"A floating nightmare": Arc Raiders' big Shrouded Sky update has 2 new Arc, a big Dam Battlegrounds change, confirmed beards, and even an outfit for the friendliest players

The big Arc Raiders Shrouded Sky update, out Tuesday, February 24, has even more new stuff than many players anticipated. On top of the hurricane map condition, which has been confirmed to be a permanent rotation option for Blue Gate, Buried City, Spaceport, and Dam Battlegrounds, Embark Studios has revealed two new Arc machines coming in the update, confirmed the heavily teased and long-awaited beards, shared a new raider project and deck, and dropped a map update for Dam Battlegrounds.

The new Arc, Firefly and Comet, feel like the real stars. These seem to be small but threatening bots comparable in rank to Hornets and Pops, though their exact size is unclear.

Firefly is "a floating nightmare" armed with a flamethrower, Embark says, "burning your Raider to a crisp unless you can move quickly or find cover." Terrific.

The Comet, meanwhile, "calmly patrols the surface, until it comes across an unsuspecting Raider," at which point it will "lock on with a frightening focus before exploding with a seismic boom." Marvelous news. I was just thinking Pops could use a sonic boom.

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I'd wager we'll need parts from these two new Arc for the latest raider project, a weather monitoring system matched to the Arc Raiders hurricane map condition: "Shani will task you with collecting materials to build a weather monitoring system. Collect and contribute specific materials from topside to build the features of the system, and earn your Raider some rewards in the process."

Dam Battlegrounds, the starter map, will fittingly receive the first major map update in Arc Raiders history. A new "high-security" and "high-value" loot area called the Controlled Access Zone has been added, though its location is unclear for now. "You’ll know you’ve arrived when you see the Rocketeer chandelier," Embark says.

Rounding out the patch, Embark showed off a batch of new cosmetics, including the fabled beards – free stubble for everyone, and a full beard and thick mustache in the new Surgeon Raider Deck. The new deck includes nurse and surgeon scrubs that I expect to become the new uniform of the Rescue Raiders, the friendliest and most healer-aligned allies you could hope for. Separate to the free Deck, there are new armor sets in the premium shop for the fashion-minded and credit-rich.

Arc Raiders cheaters are now spawning their own hatches to escape death, and players are once again begging Embark to punish cheating more: "The fact people can do this is insane."