ARC Raiders Updates and Patch Notes: Full Timeline to 2.3

ARC Raiders updates now run on a fixed rhythm: store updates every week, fixes every three weeks, and major content updates twice a year. The latest is Live Update 2.3.0 (October 27, 2026), which moved the Emperor's best loot deeper inside, buffed the Flame Spray and closed the Expedition Vault. The last major update was Frozen Trail (2.0) on October 8. Below is every update that changed how a raid plays, newest first, each checked against Embark's own post.

Latest ARC Raiders update: 2.3.0 (October 27, 2026)

Embark's post opens with the Noxious Set and a new player project, Soul's Offering, but the changes you feel are in the loot tables. You need to restart the game to download it.

The Flame Spray line is the one balance change big enough to change a loadout: three more damage per second and half the durability cost. The Emperor change cuts the other way: a quick loop of the entrance containers now pays out lower-tier rewards, so the good loot costs a deeper run.

Our ARC Raiders 2.3.0 patch notes breakdown goes line by line, including the six known issues carried over from 2.2.0. If you farm the Emperor or run fire builds, that is the one to read today.

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ARC Raiders update schedule: what comes when

Embark spelled the schedule out in the 2.3.0 post. Since Frozen Trail, fixes had been bundled into the weekly updates; "after today we will go back to the regular schedule of fixes every three weeks and store updates on a weekly basis." Not every player is thrilled about the wait. One reply in the r/ArcRaiders thread on 2.3.0 put it bluntly: "And now you can wait 3 weeks to see if it's fixed next time!"

The bigger rhythm dates from May 13, 2026, when Embark announced it would release major updates twice a year, "larger in scale, more impactful," while a live team keeps shipping fixes, balance changes and store rotations. Frozen Trail was the first major update announced under that plan. Embark has not dated the next one, so treat any date you see elsewhere as a guess.

Expeditions are on their own track. Embark said the fifth Expedition would be the last one until early 2027 while it reworks departure windows, rewards and access for newer players.

GODEEPER: Why the Expedition pause matters if you were planning a wipe, and what Embark promised to change before the next one. ARC Raiders 5th Expedition: Last One Before 2027 Pause →

Image: Embark Studios, Riven Tides patch notes post (Steam)

Every Frozen Trail update in October 2026 (2.x)

Six updates in three weeks, from the 2.0 launch to 2.3.0. Version numbers are Embark's; "Store Update" posts still carry bug fixes.

Frozen Trail is the reason most of our ARC pages carry an October update note. The new map has its own Pendola Pass guide, and the base-building side is in the Outpost guide. The free play weekend that ran alongside it (October 8 to 12) is over.

Image: Embark Studios, Frozen Trail post (Steam)

2026 updates before Frozen Trail

Between these, Embark shipped a store update most weeks plus hotfixes. We list the ones that added content or changed matchmaking, since those are the ones that still shape a raid today.

Two of these still matter more than the rest. Riven Tides added the map covered in our Riven Tides guide and the ARC Turbine, and Flashpoint introduced the Vaporizer. Regional scheduling in 1.42.0 is why a map condition may run at a different hour for a friend in another region: conditions now follow each region's peak hours instead of one global clock. Embark also posted a long note on cheating on September 30, naming kernel-level protection from Denuvo and detections from Anybrain; our anti-cheat update page covers what changed for October 8.

GODEEPER: Phantom Targets ran across two updates and its rewards are easy to miss if you skipped August. ARC Raiders Phantom Targets Part 2: Stages and Rewards →

Image: Embark Studios, Live Update 1.45.0 post (Steam), from the Community Rubber Ducks section

2025: launch to Cold Snap

ARC Raiders launched on October 30, 2025, and the first weeks were mostly repair work.

North Line is the oldest update that still shapes endgame routes: see the Stella Montis guide and the Matriarch guide.

How we checked this

On October 28, 2026 we pulled all 88 posts in Embark's ARC Raiders announcement feed on Steam (the official Steam News API for app 1808500, from the 2021 reveal through 2.3.0) and read the notes for every update listed on this page. The 2.0, 2.1.0, 2.2.0 and 2.3.0 notes and the May development update were cross-checked against the same posts on arcraiders.com. Each line in the tables above comes from the update's own post; we left out weekly store rotations that only changed cosmetics. New ARC Raiders updates get added here when Embark posts them.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the next ARC Raiders update? Embark says it is back to fixes every three weeks and store updates every week after 2.3.0. It has not dated the next major update; its plan is two major updates a year, and Frozen Trail on October 8 was the latest one.

What was in the ARC Raiders October 2026 update? October had two layers. Frozen Trail (2.0) on October 8 was the major update: the Pendola Pass map, the Frigate and Redirection map conditions, three new ARC enemies, a revamped skill tree, the Outpost and the Reward Pass. Weekly updates followed, ending with Live Update 2.3.0 on October 27, which moved the Emperor's best loot deeper inside, buffed the Flame Spray and closed the Expedition Vault.

When do ARC Raiders Expeditions come back? Embark said the fifth Expedition, which ran in September 2026, is the last one until early 2027, while it reworks departure windows, rewards and access for new players.

References

• ARC Raiders on Steam: store page and the announcement feed these notes come from.
• ARC Raiders news (Embark Studios): official patch notes and development updates.
• Live Update 2.3.0: the latest update and the three-week fix schedule.
• Frozen Trail 2.0 Update: full Frozen Trail patch notes.
• Development update: Embark's twice-a-year major update plan.