Arc Raiders' first major update, North Line, launches tomorrow, November 13.
Live from 1.30am PT (4.30am ET / 9.30am GMT / 10.30am CET), the new update introduces a whole new region north of the Rust Belt called Stella Montis, described as "cold, pristine, and filled with the remnants of humanity's lost ambitions." Ouch.
"Raiders who complete its challenges will recover rare resources, new gameplay items, and potential weapon blueprints hidden in the ruins, revealing the next step in the struggle to reclaim the surface," developer Embark Studios teased. "Access to Stella Montis must first be earned — the tunnels leading to the new region will only open once the global community completes Breaking New Ground.
Talking of which, Breaking New Ground is a new community unlock event where players must work together to restore the tunnels to Stella Montis, earning new event currency, Merits, as they go. It goes live at the same time as the new content unlocks, complete with new challenges as the community works towards revealing the next frontier and triggering the Staking Our Claim Phase II. Don't hang around, though — this new track will only be available until December.
That's not all, either. Embark has confirmed we'll also get to meet two new enemies, "each bringing distinct challenges to the surface." The Matriarch — described as a "hulking ARC that makes the Queen look friendly by comparison"— will appear under specific map conditions and will be available from the start of Breaking New Ground.
The Shredder, however, will be exclusive to Stella Montis and will only emerge once the new region opens, "forcing Raiders to stay sharp in close-quarters encounters." To take them on, players can make use of the Aphelion Rifle, a set of new Mines — Pulse Mine, Deadline Mine, and Gas Mine — as well as all-new Questlines themed around Stella Montis.
Following North Line, Arc Raiders' subsequent update, Cold Snap, launches in December. "The North Line is just the beginning of Arc Raiders’ post-launch roadmap," Embark concluded. "The next update, Cold Snap, arrives this December – introducing the Flickering Flames event, new snowfall Map Condition, the awaited Expedition Project Raider reset, and more."
The North Line update goes live alongside revised cosmetic prices, which are reduced following a player backlash. Duo matchmaking silently went live earlier this week, Embark confirmed.
"Arc Raiders raises the bar for extraction shooters pretty much across the board, with an incredibly gripping progression grind, tense fights against NPCs and other players that make for memorable matches, and loot that feels completely worth all the work and stress it takes to obtain it," we wrote in IGN's Arc Raiders review, which returned an 'Amazing' 9/10.
We're not the only ones who are having a good time with Arc Raiders, despite the controversy around its use of AI. Arc Raiders has now sold over 4 million copies worldwide less than two weeks since its release date, cementing its commercial success. Nexon also revealed that the extraction shooter had reached a huge concurrent count of 700,000 players across all platforms.
If this has tempted you into jumping into Arc Raiders, check out our guide to the best settings, find out what skills we recommend unlocking first, and see how to earn loot by delivering field depot crates.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
