ARC Raiders 2.3 Patch Notes: Souls Offering and Shield Buff

ARC Raiders Update 2.3.0 went live on October 27, 2026. It adds the Souls Offering player project and the Noxious Set, raises the Heavy Shield’s base charge from 80 to 90, buffs Flame Spray, lets six rare weapon blueprints drop in any major map condition, and announces that the Expedition Vault will be disabled, with Bronze Statuettes as compensation for purchased slots.

Below is what changed for players, grouped by what you will notice in a raid, with the full list of known issues at the end. If you would rather skip the grind for the newly easier-to-find blueprints, our ARC Raiders items page lists them.

ARC Raiders 2.3.0 release time and what it includes

Embark published the Live Update 2.3.0 notes on Steam at 10:00 UTC on October 27, 2026 (6:00 AM ET), saying the update was “rolling out right now” and that players should restart the game to download it.

• New player project: Souls Offering.
• New cosmetics: the Noxious Set.
• Balance: Heavy Shield, Flame Spray, Firefly Burner and Adrenaline Shot changes.
• Loot: new rules for six weapon blueprints, the Emperor and the Frigate.
• Systems: the Expedition Vault is being disabled.

Embark also says that weekly fix updates, which it has shipped since Frozen Trail, end with 2.3.0. From now on it plans fixes every three weeks and store updates every week.

Souls Offering: the new ARC Raiders player project

Souls Offering is a community project in Speranza, set up by Celeste to honor raiders lost topside. In Embark’s words, “each offering is unique,” and everyone who takes part shares in the offering.

The patch notes do not list the project’s steps, required items, rewards or end date. Those details are not confirmed here, so check the Projects tab in game. Embark did fix one related bug: the yellow dot on the Projects tab no longer stays after you check or start a project. The community wiki has since listed all four stages, which we collect, with its caveats, in our Soul’s Offering guide.

Heavy Shield, Flame Spray and other balance changes in 2.3.0

Embark’s developer note on the Heavy Shield says usage is still relatively low after the 2.0 durability buff. The higher base charge should slightly increase survivability against most weapons without opening too large a gap over the Medium Shield.

Heavy ShieldThe Heavy Shield's base charge went from 80 to 90 in Update 2.3.0.From $0.38View offer

Blueprint drops, the Emperor and the Frigate: loot changes

The biggest loot change is for six weapon blueprints. The Dolabra, Bobcat, Equalizer, Jupiter, Tempest and Vulcano blueprints can now drop in any major map condition. To balance that, Embark slightly lowered the drop chance of that pool. It did not publish the new rates. For where blueprints spawn in general, see our ARC Raiders blueprint locations guide.

Other loot changes in the notes:

• Emperor: containers near the entrance now give lower-tier rewards, and higher-tier loot sits deeper inside. Locked-room exploit prevention was expanded, and the compactor killboxes in the Pendola Pass Emperor were tweaked. Our Emperor Gateway Conduit guide covers getting inside.
• Emperor Key blueprint: lower drop chance from Redirection pods, which now have a small chance of ARC parts and high-tier ARC loot instead.
• Frigate: areas further in now have a higher chance of higher-tier rewards, new visual hatches show puzzle progress, and you can ping it from long range as it arrives. More in our ARC Raiders Frigate guide.
• Furniture Designs: inverted drop rates fixed, so rarer Designs now drop less often.

Expedition Vault disabled: what happens to your items

Embark writes that it “will be disabling the Expedition Vault.” Two things follow, according to the notes:

• Everything you had in the Vault is moved to your stash.
• You receive Bronze Statuettes as compensation for any Vault slots you bought.

The notes do not say how many Bronze Statuettes each slot is worth, or the exact time the Vault switches off. Both are not confirmed. If your stash is close to full, it is worth making room before the move.

Grappling Hook, camera and stability fixes

• Grappling Hook: now usable inside the Matriarch’s active shield; no more extreme-speed launches when the line snags; it reattaches to debris when its target breaks apart. Tether items now affect players swinging on it.
• Heavy landings: fixed a bug where a Dodge Roll during a heavy landing could cancel fall damage.
• Ballistic Gondola: downed raiders no longer keep losing health after entering it.
• Camera: new Color Push and Black and White filters on the advanced Camera; less blur on the Basic Camera for selfies.
• Stability: lower audio memory on Xbox Series S, a workaround for a ray tracing GPU crash on AMD RX 7000 cards, and fewer Frigate crashes with larger groups. FSR was updated to 4.1.1.
• Reward Pass: Daily Feats are renamed Feats, and Weekly Bonus is renamed Milestones.

Weapon Amplification also got clearer tooltips: branch points now name the amplifications they would block. Our weapon amplification guide explains the system. The previous patch is covered in our Update 2.1.0 notes.

ARC Raiders 2.3.0 known issues

Embark lists these as still open after the update:

• The Raider Tool shows its default skin even when another skin is equipped.
• Extracting with partial progress on the “To The Skies” quest may stop you from completing it.
• Some “When Everything Falls” objectives, such as “Photograph Port A”, may not complete.
• Losing or selling a quest item, such as the Equatorial Sundial for “Clean Hands”, can block that quest.
• Some Xbox players may see instability or crashes.
• ARC Reclaimers can fail to dock on the Frigate, and vaulting on one can push you off.
• Weapon models can occasionally grow dramatically in size during a raid.
• Falling while using the Grappling Hook can bounce you high into the air.
• Players can get stuck at one spot near the railroad on Pendola Pass.

ARC Raiders blueprints and gear after 2.3.0

If the lowered blueprint drop chance means you would rather not farm, these match the items this update changed:

Equalizer BlueprintThe Equalizer blueprint can now drop in any major map condition, at a slightly lower chance.From $1.29View offer Jupiter BlueprintThe Jupiter blueprint is in the same pool as the Equalizer in Update 2.3.0.From $0.61View offer Heavy ShieldThe Heavy Shield now starts with 90 base charge instead of 80.From $0.38View offer

Frequently asked questions

When did ARC Raiders Update 2.3.0 come out?

Embark posted the notes at 10:00 UTC on October 27, 2026 (6:00 AM ET) and said the update was rolling out at that time.

What does the Heavy Shield buff do?

It raises the base charge from 80 to 90. Embark says this slightly improves survivability against most weapons.

Is the Expedition Vault gone?

Embark says it will be disabled. Your Vault contents move to your stash, and purchased slots are compensated with Bronze Statuettes. The exact timing and amount are not confirmed.

Which blueprints drop more widely now?

Dolabra, Bobcat, Equalizer, Jupiter, Tempest and Vulcano blueprints can drop in any major map condition, with a slightly lower drop chance for the pool.

What are the Souls Offering rewards?

Not confirmed. The patch notes describe the project but do not list its requirements or rewards.

Sources and update history

• Embark Studios: Live Update 2.3.0, Steam announcement, October 27, 2026 (every change, the developer note, known issues and all four Embark images)
• ARC Raiders Wiki (community): item images for the Heavy Shield and the six weapons named in the blueprint change

Update history: Published October 28, 2026. Facts last checked October 28, 2026 against the sources above.