In high-stakes extraction shooters, high-tier loot zones are supposed to be locked behind rare keycards, grueling boss fights, or specific event triggers. But in ARC Raiders, players quickly discovered a massive shortcut. By abusing the physics engine of a basic deployable utility item—the Barricade Kit—raiders found a way to bypass map boundaries entirely.
This glitch effectively lets solo players and squads force their way through locked security doors, keycard rooms, and vault walls. The result? Total access to top-tier equipment and rare crafting materials without ever finding or burning a valuable keycard.
How the Exploit Works: Clipping the Collision Engine
The exploit relies on forcing the game's physics engine to resolve a space conflict by moving the player forward instead of pushing them back. By manipulating the collision boxes of deployable world objects, players can trick the game into "shoving" them through solid barriers.
Procuring the Kit: Players purchase the Barricade Kit directly from Apollo Grenades and Gadgets back at the base.
Precision Positioning: The player walks directly up to a locked door or vault seal, stands flush against the left or right side of the frame, looks downward slightly, and ensures they have an empty hand or unequipped weapon.
The Push Mechanism: By deploying the barricade extremely close to their own character model—essentially placing it through their own body while holding down the forward movement key—the expanding collision box of the barricade panics the game's physics. To resolve the sudden overlap, the engine clips the player's character straight through the door’s boundaries.
Infinite Reusability: Because barricades can be dismantled and picked back up into the inventory, a player only needs 1 single Barricade Kit to breach multiple locked rooms across an entire 20-to-30 minute raid.
Some players have even taken the exploit a step further by layering multiple mechanics. By combining the barricade with ziplines and jolt mines, players have managed to construct mobile, floating "bunker shields" to push down hallways, though this variation is far more erratic and prone to blowing up in the user's face.
The Numbers: Why Players Risk the Glitch
The incentive to use this exploit comes down to economic math. In ARC Raiders, progression relies heavily on finding rare blueprints to craft endgame gear, weapons, and components like the Kinetic Converter or the Aphelion.
Normally, farming these items requires completing hazardous high-level events, defeating massive bosses like the Matriarch or Queen, or carefully storing rare keycards across multiple runs. Using a single Barricade Kit removes all that risk. A player can safely ignore the intended game loops, slip into a vault room, empty 2 or 3 epic loot containers, and extract rich.
For players who prefer to avoid the tedious grind of farming or risking their accounts via glitches, third-party marketplaces offer alternative shortcuts. Platforms like U4N allow players to bypass the random drop rates entirely. Instead of running the same map dozens of times hoping for a specific container spawn, players often choose to buy arc raiders blueprints online to instantly unlock advanced weapon attachments and armor sets back at the crafting bench.
Patch Status and Developer Action
Embark Studios has been locked in a classic game-of-cat-and-mouse with the community over this issue. The developers have pushed multiple targeted hotfixes aimed at adjusting player collision metrics and tightening deployable object restriction zones.
Patch Focus Community Workaround Effectiveness Status
Zone Restrictions (e.g., Dam map) Shifting to alternate wall angles or corner pillars. Partially Fixed
Placement Proximity Utilizing "jump-rolling" or precise camera angles to force the clip. Ongoing Battle
Dismantle Delay Using secondary items like plantable mines to create a physics pinch point. Exploit Iterating
While the fix successfully locked down certain maps like the Dam or specific metal door frames—rendering the standard method nearly impossible on platforms like the PS5—PC players using keyboard and mouse inputs continuously find slight angle adjustments. In locations like the Buried City townhouses, players can still find corner seams near external ladders where dropping a barricade forces an "unstuck" prompt, clipping them straight into premium chest rooms.
Because using this glitch deliberately compromises the game's economy, Embark Studios and the wider community treat it as a clear violation of fair play. Players caught repeatedly abusing collision mechanics face account consequences, ranging from total inventory wipes and progression resets to permanent bans. While the temptation of easy loot is high, risking a fully leveled character for a few quick vaults remains a gamble most veteran raiders advise against.
