ARC Raiders update 1.15.0, which went live on February 10, 2026, adds the game's first event built entirely around cooperative play against ARC enemies. Called Shared Watch, the limited-time event runs through February 24 and awards merits exclusively for destroying, damaging, or assisting in kills against ARC units. PvP encounters earn zero merits toward the event track, effectively making this a PvE-only progression path inside the extraction shooter's otherwise PvPvE framework.
Quick answer: During the Shared Watch event, you earn merits by fighting ARC enemies — not other players. Merits unlock cosmetics like the Slugger set, blueprints, and Raider Tokens along a dedicated reward track that ends February 24.
How the Shared Watch merit system works
Merits accumulate passively as you engage ARC units across any map. You don't need to land the killing blow — dealing damage or assisting a squadmate's kill both count. The reward track includes gameplay items like the Tactical Mk. 3 (Healing) augment blueprint, a Snap Hook, and a Vita Spray blueprint, alongside cosmetics such as the baseball-themed Slugger outfit and a batting helmet for Scrappy, your rooster companion.
PvP is still fully enabled during the event. You can still fight and loot other raiders, but doing so contributes nothing to your Shared Watch progress. In practice, many solo lobbies have become noticeably friendlier since the event launched, with players reporting entire sessions without a single hostile encounter from other raiders.
Within the game's lore, Embark Studios frames Shared Watch as an annual holiday in Speranza — a reminder to the underground settlement's inhabitants that the real threat comes from the machines overhead, not from each other. Whether this evolves into a permanent PvE mode remains to be seen, but the event is clearly a test of appetite for cooperative-only content.
Cold Snap returns with frostbite risk and better loot
Update 1.15.0 also brings back the Cold Snap map condition, which first appeared in mid-December 2025. When Cold Snap is active on outdoor maps, your raider gradually develops frostbite while exposed to the elements. Staying indoors or finding shelter reverses the effect, but lingering outside too long is fatal.
The tradeoff is straightforward: Cold Snap maps contain higher-value loot. Candleberries can still be collected, though they're no longer tied to any specific event. Snowballs are also back — you can throw them at enemies or teammates, though their tactical value is minimal compared to the comedic potential.
Trailblazer Grenade nerf and balance changes
The Trailblazer Grenade received a significant adjustment in this patch. Its explosions no longer deal damage through walls, closing an exploit that allowed players to hit targets from complete safety. The grenade now deals increased damage to small ARC enemies but reduced damage to larger threats like the Leaper and Bastion. This shifts the Trailblazer toward a crowd-control role against smaller units rather than a universal damage tool.
A separate fix addresses inconsistent weapon cycling when players bind weapon swaps to keys other than the mouse wheel. Keybinds now swap weapons reliably regardless of the assigned input.
Duplication exploit hotfix
Hours after update 1.15.0 went live, Embark pushed a server-side hotfix targeting the item duplication exploit that had plagued the game since the January update. The glitch allowed players to duplicate items — including grenades mid-combat — and sell duplicated goods for massive amounts of in-game currency. Some players had been hoarding hundreds of duplicated items, creating absurd situations where raiders stumbled upon piles of valuable rubber ducks.
Embark confirmed the hotfix does not require a client download. The studio also warned that players who "duplicated excessive amounts of items will be subject to further review and possible penalties," signaling potential account-level consequences for the worst offenders.
Bug fixes in update 1.15.0
| Category | Fix |
|---|---|
| Connectivity | Improved reconnection after mid-match disconnects |
| Match start | Fixed tunnel intro scene sometimes not appearing |
| Trials | Objective rewards no longer fail to grant due to timeout; partial rewards now awarded when earned |
| End-of-round screen | Fixed incorrect display of merits, XP, and Live Event points |
| Platform icons | Player platform icons now display correctly |
| Crafting | Fixed crafting sometimes canceling unexpectedly |
Known issues
Embark acknowledged several outstanding problems that shipped with the update. One Marco set helmet variant displays incorrectly in the preview menu but renders properly in-game. Players may occasionally not receive a skill point shown on the results screen — restarting the game or playing another round resolves it. The Slugger outfit and Scrappy's Batting Helmet may not appear correctly in the event preview, though they work fine once equipped.
The "Blindsided" achievement may also fail to trigger on the first attempt. Other minor issues include broken player animations when interrupting a Baron Husk search, inaccessible containers, and ziplines placed on destroyed ARC parts not rendering correctly.
New cosmetics
Two new cosmetic sets arrived with this patch. The Vulpine set features a fox pelt hat, muted leather outfit, and white face paint, available in the store immediately. The Slugger set is a long-sleeved, padded, baseball-themed outfit earned through the Shared Watch event track — you can't buy it directly.
What comes after Shared Watch
The event ends on February 24, and Embark has the second Expedition launching on February 25. Expeditions let players voluntarily reset their character progress in exchange for permanent bonuses, and the studio has made adjustments to the system following community criticism of the first round's steep requirements.
Later in February, the "Shrouded Sky" content update is expected to add a new map condition and an additional ARC threat, though no specific release date has been confirmed. ARC Raiders continues to maintain strong player numbers — peaking at 325,000 concurrent Steam players in early February — even as it leans further into its casual-friendly identity ahead of competition from Bungie's Marathon, which launches March 5.
