Arc Raiders Exploit Crackdown: What Players Need to Know About Warnings, Suspensions, and the "Mountains of Ducks" Glitch

It was an image so bizarre it could only be born from a broken game system: the Buried City, a key location in Embark Studios’ cooperative shooter Arc Raiders, was littered not with the usual robotic wreckage, but with towering, teetering piles of rubber ducks. These “mountains of ducks” became the indelible symbol of a rampant item duplication exploit that recently threatened to destabilize the game’s economy. The glitch, catapulted into the mainstream by a viral streamer demonstration, allowed players to farm unlimited amounts of the premium Raider Coins currency, throwing the in-game market into chaos. After a week of investigation, Embark Studios has drawn a line in the sand. Starting this week, the studio will begin issuing warnings, suspensions, and bans to players who participated in these exploits, marking a critical enforcement moment for the live-service title’s integrity.

The Exploit Epidemic: From Ducks to Disruption

The crisis centered on two primary exploits. The most damaging was a major item duplication glitch. By manipulating specific in-game actions, players could create infinite copies of items, most notably common grenades. These items could then be salvaged en masse for Raider Coins, the game’s premium currency used for purchasing cosmetics and other items. The absurd visual result—piles of duplicated items like ducks cluttering social spaces—was a clear indicator of the exploit’s widespread use.

A second, separate exploit allowed players to hide inside geometry, specifically behind walls in the Stella Montis area, providing an unfair advantage during missions by making them invulnerable to enemy fire. While less economically damaging, it represented a significant breach of fair play.

The tangible impact was immediate and severe. The exploit enabled the unrestricted generation of Raider Coins, devaluing the currency and undermining the legitimate progression and economic balance Embark had designed. The situation reached a tipping point when popular streamer TheBurntPeanut live-demonstrated the duplication method. His stream, surpassing 138,000 concurrent viewers on YouTube, not only exposed the flaw to a massive audience but effectively served as a tutorial, accelerating its adoption across the player base and forcing Embark’s hand.

Embark's Measured Response: Why the Wait?

In an official announcement, Embark Studios confirmed that enforcement actions—warnings, coin removal, and suspensions—would begin the week of February 17, 2024. This came nearly a week after the exploit’s peak. The studio explained the delay was necessary as this was their “first large-scale exploit incident” in Arc Raiders. They required time for a thorough investigation to confirm reports, measure the economic impact, and, crucially, design a fair and measured penalty structure to avoid punishing minor or accidental offenders.

Concurrently, they deployed a technical solution. A server-side hotfix targeting the major duplication glitch was rolled out on February 11, just three hours after the problematic 1.15.0 patch had gone live. However, this fix was not without its own issues, unintentionally causing an inventory-clearing bug for some players—a reminder of the complex challenges in live-game management.

The Consequences: Warnings, Wipes, and Bans

Embark has outlined a tiered penalty structure designed to match the severity of the offense, moving beyond a simple blanket ban. This is the core information for players seeking to understand the repercussions.

• Account Warnings: For players who engaged in limited or minor use of the exploits.
• Removal of Illicit Gains: The primary action for many will be the systematic stripping of Raider Coins obtained through duplication methods. This directly addresses the economic harm.
• Immediate Bans: Reserved for what Embark calls “severe cases.” The studio defines this as activity that “significantly impacted other players or the economy.” This likely targets those who farmed currency on an industrial scale or used exploits for prolonged competitive advantage.

This targeted action is distinct from the studio’s broader anti-cheat efforts. Embark noted it had previously banned “tens of thousands of players” for using third-party cheating software. This new wave is specifically about exploiting flaws within the game’s own systems, a different category of violation that requires a nuanced response.

A Studio in the Hot Seat: Learning from Crisis

Embark Studios is framing this incident as more than just a cleanup operation; it’s a “corrective effort and a learning opportunity.” The studio claims to have already implemented improvements to its detection, tracking, and safeguard systems to better prevent, identify, and respond to similar exploits in the future.

This exploit crisis is not an isolated event for the young live-service game. It comes on the heels of other significant technical challenges Embark has publicly acknowledged, including a major “design flaw” and a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack in late January. This pattern illustrates the intense pressure and continuous problem-solving required in the post-launch phase of a live-service title. Each incident, while damaging, serves as a stress test for the studio’s response protocols and communication with its player base.

The window for exploiting these specific glitches is now firmly closed, and the era of enforcement has begun. Embark Studios’ response sends a dual message: a firm stance against cheating and exploitation, coupled with a commitment to procedural fairness and systemic improvement. For the community, the key takeaways are clear—ill-gotten gains will be removed, repeat or severe offenders will be banned, and the studio is investing in stronger defenses. This incident represents a pivotal test for Arc Raiders’ long-term health. The cleanup has begun, but the true test is yet to come: will this structured deterrence be enough to keep the ducks—and the exploits—at bay?

Tags: Arc Raiders, Embark Studios, Game Exploits, Anti-Cheat, Live Service Games