DMA setup for ARC Raiders: EAC plus behavioural detection
ARC Raiders runs Easy Anti-Cheat at kernel level, machine-learning detection on telemetry and Anybrain input analysis. What each layer sees, and what that means for a DMA build.
Short answer
ARC Raiders runs kernel-level Easy Anti-Cheat, with machine-learning models on top that are fed by player and input telemetry. A DMA card goes in the game PC and the reader on a second PC, but an input device feeds the same data Embark analyses. For ARC Raiders, this store sells an external cheat (/products/arc-raiders) and a DMA cheat with Eden and Blurred builds (/products/arc-raiders-dma).
On this page10
- Which anti-cheat does ARC Raiders use?
- What does each anti-cheat layer watch?
- Why input telemetry matters if you want aim assistance
- What hardware does an ARC Raiders build need?
- In what order should you start everything?
- Pre-raid checklist for ARC Raiders
- Common ARC Raiders problems and how to fix them
- Common questions about ARC Raiders builds
- Is an ARC Raiders build working tonight?
- Sources
Which anti-cheat does ARC Raiders use?
ReportedEmbark Studios documents ARC Raiders' anti-cheat as a stack rather than a single product. Easy Anti-Cheat provides the kernel-level layer on the game PC, and above it sit machine-learning models trained on a steady flow of player telemetry. Alongside those is a partnership with Anybrain that analyses input telemetry. ReportedEmbark also says it is testing a new kernel-level solution and that there are further layers it does not disclose. For a build, the EAC half is the familiar one, while the input telemetry half is the one that matters.
What does each anti-cheat layer watch?
The architecture only addresses the first row, and being honest about the other two is what separates a setup guide from a sales page.
| Layer | What it inspects | Does DMA architecture change it |
|---|---|---|
| Easy Anti-Cheat (kernel) | The game PC: process memory, module integrity, loaded drivers, boot state | Yes. There is no reader software on the game PC to inspect — that is the whole point of the architecture |
| Machine-learning models on telemetry | What happens in the match: outcomes, movement, engagement patterns | No. Server-side analysis judges play, not where your software runs |
| Anybrain input analysis | How the mouse and keyboard actually move — timing, micro-motion, rhythm | No, and an input device makes it more relevant, not less. This is the layer aimed at assisted aim |
ReportedEmbark states openly that undisclosed layers exist behind these three. Any statement about what ARC Raiders can or cannot see is therefore based on incomplete information.
Warning
Why input telemetry matters if you want aim assistance
Memory reads cannot move a cursor, so anything that assists aim needs an input device the game PC accepts as an ordinary mouse. That device solves a real problem, but on this title it also produces the signal the input telemetry analysis is built to read. Smoothing and humanisation settings change the shape of that signal without removing it, and nobody can honestly promise you a motion profile that passes. A read-only build skips this layer.
What hardware does an ARC Raiders build need?
An extraction shooter rewards information about where players, loot and exits are, and that is what a read-only build provides. It needs a card, firmware, a second PC, and a second screen or a fuser to see the output on. Aim assistance adds the input device and the input telemetry trade-off that comes with it. Because ARC Raiders is a recent title that patches often, any setup will spend more of its life waiting for a new build than it would on an older, slower-moving game.
In what order should you start everything?
- Check the status board and compare it with the game's last build date
- Boot the game PC and let Windows settle
- Boot the second PC and confirm the card enumerates
- Start the reader and attach to the card before launching the game
- Launch ARC Raiders through Steam and let EAC load with the game
- Attach to the game process once you are in a raid rather than in the menu
- If a fuser is in the path, run borderless windowed and match resolution and refresh on both machines
Pre-raid checklist for ARC Raiders
- You checked the status board row for this title today
- The game has not patched since that row was published, which matters because a recently launched title patches often
- Hyper-V and virtualisation-based security on the game PC are in a state where the game launches cleanly on its own
- The card is in its data port and the reader attached before the game launched
- If you run an input device, you understand that input telemetry is analysed on this title
- Borderless windowed is set if a fuser is in the video path
- Nothing on the second PC is sharing the USB controller with the card
Common ARC Raiders problems and how to fix them
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Game will not boot, anti-cheat error at startup | Embark's own guidance points at Windows security settings and virtualisation features interfering with the kernel driver | First get the game launching on its own with no reader attached, then change one Windows or BIOS setting at a time and retest |
| Reader attaches, nothing renders in the menu | Normal for builds that resolve raid state only | Get into a raid before diagnosing further, and check the status board if it is still empty there |
| Build broke without a patch announcement | EAC updates independently of the game, and Embark ships changes it does not detail | Compare the status date with the game's build date on the board, and if the game has not moved, assume an anti-cheat-side change |
| Aim assistance feels fine but accounts keep getting actioned | Behavioural layers, not the architecture. Input and match telemetry are analysed independently of the client | No configuration change fixes this, so reduce your exposure or switch to a read-only build |
Common questions about ARC Raiders builds
Which anti-cheat does ARC Raiders use?
Easy Anti-Cheat at the kernel level, plus machine-learning detection on player telemetry and Anybrain input analysis. Embark has also said it is testing an extra kernel-level solution, but it has not named that solution on its own fair-play page.
Is Embark's new in-house anti-cheat on ARC Raiders?
In August 2026 Embark began testing its in-house Elytra anti-cheat in The Finals, in a passive state. Embark tends to prove technology in The Finals before moving it across, but as of September 2026 there is no official confirmation of Elytra on ARC Raiders. Re-check this before planning around it.
Does ARC Raiders require Secure Boot or TPM?
Embark's fair-play statement does not name Secure Boot, TPM or IOMMU as requirements. Its troubleshooting guidance does point at Windows security features and virtualisation settings. That is a different matter, because those settings affect whether the game runs, not whether you are allowed to play.
Does a DMA build hide an aim assist here?
No. The architecture removes reader software from the game PC but does not change how your mouse moves, which is exactly what this title analyses. If that trade-off matters to you, run a read-only build.
How often should I expect breakage?
Often, because a recent title with an actively developed anti-cheat stack is the least stable combination in this catalogue. Check the live status board before each session rather than planning a night around a status published last week.
Info
Is an ARC Raiders build working tonight?
The shape of the stack, and which layers the architecture addresses, are durable facts. Whether a build works tonight is not, and no public source can describe what Embark's undisclosed layers see. The live status board shows a status date next to the game's own build date, so you can see for yourself whether a row is stale.
Sources
The EAC layer, the Anybrain input analysis and the Elytra testing are bench notes with nothing published behind them, and a new title patches often, so they date fast.
- 01Robocalypse Now: Using Deep Learning (GDC Vault)
an industry talk on machine-learning cheat detection; it backs only the general point that server-side models judge play, not Embark's own stack
gdcvault.com
Read next
- DMA setup for The Finals: three anti-cheats and a fourth in testing
- DMA setup for Escape from Tarkov: BattlEye and raid length
- What are DMA cheats and how do they work
- KMBox Net, KMBox B+, MAKCU, Teensy or Arduino: which input device to buy
- How to read the build status board
- DMA setup for Marvel Rivals: NetEase anti-cheat and Kernel DMA Protection
- DMA setup for Overwatch 2: Defense Matrix, not a kernel driver
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