Many ARC Raiders players have been frustrated with the game’s skill tree since launch, feeling that its perks are unbalanced and that progression doesn’t always feel meaningful. This long-standing concern found confirmation straight from the developers themselves in a January 17, 2026 interview with GamesRadar+, where ARC Raiders Design Lead Virgil Watkins openly admitted that some skills are underpowered or ineffective — so much so that even the dev team doesn’t always choose certain perks when they play internally.

This admission is significant for a game that relies heavily on player choice and character growth. From the beginning, many players have found the skill tree unbalanced, with a common pattern emerging: some perks feel mandatory because they clearly improve performance, while others are skipped because they offer little noticeable benefit, and a few feel almost pointless even after multiple points are invested.

For example, mobility and movement perks such as Effortless Roll or Calming Stroll may seem useful on paper but often yield barely noticeable improvements in actual gameplay, leading players to view those points as wasted. This dynamic encourages players to optimize builds around only a handful of “good” skills, leaving large sections of the skill tree ignored and reducing the variety of viable playstyles. Before starting long missions, gamers check what arc raiders items needed for expedition are required, and some of them use U4GM to prepare their loadouts more quickly.

In admitting the issue, Watkins acknowledged that the development team is aware of these concerns and that improvements are planned. He confirmed that buffs for underperforming skills are under consideration and that fixing the skill tree is “on the radar,” although no specific timeline or detailed plan has yet been shared.

Fixing the skill tree matters because it influences more than just individual choices: it impacts build diversity, replay value, and the overall balance of the game. When most players lean on the same handful of perks, it reduces the sense of experimentation and personalization that a good skill system should encourage. Community discussions and threads on platforms like Reddit further highlight frustrations with perks that feel underwhelming, poorly described, or situational to the point of uselessness, as well as the lack of a simple respec option forcing players to stick with early, suboptimal choices.

Players hope that upcoming changes will include meaningful buffs to underused perks, clearer and more accurate skill descriptions, and possibly more flexibility in reallocating skill points without heavy penalties. Although no firm schedule for these adjustments has been provided, the public acknowledgment from Embark Studios represents a step toward addressing community feedback and improving ARC Raiders’ progression systems.

For a live-service game that continues to grow and evolve, this responsiveness to player concerns could help sustain engagement and make the game feel more rewarding and balanced for a broader range of players.