Patch 1.29.0 — Nomadic Envoy Trader, The Rascal & Full Changelog
Patch 1.29.0 is a substantial content and balance update. A brand-new trader — Ermal, the Nomadic Envoy — arrives for Level 25+ Raiders, offering stash expansions, Expedition Vault slots, and rotating weekly stock. The Rascal is a new lightweight grenade launcher positioned as an anti-ARC sidearm alternative to the Hullcracker. The Photoelectric Cloak gets a significant quality-of-life buff (power cost halved), augments are reworked, the Extended Barrel mod splits into three tiers, and Denuvo Anti-Cheat begins a limited rollout alongside Anybrain.
New Content
Nomadic Envoy Trader — Ermal (Level 25+)
A new trader joins the base for Raiders who have reached Level 25. Ermal, the Nomadic Envoy, offers high-value trades centered on ARC materials and stockpiled rare weapons. His inventory covers expanded Stash space, Expedition Vault access (up to 5 items), cosmetics, blueprints, Raider Tokens, and gameplay items. Stock rotates weekly — this first phase is limited availability while Embark collects player feedback before wider rollout.
The Rascal — Lightweight Grenade Launcher
A compact, lightweight grenade launcher built as an anti-ARC sidearm. Embark describes it as "slower to reload, and a bit unpredictable on the aim" — the trade-off for getting armor-piercing firepower without the weight commitment of the Hullcracker. Intended for Raiders who want grenade launcher capability without dedicating a primary weapon slot to it. Its exact stats and unlock source are left for players to discover.
New Cosmetics
Sandveil Set
Patient, pale design for extended operations. Available now in the shop.
The Sheath Set June 2
New cosmetic set arriving June 2nd.
Sideburns Facial Hair
New character customization option available in the shop.
Weapon Balance
Bettina — Fire Rate 235 → 250
The Bettina's fire rate interval ticks up from 235 to 250. In Arc Raiders, fire rate is measured as time between shots where lower = faster, so this is a slight reduction in fire rate from the level it reached in the Riven Tides patch 1.26.0 major buff (when it went from 285 → 235). The Bettina remains substantially faster to fire than it was pre-1.26.0.
Extended Barrel — Reworked into Three Tiers
The Extended Barrel mod is now a tiered system: Extended Barrel I, Extended Barrel II, and Extended Barrel III. The top tier (formerly just "Extended Barrel") receives two improvements: bullet velocity bonus increases from 25% to 30%, and damage fall-off distance extends by 15%. A secondary change across all barrel mods: scoped weapons now have aim-down-sights transition speed affected by the mod equipped.
Weapon Durability — Multiple Weapons Increased
Several weapons receive increased durability values, reducing how quickly they break during play. This continues the durability system tuning that began with the Riven Tides patch 1.26.0 overhaul. Specific weapons and values were listed in the official patch chart.
Augment Changes
Tactical Mk.3 (Healing) — Cloud of Renewal Reworked
The Tactical Mk.3 Healing augment's Cloud of Renewal ability is significantly reworked. It now activates as an AoE effect rather than a targeted heal, healing has more than doubled (20 → 45), and it now heals allies after a player revival. The cooldown extends from 30s to 45s to account for the increased output and new team utility.
Combat Mk.3 (Flanking) — Now Accepts Medium Shields
The Combat Mk.3 Flanking augment's shield capacity requirement is relaxed — it now accepts Medium Shields in addition to whatever it previously required. This increases its accessibility for builds that don't run the heaviest shield options.
Gameplay Changes
Photoelectric Cloak — Power Cost 10/s → 5/s
The Photoelectric Cloak's active power draw is halved from 10/s to 5/s. This partially reverses the significant power cost increase introduced in Riven Tides patch 1.26.0 (which raised it from 2.5/s to 10/s). The Cloak remains substantially more expensive than its pre-1.26.0 state — the weight of 3 and the much higher power draw than the original 2.5/s are still in place — but the 5/s cost makes sustained cloaking meaningfully more viable than the 10/s version allowed.
ARC Vision & Sound Perception Refined
ARC detection behavior receives targeted tuning. Vision through bushes and smoke is more granular: ARCs now detect players more easily at the edges of cover, but deep foliage provides better concealment than before. Sound perception in outdoor spaces is improved, while indoor detection sensitivity is reduced. Separately, ARCs are now less perceptive toward newly-spawned Raiders — reducing early deaths from instant detection after loading in.
Firefly — Flame Application Matches Visuals
Fire application from the Firefly now aligns with its visible flame animations. Brief grazing hits from the edge of flames are less punishing than before — damage will more accurately reflect whether you're truly caught in the fire.
Rocketeer — Simultaneous Missile Spread Improved
Multiple simultaneous missiles from the Rocketeer now consistently spread over a larger area. This reduces the chance of a single burst delivering all its damage to one spot — making the Rocketeer's salvos more predictable to dodge and spread across larger zones.
Raider Mechanics — Stun Immunity & Fire Buffering
Two quality-of-life improvements to Raider movement and combat. First, Raiders are now immune to stuns while entering a Raider Hatch — closing an unfair window where a stun at hatch entry could leave you completely exposed. Second, fire input now buffers correctly during dodge rolls and climbing, so shots queued during those animations will register when the action completes rather than being dropped.
ARC Improvements
Queen & Matriarch — Obstacle Navigation Improved
The Queen and Matriarch now more reliably step over obstacles rather than walking through them. This addresses inconsistent behavior that could cause unexpected knockback when the bosses clipped through environmental geometry near the player.
ARC Turbine — Multiple Fixes
Several Riven Tides-specific Turbine issues are resolved: invisible leg geometry at certain camera angles, improved leg angle-finding and landing positioning for more consistent grounding, visual clipping mitigated, and the erratic ping marker behavior when entering a Turbine is corrected. A remaining known issue (Leaper jumping through the Turbine) is tracked below.
General ARC Fixes
Bug Fixes
20+ fixes across gameplay, animation, audio, maps, UI, social, and utility systems.
Gameplay
Items & Utility
Animation
Audio
Maps
Social & UI
Anti-Cheat: Denuvo Rolling Out
Denuvo Anti-Cheat — Limited Rollout Starting May 19
Denuvo Anti-Cheat begins a limited rollout to a subset of PC players starting May 19, expanding after monitoring. Embark confirms there is no DRM implementation and that performance impact is expected to be minimal. It operates alongside the existing Anybrain system to strengthen the overall anti-cheat posture.
Known Issues at Launch
Embark has flagged these as unresolved at the time of release: