The Headwinds update for ARC Raiders introduced the Bird City map condition to Buried City, and with it came a flock of new rubber duck collectibles. Among them, the Familiar Duck stands alone as the only Epic-rarity duck — and at 7,000 Coins per unit with a stack size of 15, a single full stack is worth 105,000 Coins, making it one of the most valuable item stacks in the game.
Quick answer: The Familiar Duck is found by scavenging chimneys on rooftops during the Bird City map condition on Buried City. It sells for 7,000 Coins, weighs 0.3, and can also be thrown Topside to create a noise distraction or stored in your stash to decorate the Raider Den.
Familiar Duck Stats and Properties
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Type | Trinket |
| Rarity | Epic |
| Sell Price | 7,000 Coins |
| Stack Size | 15 |
| Weight | 0.3 |
| Throwable Effect | Creates noise (distraction) |
| Flavor Text | "Unlike the real one, this one fits in your pack." |
Like all trinkets, the Familiar Duck cannot be used in crafting. Its value is purely monetary when sold, or decorative when placed in your stash. One of its design quirks resembles Scrappy, the game's loot rooster, which has made it a fan favorite among collectors.
All Rubber Ducks in ARC Raiders
The Headwinds update added six new duck variants alongside the original yellow Rubber Duck. They range from Common to Epic rarity, and each has a distinct visual skin.
| Duck | Rarity | Sell Price |
|---|---|---|
| Rubber Duck | Common | 1,000 Coins |
| Tropical Duck | Uncommon | 1,000 Coins |
| Gentle Duck | Uncommon | 1,000 Coins |
| Alien Duck | Uncommon | 1,000 Coins |
| Doodly Duck | Rare | 3,000 Coins |
| Flashy Duck | Rare | 3,000 Coins |
| Familiar Duck | Epic | 7,000 Coins |
The original Rubber Duck still spawns on every map, but the six new variants are exclusive to the Bird City condition.
How to Find the Familiar Duck in Bird City
Bird City is a minor map condition that activates on the Buried City map. When it's running, three modifiers kick in simultaneously: increased bird populations, more trinket spawns across the map, and additional ziplines connecting rooftops. The birds have nested inside chimneys throughout the city, and those nests are where you'll find the ducks.
Step 1: Load into Buried City while the Bird City condition is active. You'll notice birds perched on nearly every rooftop and ziplines strung between buildings.
Step 2: Get to the rooftops. The south buildings with tall roofs and the small village near the center on the west side tend to have a higher density of searchable chimneys.
Step 3: Approach each chimney and look for an interaction prompt. Some chimneys have awkward angles, so you may need to circle the opening and adjust your camera to get the button to appear.
Step 4: Search the nest. Chimneys can contain trinkets, epic items, seeds, fruits, mushrooms, and basic materials — but the rubber ducks are the real prize. Which duck you get is random, and the Familiar Duck is the rarest of the bunch.
If you plan to spend a long time searching rooftops, bring a hatch key. It gives you a faster, safer extraction route compared to the elevator, which matters when you're carrying a backpack full of expensive ducks.
Raider Den Display
Every duck you bring back to your stash can be displayed in the Raider Den. The previous cap of nine displayed ducks has been removed, so collectors can now fill their room with as many as they want. Higher-rarity ducks take display priority — if you have a mix of common yellow ducks and Epic Familiar Ducks, the Familiar Ducks will appear on the shelf first. Some players have accumulated hundreds or even thousands of ducks since the cap was lifted.
The Duplication Exploit and Its Fallout
Shortly after the Headwinds update launched in late January 2026, players began encountering a strange sight: dead raiders surrounded by enormous piles of Familiar Ducks, sometimes worth millions of Coins. The community quickly connected this to a duplication glitch that had been circulating.
The exploit reportedly involved manipulating the game's inventory system — specifically, splitting and re-stacking throwable items in the Quick Use bar in a way that let players throw copies of an item without reducing the actual count. Starting with just two Familiar Ducks, a player could allegedly fill their entire inventory within minutes. Another variant of the exploit involved lag-switching, where players would use an unstable connection to trick the server into spawning duplicate items on the ground.
Community reaction was split. Some players stumbled into rooms full of ducks left behind by exploiters and walked away with hundreds of thousands of Coins. Others were frustrated, arguing that mass duplication undermines the economy of an extraction shooter where loot scarcity is the whole point. Embark Studios has historically taken a hard line against exploits — the developer previously patched a door exploit and has been known to kill players in-game for abusing bugs.
At least one version of the throwable duplication method appears to have been stealth-patched, though community members have noted that other methods may still exist due to the game's server tick rate limitations. Embark has not made a public statement specifically about the duck duplication exploit, but the studio's three-strike ban system (30-day ban, then 60-day, then permanent) is already in effect for cheating violations. Players who used the exploit risk account action, especially with the second expedition registration opening on February 25.
The Familiar Duck sits at an interesting intersection of ARC Raiders' design: it's a collectible, a money-maker, a noise tool, and — thanks to the duplication glitch — a symbol of the game's early growing pains. For players who want to earn their ducks legitimately, the path is straightforward: get to Buried City during Bird City, climb to the rooftops, and start checking chimneys. A full inventory of honestly earned Familiar Ducks is still one of the most profitable hauls you can extract with.
