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Arc Raiders |OT| Gaming's Next Mario 64 Moment™

It's hilarious watching people panic as they try to squeeze through the last remaining gap in the extract elevator door, while spiderlegs is stomping, only to realize it's hopeless.

"😨 WAIT! 😨"
 
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I'm telling you, before all the kids get home from school are the best times to play.

Basically before 3pm, solo, day raids are the safest and friendliest.
Meanwhile after 3pm, trios, night raids are the most PvP heavy.

Weekends lean on the less friendlier side as well. Granted there's always exceptions. I've had some late night raids with trios where multiple teams were chill in the same building looting.

Yep, playing in the weekday mornings for the US server is very chill and friendly. Its the evenings and weekends which get bloody.
 
Yep, playing in the weekday mornings for the US server is very chill and friendly. Its the evenings and weekends which get bloody.
Just now, two guys stood on a roof shooting at a bombardier with some weak ass handguns, so I thought I'd help them from another roof. As soon as my first bullet hit the bombardier , they immediately turned their guns at me and started shooting :messenger_grinning_smiling:
 
Fuck. I think I'm gonna jump in. The more I see of this game the more I like it.

CrustyBritches CrustyBritches whatcha think?
Let's do it. I'm down for BF6, too!

Make It Rain Money GIF
 
I don't really like PvP... at all. And I'm really enjoying this game. I can tell that the game would be better though if I played regularly with the same folks versus random people or solo.
 
So is this game basically a The Division dark zone type of pvp game only? Pretty much all I've heard is about people killing and stealing each others loot. Does it not have epic bosses that require a team of players to overcome? Am I just getting half the picture here or what?
 
So is this game basically a The Division dark zone type of pvp game only? Pretty much all I've heard is about people killing and stealing each others loot. Does it not have epic bosses that require a team of players to overcome? Am I just getting half the picture here or what?
I'm pretty sure there is. Some machines are huge from what I've seen.
 
Pro tip theres a small room that needs breaching by Marano Station in Buried city that has a blueprint or purple item 80% of the time. North west on the map......
Shhh don't give it away! I've been swinging by there for several days now whenever I go buried city. Sometimes it has a weapon crate as well.
 
Hope you've noticed the meshing of the PvP and PvE crowd in this one.

Pretty sure you said it couldn't be done.
I said people who don't like PvP and are in it for the PvE will eventually bounce off this game due to PvP. That is unless the game implements a PvE only mode.

Here, my exact words:
Game looks like the standard coop game many "SP gamers" tend to enjoy, a la Monster hunter or Helldivers. However, if you really want to know, the PvP element will eventually wear those people off, as PvP always devolve into meta-gaming and few of those types of players are willing to put that much effort into a game.
 
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I have been playing through this since its release, and I am liking it. I can't help but feel that it should have had a horror theme. It makes me think, what a missed opportunity by naughtydog, who could have converted their factions mode to something like this. When you leave your secure area, you are gathering resources for your home base, and you could face the infected (clicker, bloater, etc.). I dunno. Anyway, I am having more fun with this than I thought I would. I do wish we could keep or have one main weapon, that we could improve, etc. Like feel some type of ownership over some of our gear… but you can't have everything lol,

Edit:
I do feel that it might get old… I will only play a few sessions in a given day and switch to something else. But I think, for me, that is okay, for a game like this. I am not sure what else can be done to fix that.
 
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I don't really like PvP... at all. And I'm really enjoying this game. I can tell that the game would be better though if I played regularly with the same folks versus random people or solo.
There a bunch of us in the second post just add us if you need a group. Give me yours if you'd like to be added.

Solo's is excellent though.
Shhh don't give it away! I've been swinging by there for several days now whenever I go buried city. Sometimes it has a weapon crate as well.
Seem's to be getting more popular as I've caught a few of the less vigilant random raiders in that area.
 
I said people who don't like PvP and are in it for the PvE will eventually bounce off this game due to PvP. That is unless the game implements a PvE only mode.
We all eventually bounce off every game. That's not a useful parameter in the discussion of genre growth.

ARC Raiders, and this genre, are growing because it caters to a wider set of players. PvE players are jumping in ($39.99) because they see a space they can access the fantasy. Judging by a lot of reactions at NeoGAF (a PvE stronghold), the design concept is working. I'm seeing names here who have been anti GAAS types buying this title and loving it.

Another thing you may not have considered is that most people actually have weighted, and constantly fluctuating preferences for both PvP and PvE. There are very few gamers who permanently silo themselves into only one type. Gamers are much more complex than the binary some created.

This is why this game is a legit Mario 64 moment. This meshing of PvP and PvE has created a nuclear energy in games. It's subtle, but it's every bit as industry altering.

The Battle Royale genre is in trouble. Watch.
 
I have been playing through this since its release, and I am liking it. I can't help but feel that it should have had a horror theme. It makes me think, what a missed opportunity by naughtydog, who could have converted their factions mode to something like this. When you leave your secure area, you are gathering resources for your home base, and you could face the infected (clicker, bloater, etc.). I dunno. Anyway, I am having more fun with this than I thought I would. I do wish we could keep or have one main weapon, that we could improve, etc. Like feel some type of ownership over some of our gear… but you can't have everything lol,

Edit:
I do feel that it might get old… I will only play a few sessions in a given day and switch to something else. But I think, for me, that is okay, for a game like this. I am not sure what else can be done to fix that.
How much total playtime have you put into the game? Your reaction sounds pretty similar to Jeff Gerstmans...

 
We all eventually bounce off every game. That's not a useful parameter in the discussion of genre growth.
Normally, yeah. But a live service? One with heavy multiplayer elements on top? Those need to retain players, and the players who'll stick around won't the the "SP" ones. At the end of the day it'll be cathering to people who like multiplayer.
 
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Normally, yeah. But a live service? One with heavy multiplayer elements on top? Those need to retain players, and the players who'll stick around won't the the "SP" ones. At the end of the day it'll be cathering to people who like multiplayer.
I can assure you, the rest of the industry is marveling at two things right now...

1. "How did Embark get so many players who prefer PvE to buy ARC Raiders?"

2. "How did Embark get so many PvE players to enjoy ARC Raiders?"

Players with strong PvE preferences will bounce off ARC Raiders quicker than the rest but Embark has made brilliant inroads with these people.

The rest of the industry is taking notes.
 
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I can assure you, the rest of the industry is marveling at two things right now...

1. "How did Embark get so many players who prefer PvE to buy ARC Raiders?"

2. "How did Embark get so many PvE players to enjoy ARC Raiders?"

Players with strong PvE preferences will bounce off ARC Raiders quicker than the rest but Embark has made brilliant inroads with these people.

The rest of the industry is taking notes.
Sorry to break it to you but "the industry" is too busy shooting themselves in the foot.

And for all your talking up this game as some kind of turning point, this wasn't even the biggest release of 2025 - Silksong was even bigger than it; a bonafide, traditional singleplayer game. I guarantee THAT one is causing a lot more head-scratching among corpos than yet another live service shooter game. Not to mention other titles like Monster Hunter Wilds or some Nintendo games which were way more massive than this.
 
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Sorry to break it to you but "the industry" is too busy shooting themselves in the foot.
Embark sure didn't.
And for all your talking up this game as some kind of turning point, this wasn't even the biggest (non-nintendo) release of 2025 - that goes to silksong; a bonafide, traditional singleplayer game. I guarantee THAT one is causing a lot more head-scratching among corpos than yet another live service shooter game.
Silksong sold an estimated 4.5 million copies at $19.99 a pop...with no MTX.

Yeah, pretty sure the whole industry sees ARC Raiders as exponentially larger...and we're just a week into launch.
 
Silksong sold an estimated 4.5 million copies at $19.99 a pop...with no MTX.
You mean an estimated 4.5 million copies 2 weeks after launch, and that was despite being on gamepass day 1. Reached almost 600k CCU on steam alone which is 1.5 times more than ARC raiders currently got.

So yeah, sorry your next-mario-64-moment™ isn't nowhere as impressive as you're trying making it out to be. BTW, i completely forgot Monster Hunter Wilds also released this year. That one was massive, it dwarves either of those two.
 
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Wonder if they'll do something along the lines of raids at some point? Seems like a no brainer.

Potential as to where they take this next is massive.
 
You mean an estimated 4.5 million copies 2 weeks after launch, and that was despite being on gamepass day 1. Reached almost 600k CCU on steam alone which is 1.5 times more than ARC raiders currently got.

So yeah, sorry your next-mario-64-moment™ isn't nowhere as impressive as you're trying making it out to be. BTW, i completely forgot Monster Hunter Wilds also released this year. That one was massive, it dwarves either of those two.
Need to see where this game is in six months and if it has any legs. MHW got off to a flyer but ultimately shat the bed as it wasn't very good.
 
Need to see where this game is in six months and if it has any legs. MHW got off to a flyer but ultimately shat the bed as it wasn't very good.
Pretty much. The biggest issue with retaining players in a extraction game is the whole thing with losing gear. I'm sure many hardcore types of players don't mind, however this can be a big turn off, especially for the crowd that isn't too into the PvP element. Imagine taking some expensive weapon on a run only to be killed by some random try-hard doing bunnyhops no-scopes - or a cheater.
 
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You mean an estimated 4.5 million copies 2 weeks after launch, and that was despite being on gamepass day 1. Reached almost 600k CCU on steam alone which is 1.5 times more than ARC raiders currently got.
Right but it sold for $19.99. ARC Raiders sells for $39.99/$59.99 and has MTX. Retention metrics also seem to show a quick drop, which is expected for a SP game.

ARC Raiders is also still climbing.

Let's put it this way, no AAA publisher in the industry would take the Hollow Knight IP over ARC Raiders. That's silly.
So yeah, sorry your next-mario-64-moment™ isn't nowhere as impressive as you're trying making it out to be. BTW, i completely forgot Monster Hunter Wilds also released this year. That one was massive, it dwarves either of those two.
Monster Hunter Wilds is an established IP that sold well (and has dismal retention). The industry isn't studying Monster Hunter right now. There will be no wave of monster hunting games like there is for Extraction.

No one has called the monster hunting genre the next Mario 64 moment.

This is the future of games.
 
I like how game streamlined the genre, free loadout at anytime really reduces the loot anxiety. Great for doing all BS quests.

However at the same time it means higher tier gear is not worth the effort. You can spend hours of gathering the perfect gear, but then lose it in minutes to person running free loadout.

Higher tier gear "wants to have" Tarkov style insurance mechanic, but that is too complex and calculating for the vibe.

One easy fix could be change in blueprint system, give players option of breaking the weapon and learning the blueprint in the process. This means you don't have to find the gun by accident every time you want to have high tier weapon. Just find it once and then have reliable even if costly way of having it again.
 
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Right but it sold for $19.99. ARC Raiders sells for $39.99/$59.99 and has MTX. Retention metrics also seem to show a quick drop, which is expected for a SP game.
And has way, way more maintenance costs than the 2D single-player metroidvania.

ARC Raiders is also still climbing.

blah blah no AAA publisher blah blah blah the Hollow Knight IP over ARC Raiders blah

Monster Hunter Wilds is an established IP blah blah blah The industry blah blah blah no wave of monster hunting games like blah blah

No one has called the monster hunting genre the next Mario 64 moment (no one did for ARC raiders either, apart from @Men_in_Boxes and maybe some random redditors who are probably also you)

Blah blah future of games.


Anyway, i don't belong in this thread and spent way too long here, seeing as i have 0 interest in playing this. Have fun or whatever. Ciao.
 
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Wonder if they'll do something along the lines of raids at some point? Seems like a no brainer.

Potential as to where they take this next is massive.
Can't remember who at Embark said it but there was some launch week interview where the dev was asked about their longer term roadmap and the response was they don't have one. They wanted to see how players were interacting with the game before they built the rest of it.

I'm sure they have some vague idea of what they want to do for 2026 and beyond but the answer was pretty surprising. I'll post it here if I can find it.
 
Man i hate when a wolfpack grenade locks on to a different arc from miles away. I died because it didnt kill the rocketeer, half of the rockets flew away to a different target... I only have 3 more and i need to kill leapers, rocketeer, bombardier and bastion :(

Might aswell buy a hullcracker
 
The armored transport quest on blue gate is bugged for me. I died with the key before i could open the car door and now i cant loot the key, because that part is done, but all cars have their doors already open :(
 
Man i hate when a wolfpack grenade locks on to a different arc from miles away. I died because it didnt kill the rocketeer, half of the rockets flew away to a different target... I only have 3 more and i need to kill leapers, rocketeer, bombardier and bastion :(

Might aswell buy a hullcracker
You can kill them with sticky grenades and a couple of heavy ammo shots as well. You just need to be patient.
 
Yep, as a gamer who loves and lives for emergent gameplay opportunities in games, this game has more of that than I've ever witnessed/experienced in an online game before.
Almost every time I come off the game I always do so with at least a few good stories. Absolutely sublime.

It really is a milestone for online gaming.
 
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I can't stop playing papitos. I am addicted to this shit

Btw, are you guys going often of night raids? I feel like the loot is slightly better but nothing crazy
 
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