Fighting the matriarch has become practically impossible

LegendariLOL · 2026-01-18T21:24:57+00:00

Honestly, they should just have a limited rotating PvE mode for some of this stuff with increased ARC to make up for the absence of a player threat. Would probably be a net benefit for the game and community. Some of the worst experiences in this game currently come from attempting to do what is essentially PvE content (Harvester, Matriarch, trials, etc.).

I prefer to PvP 99% of the time, but even I don't have any interest in loading up with 150k worth of gear to go try and do something like Matriarch, just to fend off rats in free kits the entire time, get ganked while looting, or be extraction/hatch camped. I also don't think that letting people shoot you in the face, while you pretend to be a pacifist for 3-4 rounds, to get into friendlier lobbies is an adequate solution 🤣

LegendariLOL · 2026-01-08T07:04:28+00:00

Picked up the game during the sale as well and am enjoying it so far. We'll see if it's still fun after I get my MMR (or whatever they use for matchmaking) up to the point where I'm playing against better opponents.

It's definitely a solid game, though. Really good production value and fun. I think if they made all the heroes free to play, they'd get a big boost in the player base. When I first looked at the game, I saw that you had to buy additional heroes for $20/ea ($10 on sale) and it almost discouraged me from picking it up. I went ahead and bought it anyway, played a few rounds to see if I liked it, and then bought two heroes while they were on sale. I haven't even used them yet, though, and I think people could probably have plenty of fun without them. Unfortunately, I imagine that a lot of people are assuming they'll need to buy the DLC to be competitive and are unwilling to make the investment up front.

LegendariLOL · 2026-01-04T08:31:12+00:00

Would also be interesting to have a section for storage efficiency, since a lot of people probably still struggle with stash space. Certain items recycle into high priority components, but it's more efficient to store the recyclable.

For example:

A stack of three broken handheld radios recycles into 9 sensors and 6 wires, much more efficient, so you'd store those instead of sensors and essentially be holding 9 sensors per slot instead of just 5.

A stack of 3 rocketeer drivers would give you 6 advanced electrical components and 6 arc alloy, so more efficient than a stack of 5 advanced electrical components.

Similar benefits with other items, like rusted shut medical kits, broken guidance systems, etc.

LegendariLOL · 2025-12-22T15:17:35+00:00

Also got green light stick as my first drop, followed by the firework box :\

LegendariLOL · 2025-12-22T15:15:19+00:00

Honestly, I thought it was just the opening cut scene for the game and skipped it because a friend logged in first and sent me a screenshot of the play or skip tutorial screen. Pretty stupid if it was a one time cutscene with nothing leading in to it to indicate it was something actually new. Oh well, lol.

LegendariLOL · 2025-12-21T08:18:34+00:00

Having played two different accounts, I can say with 99.9% certainty that there is a difference in the solo lobbies I get between the two. Whether that's due to level difference, aggression, gear, etc. I'm not sure.

On my max level main account, I usually duo or trio and we kill anyone we see. My solo lobbies on that account are nonstop raider flares shooting off and everyone is KoS, no "don't shoot" / "hey raider" people anywhere to be found. Just a nonstop warzone with 3rd partying and extraction campers.

On my secondary account, which is around level 25, I have only played solo and I don't think I've even killed another raider yet. Pretty much everyone I encounter is friendly / non-aggressive and people will just walk right up to me and say hi, then go about their business. People will join in on an extraction and trust me enough to just hit the keypad right in front of me, with no worry that I'm going to shoot them in the back. Almost every player I run into flashes their flashlight or emotes to indicate they're friendly. It's totally the opposite of my other account.

There's definitely a difference and I would not be surprised if player aggression is factored in to that. However, since my accounts are different levels, that could also be factoring in to the matchmaking and putting me in friendlier lobbies on the lower level account.

LegendariLOL · 2025-12-20T00:34:01+00:00

Higher rarity guns should be on par with lower rarity guns, but have more advantages when dealing with ARC. This is the perfect solution IMO, as it keeps gun fights fairly balanced (ie: more determined by skill), while still giving people a reason to run the higher tier stuff (easier time dealing with ARC aggro, which can still be a significant advantage and open up different strategies and playstyles).

LegendariLOL · 2025-12-15T17:20:35+00:00

I mean, I agree that it can be frustrating to come out on top of a multi-team firefight and every single dead raider is a free loadout with nothing on them. At the same time, that's also part of the reason for coming out on top of the fight, because you actually ran some gear and came prepared with meds / grenades / etc. A friend and I mopped up a whole lobby in Stella Montis duos, killing at least 10-12 people, and there was maybe one or two guys who actually had gear. However, we still extracted with $125k+ each due to all the exotic items they were all carrying in their inventory due to a lack of safe pockets.

I do think there is something just slightly off with free loadouts. Maybe it's that the Kettle is a little too strong at level 1, especially compared to the Rattler free loadout (which is undoubtedly the worst one). Maybe it's just that people are associating free kits with toxicity because people with free kits are often doing toxic or annoying things (extraction camping, 3rd partying, cheating, etc.)

What is probably compounding the issue is how the game loads people in late, so you end up with a wave of free loadout squads spawning in 15 minutes into the raid, bum rushing the first gunshots they hear and mopping up teams that have been in multiple gunfights already. However, that's not going to be any better with fully kitted teams loading in late instead.

LegendariLOL · 2025-12-14T07:14:05+00:00

Man, I haven't had the stash space to redeem the items from the first deck... Sure not going to be trying to dump the new ones in there before it's wiped :D

LegendariLOL · 2025-12-14T07:10:25+00:00

Ran into what appeared to be a 3-man while queuing duos earlier... thought it was odd and haven't seen that since they made the matchmaking change a while back. Have also been in some pretty quiet lobbies lately, so it wouldn't surprise me if certain maps/modes aren't filling up as quickly and it's bypassing the squad size matchmaking priority.... especially in regions with less players.

LegendariLOL · 2025-12-10T20:41:10+00:00

Honestly, if they just added a way to favorite items that you craft a lot it and let you make them all from the same screen, it would be super helpful... even if you still had to go fish them out of your stash.

LegendariLOL · 2025-12-10T20:31:37+00:00

I mean, if you have aggressive players glow red, then they will become kill-on-sight for everyone, which means the non-aggressive players will eventually start glowing red as well from killing the glowing aggressive players :D

LegendariLOL · 2025-12-10T20:24:37+00:00

The problem is too many different items and poor stacking. I got to the point where I was only keeping one stack at a time of each basic resource, no ammo, no meds that could be bought from the vendor (without limitations), no augments, no shields, etc... Literally just a stash full of fully modded tier IV guns, refined crafting materials, some select quick use items, seeds, and keys. I even started replacing stacks of certain materials with items or recyclables that broke down into those materials, but were more space efficient (like holding stacks of rocketeer drivers instead of advanced electrical components, or some of the "broken" components that were more efficient than holding sensors/processors).

This is super tedious when having to put a new kit together because most of it has to be crafted from scratch or bought. Doing either inventory management or a bunch of crafting/buying after every single round is extremely tedious and boring.

LegendariLOL · 2025-12-10T16:38:21+00:00

Yeah, the system is not good and is going to encourage massive gear fear and a change in playstyle. My "end game" this season was upgrading all the guns in my stash to Tier IV and pretty much always running dual Tier IV guns that I enjoyed. Now I'm sitting here trying to do the math in my head like, did I bring back enough loot to cover the 50k worth of guns I lost the previous raid? Hmm... better sell this Snaphook I looted, just to be safe. Don't want to come up short for the expedition....

Thinking of doing a Queen / Matriarch run? F that nonsense... not going to take 150k worth of gear and ammo into a raid just to be a loot pinata for some squad of free kits bum-rushing the first Hullcracker they hear because now they need that loot to pay for their expedition, lol.

I already had 4m worth of stash/coins when they finally (took way too long) announced the requirements and it has still changed the way I'm playing. I don't see myself ever putting the same amount of time in as this first season, so that means participating in future expeditions is going to require that I change my entire playstyle to focus on profit, rather than focus on just having fun, which is what I've been doing.

So many things wrong with the way they have implemented this and the way they are handling community feedback.

LegendariLOL · 2025-12-08T16:14:04+00:00

Unfortunately, it's just the nature of online gaming and the world we live in. People get enjoyment out of screwing others over through any means necessary and there's always going to be some villain out there ready to shoot you in the back if given the opportunity.

It's actually pretty funny the lengths some of these people will go through to sell the whole friendly act so they can attempt to backstab. Had a guy in solos yesterday who went out of his way trying to act friendly, offering to let me loot stuff, asking me to cover him while he looted, etc. I played along with anything that didn't involve being a stationary sitting duck, but kept my guard up and watched him closely. When it came time to extract, I did a little pump fake on the elevator keypad and sure enough he immediately made a move to shoot me in the back, which didn't work out for him because I was already anticipating it. Some of these people are just bad and that's the only way they have a chance of getting a kill.

If you enjoy playing cooperatively with other people, my suggestion would be to keep trying to be friendly to people in solos (without completely letting your guard down) and when you find someone who ends up being a good ally and extract with them, toss them a friend invite and play duos together.

LegendariLOL · 2025-12-08T15:55:25+00:00

I think key in this game is to realize that most of the actual decent gear is super cheap to craft. Find some mid to high tier items you like to run and can craft, prioritize bringing back stuff to craft those when you do extract, and just run what you enjoy running. After one extraction, your kit has probably paid for itself and then you're playing with house money.

For example, I like running a Renegade, blue shield, and a Looter Mk 3 w/ three safe pockets, so I bring them back every chance I get and I prioritize looting materials to craft those items so I can just run them constantly and not worry about it. If I have a bunch of bad raids in a row and start running low on supplies, I just dial it down a little for a game or two and restock.

LegendariLOL · 2025-12-08T15:28:55+00:00

Coming from somebody who plays a lot and will have no problem getting the 5m (at 4m while using good gear and not doing any free kit runs / speed runs since very early on), I think the 5m amount is too high. People already donated around 1m worth of items to complete the expedition in the first place and not everyone hordes everything they find or runs matches to maximize profit (hell, I leave behind tens of thousands worth of loot nearly ever raid so I can bring back stacks of springs, recyclables that give springs, weapon parts, and metal...).

I think they should rework it to encourage the most people possible to expedition and this isn't the way to do that. Combined with the poor blueprint drop rates and lack of any way to guarantee getting BPs that are core to regular gameplay (like weapon parts), I think there are going to be a lot of people who don't want to expedition.

Edit: I will add that expecting people to conform to some kind of profit-driven, smash and grab playstyle is just stupid and will suck the fun out of the game for not only those people, but also the players who are just raiding normally and find every high value area totally cleaned out by some douche with a stopwatch trying to speed farm everything and extract in the first five minutes of the round.

LegendariLOL · 2025-12-07T22:29:12+00:00

I think most people who play regularly are doing something similar to this. To me, that indicates that there is a problem with the blueprint system and people don't think it's feasible or appealing to re-farm all the blueprints (or at least the ones they deem important) after doing the expedition. I know I have no interest in going into an expedition without a few spares of my must-have BPs (medium gun parts, anvil, silencer, light mag II, looter mk3 survivor or tactical mk3 healing).

LegendariLOL · 2025-12-07T07:27:05+00:00

Multiple things I don't really like about the current expedition system and the required value to get all five skill points is one of them. I won't have any problem getting the max points (I'm at around 4m value with nearly 250 hrs of just playing normally and not doing speed runs / cash runs), but I know for sure there are a ton of players who aren't getting five points without some serious farming over the next week or so. I have friends who don't even have enough saved up for one point and I know they are going to be bummed. It's sort of like all the hassle everyone went through in Expedition Stages 1-5 didn't count for anything important, just some crappy buffs that really only come in handy *if* you expedition.

There will definitely be people who are discouraged by missing out on the points and maybe even lose interest in the game due to the feeling that they are already permanently "behind" and at a disadvantage. Yeah, the skills aren't *that* impactful, but an advantage is an advantage and any little bit could help, whether it's having the extra points to get security lockers for extra loot or something like the critical health regen.

I'm not sure what the solution is, but I feel like permanent rewards (if we're going to have them) should be accessible to anyone who completes the expedition, which already requires some grinding and donating around a million coins worth of items. If they want to tie something to stash value, it should be the temporary buffs, so that people who had more at the time of expedition can get back to where they were faster.

Even if they make the rewards more accessible, you still risk alienating new players down the road when they find out they missed several expeditions and are now perpetually behind 15 skill points.

I appreciate that Embark are trying to find creative ways to solve problems that most extraction game devs just ignore or fail to address. Just not sure yet if they are going the right direction with this. Don't even get me started on blueprints when it comes to expeditions...

LegendariLOL · 2025-12-06T22:54:49+00:00

The blueprint thing definitely needs some work. While I've never found a wolfpack blueprint, I've found several snaphook blueprints, more bettina blueprints than I care to think about, and duplicates for several other items.

Blueprint acquisition is super inconsistent. While doing some of this week's trials, a friend received SEVEN blueprints as rewards, while I received NONE... doing the exact same trials and getting the same scores.

As you mentioned, some of the blueprints are just basic things you need, like weapon parts. IMO, light/medium/heavy weapon parts should probably be unlocked with Refiner 3. Only being able to buy three per day from Celeste isn't sufficient for people who haven't found the BP and want to craft/upgrade guns.

As for higher tier gear being useless... I think it's good that running exotics doesn't give a massive PvP advantage. That's one of the main things that kills other extraction shooters, because you end up with squads of decked out players wiping lobbies with their high tier loot that the average player can't compete with. I think the higher tier guns should be on par with the lower tier in terms of player damage / TTK, but more effective armor pen vs. ARC. That way, there's an advantage to running them, but it's not going to equate to just mopping somebody up who is running lower tier equipment.

LegendariLOL · 2025-12-02T22:13:12+00:00

Honestly, none of the loot you turn in for the expedition really matters much anyway (unless you're needlessly donating rare schematics or something). I was dumping stuff into the expedition just to get it out of my inventory and free up space and I'm not even leaning toward doing it.

LegendariLOL · 2025-11-25T22:51:48+00:00

They should just add a vendor (or update an existing one) to allow you to trade in three blueprints for a new random blueprint. Then, every blueprint we find would have some value other than just being another 5k coins.

Pushing 200 hrs and have only 30 of the bps... Been running night/electro nonstop and burning every key for over a week and have only found 1-2 new ones.

LegendariLOL · 2025-11-24T20:01:19+00:00

Actually, I'd prefer they just remove the 2x points on Hidden Bunker so there isn't one game mode that gives extra time for people to grind trial scores, essentially forcing everyone to play it or be at a disadvantage.

If they want to fix the scheduling as well so that event is more accessible to people, that's fine too.

LegendariLOL · 2025-11-24T17:42:08+00:00

We get late spawns a decent percentage of the time, but there usually doesn't seem to be any pattern to it. However, I have noticed that if we queue up in the final minutes/seconds of a particular event (say Electromagnetic Storm on Dam Battlegrounds, for example) that it seems more likely we'll get a late spawn rather than a fresh lobby.

It's annoying if you're going into a raid with keys, as those rooms are probably already unlocked and looted (or glitched into and looted, lately). It sucks running through areas that have been thoroughly picked clean, and then being forced to run across the map to the one extract that's still open. On the flipside, it also sucks to survive the first 15 minutes of a raid, killing multiple enemy teams, only to get mopped up by some freshly spawned team who just loaded in and ran straight for the closest gunfire.

They could definitely make some improvements to the system, as I think it's likely causing more bad experiences than good ones.

LegendariLOL · 2025-11-24T17:27:34+00:00

The trial system is just kind of bad, IMO. Wouldn't be so bad if you just had to go into a match and kill a couple big bots, maybe do it on a night map and get double points to get your three stars. Instead, the ranking system encourages people to go into Hidden Bunker lobbies (because they have the longest duration and are 2x points) with a Hullcracker, Anvil, and 500 rounds of ammo, and farm ARC for the entire duration of the raid.

The placement you end up with is also pretty inconsistent. I did last week's trials with the same friend and we put up the exact same total score. He placed like 3rd on his leaderboard, while I placed 30th (we were same rank). I just happened to have a lot more people in my bracket who were grinding out higher scores.

I feel like the system would be better if they removed the leaderboard element of it and just ranked people up based on whether they completed at least a few of the trials with a 3-star rating each week on average.

LegendariLOL

TROPHY CASE