ARC Raiders Riven Tides Update: New Map, ARC Turbine, Bettina Buff & 1.26.0 Patch Notes
Full breakdown of the ARC Raiders Riven Tides update and patch 1.26.0: the new western-coast map, ARC Turbine flying boss, four new gadgets, the Bettina rebalance, weapon economy overhaul, Last Resort event, Avian Alarm project, and the full bug fix list.
ARC Raiders Riven Tides Update Breakdown
A new western-coast map, the floating ARC Turbine, fall-mitigation gadgets, a Bettina rebalance, the Last Resort event, and a weapon economy that pushes you toward higher-rarity blueprints.
Key Takeaways
- Riven Tides is the new fifth map on the western coast, split between the Solare resort, a dockyard, and the old Exodus port. The exclusive Beachcombing condition lets you sweep buried loot using the Dockmaster's Detector.
- The ARC Turbine drops mid-match with 16 to 12 minutes left, lays a proximity minefield beneath itself, and fires cluster lightning missiles. Engage only after it lands and exposes the yellow weak points.
- Bettina got a real buff. Base damage moved from 14 to 16, fire rate slowed from 285 to 235, dispersion dropped about 40%, and ARC armor damage went up roughly 33%.
- Weapon economy shifted toward rarity. Common, Uncommon, and Rare weapons now lose more durability per shot. Epic and Legendary weapons lose less. Upgrading any weapon repairs 25% of its max durability.
The ARC Raiders Riven Tides update went live on April 28, 2026 as patch 1.26.0. Embark Studios shipped a new coastal map, the floating ARC Turbine boss, four gadgets, the Last Resort event, the Avian Alarm Raider Project, Trials Season 4, and a long sheet of weapon and item rebalances. Below is the full breakdown of what changed and how it affects your loadout, your map rotation, and your blueprint priorities.
If you only read one section, jump to the weapon economy adjustments. The patch quietly rewrites how durability, ammo stacks, and rarity scale together, and it will change how you treat every weapon you pull off a body for the next month.
Riven Tides: New Map and Beachcombing Condition
Riven Tides sits on the western coast of the Rust Belt and was abandoned twice over - once during the Exodus, and again by First Wave survivors who could not hold the line against ARC forces. The map breaks into three sub-zones: the fading Solare resort with the Panorama Azzurro hotel as its anchor, a towering dockyard with crane stacks and shipping container puzzles, and the old Exodus port. You can read more about the lore on our world map page.
Beachcombing is the new exclusive map condition. With the Dockmaster's Detector equipped, you can sweep sand for buried loot. Richer caches turn up in open areas where most players will not bother to check. Treat the open beach as a high-reward, high-exposure zone - the cover is thin, but the payoff scales with how much ground you cover.
The Stacking Yard puzzle in the dockyard is worth learning early. Four buttons open the first loot room. A battery and a working lift get you into the second loot room below the right platform. Bring fall-mitigation gear before you push it - more on that in the gadgets section.
ARC Turbine: How to Fight the New Flying Boss
The Mid-Match Sky Drop
The ARC Turbine is the headline new enemy in patch 1.26.0. It drifts across Rust Belt skies under heavy armor and electrified defenses, then descends from the sky when there are roughly 16 to 12 minutes left in your match. While airborne, it is functionally invulnerable. Once it lands, the landing gear deploys and the spinning yellow tanks behind the armor gaps become the target.
Before it sets down, the Turbine deploys a small field of proximity mines beneath itself, denying the obvious approach. After landing, it keeps firing cluster lightning missiles - a high-damage attack that triggers lightning strikes shortly after impact and stuns Raiders caught inside the radius. Solo runs are punishing because the stun window combined with the missile spread will chunk you fast.
| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Threat Level | Extreme |
| Spawn Window | 16-12 minutes remaining |
| Weak Points | Landing gear and yellow tanks (only when grounded) |
| Headline Drop | Turbine Compressor (one of the rarest non-Harvester materials) |
The full weak-point and tactics breakdown lives on our ARC machines page. For squad runs, assign one player to clear or mark the minefield while two more pin the yellow tanks during landing.
New Items and Gadgets in Patch 1.26.0
Four new items shipped with Riven Tides. Two of them solve a specific problem the new map creates - long, lethal vertical drops between platforms and inside the dockyard. The other two lean into Beachcombing and squad signaling.
| Item | Type | What It Does |
|---|---|---|
| Powered Descender | Epic Gadget | Survive drops of up to 100 feet. Built for the dockyard verticality. |
| Crash Mat | Uncommon Throwable | Throwable fall-mitigation cushion for clutch landings. |
| Dockmaster's Detector | Common Gadget | Required tool for Beachcombing. Sweeps sand to surface buried loot. |
| White Flag | Common Deployable | Squad-signaling deployable for non-aggressive interactions. |
Once these blueprints filter into the loot pool, you will see them on the items database. Until then, prioritize the Powered Descender if you plan to push Riven Tides regularly - the dockyard punishes anyone without fall mitigation.
Bettina Buff and Weapon Economy Overhaul
Bettina Rebalance
- Base damage raised from 14 to 16.
- Fire rate slowed from 285 to 235.
- Per-shot dispersion reduced by roughly 40%.
- Dispersion recovery improved by about 30%.
- ARC armor damage increased by roughly 33%.
The slower fire rate is the catch. Bettina is now a precision tool, not a fast-tap rifle. If you have been running it like a DMR, expect the rhythm to feel different. The dispersion changes mean every well-aimed shot lands closer to where you put the reticle, and the ARC armor damage bump means it punches harder into Bombardiers, Bastions, and the new Turbine. Browse the full weapon list on our blueprints page.
Weapon Economy Adjustments
- Upgrading a weapon now repairs 25% of its max durability.
- Average durability on spawned weapons dropped from 50 to 30.
- Knocked-out durability loss eased from -30% to -15%.
Per-shot durability loss now scales by rarity. Common weapons take +75% durability damage per shot. Uncommon takes +50%. Rare takes +35%. Epic actually takes 5% less, and Legendary takes 10% less. The patch is steering you to upgrade and protect higher-rarity weapons rather than spam-fire whatever you scavenged off a body. The tier list meta will shift accordingly as players adjust their pulls.
Heavy Ammo Stack Size
- Heavy Ammo stack size increased from 40 to 60.
A small change with a real effect on inventory pressure. Heavy weapons feel less punishing to carry now.
Item and Equipment Balance
Photoelectric Cloak
- Weight raised from 1 to 3.
- Power use rate jumped from 2.5/s to 10/s.
The Cloak is now a tactical commitment, not a passive carry. Burning power four times faster means you cannot leave it on through long traversal segments. Use it for engagement timing, not as a default state.
Trigger Nade
- 1-second delay added after each throw before the next throw or trigger action.
- 1.3-second delay added after a trigger action before the next throw or trigger.
Spam-throwing chains are gone. The window between actions makes Trigger Nade a deliberate setup tool rather than a panic button.
Vaporizer Regulator
- Stack size raised from 1 to 3.
ARC Spawn Adjustments and Aim Assist Fixes
- Comets removed from standard Dam Battlegrounds sessions.
- Firefly presence on Dam Battlegrounds heavily reduced.
- Comet presence in Buried City reduced.
- Aim assist now correctly targets leg joints and weak spots on Bastion, Bombardier, Queen, and Matriarch.
- Vaporizer added to more maps and conditions.
- Vaporizer and Surveyor patrol movement issues fixed.
- Bastion target-switching accuracy corrected.
The aim assist fix is bigger than it sounds. If you play with a controller and have been forcing manual leg-shots on bosses because the assist kept locking onto armored hull plates, that pain is gone. Practical effect: faster Queen and Matriarch fights for controller squads.
Last Resort Event
XP-to-Merits and Ship Model Hunts
Last Resort runs through May 25. While the event is active, your XP converts to Merits during gameplay. Hidden miniature Ship Models also drop across Riven Tides and the rest of the rotation, with rarity-based Merit values when you find them. Three reward pages award cosmetics plus 250 Raider Tokens in total.
The named ship models you can collect are Wind Sprite, Twilight Compass, Velocity, Sirena Dorata, and Leviathan's Crown. Each tier of rarity feeds a different Merit return, so the rarest models are worth re-running zones for if you spot one on a previous match.
Avian Alarm Raider Project
Avian Alarm is a five-stage Raider Project added with the patch and tied to Riven Tides. You deploy cages at coastal buoys to catch birds along the shoreline. Completing every stage unlocks the Dockmaster's Detector for Beachcombing, Gel Patches for healing, the Bird House backpack, an emote, and 250 Raider Tokens. Track it on our quest tracker alongside your trader contracts.
If you are also chasing Last Resort progress, Avian Alarm pairs naturally with it - the same Riven Tides runs that hand you Ship Models also push your bird-trapping stages forward.
Map and Quality of Life Fixes
Blue Gate
- Fixed floating and clipping props, wind damage, culling glitches, and stuck spots.
- Supply call station interactions repaired.
Buried City
- Wall clipping and roof flickering fixed.
- Supply call stations now interact correctly.
- Shield damage during Hurricane condition addressed.
- Removed the problematic Old Town zipline.
Spaceport
- Stuck spots and ladder launch glitches fixed.
- Collision and texture flickering improved.
Dam Battlegrounds
- Stuck spots, clipping, and floating asset issues resolved.
- Cafeteria props and concrete material fixes.
Expedition System
- Progress bar and catch-up information added.
- Late departure option introduced.
- Quest tracking display fixed.
- Departure prompt now has a countdown timer.
- Step previews enabled.
Inventory and UI
- Multi-select enabled by default on Project screens.
- Challenge previews added to the practice range.
- Weapon display in the Raider Den fixed.
- Every emote wheel slot is now rebindable, with a reset-to-default button.
- Surge Coil tooltip corrected to show the 10m range.
- Show and Hide Tooltip prompt added to the Inspect tab.
Stability and Performance
- Server crash after round end resolved.
- Expedition departure issues fixed.
- Rare crashes from item visual and audio effects fixed.
- Intel XeSS upgraded to SDK 3.0.0.
- Reduced rubber-banding at the playable area edges.
Audio
- Voice-over data crash fixed.
- Trader voice line frequency corrected.
- Voice chat noise suppression option added.
- Footstep sounds on various surfaces fixed.
- Voice chat breaking with platform UI resolved.
Known Issues to Plan Around
Issues Embark Has Acknowledged
- The Off The Radar quest cannot be completed on Riven Tides.
- Leaper can jump through the ARC Turbine in some encounters.
- Firefly occasionally disappears and drops grenades.
- Shredders float in the Hidden Bunker.
- ARC sometimes spawn inside geometry on Dam Battlegrounds.
- Rachetta outfit color details are incomplete.
- Rare purchase failures show up in customization.
- Event skin preview displays incorrectly on certain items.
If you are mid-quest on Off The Radar, run any map other than Riven Tides until the fix lands. The full official patch notes are on the arcraiders.com patch notes page, and the broader announcement post sits on the official Riven Tides reveal.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did the ARC Raiders Riven Tides update go live?
Patch 1.26.0 launched on April 28, 2026. The previous patch was hotfix 1.25.0, and Riven Tides is the first major content drop since the Flashpoint update in March.
How do I survive the new ARC Turbine?
Do not engage while it is airborne. Wait for the descent, clear or mark the proximity minefield it drops, and shoot the spinning yellow tanks once the landing gear is exposed. It still fires cluster lightning missiles after landing, so stay on the move and rotate damage windows with your squad. Full strategy is on our ARC Turbine page.
Is the Bettina worth using after the rebalance?
Yes, especially against ARC machines. The +33% ARC armor damage and tighter dispersion make it a stronger pick for boss damage windows. The slower fire rate punishes panic-fire patterns, so adjust your rhythm to deliberate, well-aimed shots. See where it ranks on our weapon tier list.
Where can I find the new gadgets?
The Powered Descender is an Epic gadget, the Crash Mat is an Uncommon throwable, the Dockmaster's Detector is a Common gadget required for Beachcombing on Riven Tides, and the White Flag is a Common deployable. Confirmed drop locations populate the items database as the community reports them.
What is Beachcombing and why does it matter?
Beachcombing is a Riven Tides exclusive map condition. With the Dockmaster's Detector equipped, you can sweep sand for buried loot. Open beach areas hide the richest caches, which trades cover for higher reward. It is the fastest way to clear progress on Avian Alarm and the Last Resort event during the same run.
Did the weapon economy change make low-rarity weapons useless?
No, but the calculus changed. Common, Uncommon, and Rare weapons now lose more durability per shot, while Epic and Legendary lose less. Upgrading any weapon repairs 25% of its max durability. The takeaway is that finding an Epic blueprint is worth more time than it used to be, and treating high-rarity weapons as durable workhorses pays off.
How long does the Last Resort event run?
Last Resort runs through May 25. While active, XP converts to Merits, and hidden miniature Ship Models drop across the map rotation with rarity-based Merit values. Three reward pages award cosmetics and 250 Raider Tokens.
Is Off The Radar really broken on Riven Tides?
Yes, Embark confirmed it as a known issue. The quest cannot be completed on the new map. Run Blue Gate, Buried City, Spaceport, or Dam Battlegrounds for that quest until the fix lands.
Build Your Riven Tides Loadout
Pick the right blueprints for the new weapon economy and get your fall-mitigation gear sorted before you push the dockyard.
Open the Weapon Tier List