ARC Raiders Update 1.45.0 Begins the Ascent Toward a New Frontier

Embark Studios has released Live Update 1.45.0 for ARC Raiders, introducing the new Ascending the Mountain Raider Project alongside several gameplay adjustments, technical improvements and preparations for the game’s next major chapter. The update went live on September 8 and appears designed a

The update went live on September 8 and appears designed as a bridge between the current season and Frozen Trail, the larger update scheduled for October 8. While it does not immediately allow Raiders to travel beyond the familiar operational area, its new storyline points directly toward the mountain range lying outside the reach of Speranza’s Tube network.

Something is transmitting from beyond those mountains, and the ARC machines are listening.

Phantom ARC signals lead beyond the Tube network

The premise of Ascending the Mountain revolves around a series of mysterious ARC signals discovered through the collective efforts of Raiders. These phantom transmissions have attracted Shani’s attention, but their source is located somewhere the inhabitants of Speranza cannot currently reach.

The signals appear to originate from the mountain range beyond the limits of the existing Tube transportation system. ARC units can evidently access or respond to this distant location, leaving Raiders unable to follow them using their established routes to the surface.

Apollo may have a solution. According to the update’s narrative setup, he is developing an experimental way to overcome the problem and has requested help from Raiders with an understanding of schematics—and enough discipline to work without drawing unwanted attention.

Embark has not yet disclosed the precise nature of Apollo’s experiment. The studio has also avoided confirming exactly where the signals lead, what is generating them or whether the project will unlock a new permanent destination. Its placement immediately before Frozen Trail, however, strongly suggests that Ascending the Mountain is preparing the narrative foundations for the October update.

For now, the mystery is more important than the destination. The project gives the community a shared objective while expanding the world beyond the locations already accessible from Speranza.

A preparatory project rather than a complete expedition

Ascending the Mountain should not be mistaken for the arrival of a full new map or an immediate expansion of the Tube network. Update 1.45.0 establishes the problem and begins the work necessary to solve it, but the official announcement does not provide a complete list of project stages, required materials or final rewards.

That uncertainty fits ARC Raiders’ approach to communal progression. Raider Projects generally transform ordinary scavenging into something with broader consequences, asking players to contribute materials that might otherwise be sold, recycled or stored for personal use.

This creates a familiar extraction-game dilemma. Every component delivered to Apollo could help advance the project, but every component carried through a raid also occupies valuable inventory space and increases the cost of dying before extraction.

The mention of schematics may also indicate that the project is focused on constructing a machine or transportation system. That interpretation remains speculative, as Embark has deliberately stopped short of revealing what Apollo is building. Nevertheless, the story makes it clear that reaching the mountains will require more than simply identifying a route on a map.

Cred will disappear with Frozen Trail

Update 1.45.0 also delivers an important warning for players holding Cred. The currency remains available until October 8, when it will be retired as part of the Frozen Trail update and replaced by a more expansive reward system.

Any unspent Cred will expire when the transition takes place. Players are therefore encouraged to use their remaining balance with Shani or spend it on any outstanding rewards from the current Raider Decks before the deadline.

Previously claimed Raider Deck rewards will remain in player inventories. Embark also says the rewards offered through those Decks will continue to exist within the replacement system, although the exact structure of that system has not yet been fully explained.

The distinction is important: earned cosmetic items and previously collected rewards are not being removed, but unused currency will not carry over. Anyone who has been stockpiling Cred should review the available rewards before October 8 instead of waiting for a conversion that will not happen.

Expedition 5 opens with more flexibility

The fifth Expedition has launched alongside the update, with its departure window running from September 8 until September 29. Completing the Caravan does not automatically enroll a Raider, so participants must actively sign up before the window closes.

This Expedition introduces several changes based on feedback from previous departures. Most notably, resetting quest progress is no longer mandatory. Raiders preparing to leave can choose whether they want their quests reset, allowing players to preserve progress that would previously have been lost as part of the Expedition process.

Embark is also removing the Last Call phase and extending the normal departure window from two weeks to three. Eligible players can catch up on as many as five previously missed skill points per Expedition, while repeated successful departures continue to improve account-level bonuses.

Available rewards include another portion of the Zenith Outfit, up to 12 additional stash slots, bonus skill points and improvements to experience gains, Scrappy material production and repair value. The stash expansion is capped at 60 total bonus slots, bonus skill points are capped at 15 and the consecutive Expedition buffs can reach three levels.

After this fifth departure, Expeditions will be paused until early 2027. Embark intends to use that interval to revise the system, with particular attention being paid to restrictive departure windows, reward design and accessibility for newer players. Bonuses already earned through consecutive Expeditions will remain active during the pause.

The current Trials season will conclude on September 22, followed by a two-week break before Frozen Trail arrives.

Carrying too much now has harsher consequences

One of the update’s most consequential gameplay changes concerns severely overloaded Raiders. Characters carrying weight far beyond their loadout limit can now enter a new extreme encumbrance state.

At that level, the Raider is restricted to walking and can no longer sprint or jump. The change prevents players from escaping with enormous quantities of equipment while accepting only a modest movement penalty.

Loot management consequently becomes more important near the end of a successful raid. Picking up one additional weapon or stack of resources could eliminate essential traversal options, leaving an overloaded Raider extremely vulnerable to enemy squads and ARC machines.

The loadout weight indicator has also been corrected so that it updates immediately when part of an item stack is discarded. That should make it easier to reduce weight accurately when reorganizing an inventory under pressure.

Combat, controls and ARC encounters receive adjustments

Snitch Scanners can now summon ARC reinforcements in a similar fashion to regular Snitches. Their calls have a reduced chance of attracting the more dangerous ARC variants, but ignoring one can still transform an otherwise manageable encounter into a larger fight.

The Matriarch has received a notable correction to its stomp attack. The ability should no longer damage Raiders through sufficiently tall cover or strike players standing on top of the Matriarch itself.

Aphelion users will notice reduced weapon sway, providing greater stability when aiming. ARC Turbine mines can now be pinged, improving squad communication whenever one is discovered during an operation.

Embark has also separated quick-item cycling from the quick-use wheel in the control settings. Players can assign the functions to different inputs, bind both to the same control or disable quick cycling entirely.

Movement on mobile surfaces has been refined as well. A Raider should now begin following a moving surface only after landing on it, rather than being carried along while still airborne.

Unreal Engine upgrade targets performance and stability

ARC Raiders has been upgraded from Unreal Engine 5.3 to Unreal Engine 5.7. Although an engine migration is less visible than a new weapon or location, it provides the technical foundation for future performance work and content development.

Update 1.45.0 fixes a PlayStation 5 crash that could occur shortly after beginning a session, as well as a crash caused by rapidly pressing certain keys. A matchmaking problem that could leave an entire squad unable to ready up after a teammate signed out and returned has also been addressed.

Several known issues remain under investigation. These include crashes on Xbox Series S, PC instability associated with a particular Windows update and a problem that can cause Epic Games Store users to lose keyboard input while overlays are active. Embark has provided temporary workarounds for some of these cases while permanent corrections are developed.

Other unresolved problems involve animations, outfit clipping, Shredders floating in the Hidden Bunker and occasional failures to register shots fired while riding ARC machines.

New cosmetics and community-designed ducks

The update introduces the Hornet Hunter Set and confirms that the Boonie outfit will become available on September 15. It also brings three community-designed rubber ducks to Bird City for use in Raider Dens.

The winning designs were created by community members gekko.rar, im_AshCheeks and nassguhl. Their inclusion provides a smaller, more playful addition to an update otherwise focused on ominous transmissions, distant mountains and preparations for an unknown journey.

The road to Frozen Trail has opened

Live Update 1.45.0 is not positioned as the destination. Its purpose is to begin the climb.

The phantom signals provide a reason to look beyond the current boundaries of the world, while Apollo’s experiment gives Raiders a practical objective ahead of the October update. Alongside that narrative progression, Embark is closing out existing systems, launching the fifth Expedition and preparing to replace Cred with a broader reward structure.

Many questions remain unanswered, including what lies beyond the mountain range and what Apollo intends to construct. Those omissions appear deliberate. Ascending the Mountain establishes that something is waiting outside the reach of Speranza—and that the ARC may already know how to find it.