Arc Raiders Has a Massive Problem—And It’s Not Just Nickmercs

The burgeoning community around Embark Studios' co-op shooter, Arc Raiders, is up in arms. What began as an isolated accusation of cheating against prominent streamer Nick ‘Nickmercs’ Kolcheff has rapidly unmasked a far more insidious problem: a framerate-dependent aim assist mechanic that fundamentally breaks competitive integrity and renders crossplay a pay-to-win nightmare. This isn't just a glitch; it's a core design flaw that demands immediate rectification from Embark. We believe this discovery exposes a deep imbalance, reminiscent of early crossplay woes in other titles, and it's actively eroding player trust just months after launch.

The controversy ignited last week after an 11-second clip of Nickmercs' Arc Raiders gameplay hit Reddit, quickly racking up **2.4K comments**. In the video, Nickmercs, wielding a Renegade rifle with an Xbox controller, showcased what appeared to be unsettling, almost robotic precision in taking down two Arc drones. Initial community reactions were swift and severe, with users accusing him of blatant cheating. Comments like "This is super sketchy... controller does have aim assist on ARC but it’s not like this" and "Yeah that’s not aim assist... that’s just blatantly a cheat engine" flooded the thread, pointing to unnatural target snapping.

However, what initially looked like an open-and-shut case of a streamer bending the rules quickly evolved into a critical systems-level investigation. Our analysis, aligned with diligent community members, reveals the true culprit isn't Nickmercs employing illegal software, but rather a perplexing implementation of the game's built-in aim assist. While console players struggled to replicate the streamer's mechanical prowess, PC players began uncovering the unsettling truth. Reddit user roartex89 was among the first to highlight a drastic difference in aim assist sensitivity across platforms.

Further independent digging by users like Razukee, awhaling, and ttvimShinyatheninja narrowed the issue down to **Frames Per Second (FPS)**. Here's the kicker:

• PCs capable of achieving higher framerates (e.g., **240fps**) benefit from significantly stronger, stickier aim assist, allowing for effortless target acquisition and rapid snap-to-target capabilities.
• Console players on PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X|S, where Arc Raiders is currently capped at **60fps**, experience little to no meaningful benefit from the same feature.

This stark disparity creates an undeniable "pay-to-win" scenario. As ttvimShinyatheninja bluntly put it, "This basically [makes] aim assist pay to win. Whoever has the better PC wins. Everyone else is at a huge disadvantage and this [needs] to get fixed asap."

Nickmercs has since denied the cheating allegations, and frankly, he's likely off the hook. The community's focus has rightly shifted from one potential bad actor to a systemic flaw within Arc Raiders. This isn't just about aim assist; it's about competitive integrity. PC players already boast superior input options with mouse and keyboard. To then layer on a framerate-dependent aim assist that grants an unfair advantage simply breaks the game. It completely undermines fair competition, particularly in crossplay lobbies.

The timing couldn't be worse for Embark. This controversy lands directly on the heels of the studio's promises to clean up a perceived "cheating epidemic" that plagued Arc Raiders lobbies through January. Now, instead of celebrating a cleaner environment, players are grappling with a built-in mechanic that feels just as exploitative. The community's response has been decisive: calls for turning off crossplay until a fix arrives are widespread across Reddit, X/Twitter, and Discord. "Until resolved console players should not be playing with PC players to preserve a fair environment if one side can do something another isn't capable of," one Reddit user commented, with another adding, "PC already have superior inputs with [mouse and keyboard] and now they also have better aim assist? Yeah not a chance I'm ticking that crossplay box on Xbox."

Arc Raiders has been in players' hands for roughly three months, and while Embark has been working on feedback, this issue goes beyond a simple QoL update. This is a critical balancing failure that, if left unaddressed, will alienate a significant portion of its player base and cripple the game's long-term viability. Embark Studios needs to provide clarity on how this mechanic was implemented, why such a framerate dependency exists, and, most importantly, deliver a concrete plan and timeline for a comprehensive fix. The ball is in their court, and the community—and In Game News—are watching closely.