ARC Raiders Hotfix 2.1.1 Shuts Down Dupe and Locked-Room Exploits as 'Say Freeze' Photo Contest Opens

Embark Studios pushed out ARC Raiders Hotfix 2.1.1 early on Friday, October 16. The official Steam announcement went up at about 5:35 AM ET, and its goal is narrow but important: it closes "several instances" that let players get into locked rooms and duplicate items. One day earlier, the studio also announced Say Freeze!, a community photo contest built around the new camera gadget. Entries open today.

What Hotfix 2.1.1 fixes

The patch note is short. According to Embark's post, the hotfix:

• Blocks several ways into locked rooms without the proper key.
• Closes several item duplication exploits.

Embark didn't say which methods were patched, and that's on purpose. The studio thanked players who reported the bugs privately through its Discord support inbox or @ScrappyMail, saying this lets the team act "without spreading the method publicly." As ConsolePCGaming notes, the fix arrives just three days after Store Update 2.1.0, which launched the PvE toggle beta (we covered it here).

Why it matters

In an extraction shooter, locked rooms and duped gear hit the economy hard. Keys are supposed to be a gamble that pays off with high-value loot. When someone glitches in first, the player who actually used a key can find the room already stripped. This isn't the first round of the fight, either. In late 2025, GameSpot reported that Embark had started filling glitched-into rooms with flames to punish the exploit.

Timing matters too. Key rooms are already a flashpoint in the PvE toggle test, where players have been camping locked loot rooms. Duped items also drag down the value of everything else in your stash.

Say Freeze! photo contest: how to enter

The Frozen Trail update added a camera gadget with zoom, aperture presets, manual and auto focus, and a selfie mode with emotes. Now Embark wants to see what you've shot with it. Per the official announcement:

• Submission window: October 16 to 26.
• Where to enter: share your shots in the official ARC Raiders Discord.
• Subjects: Frozen Trail scenes such as the Frigate, the inside of the Emperor or Pendola Pass snowstorms. Selfies are "encouraged."
• Prizes: Embark developers will pick 10 favourites. Each winner gets 1,150 Raider Tokens, enough for cosmetics or the new Premium Reward Pass, plus an exclusive Instant Film Camera backpack charm.

Read the contest's terms and conditions, linked from the announcement, before you post.

What's next

• October 20, 11:00 CEST (5:00 AM ET): the PvE toggle beta ends. Embark says feedback and in-game data will decide whether it becomes permanent.
• October 26: Say Freeze! submissions close. Winners will be the developers' 10 favourite shots.
• Exploits: if you find a new one, Embark asks you to report it through the Discord support inbox or @ScrappyMail instead of posting it publicly.

We'll update EarlyLoot as soon as Embark shares PvE test results or more patch notes.