The Kettle, a semi-automatic battle rifle in Arc Raiders, has become a major point of controversy thanks to macros that effectively turn it into a fully automatic weapon, completely upending PvP balance. Meant to reward controlled bursts and steady aim at around 400–450 rounds per minute, the Kettle can now fire at an insane 1440 RPM with near-zero recoil when abused, cutting time-to-kill from a fair 2.3 seconds on body shots to roughly 0.65 seconds. Legitimate players find themselves at a huge disadvantage in close-quarters fights and extraction standoffs, unable to compete with the sheer speed of macro users ARC Raiders Items.
The exploit relies on third-party software that automates mouse clicks, removing the need for skill or trigger discipline. In a game where tension comes from positioning, ammo management, and outplaying your opponent, the Kettle macro eliminates all counterplay. Community clips show duos and solos being wiped out instantly—even through walls or across open sightlines—turning high-stakes PvP into one-sided massacres. The problem has only worsened since the aggression-based matchmaking update, as macro users cluster in "hot"lobbies and dominate uncontested.
Normally, PvP in Arc Raiders is built around risk-reward mechanics: scanning for enemies, baiting ambushes, and negotiating tense moments with limited resources. Legit Kettle users already praise its accuracy and ammo efficiency, but macros completely bypass the skill ceiling. Mid-range maps like Spaceport or Buried City now feel dominated by automated fire, where extraction points turn into killboxes and team wipes happen in seconds, frustrating players who rely on strategy and skill.
Embark Studios has acknowledged the issue, promising upcoming patches to cap fire rates, smooth inputs on semi-autos, and enhance anti-cheat measures. Detection systems already flag unnaturally fast firing patterns, and bans have begun, but the exploit remains easy to access, often requiring just a simple macro bound to one key. Even PvE encounters can be affected, though no false positives have been reported yet, keeping the threat very real for anyone tempted to try it.
Arc Raiders launched with precise gunplay and emergent tension, but the Kettle macro exposes how fragile semi-auto balance can be. Embark's promised fire rate caps, recoil adjustments, and ban waves offer hope, but fixing the issue will take more than patches—it will require transparency and possibly a rework of the Kettle itself buy cheap ARC Raiders Coins. Until then, high-level PvP feels hollow, turning once-tense raids into automated slaughter matches that threaten the game's reputation if not addressed quickly.
