Ho, wasteland packmules and sticky-fingered ornithologists! Embark have released a sizeable Arc Raiders update. Titled Flashpoint, it introduces a new shotgun, SMG and deployable together with a Close Scrutiny map condition, a fresh breed of Arc enemy, some cosmetic bundles, and a feeding boost for Scrappy the loot chicken, which will cause him to dig up a wider variety of more valuable items. As warned, they’ve also permitted all those awful Shredder things from Stella Montis to infest the other maps.

The most welcome changes and additions could be the furtive “quality-of-life” adjustments. For example, if you have a custom gear setup, you’re less likely to spawn late on a cleaned-out map full of scrounging rabble armed with free loadouts. Also, the crafting process won’t annoy you as much.

The new map condition is an “Arc Operation” called Close Scrutiny. It introduces a spiky new entity called an Assessor, which is full of tasty rewards, and well-protected by aerial Vaporizer beam cannons. The catch is that there’s less loot around the rest of the map. Vaporizers, eh? I use them when I have a headcold. Hold on, I’m getting word from Embark that on no account should I shove any of their robots up my nose.

As for the QOL stuff, Embark have been thinking about how they deal with the problem of people with valuable custom gear spawning late in games full of people wielding free loadouts, with all the best loot already pinched. They note that the free loadout system is a “safety net”, allowing people who’ve just failed extraction in spectacular style “to build themselves back up, accomplish a few tasks, or make a bit of progress”. Still, a lot of player default to packing freebies, filling up server slots that might otherwise go to people armed with custom gear.

“As part of an ongoing look at free loadout usage and how it impacts the game, we’re going to bias the matchmaking to put players with custom loadouts into fresh servers,” Embark write in the patch notes.

“This won’t be a guarantee, as map choice, time of day, and region will still affect the number of players available to matchmake,” the devs continue. “This does have an effect on overall matchmaking times so we’ll be keeping a close eye on it.”

There are many more tweaks in the Flashpoint changelog, including scaled loot value increases for locked rooms, depending on the key you use to open them. The entry that catches my eye, though, is the revised crafting system, which now involves less clicking between menus. “Recycling, refining, or purchasing missing materials is now available in the same window to complete crafting.” (I guess this catches my eye partly because I just did a big moan about videogame crafting.)

Given the scope of the patch – it also makes doors noisier, sprinting more fluid, and Rocketeers harder to kill – I expect there will be a hotfix shortly to address any implementation problems. One thing that might throw you off is that when you shoot with an empty mag, it now triggers a reload and your character will automatically fire a shot once the reload is complete.

Embark recently discussed how they used randomisation in Arc Raiders playtesting, with developers alternating between aggression and friendliness. In other news, the studio’s co-founder has resigned amid claims of sexual misconduct – Embark claim that a legal review hasn’t ‘substantiated’ the allegations, making it a bit unclear as to why the person in question is leaving.