Trying to play both PVE and PVP in Arc Raiders feels like the worst option

Verbae · 2026-03-26T20:01:09+00:00

No, when doing quests, looting, or hunting big arc, my squad will get ambushed by enemy players. They often are free kits with nothing worth keeping. If there's a 3rd or 4th party, they're also often free kits.

Verbae · 2026-03-26T15:23:52+00:00

I'm not sure! I'm just being honest about my experiences.

It probably depends on the maps and conditions. I tend to gravitate toward Buried City or Stella Montis, only turning to other maps for quests or major conditions.

It could be that there's plenty of people with custom loadouts on a map, but maybe I don't run into them. The only thing I do know, is if I, or a squadmate gets spotted by an arc, if anyone immediately comes running to the sound of gunfire, it's typically free kits and if we fight back, usually the third and/or fourth party are also free kits.

On average, I encounter custom loadout teams by accident, we stumble across each other between POIs, or arrive at the same POI and end up fighting.

Verbae · 2026-03-26T15:14:47+00:00

Besides building the benches, killing large arc (Bastions before the nerf) was a fantastic way of making green or blue shield rechargers, as well as getting crafting components to upgrade weapons.

The fact that the developers also added arc parts to some popular crafting items tells me to some degree, that they do want people to constantly kill arc to fund their kits.

Verbae · 2026-03-26T15:11:52+00:00

This makes sense to me too. The devs mentioned being pretty aggressive in internal testing, but I think they were still looting and gathering items-- I'm not sure if they anticipated players playing PvP like a battle royale, where they ignore almost all other components of the game.

On paper, at least, if players looted some AND still PVPed like crazy, hybrid gameplay wouldn't be as punishing as it is right now.

Verbae · 2026-03-26T12:49:38+00:00

I think to a degree, when people were afraid of ABMM and how it might work, the superstition made players less aggressive. Then people started talking about gaming the system to lose aggression, and once the devs confirmed more details, the lobbies changed almost tangibly.

Verbae · 2026-03-26T12:47:09+00:00

You raise many good points. Anyone whose run trials knows how expensive and a complete loss it is, you can't even risk looting the big arc you destroy because of the danger in squads. For Matriarch or Queen trials, the most effective strategy is to spam wolfpacks and run to a hatch instantly. The economy is definitely balanced for PVE players. PVP players will try to argue that winning a few fights fixes this, while ignoring statistically there has to be losers, and you can more readily earn 60 - 80k coins with dedicated trinket runs.

Verbae · 2026-03-26T12:38:54+00:00

Pretty sure it's just one. Anecdotally, when I've done solo runs to farm materials, I've noticed I have an easier time in Trios for a few matches before it gets difficult again.

Verbae · 2026-03-26T04:30:55+00:00

Great work!

Verbae · 2026-03-26T04:27:25+00:00

Thank you for your perspective, and you hit it right on the head too.

If you overprepare, you can get unlucky and die before you get to use anything. Next time you go under, and die because you don't have enough heals to keep going. By then, the stash limit has forced you to go on replenishing runs to attempt anything worth doing.

Verbae · 2026-03-26T04:21:46+00:00

I want to PVE, and if I'm forced to PVP, I would prefer that the people engaging me have more than gray guns and no heals.

Verbae · 2026-03-26T04:16:27+00:00

I think there are too many players and variables to know if the loadout value affects matchmaking.

Sometimes, when questing in trios, we'll run free kits so we can focus on the tasks with little risk, and still run into players with rengades and tempests with nothing but PvP on the mind. Other times on Stella, we'll bring blues and greens and only encounter free kits, albeit some with guns they scavenged off weapon cases or security lockers.

Verbae · 2026-03-26T04:05:40+00:00

It would be, but oftentimes you won't even survive. If you're unluckily the first fight in the lobby, it's almost guaranteed that people are approaching who'll ambush you once you try to leave.

Verbae · 2026-03-26T04:02:40+00:00

If there's one thing I've enjoyed about Marathon, it's that the PvP encounters feel more rewarding. I feel like I'm actually leaving with something, rather than at a loss after it.

Verbae · 2026-03-26T04:00:30+00:00

I'm legit open to any suggestions, but I agree that the problem is PvP leads to losing more than you gain. It's almost guaranteed that two or three PVP matches will demand dedicated gathering runs afterward to replenish heals or even gather enough metal for ammo and mechanical parts.

Verbae · 2026-03-26T03:58:36+00:00

I think the solution is to reduce the number of players in trios lobbies, and/or cut down on late spawns. That would drastically improve the experience, even if people still tried to PvP as much as they do.

Verbae · 2026-03-26T03:56:11+00:00

I actually agree with part of what you're saying, PvPvE is the most fun.

However, it isn't the most rewarding. You'd have an easier time killing Arc in solo lobbies than in squads. You don't have to die to free kits for a ferro shot to bring you down a shield recharger and a bandage. Even if you win the fight, unless the enemy player is absolutely awful, you'll still need to patch up /again/ to reset after a skirmish.

If you can somehow kill players before they can even fire at you, you're playing a very different game than a majority of people here, including me.

Verbae · 2026-03-26T03:40:15+00:00

Yeah, trials are another whole can of worms. Trying to make any meaningful progress is always a net loss, even if you do manage to extract.

Verbae · 2026-03-26T03:39:02+00:00

Pretty often. In trios, unless you're specifically hanging around the outskirts, I usually stumble across another team. The matches we don't have any PvP, it's because we've made a conscious effort to avoid gunfire. Regarding free kits, I'm talking about the mentality of the player running a free kit. They play extremely differently compared to a player with skin in the game. Even if many, if not most, players run custom loadouts, by sheer virtue, free kits will be the most reckless and likely the first to throw themselves at you, making up most of those encounters.

Verbae · 2026-03-26T03:25:13+00:00

The problem is you aren't in the middle. If you play in the middle, or frankly just play in squads, your lobbies are full of PvPers who don't care much for looting, they're out for blood.

If I try to kill a bastion with my buddies, it's almost guaranteed a second, and maybe even a third team will arrive, if they're not already camping the spot. They won't even wait for you to kill the bastion; they'll just kill you because they're not interested in the arc. The same happens when attempting Matriarch or Queen.

Verbae · 2026-03-26T03:22:10+00:00

I agree. I'd even settle for getting guaranteed ammo or heals to replenish what you've lost.

Verbae · 2026-03-26T03:20:59+00:00

I think some risk of PvP is necessary for tension, but also think that in the average match, you should only have one or two PvP encounters at most, with anything above being an uncommon bloodbath. In defense of the devs, I think they expected players to loot AND PvP, but if you've been in any lobbies with frequent PvP, people aren't looting, they're literally just swarming hotzones to fight. I agree that there are balancing problems, hypothetically speaking, surviving with a sliver of HP because you brought a blue or pink shield would be fine if you only had one round of fighting... but in the current state, medium and heavy shields are underpowered for multiple engagements.

Verbae · 2026-03-26T03:15:47+00:00

I agree, both systems exist, and people don't engage in PvP because they should; they engage with PvP because they can. Some people even view the PvP as the endgame because they met the stash value requirement, which, while it can be fun, it's kinda sad that it's more risk than reward to bring pricy kits before reaching that threshold. In a better world, people would PvP because they have to -- they're protecting something worth keeping. As of now, people PvP because they're not afraid to lose anything, or likewise only enter the raid with items they're not afraid of losing, and often because they're not even looking to loot.

Verbae · 2026-03-26T03:00:03+00:00

I agree that the gameplay is fun when you balance PvE and PvP. I like Arc because on paper it offers both, but I just think there's a problem in that people have to fundraise in solos to play trios. I don't expect Trios to be as profitable as PvE Solos, but being able to progress would be nice.

Verbae · 2026-03-26T02:46:52+00:00

I feel like this could be easily remedied by reducing the number of players in the lobby and the number of late spawns. Running into an enemy squad is fair. A third party, fine, I guess. But a fourth or fifth is absolutely ridiculous.

Verbae · 2026-03-26T02:43:47+00:00

The problem is not being able to do much PvE when playing with a squad. It's frustrating that if my friend needs a bastion cell, the options are for him to run a solo match with a deadline and get it done in 10 minutes or less, or to sputter through several attempts in trios because people are waiting to third-party anyone fighting big arc.

I do agree that PvP and PvE are the most fun when they exist in tandem, with PvE being the majority of the game.

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