February 24, 2026 is going to flip Speranza on its head. The Shrouded Sky update isn't some tidy balance pass; it's a hurricane chewing through the Rust Belt and turning your "safe" routes into guesses. If you've been collecting ARC Raiders Items and running the same loops, you're about to feel it fast. Up top, visibility gets wrecked. Ten feet can feel like a mile. And yeah, that's scary—until you realise how many fights you can simply avoid when nobody can see straight.

Storm Runs Feel Different

The wind doesn't just howl for vibes. It pushes your movement, shakes your aim, and makes every open stretch feel like a dare. Debris clatters off shields. Water threats aren't theoretical either; the Tubes can flood, and you'll learn quick which entrances turn into traps. Long-range picks get shaky when the horizon is basically a grey wall. You'll start playing by sound, by timing, by little landmarks you can still read through the mess. And in the middle of all that, the storm coughs up First Wave Raider Caches—proper "drop everything" loot. But you're not farming them. You're surviving long enough to touch them, then getting out before the weather or another team turns you into scrap.

Shani's Project and the Real Grind

Shani asking for materials might sound like busywork, but it's the kind of task that actually changes how you plan a run. You can't just grab whatever's on the way and call it done. You'll be picking paths that keep you near cover, hauling awkward loads, and making choices like: do I bank this haul now, or push one more building while the gusts give me a little extra concealment? People will complain, sure. They always do. But the payback is decent, and building a weather monitoring system feels like the world is responding to what we do instead of pretending we're just tourists passing through.

New Machines That Punish Bad Habits

The ARC threats sound like they're designed to catch the "I'll just sprint it" crowd. Firefly is the nasty one—armoured, airborne, and happy to paint the street with fire. If you're out in the open, you don't get a warning, you get melted. Then there's Comet: a round patrol bot with one plan—lock on, close distance, and detonate. You'll hear that hum and your brain should go straight to cover, not hero plays. The storm makes this worse, because you'll spot them later and you'll misjudge distance more often. Bring patience. Bring a route that lets you break line of sight fast.

Deck Rewards and The Dam's Locked Door

If you're chasing progression, the free Surgeon Raider Deck is a clean idea: earn Cred by doing feats topside, then pick your flavour of cosmetic. The "Dr. Jekyll" vibe is neat and controlled; the "Mr. Hyde" look is chaos with style. And the facial hair options are a small win that actually lands—stubble first, then a full beard or a thick moustache if you stick with it. Over at the Dam Battlegrounds, the Controlled Access Zone is the other big pull, marked by that huge Rocketeer chandelier and guarded like it matters. It will, because loot like that always brings trouble. So gear up, move like you mean it, and make sure you're ready to bet your run on ARC Raiders weapons and whatever else you can carry out alive.