ARC Raiders Update 1.33: Forgotten Relics Event & Patch Notes

Embark dropped ARC Raiders Live Update 1.33 on June 16, 2026. Every three weeks now, like clockwork, whether or not the content justifies the ceremony. This one has actual content: a new event, a new project, a cosmetic bundle, and a gameplay change that will either enrage or delight you depending on how much gear you like gambling away. The big October update is still coming. This is not it.

Bottom Line Event runs June 16 – July 27, 2026. Find relics, extract them, earn Merits, unlock cosmetics. Night Raid and Close Scrutiny now require real loadouts. Dupers are getting banned. Some are making new accounts. Life goes on.

Forgotten Relics Event

The headline act. Forgotten Relics event gives you a Merit-based reward track running off XP you would have earned anyway. Merits auto-convert from raid XP. You do not need to do anything special to accumulate them. The optional extra: hunt actual relics hidden in lockers, drawers, and crates across the map. Extract with a relic in hand and its Merit value posts to your account. Leave without it and you get nothing. Same loop as the boat collectibles from Riven Tides.

Relic Merit Values

Relic items include trinkets and collectibles with names like Vintage Steering Wheel, Air Freshener, Equatorial Sun Dial, Elephant Obelisk, and Light Bulb. Embark's art department clearly had opinions. Each rarity tier has its own spawn containers. Pick them up, survive, extract.

Event Rewards

• Saltwalker Outfit (earnable through event progress)
• Outfit toggles and customization options
• Gameplay items and weapons unlocked via Merit milestones
• Raider Tokens (pushes season total toward 300)

Running parallel to the event, the Converging Paths project is the seasonal overlay that uses your Forgotten Relics Merits as progress currency. Complete stages, fill a Display Case with recovered relics, finish everything before July 27. The project chains cosmetic stages together, rewarding patience over speed.

Project Stage Requirements (Community-Reported)

Note Stage item requirements reported by community guides. Stage 2 ARC Thermal Lining count conflicts between sources. Verify in-game before committing a loadout.

Cosmetics This Patch

Saltwalker Outfit (Earnable)

The event-track cosmetic. Tribal aesthetic with face paint options, color variants, and multiple toggles. Saltwalker outfit ARC Raiders is the free path to looking like you survived something. Three color schemes, toggleable armor pieces, toggleable headgear options. Embark even put all the toggle options on the same UI panel side. Progress.

Reaver Set Bundle (Paid DLC)

Apocalyptic wasteland aesthetic: spiked shoulder pads, horned helmet, gas mask, visor option, multiple color schemes. Includes Raider Tokens in the bundle. If you have already maxed your token count this season, the value math weakens considerably. The cosmetic itself looks like it crawled out of a vehicular combat arena and is fine with that.

Other Cosmetics

• Chattering Teeth charm
• Skull Pantomime emote
• Soldier Backpack skin
• Sextant Backpack Charm (Converging Paths completion reward)

The spicy change. ARC Raiders Night Raid free loadout is gone, at least for the next three weeks. Same applies to Close Scrutiny. Embark's stated goal: higher-loot map conditions should carry proportional risk. If the loot is better, you should have to commit real gear to get it. This is a timed test. They will observe, collect feedback, and potentially extend this restriction to other map conditions.

If you enjoy PvP, Night Raid with actual stakes might be genuinely interesting now. If you used free loadouts as your Night Raid entry vehicle, you will need to care about surviving. Both outcomes are intentional.

Item Duplication & Anti-Cheat Status

The ongoing saga. ARC Raiders item duplication ban efforts have been running since February 2026, when the first major throwable dupe exploit let players blanket maps in rubber ducks and exit with millions in coins. A patch fixed it. Another exploit appeared. A hotfix fixed that. Another exploit appeared. At this point duplication has become less of a bug and more of a recurring character in the game's storyline.

Update 1.33 confirms Denuvo Anti-Cheat is now rolling out to the broader player base, not just a limited pool. Embark states they are pleased with the progress, which is developer-speak for "it is working but we are not done." Dupers are being detected, banned, and in many cases immediately returning on new accounts with stockpiles of pre-duped inventory ready for the grey market. The accounts at the top of those organizations: sitting on masses of duped legendary gear: need to be hit before the in-game economy feels meaningfully healthier.

New Reporting Feedback System

Embark added two inbox message types to confirm what happens to your reports:

• Action Notice: Sent when a player you reported has been banned. It means banned, not warned.
• Loot Compensation: If a cheater knocked you out and caused loot loss, your gear returns automatically. No report required on your end.

Both messages can arrive simultaneously if the cheater both knocked you out and got banned. You may receive nothing if the cheater's account slips through the detection window. That is still possible. Denuvo anti-cheat ARC Raiders implementation is explicitly not DRM: Embark has confirmed this. It is purely behavioral detection.

Current Enforcement Tiers (Community-Observed) Temporary suspension + item removal for minor duplication. Full account ban + inventory rollback + currency clawback for severe cases. Enforcement consistency at the margins remains debated. Eighteen Bobcats: probably banned. One accidental duck: probably not. Everything between those points is where players are still arguing.

Bug Fixes & QoL Changes

Gameplay Fixes

• Aiming down sights behavior corrected: some weapons had broken accuracy, likely the Anvil
• Falling through map when stepping on Fireballs and Pop parts: fixed
• Knocked-out players no longer block Barricade Kit expansion
• Rocketeer now drops Launcher Ammo instead of Heavy Ammo
• Quest objectives no longer activate out of order in edge cases
• Expedition damage tracking now excludes squad member damage
• T-pose when moving backwards after sprint Dodge Roll: fixed
• Long weapons detaching after vault + weapon switch: fixed

Audio

• Extraction announcement now plays correctly
• Barricade Kit dismantling audio restored
• Raider Cache audio cues improved: easier to locate
• Footstep volumes adjusted across all movement states; metal slide volume increased

UI & Inventory

• Ermal's stack sizes now display correctly (e.g. Raider Tokens x25)
• Inventory action shortcuts added: Sell, Recycle, Repair (gamepad), Salvage, Drop
• Weapon upgrade screen no longer opens the wrong weapon in large inventories
• Expedition damage tracker displays correct numbers at high values
• Stash overflow fixed when merging item stacks

Known Issues Still Present

• Lower FPS for some PC players: under investigation
• Xbox Series S crashes: under investigation
• Shredders floating to ceiling in Hidden Bunker rooms
• Leaper jumping through ARC Turbine
• Shots on riding ARC may not register
• Pickup sounds occasionally incorrect
• Augment health restoration not pausing correctly after revive

Road to October

The big update is October 2026. ARC Raiders October 2026 update is described as the largest yet: new map, new progression routes, new quests, new weapons, new instruments apparently. The current cadence is live updates every three weeks with small events; major content releases twice a year. This structure lets the live service team react faster to bugs while the core team works on substantial additions rather than patching the gap with half-baked content drops.

Between now and October: more small events, more Merit tracks, more projects like this one. If you were expecting anything map-sized before autumn, you already knew the answer before reading this.