Embark didn’t keep the players waiting for nothing. On April 28, the Riven Tides update is released in Arc Raiders — according to the developers themselves, the largest in the entire existence of the game. A new map, a new opponent, metal detector mechanics and a whole set of events — let’s take it all in order.
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Riven Tides: from snowy mountains to the seaside
The new Riven Tides map is the first addition to the game world since Stella Montis appeared in November 2025. This is a welcome change of scenery — instead of the cold mountain landscapes, the raiders are waiting for the sun, waves and the smell of a decayed civilization.
The map includes a long coastline, the once-luxurious Panorama Azzurro Resort, a pier and several surviving sites from the Exodus era. It almost sounds like a vacation, if you forget that people are constantly trying to kill you.
The most interesting thing is not the locations themselves, but what Embark has linked to them.
Beachcombing: Metal detector as a weapon and tool
A unique Beachcombing mechanic is linked to the Riven Tides map: using an item called Dockmaster’s Detector, you can comb through the sand in search of buried loot.
The detector occupies a weapon slot, and the richest excavation sites are open spaces. What exactly you find depends on luck, but the intrigue itself already works. It’s not just a new map, it’s a new way to play.
The detector can be obtained through the new Avian Alarm project, which is described below.
Arc Turbine: The flying cone that will kill you
This is perhaps the most colorful innovation of the patch. Meet the Arc Turbine, a huge floating opponent resembling an inverted ice cream, equipped with “defensive systems” as it is described in Embark.
According to the classification, it belongs to large Arc enemies, which puts it on a par with Queen and Matriarch in terms of threat level. That is, this is not an ordinary bot that can be demolished in a queue — this is a serious meeting that requires preparation.
By the way, fans have been following the teasers with the mysterious flying object for several weeks, suspecting a new boss in it. Turbine is not the UFO from the previous teasers, so the scary car is still out there somewhere, waiting in the wings.
Avian Alarm and how it is useful
Avian Alarm is a new five—stage project in which players build a birdcage. The logic is this: birds are supposedly the best at detecting tremors. Is it strange? Yes. But Arc Raiders doesn’t do much explaining at all — just build a cage and don’t ask unnecessary questions.
As rewards for the project, the developers promise Raider Tokens, a Bird House cosmetic backpack, as well as the Dockmaster’s Detector metal detector for Beachcombing.
Last Resort: a limited edition event with three pages of awards
Simultaneously with the release of the update, the Last Resort event starts, which will last from April 28 to May 25.
All XP earned in matches on any map is automatically converted to Merits. Three reward pages open for them — Raider Tokens, Junior outfit and Hydrologist backpack. An additional way to farm Merits is to find miniature ship models directly on the map.
All together, this creates the feeling of a dense, intense patch, where there is something to do besides the main matches.
What else is changing in Riven Tides
In addition to the new map, Embark is redesigning two large system units at once.
The new Expedition window coincides with the launch of Riven Tides, but now progress in it will depend on the destruction of robots, and not on the accumulation of loot. The developers themselves admitted that the previous model was boring — and finally fixed it.
The Trials system is also being reviewed: annoying scheduling issues that have plagued the mode since the release are being removed from it.
A short list of everything that will be included in the Riven Tides update:
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New Riven Tides map with beach and Panorama Azzurro Resort
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Beachcombing Mechanics and the Dockmaster’s Detector Item
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Arc Turbine’s New Big Enemy
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The five-stage Avian Alarm project
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Last Resort Limited Event (until May 25)
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Crashpad and Powered Descender items
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New quests and cosmetics
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Redesigned Expeditions and Trials
Arc Raiders is consistently increasing its pace — each patch adds not just content, but something that changes the very logic of the game. Riven Tides looks like a serious application in this sense: a beach setting, live mechanics and a whole layer of new threats. It remains to wait for the meeting with that UFO.
