The Arc Raiders barricade kit door glitch has become a widely documented physics exploit within the community, allowing players to breach locked security doors without tracking down a key card. In a high-stakes extraction shooter where elite loot is tucked behind tight security, players are always looking for shortcuts. However, this specific physics loophole relies entirely on forcing the game's engine to make a bad mathematical calculation.

The glitch works because the physics system gets confused when a player deploys a physical object (like a Barricade Kit) directly inside their own character's collision box near a wall or door seam. In game engines, two solid objects cannot occupy the exact same coordinate space. When the Barricade Kit expands, this overlap forces the game to rapidly resolve the collision conflict by pushing the player asset forward through the solid door geometry.

How the Glitch Works

Historically, raiders purchase a Barricade Kit from Apollo Grenades and Gadgets—or farm materials to craft them—to perform the exploit. While the exact mechanical inputs have varied across different game updates, the core execution follows a general four-step rhythm:

1. Positioning: Stand directly against the locked door, targeting a tight corner or the exact seam where the door meets the wall frame.

2. Alignment: Look down slightly with nothing equipped in your hands, or align the deployable preview directly with the door seals. Some players switch shoulder views to tightly wedge their character model into the frame.

3. The Push: Maintain constant movement inputs. Walk or sprint forward into the door seam while deploying the barricade right behind or underneath your character model.

4. Clipping: The expanding collision box of the barricade pinches the player's character, sliding them through the weak door geometry.

Reviewing community guides highlights just how sensitive this trick is. Successful players note that positioning errors of just a few pixels or failing to continuously sprint forward will simply trap your character in place or push you backward rather than through the barrier.

Patch Status and Developer Fixes

Embark Studios has been playing a persistent game of "Whack-A-Mole" with these physics issues. The developers have released multiple updates (including Patch 1.4.0) specifically aiming to fix deployables pushing players through walls.

While the developers initially made it impossible to place barricades near certain high-value doors, players frequently find new workarounds or specific misaligned "rusty" frames where the physics still break. For instance, in deep farming areas like Stella Montis, players often test every square inch of a secure facility's perimeter looking for a weak visual seam. Many players turn to third-party marketplaces like U4N to bypass the grinding loop entirely. On platforms like these, players look to buy arc raiders blueprints online for high-tier gear and meta items like the Trigger Nade or Vitachot, minimizing the need to risk an exploit in the first place.

Attempting this glitch comes with a massive mechanical drawback: the softlock risk. Many players report that while they can successfully glitch into locked rooms (like the Town Hall), they cannot glitch back out because the interior geometry prevents the reverse push. If you don't have a legitimate key to open the door from the inside, or a second backup barricade kit to attempt a reverse clip, you will be permanently trapped. In these scenarios, you are forced to look for alternative exits like open top-floor windows or completely abandon the match, suffering a lost run and dropping 100% of your gathered loot.

Terms of Service Warning

From a community health standpoint, using the barricade kit glitch to access high-tier loot rooms early is a bannable offense. It explicitly violates the Arc Raiders Terms of Service regarding exploiting bugs for an unfair gameplay advantage.

Embark Studios monitors telemetry data, particularly when high-value containers are looted without a corresponding key card activation event in the match log. Players risk permanent account restriction if caught utilizing this exploit, especially if reported via stream clips or community reports. While breaking through a door with a cheap piece of defensive cover might seem like a clever trick, the data trails left behind make it an incredibly risky gamble for your account's longevity.