Arc Raiders' Trigger Nades are so overpowered in PvP that it's a wonder they survived this long, but at long last Embark is planning nerfs

Arc Raiders PvP can at times feel like more enduring artillery fire than playing a shooter, and it's largely thanks to the spread of Trigger Nades. So, after months of dominance, developer Embark Studios says it's finally looking to tone them down.

In a comment on the official Arc Raiders Discord, in response to the umpteenth player requesting the devs "please nerf the trigger nades," community manager CM | Lily said "the team's looking into some changes to Trigger Nades."

"The team's looking into some nerfs including Trigger Nades, keep an eye on ⁠game-announcements for updates!" a separate reponse reads.

Trigger Nades are much less of a problem in PvE – against Arc, they provide a sticky alternative to Heavy Fuze Grenades which can make a big difference in certain situations, but that's about it. I don't see the Arc posting complaints on Reddit, and if they were going to, they'd surely rant about Wolfpack grenades instead. "I'm telling you, there's no dodging these things!"

PvP is another story. Compared to other explosives, Trigger Nades win in virtually every major category. Because you can detonate them almost immediately after they land near a target, they have a shorter effective fuse than the likes of Heavy Fuze or Snapback grenades, which take longer to explode. You can manipulate this somewhat by throwing those others in a steep arc outdoors, but Trigger Nades make it so much easier.

Bafflingly, Trigger Nades also deal slightly more damage than Heavy Fuzes and seem to have a comparable damage radius. On top of that, because they don't have the obvious red glow that most grenades use to alert you to incoming explosives, they're harder to see and respond to. A red glow would, of course, ruin the utility of placing Trigger Nades ahead of time and then detonating them when someone walks by, but these things are more often used like explode-on-contact projectiles.