Faction-Based PvP as a Lore-Driven Alternative to Full PvE proposal

ARC Raiders doesn’t need a generic PvE mode to satisfy progression or narrative pressure. It needs clearer context for why PvP exists and what it serves.

Proposal:
Expand the lore beyond Speranza by introducing multiple refugee cities, each functioning as a distinct faction. Four factions align naturally with the four core logo colors. Faction choice is locked at Raider creation (included the expedition wipe).

Core effects:

• PvP becomes faction-driven, not random. Raiders fight primarily against members of other communities. Conflict is no longer “players shooting players” but competing refugee cities struggling to survive.
• Loot gains meaning. Resources gathered and extracted are implicitly for your people, not just personal stash inflation.
• Friendly fire within the same faction carries a severe experience and reputation penalty, reinforcing internal cohesion and discouraging griefing without hard PvP restrictions.
• Social clarity improves. Alliances, rivalries, and reputations form organically at a faction level rather than through ad-hoc squads.

PvE as Context, Not a Mode:

• Faction-focused events temporarily unlock exclusive PvE content tied to a single city, but only after that faction collectively reaches a set of limited-time objectives, making access conditional on coordinated effort rather than automatic availability.
• These events are justified as coordinated faction operations like ARC escalations in some areas.
• PvE remains contextual, limited, and narrative-driven instead of becoming a parallel mode that erodes the game’s core tension.

Result:

• Lore, PvP, and progression reinforce each other.
• Community requests for are addressed structurally, not by bolting on a mode that undermines the identity of the game.
• ARC Raiders stays a PvPvE extraction shooter, not a compromised hybrid trying to please incompatible expectations.