What Changed at a Glance
First offence
For every known cheat program. No warnings, no second chances.
Queue teaming
Within five days of keeping known teaming groups apart in matchmaking.
Spoiled raids
Down from about 1 in 50, with no meaningful impact on queue times.
Detection: A Four-Layer Stack
Embark says its detection is getting "considerably stronger month by month". For the first time, the post lays out what the stack actually is:
Denuvo
Kernel-level protection.
Anybrain
Third-party detections.
In-house models
A growing set of machine-learning and data-driven systems.
Elytra
In small-scale testing in THE FINALS, with an ARC Raiders test planned.
The systems build confidence together before anyone is actioned, and there is always a human in the loop through the appeals process. Embark also explains why it has been quiet: saying too much about anti-cheat helps cheat makers adapt, and a lot of the work is tested in the background before it ships.
Bans: No Warnings, No Second Chances
This is the biggest change, and Embark admits it should have happened sooner. Early on, the team was cautious about permanently banning first-time cheaters. That is over:
- Permanent bans are standard for all known cheat programs. As policy, any account caught using cheats is permanently banned.
- License restrictions have been broadened. A copy of the game tied to a sanction can't be reused on another account.
- Linked accounts: if an account has ever been associated with a banned copy of the game, it is permanently banned too.
- Economy exploits are also being identified and sanctioned more effectively.
The linked-account rule is the one with teeth. It closes the "buy a second copy, log in on the same setup" loop that the 1.47.0 Fair Play note hinted at. Combined with no-warning bans, a single detection now costs a cheater the account, the license, and anything connected to it. It is also a reminder to be careful about sharing accounts or copies. If a copy you are linked to gets banned, you are in the blast radius.
Hardware Bans Are Getting Wider
When there is enough evidence that one machine is being used to cheat, Embark can stop the game from running on that system. Two changes:
- The threshold for applying a hardware ban has been lowered.
- Embark is working to expand the number of systems it can hardware-ban, aiming for later this year. The goal is to cover almost every system caught running cheat software.
Embark is candid that hardware bans are not a silver bullet. Cheat makers keep finding ways around them, so the job is to ship fixes as quickly as possible.
Why That Streamer Isn't Banned Yet
The post addresses the most common complaint directly: cheaters openly streaming or posting clips without an instant ban. Detection deliberately looks at behaviour across multiple instances to reach high certainty before issuing a permanent ban, because instant bans on anything suspicious would catch innocent players. The team also moderates videos and streams by hand and regularly reviews YouTube and other platforms. A clip you saw may already be in progress behind the scenes.
Queue Teaming: The Numbers
Queue teaming means coordinating before a raid to land in the same solo lobby and gang up on players who queued alone. After months of building detection, Embark started keeping known teaming groups apart in matchmaking a few days before the post. The results:
Solo raids spoiled by queue teaming
Bar length is proportional: 1 in 300 is one-sixth of 1 in 50. Embark also reports 85% fewer players engaging in teaming, with no meaningful impact on queue times.
What still counts as fair
Teaming up with someone you meet during a raid through proximity chat is still fair game. The target is pre-arranged coordination before the raid starts to gain an unfair advantage in a session.
This is the most measurable result in the post, and it matters beyond PvP. In the Q&A, Embark called the interplay between teaming and Trials messy, and it acknowledged that solo players are at a disadvantage. Separating pre-arranged teams from solo lobbies directly helps solo players chasing Trial scores, and it lands right before Trials Season 6 starts on October 8.
An Ongoing Fight
Aleks is realistic about the end state. Cheating is a multi-billion-dollar industry that will never fully disappear, and cheat makers often bundle malware with their software. The goal is to make cheating as difficult, costly and short-lived as possible, and Embark promises more updates as progress continues.
After months of "we're working on it", this is the post players were asking for. It has named systems, concrete policy, and one hard number. The real test is October 8. A new map, amplified weapons and a Reward Pass bring back lapsed players, and cheat sellers follow the traffic. If the first-offence permaban and linked-account rules hold up through the Frozen Trail launch, that will say more than any blog post.
Anti-Cheat FAQ
Does ARC Raiders permanently ban cheaters?
Yes, on the first offence, for every known cheat program. There are no warnings.
Can a banned cheater just buy another copy?
It is getting much harder. License restrictions stop a sanctioned copy being reused, any account ever linked to a banned copy is banned too, and hardware bans block the machine itself.
What anti-cheat does ARC Raiders use?
Denuvo kernel-level protection, Anybrain detections, and in-house machine-learning models, with human review through appeals. Elytra is planned for testing.
Is teaming in solos allowed?
Pre-arranged queue teaming is not, and known groups are now kept apart in matchmaking. Teaming up with someone you meet in the raid via proximity chat is fine.
Why isn't a cheater I saw on stream banned yet?
Bans wait for detection across multiple instances to avoid false positives. Embark also reviews clips and streams manually, so action may already be underway.
Getting ready for October 8? Start with our Frozen Trail First Look breakdown and the Pendola Pass map page.
See you Topside, Raiders.
— Arc Raiders Hub