ARC Raiders Blueprint Drop Nerfed With Emergency Patch Released Silently

Embark​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ Studios has, without much fanfare, implemented an urgent quickfix for ARC Raiders. It changes the way players can get one of the Extraction Shooter's most valuable rewards, blueprints. Patch 1.7.2, released on December 18, is now available on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.

The​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ adjustment was only days after the Cold Snap seasonal event launch in the game. The event brought with it snow-covered maps, frostbite mechanics, new quests, and winter rewards. Along with those, the ARC Raiders Blueprint drop rates nerfed were unintentionally increased, resulting in what many players referred to as a loot surge. Some claimed that they got multiple blueprints in one raid run. It quickly led to a debate of balance and progression among the community.

ARC Raiders Blueprint Drop Nerfed in Patch 1.7.2

As per Embark Studios' official patch notes and a subsequent post on the game's Discord, the ARC Raiders blueprint drop nerfed values were set back from their Cold Snap release levels. The studio pointed out that blueprints are still less rare than they were before the 1.7.0 update, indicating that the change was not completely ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌undone.
In addition to the blueprint adjustment, Patch 1.7.2 also:

• Re-enabled the Hidden Bunker.
• Fixed an interaction bug that could lock players out of actions during poor network conditions.
• Corrected indoor cold damage during the winter event.
• Updated GPU driver warnings.
• Resolved a quest blocker in “Unexpected Initiative”.

From Abundance to Balance

The​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ Early Feedback for Cold Snap Was Divergent. A few gamers were happy with the quick progression; however, a few others thought that the decrease of the ARC Raiders blueprint drop, which is a nerfed update, has lowered the significance and the long-term utilisation of their account. Blueprints are the main means of progression through which one can unlock weapons, gear, and tools necessary for higher-tier raids. Thus, for veteran players, the fast acquisition of blueprints made the game lose the sense of gradual progression over time.

Embark Studios seems to have Replied Promptly. Patch 1.7.2 partially rolls back the changes that caused the drop of the excess drops and, thus, drops the surplus without going back to the lower rates before the ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌event.

Community Reaction: A Split Player Base

Community​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ reaction has varied. Casual players, particularly those who have a limited play time, have been angry about the ARC Raiders blueprint drop nerf change. Several people think that the change affects those who could not log in during the first days of Cold Snap. One Reddit user wrote, "I hate being employed. I didn't even get a chance to play, and now they've lowered the Blueprint rates."

Additionally, some people criticised the patch timing, saying that it was released when players were in the middle of their progression. Some doubted Embark's focus, suggesting that the company left the old bugs for longer while fixing new ones.

Most of the hardcore players have a positive attitude towards the update. They maintain that blueprints should be kept as a rare thing and not something that can be finished after a few sessions. For them, the change brings back the idea of a longer way to go and makes the discovery of blueprints still ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌valuable.
ARC​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ Raiders still struggles with the balancing of loot and progression. Embark Studios, by raising blueprint drops over previous levels while lowering the extreme abundance, appears to be rather balanced than turning back completely. In addition to these changes, the players are eligible to get extra rewards through the ARC Raiders December Twitch Drops, which is another channel for the acquisition of the gear and blueprints apart from the regular raids.

The player community is providing feedback on Reddit, Discord, and forums, and thus, there will be more tuning. At present, ARC Raiders Emergency Patch 1.7.2 is a quiet update that has been noticed and has had a considerable effect on ARC ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌Raiders.