ARC Raiders Lacks Meaningful Reasons to Avoid PvP, But There Are Ways to Fix It

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What truly sets ARC Raiders apart isn’t just its exciting gameplay or the clever enemy AI – it’s the amazing community of players. They’re the reason this extraction shooter really shines.

ARC Raiders features a diverse range of players. Some are aggressive and focus on eliminating others, while some are peaceful and simply gather loot. You’ll also find players who actively help their teammates. Because of this variety, every match offers a unique and unpredictable experience – you never know who you’ll encounter.

The game lets you create the kind of Raider you want, but it encourages attacking other players. You’ll find more rewards – like valuable loot and experience points – by killing or harming others.

Players who choose to avoid combat and focus on peaceful gameplay aren’t currently rewarded in any meaningful way, beyond perhaps feeling good about their choices. This feels unfair, and Embark Studios should consider adding rewards for this playstyle, so that both peaceful and competitive players feel valued.

Luckily, the issues can be addressed without fundamentally changing how the game plays. Although Embark Studios probably won’t add features that help players cooperate, given the game is designed around player-versus-player and player-versus-environment combat, it’s still enjoyable to consider possibilities and stay optimistic. Currently, ARC Raiders doesn’t offer much incentive to avoid fighting other players, but improvements are definitely possible.

Give Extra XP for Working Together

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

Players gain experience points (XP) by damaging and defeating other players. Currently, though, you don’t earn any XP for teaming up with players on the opposing team.

This core mechanic encourages players to eliminate each other, leading to instant fights and frequent backstabbing. It’s especially frustrating when someone pretends to be an ally, only to attack you unexpectedly. While it’s annoying, it makes sense – they get a reward by taking your items and gaining experience.

Players who choose to avoid all player-versus-player combat won’t receive any in-game rewards, though they might feel good about playing peacefully.

To encourage more cooperation, Embark Studios could add an experience point bonus for helping other players. While it might seem complicated, it’s actually fairly easy to implement. The game could detect when players assist others – like visiting the same locations, attacking the same enemy structures, providing healing or revives, or traveling across the map with players who aren’t on their team – and then reward them with bonus experience after the match. This would give players a good reason to choose cooperation over player-versus-player combat. This isn’t about removing PvP or saying it’s a bad feature; it’s simply about fairly rewarding players who choose to help each other.

Let’s Call a Truce

We’re In This Together

While adding extra experience rewards is fairly simple, a ‘Truce’ system could be a more complex but valuable addition to ARC Raiders. Many players immediately attack others because trust is low – the game is full of players who betray, deceive, and only look out for themselves. A Truce system could make choosing to avoid player-versus-player combat a more appealing option.

It’s really frustrating to get ambushed by players who hide and wait to kill you just to steal your loot – it completely ruins the experience. A truce system could potentially discourage this behavior, or at least make it happen less often.

Here’s how I think a Truce system could work: Players could request a truce from each other, either by talking or using in-game gestures. If the other player agrees – perhaps by pressing a button that appears when they get close – they’d become temporary teammates. This would prevent either player from being able to harm the other, similar to how you can’t hurt your own teammates in squad mode.

This change would not only prevent players from turning against each other, but also create a more secure environment when working with random teammates to defeat challenging enemies like the Queen and the Matriarch. It could also complement the teamwork experience bonus – accepting a truce could grant even more XP.

Let Me See the Goods

Good Deal

To encourage players to avoid fighting each other, we could add a simple trading system, potentially linked to the Truce mechanic. In ARC Raiders, getting good loot is a key part of the game, but sometimes you’ll have a bad round and won’t find anything useful. What you don’t need, though, could be exactly what another player is looking for – like a powerful weapon or a blueprint. Letting players trade items would reward cooperative behavior, making it beneficial to be friendly instead of immediately attacking others.

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I get why you’d be worried about trading – I was thinking the same thing! What’s to stop someone from taking your stuff and then immediately attacking you? But what if trading was only allowed when players had already made a truce? That way, you couldn’t hurt each other, making it safe. Sure, you can just drop items for people, but honestly, a lot of players will pretend to be friendly and then stab you in the back right away.

It would be fantastic to bring all these systems together! They’d give players who prefer player-versus-environment (PvE) content extra experience, help them find new allies through a truce system (for tackling tough challenges or protecting against aggressive players), and allow them to trade for items they’ve been searching for. Shouldn’t players be rewarded for focusing on PvE? I believe it would improve the game by appealing to all types of players.

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2026-01-24 17:10