ARC Raiders is one hell of a game. A desolate world patrolled by homicidal robots and people trying to salvage whatever scrap they can in the hopes of living another day. It’s brutal, pitting players against each other and placing those robots in between them. But for some, that sounds like sunshine and rainbows.
As with any game that comes out these days, a fraction of gamers form to advocate that the title should cater to them specifically, the artistic vision of the developers be damned. In PvP experiences like ARC Raiders, the loud minority usually asks for a PvE mode or for the PvP aspect to be removed altogether, because they can’t handle losing their hard-earned loot just as they are about to extract.
This is a problem because, of course, some minds cannot comprehend loss or defeat and must be given a trophy even if they come dead last.
And while these kinds of folks are usually totally ignored by the majority of players, ARC Raiders dissenters have gotten so obnoxious, spiteful, and toxic that the community is actively clapping back, with moderators on the official subreddit banning “toxic anti-PvPers” who insult and call out people who participate in player-on-player action and actually shoot people they come across. Shocking! I know.
The fact that some players engage in PvP and always shoot on sight “does not mean you can come on this sub and insult them, suggest they are mentally impaired or mentally unwell,” the sub’s moderators said, adding you also should not “be toxic to them for any reason.” Persecuting folks for enjoying an intended aspect of the game will be punished by a ban, the mods said.
And it’s not just the moderators who have had enough. “You’re not toxic for shooting people,” said one player in a Nov. 1 post.
“I feel like this has gone completely in the opposite direction. No one is bullying you or being toxic by shooting on sight, no one is required to play the game the way you like to play,” they explained. And they’re absolutely correct: ARC Raiders is a post-apocalyptic survival game, where you have to do all you can to get resources and make it back in one piece. Living to see the next round is undetermined, and players are encouraged to fight their way through any and all resistance, no matter if human or robot.
Hell, you need a ton of loot to upgrade and progress through the game. Why shouldn’t the guy shoot you on sight and take everything you have, perhaps doubling his loot or getting that one item he couldn’t find in the world? It’s a dog-eat-dog scenario, and friendliness is optional.
If you do not like having to deal with other players, either a) don’t trust them in the first place, and be the one who shoots first, or b) don’t play extraction shooters. There’s Escape from Duckov if you want a solo extraction shooter experience, but by and large, they are meant to be played with or against others.
No game should bend over backward to appeal to a minor group of dissenting voices that wish to see it turn into something it is not. Nor should anyone be insulted for merely participating in what is meant to be the game’s core loop in the first place.
Find another genre. Play other games. There is no shame in it.
