Exercising patience after a major game patch is usually a wise move, as early balance shifts are often unintentional. One Arc Raiders player recently learned this the hard way, choosing to scrap an massive collection of Venator 4 pistols following a suspected nerf—only for the developers at Embark to reveal the change was a glitch and promptly revert it.
When the “Headwinds” update launched, the community quickly noted that the Venator 4’s performance felt compromised. Curiously absent from the official patch notes, the weapon’s sluggish behavior led players to believe a “stealth nerf” had been implemented. Frustrated by the perceived downgrade, one dedicated player decided their high-tier stockpile was now useless and proceeded to recycle every single one.
The purge took place during a live Twitch broadcast by streamer Nick ‘Nickmercs’ Kolcheff on January 27. A friend of the streamer was captured on camera dismantling 109 Venator 4s just before diving into the new content. A stunned Nickmercs could be heard reacting to the sheer scale of the destruction: “Chat, he just recycled 109 Ven4s,” he remarked in disbelief.
Absolute tragedy for the player who scrapped 109 Venator 4s due to an accidental nerf. Embark fixed the bug almost immediately after 🤣 📽️nickmercs pic.twitter.com/KZBgvEovYo
Predictably, the “nerf” was short-lived. By January 28, Embark Studios had deployed a hotfix to address the weaponry issues. In an update shared via the game’s official Discord, the team confirmed they had “fixed an issue that caused unintended fire rate changes to several weapons.”
A follow-up developer note emphasized that players should always report unlisted changes rather than assuming they are permanent. “Following the update, some weapons were hit by a bug that slowed their rate of fire,” the statement explained. “This was not an intentional design choice. We strive for transparency in our patch notes and appreciate the community’s rapid feedback in flagging this.”
While the player in question is now facing an empty inventory and a long grind to rebuild their collection, they can at least take some solace in the arrival of new Epic augments. It serves as a stark reminder: in the world of live-service shooters, never delete your loot until the dust has truly settled.
Arc Raiders may eventually introduce Legendary firearms for PvP encounters, though Embark remains firm against “one-shot” mechanics, with developers labeling that style of play as “deeply boring.”
Join the GamesRadar+ Community
Get the latest news, community stories, and expert digests delivered to your inbox weekly.
