The Venator Just Got Kneecapped in Arc Raiders Patch 1.3.0, and It’s About Damn Time
I hope you enjoyed sprinting around with a pistol that hit like a truck and fired like a minigun, because the party is officially over.
Embark just dropped Patch 1.3.0, and while there are plenty of bug fixes and map tweaks, there is only one headline that matters. They finally, mercifully, nerfed the Venator.
For weeks, this "pistol" has been the most broken thing in the game. A fully upgraded Venator could outgun an entire squad of rifles at close range. It was absurd. It was a pocket SMG that weighed nothing and deleted everything.
Well, say goodbye to the meta. Embark has slashed the fire-rate upgrades significantly. Instead of a 60% boost at max level, you're now capped at 40%.
They didn't stop there, either. They more than doubled the weight, bumping it from 2 to 5. You can't just slap this thing into every loadout as a free "get out of jail" card anymore. You actually have to commit to the weight. It’s a harsh nerf, but let’s be real, it was necessary.
The Hullcracker Is No Longer a Delete Button
The other big loser in this patch is the Hullcracker, or rather, the lazy way people were using it.
Apparently, explosives were dealing damage to "more parts at once than intended." This meant you could just vague-post a rocket in the general direction of a Bastion and watch it melt.
That’s fixed now. Explosive damage has been rebalanced to be more consistent, which means the Hullcracker now deals less damage to massive enemies unless you actually aim. You’re going to have to hit weak points again. I know, aiming is hard work.
Inflation Hits the Deadline
If you were planning on buying a Deadline, I hope you saved up. The buy price just nearly doubled, jumping from 8,100 to a painful 15,000 coins.
It’s not all bad news for the economy, though. Launcher ammo is now cheaper to buy in smaller packs, and you can finally craft it at the Workbench without hunting for a blueprint first. That is a massive quality-of-life win for those of us who like things that go boom.
Stop Hiding in the Walls
Finally, the patch notes are a laundry list of "places you can no longer cheat."
If you were one of those people exploiting the elevator shaft in the Dam Control Tower or hiding inside the walls at the Spaceport, your fun is over. They’ve added collision to all those cheeky spots. You’ll have to win gunfights fairly now.
Oh, and one last thing. The patch notes mention that "Your Raider Den has been ducked out." I haven't logged in yet to check, but if there isn't a rubber duck waiting for me on my desk, I’m going to riot.