The Arc Raiders community is fired up. A recent nerf to the super-powered Security Breach skill has everyone talking. After testing the changes, we’re dropping the skill for good. Here’s why it happened and what you should invest in instead.
What’s the Deal with the Security Breach Nerf?
The developers at Embark Studios recently tweaked the Security Breach skill, and a lot of players are talking about it. According to a community lead on Discord, they did it because the security lockers were handing out way too many good items.
In simple terms, they drastically lowered your chances of finding epic weapons and high-tier materials in those lockers. This completely changes whether it’s even worth putting your skill points into the Security Breach passive anymore.
To make things worse, this change wasn’t in the patch notes at first, which left everyone confused when their locker hauls suddenly felt worthless. The developers have since admitted they messed up by not mentioning it and said they’re looking into a way to let players reset their skills, which would help anyone who feels they wasted their points.
Why the Nerf Was Necessary
Now, I was personally using this skill, so the nerf hurt me too. But if I’m being honest, I think it was necessary for the game’s balance.
Let me explain. When you had Security Breach fully upgraded, every other place to find loot felt pointless. The skill was so powerful that my whole strategy was just to hit security lockers and then maybe steal from other players. I was consistently getting out with epic weapons without ever needing to explore the more dangerous areas or take big risks.
Finding an epic weapon didn’t feel special anymore because I got them so easily. The skill was basically breaking one of the core parts of the game: the thrill of exploring and taking chances for a great reward.
This was an even bigger problem because the game doesn’t have forced wipes. Without everyone’s progress getting reset now and then, players like me were building up huge stockpiles of the best gear.
This was creating a massive gap between players who had the skill and those who didn’t. The developers had to step in and fix this before the game’s economy got completely out of hand.
Post-Nerf Performance: The Numbers
After the nerf, I decided to test it out myself. I spent a solid four hours doing nothing but hunting down security lockers. What did I find? One blue weapon, zero epics, and three Wolfpack grenades. It was a night-and-day difference from before.
I even did more testing on the new Stella Montis map with a friend, and we still couldn’t find any blues or epics. Sure, maybe I was just having a really unlucky day, and I’ve heard others say they found some decent stuff.
But for me, my own experience proved that investing in Security Breach just isn’t worth it anymore. Based on what I saw, I won’t be using the skill again.
The Survival Tree: Still Worth Investing In
Here’s the most important thing I want to make clear: even though Security Breach got hit hard, the entire Survival skill tree is still incredibly strong.
I’ve seen players complain that they “wasted 36 skill points for nothing,” but that’s not really true. You only need to spend about six or seven points specifically to get to Security Breach. The rest of the points you put in the tree go toward other amazing perks that are always working for you.
Just look at what else you get:
Loot Instinct makes you loot faster, which is always useful.
Looter’s Luck improves the quality of all the loot you find, not just from lockers.
Broad Shoulders gives you a ton of extra carrying capacity.
Good as New helps your stamina come back while you’re healing.
These are passive benefits that help you in every single match, unlike Security Breach, which only mattered at a few specific spots. So, while one skill might be dead, the tree it’s on is very much alive and well.
Recommended Skill Tree Build for 75-80 Points
Here’s our new planned skill tree allocation for players at level 75, with provisions for the five bonus points available through expedition completion. Our build prioritizes mobility, stamina management, and passive bonuses that provide consistent value.
Mobility Tree (27 Points)
The foundation of this new build focuses heavily on mobility, which we considers essential for both PvE and PvP encounters. We recommend:
One point in Nimble Climber
Maximum investment in Useful Lungs and Mountain Runner for stamina increases and reduced stamina consumption while moving
Five points in Slip and Slide, which initially seemed unnecessary but proved valuable in testing
Slip and Slide deserves special mention—we originally doubted its value but found it clutch in several situations. The extended slide distance proved especially useful when escaping down hills during PvP encounters, allowing stamina regeneration while maintaining distance from pursuers.
Five points in Carry Momentum, which synergizes with other perks
Five points in Effortless Roll
Five points in Heroic Leap
This mobility-focused approach ensures players can reposition effectively, escape dangerous situations, and manage stamina during extended engagements. At level 22, players will have completed this entire mobility branch.
Conditioning Tree (19 Points)
The conditioning investment focuses on combat sustainability and stamina recovery:
Minimal points in Used to the Weight (one or two points) to unlock progression, with additional investment potentially helpful for reducing shield movement penalties
Five points in Fight or Flight, which grants stamina when hurt in combat
Five points in Proficient Prior for faster breaching and looting, reducing vulnerability windows
Both Quickly Hurt You and Burden Roll at maximum investment
The combination of Quickly Hurt You (faster stamina regeneration when damaged) and Burden Roll (free dodge roll when shield breaks) creates powerful synergy with Carry Momentum.
When a shield breaks—especially common with green shields against high-damage weapons like Pharaohs—players get a free dodge roll plus temporary sprint stamina reduction, enabling quick escapes.
I specifically avoid most noise reduction perks, speccing only the minimum required points to progress. I would like to note that these perks primarily affect ARC aggro, and prefers simply shooting ARCs rather than avoiding them.
Survival Tree (Remaining Points)
For the Survival tree, we significantly reduced our previous investment while maintaining the strongest perks:
One point in Agile Croucher (down from maximum investment), as we found we avoid crouch-move as much as initially expected
Maximum Loot Instincts for faster looting
One point in Revitalizing Squat and In-Round Crafting to unlock progression
Additional points in Revitalizing Squat over Silent Scavenger, preferring stamina regeneration over noise reduction
Maximum Broad Shoulders for 10 extra carrying capacity
Maximum Looter’s Luck for general loot quality improvement
With the five bonus expedition points, he recommends:
Four points to max out Deep Breaths
One point in Traveling Tinkerer II
Traveling Tinkerer deserves consideration despite initially seeming situational. It enables crafting in-round without requiring unlocked blueprints, which proves especially valuable for traps—items that can be quite powerful but often lack blueprint availability.
This build reaches 73 points at level 75, with the final allocation dependent on the five expedition bonus points.
Alternative Loot Sources: Why Security Breach Isn’t Missed
So, why am I not upset about ditching the Security Breach skill? It’s simple: there are plenty of other amazing spots to get loot. The new Stella Montis map is especially great for this. The drop rates feel really generous, and you can find good gear all over the place.
Let me point you to some of the best locations:
The Cultural Archives: This place has two whole floors stuffed with loot. Just check all the filing cabinets and crates.
The Assembly Area: You’ll find materials up on the catwalks, and there’s a locked Admin Room if you manage to get a keycard.
The Lobby: This is the central hub, with multiple floors and locked rooms full of tech and electrical parts. Just be warned—it’s a major PvP hotspot, so be ready for a fight.
This new approach—where you explore the whole map instead of just relying on one super-powered skill—feels like how the game was meant to be played. Sure, Stella Montis can be dangerous with its tight spaces and tricky spawns, but that’s part of the fun. The high-risk, high-reward feeling is exactly what Security Breach had taken away.
The Bottom Line
In the end, this nerf was a needed reality check. It’s making us all think harder about our skill points and our looting strategies.
Yes, Security Breach is a lot weaker now. But the Survival tree still has great perks, and you can find awesome loot in other ways. The smart move now is to build a character with perks that help you all the time, in every raid, instead of depending on one single trick.
Focusing on things like mobility and stamina will make you a stronger player overall, no matter what you run into.
