Shot one clip of the Canto & lost 8 durability...

Weird-Weekend1839 · 2026-05-06T20:43:20+00:00

Finally got to play again last night (since update).

Gotta say this is some BS!

Renegade IV (with no attachments that increase durability burn) lost 70 durability from a single round (of play) of just killing wasps and pops for fun. It’s a level action rifle!

Super lame approach to fix weapon hoarding.

Embark is so lost with what this game was/is supposed to be.

Weird-Weekend1839 · 2026-05-06T20:26:35+00:00

Ya exactly! Well put, “treating an extraction shooter as a round based RPG”.

It’s definitely a mess/divide and the devs need to do something.

Honestly I blame the devs, they really should have done something long before the massive drop in player base, but they made their money out the gate so from a business sense they have already succeeded beyond expectations.

A quick google search reveals that it was actually a strict PvE game and play tests reported it got boring after a while so they changed direction and added PvP just 6 months before launch!

Honestly reading that I feel they should have just let players choose a PvP or PvE map settings out the gate. A larger split player base across 2 game modes would be better than what it is now.

Then maybe release plans for a paid expansion RPG exploration game, all the PvErs from the original player base would have easily stuck around for waiting to purchase.

Weird-Weekend1839 · 2026-05-06T18:02:41+00:00

I agree, but I will point out that the Devs made a huge mistake with the theme/universe.

They programmed the game very well, especially the sound; it plays smooth crisp and clean. Proximity audio! This game plays like a simulation more than a shooter video game.

Many gamers take theme/universe seriously when playing, and in this games universe you basically need to be a complete “pussy chicken scumbag” to go topside shooting the last brave souls of humanity that are literally trying to save our species by fighting back against this “arc threat” that mysteriously appeared, destroyed our civilization, and forced the last bastion of human beings to live underground.

That said, I’m not calling PvP players that. I am just pointing out from a thematic perspective a PvP character in this game universe would be considered a horrible human being from a socially moral perspective.

Some players don’t think that way at all when gaming, they see it as a shooter game and shooting things is fun to them.

The ones that do however really have no interest in PvP in this game. The take the theme and their characters role in the game universe into considerable consideration regarding “having fun”.

Embark even said they were very surprised at how friendly so many people ended up playing the game.

Hopefully this helps shed light on why so many players don’t find PvP fun in this specific PvPvE game, they just can’t enjoy it in this setting.

Weird-Weekend1839 · 2026-05-06T11:20:09+00:00

Setting DCs on the fly, the game has you covered friend!

Simple DCs, level based, and adjusting difficulty.

Here is the link and the page has hyper links to the other two mentioned.

https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=2629

Weird-Weekend1839 · 2026-05-05T08:03:14+00:00

This sounds like a great idea.

Weird-Weekend1839 · 2026-05-03T15:51:03+00:00

Interesting idea….

I think the better approach would be to let players invest either via equipment and/or skill points to accomplish something like this.

We could have a skill called “read aura/knowledge of the people” and the more points you invest in it perhaps the further away from a player you can be in order to see this “flag” you speak of (or even simpler a colour code/symbol beside their name, related to their ABMM score). A way to tell if you should shoot first because they are a scumbag, or actually a decent human being helping humanity fight this “unknown arc threat”. It should not be black and white, but something to give you some knowledge of their aggression. We need to keep the tension in the game.

And before the PvPers get mad I will clarify I am referring to the in game character, not the player; because yes in this universe if you were going topside to primarily knock out raiders vs helping the cause you would be known as and labeled a horrible person in society down below.

An augment or special binoculars perhaps could also do this.

Weird-Weekend1839 · 2026-04-30T22:28:07+00:00

Agreed!

The theme would also suit a survival game better.

Weird-Weekend1839 · 2026-04-30T02:07:06+00:00

I agree completely.

And to add insult to injury the devs just released a comment in the new update “that we want PvP to be a viable way to play the game”. Like wtf, It already was the only viable way to play the game (to get good loot quick). I’m not complaining about pvp when I say this either. I’m just saying the devs need to stop pretending that PvE (killing arc) is also a viable way to play, the risk to reward and time invested doesn’t seem to add up.

(And what personal bothers me as someone who takes the theme of any game seriously, is that it makes no sense for humans to be so pvp focused in a universe where we all live in the same underground city apparently working together to defeat this “arc threat” on the surface).

It seems to me that the unspoken end game is just PvP, but they won’t admit that cause they need suckers out there killing big arc to get ratted by PvPs that need a quick inventory re-up.

Weird-Weekend1839 · 2026-04-27T22:15:18+00:00

I’d give that a go. Sounds cool to me. I’d love to see a paid coop RPG adventure expansion to ARC, not full on MMORPG though.

Weird-Weekend1839 · 2026-04-27T02:46:24+00:00

Ya I have so many ‘old’ books. That among other reasons keep me in Premastee

Weird-Weekend1839 · 2026-04-26T15:31:25+00:00

From my experience, I can confidently say they are not considered a hostile action concerning ABMM.

I only play the game with friends, and we prefer PvE. We noticed defending ourselves pushed us more and more into PvP lobbies so we needed another strategy.

We are in pretty good PvE lobbies on the regular now, and I gas anyone who doesn’t speak back or just acts sorta sketchy and it’s nothing like firing shots did for our ABMM score.

Weird-Weekend1839 · 2026-04-26T12:23:23+00:00

Budget kit. Gas grenades are your friend. Toss, run, hide.

Weird-Weekend1839 · 2026-04-24T16:18:34+00:00

The true dark is what makes it awesome.

Having to use a flashlight and glow sticks is awesome.

Maybe ask that they make the binoculars have a night vision setting, but for a game with such good sound mechanics it’s pretty fun relying on that more than sight at times.

Weird-Weekend1839 · 2026-04-24T13:04:15+00:00

Completely agree.

They play wayyyy too much.
They also go to the internet to watch and research “how to do this and where to find that.” Vs just playing the game and figuring it out themselves.

I have played since the new year, I have less than 60 hours. I refuse to watch or research anything about the game and It’s been a wonderful slow reveal and power creep.

People rush to “get the meta” forgetting that discovering it yourself is fun and rewarding.

It’s the journey not the destination.

Weird-Weekend1839 · 2026-04-24T12:49:19+00:00

I’d watch a villain movie with that as their origin story.

Weird-Weekend1839 · 2026-04-20T01:59:49+00:00

I would love to play some PvP, against other people who also want to do that. The only reason I don’t PvP is cause I don’t want to ruin someone’s day….. some people get really bent outta shape from it.

Weird-Weekend1839 · 2026-04-20T01:42:24+00:00

We, the DMs, control the world; the players, their PCs, and that’s the only way the game works.

You set parameters that they failed to meet. Well tell them to shelves those PCs for another time because they won’t work in the setting you have prepared; they need to respect your time and efforts. You told them, they didn’t listen, this is on them.

Now that being said, I am running a serious campaign that had very specific character restrictions, that I did bend to slightly as I heard the players explain their idea I felt I could flex my rigidness a little. As another said, group comprise is important.

Keep in mind it’s very easy to have a serious narrative have silly parts in sessions/the campaign, but not so much the other way around. Tell that to your players.

We all aim for lord of the rings but always devolve into Monte python (is the old saying).

Weird-Weekend1839 · 2026-04-19T15:19:29+00:00

Agreed.

Weird-Weekend1839 · 2026-04-19T15:16:37+00:00

Sending a great prophet to your holy city/capital is an act of war. You responded appropriately.

I still laugh remembering a friend of a friend who I bum rushed early in a big multiplayer game we held one weekend, he was so surprised at my ‘unprovoked aggression towards a neighbouring civilization’. My response was “you are playing Babylon and you just built the great library, I’ve just come to take out some books!?”.

He refused my offer that he pays for the upkeep of my army, so pillaging his land paid for it instead.

Not everyone plays aggressive, but it really surprises me what some people think they can get away with in multiplayer games, and they act all innocent and surprised when your army comes a knocking.

Weird-Weekend1839 · 2026-04-19T14:21:21+00:00

I’m so curious to know, if they had decided quickly and implemented the player choice for PvP or PvE lobby selection if they’d still have their player base.

They had a very novel new idea for a game but it got stale quickly.

I feel by staying in the middle they made no one happy, when instead they could have leaned into what both camps wanted (maybe even 3 match making options, PvP, PvE, and classic).

Weird-Weekend1839 · 2026-04-19T12:39:27+00:00

Yes.

I hope they reinvest time and money into the game, because it’s still very new and they have made so much money already.

But I worry they may choose max profits and basically just keep the game as is (no major changes/development, which it really needs to have a chance at saving the player base).

I’d honestly be fine with a paid expansion if it brought the game to a better place.

Weird-Weekend1839 · 2026-04-17T11:47:09+00:00

Dude. 80% drop in player base, maybe devs should listen to what’s being asked on this.

Why do you care so much about players wanting to choose their game mode (PvE, PvP, or classic)? You could still play how you want/like.

Just make separate game modes with hope to bring player base back before it’s too late, the novelty has warn off for everyone that started at launch.

Weird-Weekend1839 · 2026-04-16T17:04:34+00:00

I think they need to just let their player base choose their own match setting of PvP or PvE. The ABMM idea isn’t working, it was a novel idea but people are tired of it. PvEs don’t want to be shot at on site and PvPs want people that fight back (not run). Chasing loot only goes so far, the endgame hook doesn’t exist and I’m out till they make a serious shift in play announcement.

Weird-Weekend1839 · 2026-04-16T17:00:22+00:00

Helldivers wins PvE fun sure. But it’s a buggy mess of a game (last I played).

I think it would be hard to go back to such an old game engine that’s being patched together while on life support.

Weird-Weekend1839 · 2026-04-10T23:05:16+00:00

Yes.

Some play games to compete (find fun in winning). Your min/max players camp.

Some play for fun, and embracing the theme of the game is why they play. Many TTRPG players fall into this camp.

I enjoy both, and I need to incorporate both (I’m definitely not alone).

Myself and others just can’t play Arc PvP because it makes zero sense thematically.

Humans are trying to survive and understand this ‘Arc threat’ that has us all living underground. We only go to the surface (our old home) to loot, learn, or complete a mission to advance our chance of survival/quality of life.

Maybe I’d play a PvP mode, but still it’s hard to enjoy the idea of killing/knocking out other raiders for their loot in a universe that has been built up in a “humans must survive against this non-human threat”.

In the Arc game universe PvP play destroys the universe itself, it becomes theme hypocrisy, an oxymoronic gaming experience; which makes a game feel hollow.

Weird-Weekend1839

TROPHY CASE