What Happened: The Duplication Glitch Explained 🔄
On February 10, 2025, Embark Studios deployed an OTA hotfix to patch a game-breaking duplication glitch in their extraction shooter ARC Raiders. The exploit allowed players to create infinite copies of Quick Use consumables through a simple inventory manipulation.
How the glitch worked:
| Step | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Hold consumable item in Quick Use slot |
| 2 | Open inventory |
| 3 | Split item stack |
| 4 | Re-combine stacks |
| 5 | Split stack again |
| 6 | Throw unlimited items |
Affected items:
✓ Trigger ‘Nades (powerful grenades)
✓ Familiar Ducks (sellable for Coins)
✓ Other Quick Use consumables
You might be wondering: How severe was this? It completely broke ARC Raiders’ core gameplay loop of resource management and risk-reward extraction mechanics.
Why This Glitch Mattered for ARC Raiders ⚖️
ARC Raiders is an extraction shooter where loot management is fundamental:
Core gameplay loop:
- Explore topside for valuable items
- Survive PvE ARC enemies
- Fight other raiders in PvP
- Extract with finite resources
Glitch impact:
| Game Aspect | Normal Play | With Glitch |
|---|---|---|
| Resource management | Strategic decisions | Meaningless |
| Combat skill | Required | Optional |
| Economic balance | Fair competition | Infinite Coins |
| PvP balance | Skill-based | Pay-to-spam |
💡 Critical issue: Players could barrage enemies with infinite Trigger ‘Nades, removing all skill from combat. Additionally, selling duplicated Familiar Ducks generated infinite Coins, destroying the in-game economy.
Embark’s Initial Response – Vague and Problematic 📢
Timeline of events:
February Update rollout:
- Glitch not mentioned in patch notes
- Community discovers exploit
- Widespread usage begins
Hours later:
- Embark clarifies on social media
- Promises hotfix “quickly”
- Vague on consequences
February 10 hotfix:
- Glitch patched
- Duplicated items removed from inventories
- “Excessive” users flagged for review
- Potential bans threatened
❌ Problem: What constitutes “excessive” usage? Embark never clearly defined the threshold.
The Content Creator Dilemma 🎥
TheBurntPeanut – The Notorious Case
TheBurntPeanut profile:
- 1.5 million YouTube subscribers
- Nearly 2 million Twitch followers
- One of largest ARC Raiders content creators
- Frequently used duplication glitch on stream
- Spammed Trigger ‘Nades at opponents
His impact:
✓ Made glitch widespread through exposure
✓ Demonstrated exploit to millions of viewers
✓ Normalized cheating behavior
✓ Already controversial from November Bungulators streamer war
Embark’s Impossible Choice
Option 1: Ban content creators equally
Consequences:
- Lose massive content creators
- Potentially lose their follower base
- Reduced game visibility
- Marketing impact
Option 2: Exempt content creators
Consequences:
- “Streamer privilege” accusations
- Regular players feel unfairly targeted
- Sets precedent for future exploits
- Community toxicity increases
- Creates two-tier justice system
The core problem: Either decision alienates a significant portion of the playerbase.
Community Reactions – Divided Opinions 💬
Pro-Ban Arguments
Why some players demand equal treatment:
✓ “Bug or not, cheating is cheating”
✓ Content creators amplified the problem
✓ Regular players getting banned while streamers walk free = unfair
✓ Sets dangerous precedent for future exploits
✓ Integrity of competition matters
Anti-Ban Arguments
Why some defend glitch users:
✓ “Developer’s fault, not players”
✓ Not hacking – just using in-game mechanics
✓ Bug was discovered organically
✓ Punishing players for Embark’s mistake = wrong
✓ Should focus on fixing bugs, not punishing discovery
The Middle Ground
Nuanced perspective:
- Remove duplicated items ✓ (Already done)
- No bans for discovery/limited use
- Temporary suspensions for excessive abuse
- Permanent bans only for those who destroyed economy
- Clear criteria published retroactively
What “Excessive” Actually Means – The Undefined Threshold 📊
Embark’s statement:
“Players who heavily used the glitch subject to further review”
FAQ
Q: How many duplications = excessive?
A: Undefined
Q: Is showing it on stream automatically excessive?
A: Unclear
Q: What about players who duplicated once to test?
A: Unknown
Q: Economic impact vs. combat abuse – which weighs more?
A: Not specified
