Arc Raiders Update: Why the Shrouded Sky 1.17.0 Patch Was Forced by Storms and a Long-Running Weapons Fix

The new arc raiders update matters because it stitches two pressure points together: topside weather that changes how combat plays, and a multi-release tweak to weapon input that quietly altered skill expression. Shrouded Sky pushes players to adjust movement and sightlines under violent hurricanes while the development team tightens weapon input buffering and reweights several guns—changes that reshape both immediate tactics and longer-term balance conversations.

Arc Raiders Update context: storms, new threats, and a messy weapon lineage

Storms are no longer background flavor. Violent hurricanes are sweeping topside, producing low-visibility combat, powerful gales, and hurtling debris. Scouts have spotted two new ARC types in the Rust Belt; players are advised to exercise caution while the storm runs its course, and those who can read the weather may find tactical opportunities in the chaos. At the same time, the development team traced a chain of recent patches that finally required a broader correction to weapon behavior.

How the weapon fixes led into 1. 17. 0

In one past release, 1. 13, the team shipped an optimization fix for weapons that had the unforeseen consequence of lowering the total fire-rate of semi-automatic weapons. A follow-up, 1. 13. 1, reverted that fix, but something else made it into the update that shouldn't have. Many players reported a "shadow buff" to weapons. The investigation found that 1. 13. 1 had inadvertently impacted weapon input buffers: where players previously had to time inputs to a weapon's intended cadence, the change let spam-clicking bypass that skill requirement.

To land between responsiveness and skill expression, engineers added more levers to control the weapon input buffering window on a gun-to-gun basis and adjusted semi-automatic weapons accordingly. The stated outcome: weapons will be more responsive to spam-clicking, but players who pace their shots should see better results. Here's the part that matters for players: this is not a flat nerf or buff—it's an attempt to give designers per-weapon control over how input timing rewards or penalizes skill.

Gun-specific balance moves in this patch

• Stitcher: Reduced overall TTK (time-to-kill) adjustments were applied with an aim to limit very-fast headshot TTK. The dev note says Stitcher has been a close-quarters weapon that rewards positioning, but its fast TTK—especially when many shots hit the head—led to ambush situations where targets had little time to react. Changes include reduced full-spray accuracy and a lowered headshot multiplier to bring headshot TTK closer to body-shot TTK.
• Kettle: Developers see the Kettle in a strange place—intended for medium-range, deliberate play, yet commonly used in close quarters like an SMG. The patch reduces base damage to bring its TTK more in line, while keeping a high headshot multiplier to encourage aiming for heads.
• Aphelion and Jupiter: Both receive increased maneuverability, shifting how they perform in encounters that require repositioning.
• Venator: The team is taking a second stab at the Venator, which still seems to be dominating many PvP encounters. Since the last nerfs to the Venator in 1. 3. 0, they've kept an eye on the data to unclear in the provided context

Patch framing: Shrouded Sky - Patch Notes 1. 17. 0 and adjacent bits

The patch is presented under the Shrouded Sky - Patch Notes 1. 17. 0 heading and pairs the weather-driven threats with the weapon tuning described above. If you're wondering why this keeps coming up, part of the reason is the chain of fixes across versions: fixes intended to optimize weapon performance triggered unintended side effects that required staged corrections.

Micro timeline: 1. 13 introduced an optimization fix that lowered semi-auto fire-rate; 1. 13. 1 reverted that fix but introduced weapon input buffer changes; earlier, 1. 3. 0 included nerfs to the Venator. This version responds to those evolutions while layering the Shrouded Sky content.

What's easy to miss is how the weather mechanics and weapon tuning interact—reduced visibility and debris change engagement ranges, which makes the Stitcher and Kettle adjustments more consequential than raw numbers suggest.

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• Shippers: expect the new ARC threats in the Rust Belt and adjust scouting patterns.
• Players focused on semi-automatic weapons: pacing shots is intended to be more rewarding again.
• Competitive players: Venator remains under scrutiny; further adjustments may follow.

Final note: the arc raiders update ties visible, environmental changes to deep mechanical fixes—this combination makes the patch feel both immediate and technical. The real test will be how these buffering levers and the weapon-specific tweaks change encounter outcomes across playstyles.