadvantage of loading into a depleted map.

Bug Fixes

Audio (11 Fixes)

Proximity voice chat stability improved — less drop-out and interference in VC sessions
Indoor wind sounds removed — ambient wind noise was triggering inside buildings and causing player confusion about their location
ARC Power Core secondary audio fixed — missing audio cues restored
Player footstep positional clarity improved — other players' movement audio is more accurately positioned in 3D space
Doors audible from greater distances — better audio range for opening/closing doors
Flying ARC directional audio improved — better sense of where flying enemies are in relation to your position
Weapon audio latency reduced (Windows, 16GB+ RAM) — noticeable improvement for players with 16GB or more RAM on Windows
Continuous-fire weapon audio responsiveness improved — sustained fire sounds feel tighter and more responsive

Gameplay (7 Fixes)

No item carrying on ziplines/ladders — players can no longer hold items while traversing ziplines or climbing ladders
Late-join ARC spawn issue resolved — ARC units were spawning incorrectly when players joined a match late
Gamepad aim assist added to Leaper legs/core — console players now get aim assist when targeting Leaper weak points
Fall damage from Comet vaults eliminated — vaulting a Comet mid-fight was incorrectly dealing fall damage to the player
Remote Raider Flares now disarmable with Mine Sweeper — previously only the Surge Coil deployable could be disarmed; Flares now work too
Weapon equip delay fixed — weapons were sometimes slow to equip after certain actions
Trailblazer/Shrapnel Grenade achievement tracking fixed — these achievements were not registering correctly

Animation

Sprint transition pose popping reduced — smoother animation going in/out of sprint
Comet head jitter fixed — Comet's head was visibly twitching during certain states
Weapon mesh placement fixed during door breach re-equip — weapons were misaligning visually after breaching a door and re-equipping
Fire damage no longer triggers bullet hit reactions — players/enemies were playing bullet impact animations when hit by fire, which was visually wrong

Map-Specific Changes

Dam

Added Sentinel spawn points — Sentinels now have dedicated spawn points on the Dam map
Improved ARC enemy navigation — pathing fixes to reduce ARC units getting stuck or behaving oddly

Buried City

Multiple stuck spots fixed — several locations where players could get trapped have been patched
ARC pathfinding improved — ARC units navigate the map's geometry more reliably

Blue Gate — Major Security Code Overhaul

Locked Gate side entrances now unlock with the main gate — previously side entrances had to be unlocked separately
Security Codes now only drop from printers — codes are no longer found in other loot sources. If you're hunting codes, head to printers specifically
Security Codes expire on extraction — codes can no longer be carried out and saved for the next raid. Use them or lose them

Spaceport

Elevator shaft fixes — several issues with elevator shafts resolved (stuck spots, traversal bugs)
Mushroom spawns increased — more mushrooms across the map

Stella Montis

Missing Security Lobby wall added — a wall in the Security Lobby was absent, this is now restored

UI & QoL Improvements

Crafting view — acquire missing materials inline — you can now trigger material acquisition directly from the crafting screen without navigating away
All squad members see active map conditions in Speranza — previously only certain squad members could see active map conditions
Matchmaking timer now visible on all screens — no more guessing how long you've been in queue
Console HUD visibility options added — four modes: Visible, Crosshair/Interactions Only, Crosshair Only, Hidden
Inventory now shows stash value — see the total coin value of your stash directly in the inventory screen
Barricade pings repositioned to crosshair — barricade ping indicators now appear at the crosshair instead of misaligned
Bundle purchase preview — detailed breakdown — buying a bundle now shows a full item-by-item breakdown before confirming
Store rotation indicator added — the store now shows when items rotate out, so you know how long you have to buy

Performance Improvements

Texture streaming improved for lower-spec systems — players on weaker hardware should see less texture pop-in
Shadow and vegetation popping reduced — less visual noise from objects suddenly appearing
Intel XeSS upgraded to SDK 2.1.1 — improved upscaling quality for Intel Arc GPU users
AMD FSR upgraded to SDK 2.1.0 — improved upscaling responsiveness for AMD users

Known Issues

Embark has acknowledged the following issues as outstanding in 1.22.0:

Firefly occasionally disappears then drops an incendiary grenade mid-fight
Destroyed Comet leaves a persistent looping sound
Shredders float toward the ceiling in Hidden Bunker rooms
ARC units spawning inside Dam geometry
Invisible Turret collision on Buried City / Spaceport
Flying ARC idle animation freezes occasionally
Helmet visors become transparent post-extraction
Purchase Tokens page overlay rendering issues
Baron Husk search animation corruption
Empty magazine auto-fires after a reload
Quick-use item rapid-click activation can fail
Grandioso apartments top stairs: invisible wall despite no visible geometry

Related

Content Guide Flashpoint — Full Breakdown Previous Patch 1.21.0 — Flashpoint Teased Database ARCs & Enemies Database All Weapons