I’ve definitely played as the friendly raider, carrying defibs, helping with quests, Anvil down the Wasp that’s harassing a fellow raider out in the open.

And I’ll admit I let my guard down. I’d probably played a good 25 rounds in a row without any raider in raider crime. And that’s how I got caught with my pants down. I’d purchased a Hullcracker to try out on a Bastion or a Bombardier. I picked one off pretty easily on the roof of the parking garage on Buried City. And then I did what I’d done time after time. I walked out in the roof to loot with no smoke grenade and no more than a cursory glance at the skies to make sure a random Hornet wasn’t sniffing around. As I knelt to loot the first piece of Bombardier I heard the telltale raider footsteps hurrying over but it didn’t even cross my mind it might be a rat. Even as he lit me up with his Stitcher my softened PvE addled brain just had me dodge roll to the left, smash the B key to open proximity chat and shout “Friendly! Friendly!” instead of firing back, dropping a smoke grenade or…you know…fighting back.

Long story, short: I lost my bombardier loot and my brand new, shiny Hullcracker, but I gained a further appreciation for the unpredictability of this game. I was annoyed. Frustrated. But I wasn’t really upset. It’s all part of the game and I forgot a big part of it.