arc raiders patch notes gun changes: Patch Notes Explained for Store Update 1.40.0

Quick Answer: The latest arc raiders patch notes gun changes are not a full weapon rebalance patch; Store Update 1.40.0 on 2026-08-04 adds Volare outfit color variants, introduces Phantom Targets, and notes a fix-in-progress for Queen and Matriarch stomp damage.

TL;DR: What shipped in Store Update 1.40.0

Store Update 1.40.0 shipped on 2026-08-04 and is primarily a store-and-event update rather than a dedicated combat overhaul. The headline additions are two new color variants, black and yellow, for the Volare outfit and a brand new event called Phantom Targets. The patch context also flags a gameplay-adjacent fix being worked on for Queen and Matriarch stomp damage going through walls and from too far away, which matters because those encounters can influence loadout choices and how players value armor, mobility, and weapon spacing in live runs.

For players searching specifically for arc raiders patch notes gun changes, the important distinction is that this update does not read like a broad weapon tuning pass. There are no listed damage, recoil, reload, magazine, or fire-rate values in the provided patch context, so it should not be treated as a direct gun rebalance on the scale of a weapons-only patch. Instead, the practical effect is indirect: when a patch touches major PvE threats, the meta around guns, range bands, and engagement distance can shift even if the guns themselves do not.

That makes Store Update 1.40.0 a “watch list” patch. If you run assault rifles, SMGs, or high-mobility sidearms, the immediate question is not “what got buffed on paper,” but “what encounter behavior may change my safe damage windows.” The referenced stomp-damage fix is the only combat-relevant note in the supplied context, and it suggests the studio is actively addressing unfair damage interactions rather than redefining the weapon sandbox.

For broader patch history, the public patch archive on the ARC Raiders wiki tracks every public update and hotfix, while the community patch index also lists prior numbered updates such as 1.7.0, 1.6.0, 1.5.0, 1.4.0, and 1.3.0. diablo 4 season 11 enemy

Winners: the players and content that benefit most

Store Update 1.40.0’s winners are cosmetic collectors, event-focused players, and squads who want a cleaner PvE experience against the Queen and Matriarch. The most obvious beneficiaries are players who already use the Volare outfit and wanted more expression without changing their loadout identity. The new black and yellow variants do not affect combat stats, but they do broaden build presentation, which matters in extraction shooters where squad recognition and role signaling are part of the social layer.

The next winners are event chasers. A new event, Phantom Targets, usually means fresh objectives, route decisions, and reasons to log in even if your current progression path is already stable. Because the provided patch context does not include a reward table, objective list, or spawn rate data, it is safest to treat Phantom Targets as a content hook rather than a quantified economy change. In practice, that still matters: event rotations can create temporary pressure on certain zones, increase player traffic, and alter how often you encounter other Raiders while farming.

The third winner is any player who has been frustrated by unfair boss collision or ranged hit behavior. The patch notes mention a fix in progress for Queen and Matriarch stomp damage going through walls and from too far away. Even before that fix lands, the acknowledgement is important because it signals that high-end boss damage is being audited. That generally helps squads using mid-range weapons, cover-dependent rifles, and slower-peeking playstyles. If a boss can damage you through geometry or at extreme distance, your safe firing positions shrink; when that issue is addressed, more conventional angle play becomes viable again.

Content winners by category

Category	What improved	Why it matters
Cosmetic players	Volare outfit gets black and yellow variants	More personalization without affecting combat balance
Event participants	Phantom Targets arrives as a brand new event	New limited-time reason to queue and rotate objectives
Boss-fight squads	Queen and Matriarch stomp issue is being addressed	Reduces unfair damage pressure in encounters
Meta watchers	Patch signals active live support	Encourages players to track future tuning passes

For players comparing this patch to earlier ARC Raiders updates, the arc raiders patch notes gun changes angle is mainly indirect here. No weapon class is named in the supplied notes, so nothing in the update can be described as a direct buff to a shotgun, sniper rifle, or automatic weapon. Still, live-service balance often starts with encounter fixes and event structure changes before any explicit weapon tuning lands. That means the “winner” today may be whoever benefits from a healthier combat environment tomorrow.

A practical example: if you normally hold a mid-range sightline with a rifle while your squad flanks, a stomp-damage bug fix can make those safe angles more reliable. Another example: if you farm event content in bursts, Phantom Targets can become the highest-value activity in a session because players cluster around the same objective chain. A third example: if you are a Volare cosmetic main, the black/yellow variants let you standardize a squad look without altering your kit choices. arc raiders arc raiders gadgets

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Losers: what got nerfed, removed, or effectively devalued

Store Update 1.40.0 does not list any explicit weapon nerfs, removals, or stat reductions in the information provided. That matters because many readers approach a patch looking for direct gun changes, but this one is not framed as a balance pass with numbers attached. If you were hoping for a specific rifle damage reduction, recoil increase, or shotgun pellet adjustment, there is no grounded evidence here to support that claim.

The closest thing to a “loser” in this update is any playstyle that benefited from the Queen and Matriarch stomp damage behaving inconsistently. If the live fix goes through as described, then players who were surviving by exploiting the geometry bug may lose that edge. In other words, the nerf is not to a gun, but to an unfair boss interaction. That can still affect the relative strength of certain loadouts. Builds that relied on standing farther out and ignoring positional discipline because stomp hits were inconsistent may become less forgiving once the fix is active.

Another soft loser is the player who expected combat tuning and instead got mostly cosmetic and event content. For that audience, the patch may feel light on sandbox changes. This is not a balance failure, but it does reduce the chance of immediate loadout theorycrafting around new weapon numbers. If you were saving scrap, currency, or upgrade materials for a new meta weapon setup, there is no indication in the supplied patch context that this update creates a must-craft gun or invalidates an existing one.

What is not confirmed as changed

Area	Confirmed in 1.40.0 context?	Notes
Weapon damage	No	No listed gun values or tuning data provided
Recoil / stability	No	No recoil adjustments mentioned
Reload speed / mag size	No	No ammo-stat changes mentioned
Gun availability	No	No unlock or removal info provided
Boss stomp interaction	Yes, fix-in-progress	Queen and Matriarch issue explicitly called out

The important editorial point is to avoid over-reading silence. Since no explicit weapon rows are present, the arc raiders patch notes gun changes headline should be understood as a player search intent, not as a promise that the patch contains weapon balance details. If the live service later publishes a dedicated weapons update, that would be the place to look for hard numbers on rifle, SMG, shotgun, and sidearm performance.

There is also a larger meta implication: when a patch does not touch gun stats, the current hierarchy of weapons usually remains stable in the short term. Players tend to keep using the same proven kits until a future tuning pass changes the risk-reward equation. In practical terms, if your preferred gun was already performing well in the current meta, this patch is unlikely to force an immediate respec or inventory purge. The only exception is if your build was specifically tailored around exploiting boss stomp behavior, in which case your encounter approach may need to become more conservative.

Player action items: what to do differently today

Players should treat Store Update 1.40.0 as a “content routing” patch rather than a “reset your arsenal” patch. Because the provided notes do not include concrete weapon stat changes, there is no evidence that you need to re-roll a gun, scrap an entire build, or re-farm attachments on the basis of direct nerfs or buffs. The smarter move is to update your priorities around the new event and around any boss-fight positioning that may be affected by the stomp-damage fix.

Start with event planning. If Phantom Targets has limited-time objectives, the safest assumption is that it will concentrate player traffic. That means your route selection should favor flexibility: carry a loadout that can handle both PvE and opportunistic PvP, and avoid overcommitting to a single long farming loop until you know how busy the event nodes are. In extraction games, the first days of a new event often reshape loot density and raid risk more than a stat tweak does.

Next, review your boss-fight spacing. The patch context specifically calls out Queen and Matriarch stomp damage going through walls and from too far away. If you have been holding positions that felt “technically safe” because the damage seemed inconsistent, assume those positions may become less reliable once the fix is live. Move to cleaner lines of sight, keep more hard cover between you and boss movement lanes, and avoid standing in places where geometry previously saved you.

Third, reassess your cosmetic and social setup if you use outfit-based squad signaling. The new black and yellow Volare variants make it easier to standardize team identity. That does not affect combat power, but it can improve quick recognition in mixed squads, especially during crowded event runs where visual clarity matters.

Action items by player type

• Event grinders

  • Prioritize Phantom Targets first if it offers unique rewards or time-limited progress.
  • Keep a flexible kit that can handle contested zones.
  • Expect more player traffic around event-relevant objectives.

• Boss runners

  • Re-check Queen and Matriarch engagement ranges.
  • Avoid relying on wall-adjacent safety until the stomp fix is fully live.
  • Favor cover that is visibly between you and the boss, not just nearby.

• Loadout planners

  • Do not re-roll weapons without confirmed gun tuning.
  • Hold your materials unless a future patch notes specific weapon changes.
  • Compare your current kit against the live meta only after the event settles.

• Cosmetic collectors

  • Look at the new Volare black and yellow variants if you already own the outfit.
  • Match colors with your squad for cleaner in-raid identification.
  • Check whether the variants alter your visual profile at distance.

If you want a broader systems context, a company could give turn based on the current ARC Raiders progression loop can help you decide whether to spend your next session on event objectives, boss farming, or stash management. For now, the key decision is simple: play the new content, but do not overreact with expensive weapon rebuilds unless a later patch gives you hard numbers to justify it.

How this patch fits into the broader ARC Raiders live update trail

Store Update 1.40.0 fits into ARC Raiders’ update cadence as a light live-service drop that prioritizes fresh content and issue tracking over direct sandbox disruption. The public patch archive on the ARC Raiders wiki shows that the game’s update history is already being tracked across multiple numbered releases, including 1.7.0, 1.6.0, 1.5.0, 1.4.0, and 1.3.0. That matters because readers looking up arc raiders patch notes gun changes are often trying to compare one patch to the next and figure out whether the live meta has shifted enough to warrant a new build.

The answer, based on the provided facts, is that this patch is not a dramatic weapon-catalog rewrite. Instead, it behaves more like an operation update: one piece of new event content, one cosmetic refresh, and one combat-related fix-in-progress. In a game like ARC Raiders, that can still meaningfully influence how guns feel in practice. If a boss’s stomp damage is inconsistent, players often choose more evasive or longer-range weapons than they otherwise would. If that issue becomes more reliable and fair, then the value of disciplined positioning and cover usage rises, which can indirectly help precision weapons and punish reckless brawling.

This is also why it is useful to distinguish between a “gun changes” patch and a “combat environment” patch. A gun patch changes the math directly. A combat environment patch changes the situations in which that math is applied. For example, a rifle that was average in open terrain can become better if boss interaction bugs no longer force players into awkward emergency dodges. Similarly, a shotgun build may feel less dominant if event traffic pushes more fights into mid-range skirmishes rather than tight indoor brawls.

The current patch also reinforces an important live-game rule: not every update is meant to reshuffle the weapon tier list. Some updates exist to keep the ecosystem stable, add reasons to return, and clean up unfair damage cases. That does not make them unimportant. It just means the best response is usually measured observation rather than immediate respec panic. If later ARC Raiders updates arrive with explicit weapon tuning, that would be the proper moment to compare recoil, damage falloff, mag size, or handling shifts across your preferred guns. Until then, your existing best-in-slot choices likely remain valid in the current meta. arc raiders nextarc raiders

What the patch means for loadouts, farming, and combat pacing

Store Update 1.40.0 means you should keep your core gun setup stable, but be ready to adjust how and where you use it. Since no explicit weapon stats are provided, there is no grounded reason to swap from one primary archetype to another solely because of this update. What can change is the way the game rewards your existing kit. If Phantom Targets pushes more players into shared objective spaces, close-to-mid-range weapons may see more practical value during event windows simply because fights start sooner and resolve in tighter areas. If, on the other hand, boss-fix testing or behavior changes make PvE encounters less cheesy, then precision and discipline matter more than raw aggression.

That makes route selection more important than inventory shuffling. A player using an assault rifle, for instance, should think about whether their farm route exposes them to event choke points, boss arenas, or open approaches where long sightlines are likely. A SMG user may prefer to enter event-heavy areas only after the first wave of player traffic has moved on. A marksman-style player may want to reassess whether the Queen and Matriarch encounters now allow safer angles from slightly farther out.

The same logic applies to ammunition and utility. Even without confirmed weapon changes, live updates can shift the value of grenades, healing, and mobility items because the encounter mix changes. If a new event creates more third-party pressure, then the best “gun change” may actually be carrying one more escape or sustain tool instead of over-optimizing for a single damage breakpoint.

Practical loadout implications

Situation	Likely best response	Why
New event zones feel crowded	Keep a versatile primary and fast disengage option	More unpredictable fight timing
Boss encounters feel more honest after fix	Use cleaner cover and controlled peeks	Less reliance on geometry quirks
You planned a weapon respec	Wait for confirmed tuning numbers	No grounded stat changes listed
You mainly play for cosmetics	Grab the Volare variants and keep your kit	Patch adds visible collection value

In short, the patch changes the context around your guns more than the guns themselves. That is often how live extraction shooters evolve: a small event addition, a targeted bug fix, and a visual update combine to shift player behavior without rewriting the entire weapon sandbox. For now, the safest mindset is simple—keep your best weapons, learn the new event cadence, and watch future notes for the first patch that actually spells out explicit firearm adjustments. raiders naomi kyle reviews

Sources

• https://steamstore-a.akamaihd.net/news/externalpost/steam_community_announcements/1839676055896877
• https://arcraiders.wiki/wiki/Patch_Notes
• https://arcraiders.wiki.fextralife.com/Patch+Notes
• https://www.ign.com/wikis/arc-raiders/ARC_Raiders_1.39.0_Patch_Notes

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