Almost three months have passed since the release of ARC Raiders. Following the winter event “Cold Snap,” the community, hungry for fresh news, was literally burning with anticipation—what did Embark Studios have in store for the future? Now the Swedes have finally revealed their hand: they’ve unveiled a roadmap for the support of their co-op shooter for the next few months.
The update, dubbed “Riven Tides,” will be an unprecedented finale to the “Escalation” season. The developers promise a new location, a unique map state, and a new giant ARC robot. Details are being released piecemeal, but already, a rather intriguing picture is emerging.
Table of Contents
Riven Tides in ARC Raiders: Release Date and Time
The release is scheduled for April 28th. Based on the schedule of previous “Escalation” phases, we can confidently estimate when the update will hit the servers:
-
Pacific Standard Time (PDT): 1:30 AM
-
Eastern Standard Time (EDT): 4:30 AM
-
United Kingdom (BST): 9:30 AM
-
Central Europe (CEST): 10:30 AM
For CIS players, this means a launch around midday Moscow time. Conveniently, just in time for lunch.
What will the Riven Tides update for ARC Raiders add?
According to Embark Studios’ roadmap, the package will include:
-
New map
-
New map state
-
Large ARC boss
-
Expeditions window
A new location plus a powerful enemy is a combination that should seriously shake up gameplay. It looks like the April phase will be the most extensive of the four.
ARC Flying Boss: The First Aerial Enemy
All information about the new monster so far boils down to a single quote from the “Reconnaissance Report”: a raider entered a building, and a shadow slowly and deliberately floated above him. Digging deeper into the report, we find another clue—the boss will be flying. After the ground-crawling “Queens” and “Matriarchs,” this is a significant change.
It’s unclear whether it will land for close combat or whether players will have to climb rooftops, grapple, and zipline to even take this beast down. The same report mentions “lots of verticality” and elevation—a clear hint. Elevation will clearly be a key factor in the upcoming encounters.
New Riven Tides Map: Coastal Resort Panorama
The location is a sprawling coastal resort. It hasn’t been fully revealed yet, but key points of interest have already been revealed:
-
Exodus Hotel, Panorama Azzurro
-
Pool
-
Beach and Bar
-
Customs
-
Warehouse Yard (Dock)
-
Harbor
-
Sea Wall
According to the intelligence report, the map flows down cliffs, passes through a dry riverbed, and ends in the ocean. The hotel rooftop bar, customs, and warehouse with enormous cranes and stacks of containers all hint at vertical gameplay. And yes, this terrain is perfect for fighting the flying boss. Hardly a coincidence.
Tides and Flooding: A New Map State
All indications are that the map’s new state is tied to the tides. The report mentions “signs of flooding,” a sea wall, and a harbor. There’s also a more specific description: the tides appear to have swallowed up part of the dock and washed it back onto the sand—wrecked ships lie half-buried, containers scattered along the shore.
The name “Riven Tides” also supports this theory. “Riven” translates as “shattered,” meaning the water will likely literally reshape the map’s landscape, altering movement routes and complicating raid logistics. A dynamic environment in an extraction shooter is an interesting thing, especially when it determines whether you’ll be able to evacuate with your loot in time.
There’s another layer that the community is still unraveling—and it goes much deeper than a typical map announcement. 3 Riven Tides Lore: Where the Map’s Name Comes From
“Riven Tides” isn’t just a catchy phrase for a press release. In the ARC Raiders story, tides act as a geological weapon: when ARC machines crushed the surface, humanity’s climate infrastructure began to crumble, and coastal areas are slowly being eroded by the water. The Panorama Azzurro resort was once a tourist cluster—built before the Holocaust. Now, the Exodus Hotel stands on stilts that are regularly eroded by the sea. Hence the name “Riven”—split and cracked. It all makes sense.
Embark Studios’ intelligence reports frequently feature a curious term: “afterglow.” These are the residual signals of a lost civilization, which ARC machines use as beacons. In the new location, there’s clearly more of this “background noise” than normal. This explains the appearance of the flying creature: it’s hunting not raiders, but signal point infrastructure. Raiders here are collateral damage.
Riven Tides vs. Old Maps: A Review for Veterans
Those who’ve already memorized the Queens’ timings and Matriarchs’ flight paths will have to relearn everything from scratch. The grappling hook, previously used primarily for quick extraction, is becoming a practical tool for moving around the location. The roof of the Exodus bar and the dockside cranes are ready-made sniper nests for experienced raiders. But the pool, harbor, and sea wall will instantly become risky areas during flooding: if the tide catches you below, you can forget about extraction.
And another important point about the endgame. If Embark Studios sticks to the logic of previous phases, Riven Tides will introduce unique projects tailored to the location’s theme. Most likely, they’ll focus on raising resources from the bottom of flooded containers and farming the air boss itself. It’s precisely these chains of actions in ARC Raiders that keep veterans on the map the longest.
How to Kill the Flying Boss in ARC Raiders: Tactics
The new ARC doesn’t have exact stats yet, but the shooter’s mechanics provide enough input for a working strategy. First, long-range combat is crucial. Assault rifles and designated marksman rifles like the Impaler and upgraded Ferrets are much more useful here than shotguns and submachine guns. Second, verticality is paramount: ziplines between the hotel roof and the warehouse yard can easily be converted into flanking corridors for a well-coordinated squad.
Things to keep in mind before the fight:
-
Positioning. Beaches and open areas are a deadly trap. It’s best to work from under the bar’s awnings or through the hotel’s windows—this will cut off the boss’s attack angles.
-
Damage to vulnerable areas. Previous ARCs penetrated joints and sensor modules. For a flying boss, the engines or stabilizers will most likely be critical. Target them.
-
Teamwork. You can’t take down a flying giant solo. The division of roles is basic: a tank draws aggro, two snipers, and one protects the flanks from patrols.
-
Consumables in abundance. Stimulants, repair kits, extra magazines—load double. A protracted skirmish at altitude will quickly deplete ammo.
-
Escape route. High tide can cut off both the harbor and the dock. Plan your extraction in advance—ideally, through elevated areas.
The main catch is that the “flooded” map state and the boss spawn seem to be triggered synchronously. This means you’ll have to dodge aerial attacks while simultaneously controlling the water level beneath your feet. Hardcore extraction in its purest form. This is precisely what ARC Raiders is all about.
Therefore, you can play ARC Raiders on all target platforms: PC (Steam, Epic Games Store), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. Russian text localization is in place—you won’t have to use a translator to navigate the roadmap and lore.
