The Arc Raiders equivalent of the Fortnite double pump has been banished from the game, and I couldn't be happier

Arc Raiders has carved out a more wholesome, cooperative niche for itself compared to other extraction shooters (thanks mostly to its now famous 'Don't Shoot!' ping), but that doesn't mean PvP gunfights are non-existent. When you do decide to challenge someone, or a shoot-on-sight squad rolls up on you, you'd hope that a fair, balanced gunfight would ensue. However, a recent weapon swap exploit has led to some incredibly one-sided battles. Some have described it as the Arc Raiders equivalent of Fortnite's 'double pump' technique, but I just describe it as a complete nuisance that makes close-range PvP engagements a nightmare. However, the new Arc Raiders update has fixed this issue, alongside other exploits players were using to enter locked rooms.

When I was sweating it out in the early days of Fortnite, the double pump technique was both my savior and my greatest enemy. By running two shotguns and quickly swapping between them after each shot, you could deal rapid, huge damage. It would get me out of sticky situations, but if used against me, it would obliterate me with such speed that I would curse its very existence.

While it's commonplace in Fortnite these days, a similar strategy has been discovered in Arc Raiders, whereby swapping to your second weapon or quick use item and back again will reset the cooldown in between shots for high-damage weapons like the Il Toro shotgun or the Anvil pistol. Being melted in the blink of an eye can of course be annoying in any of the best multiplayer games, but when your loot is on the line as well, it makes such an exploit even more infuriating. You can see just how potent it is in the video below by YouTuber 'aimkey'.

Thankfully, Arc Raiders update 1.4.0. is here to put an end to this madness. It's only a small update, with just seven changes listed in the patch notes, but this one will be music to many players' ears: "Fixed the gun exploit that allowed you to shoot quicker than intended by swapping to a quick use item and back." Hallelujah.

Elsewhere, Embark Studios takes yet another swing at stopping players getting into locked rooms without using keys. "Exploit mitigation mechanisms have been added for all locked rooms across all maps," the patch notes read. Embark has also closed off an alternative route into the Control Tower on the Spaceport map which was allowing players to easily access it, again without the need of a key.

A small movement glitch, which allowed players to push each other by jumping on their backs, has also been fixed.

The other changes in 1.4.0. are fairly minor, but if you want to check them all out, you can do so here.

With the weapon swap exploit now hopefully a thing of the past, close-range PvP scuffles should now feel much fairer. Saying that, I'm sure it won't be long until the game's top players work out a new overpowered strategy to send me back to Speranza empty-handed.