Arc Raiders just nerfed the most popular way to farm Queen and Matriarch reactors, but hey, at least gun cases won't spit out worthless Burlettas as often

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Arc Raiders just nerfed the most popular way to farm Queen and Matriarch reactors, but hey, at least gun cases won't spit out worthless Burlettas as often News By Dustin Bailey published 27 January 2026

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The Arc Raiders Headwinds update is upon us, which means – on top of additions like the Bird City map modifier – players are already picking apart a fresh array of balance changes. In particular, valuable Queen and Matriarch reactors are about to be harder to come by, and the idea that gun cases are going to be slightly less useless from here on hasn't really taken the sting out.

Here's how the patch notes put it: "Slightly lowered the chances of finding Matriarch and Queen unique parts in their armor pieces to make it a bit harder to get them without destroying them completely."

In other words, you're no longer going to be able to shoot off the leg armor of Queens and Matriarchs for so many easy reactors. It seems the devs want to encourage players to actually take the whole Arc down in order to reap the best rewards, but the change is proving pretty controversial among the community.

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"Like it isn't already hard enough to get a core before the loot goblins steal them and without getting squished by the matriarch," as one commenter puts it. "So much ammo and heals lost just to get nothing, and now it will be even worse."

That seems to sum up the general sentiment being expressed across many other posts. Players fear that the already limited Queen and Matriarch drops are going to be even harder to come by, and the aftermath of battles with those Arc will get even bloodier as players rush to seize an even smaller pile of loot.

But hey, at least the devs have also "raised the chances of finding higher tier weapons in weapon cases." Hopefully that means that you won't be drowning in Burlettas anymore – after all, you're going to need every advantage you can get to survive those reactor scrums.

For help figuring out how to get all Arc Raiders Rubber Ducks, you know where to click.

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Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. CATEGORIES PS5 Xbox Series X PC Gaming Platforms PlayStation Xbox Dustin BaileySocial Links NavigationStaff Writer

Dustin Bailey joined the GamesRadar team as a Staff Writer in May 2022, and is currently based in Missouri. He's been covering games (with occasional dalliances in the worlds of anime and pro wrestling) since 2015, first as a freelancer, then as a news writer at PCGamesN for nearly five years. His love for games was sparked somewhere between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Knights of the Old Republic, and these days you can usually find him splitting his entertainment time between retro gaming, the latest big action-adventure title, or a long haul in American Truck Simulator.

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