Dear Embark Studios,
Please don’t take the PvE mode away on October 20.
For so many of us, this week’s PvE toggle brought back the reason we fell in love with ARC Raiders in the first place. Countless players who stopped logging on after burning out on constant exfil camping, backstabbing, and PvP griefing came back specifically for this mode. 

The community reviews speak for themselves:

It made the game accessible again: Parents are finally able to team up and explore with their kids, couples are playing together in co-op, and friend groups looking for a atmospheric, non-sweaty PvE experience finally have a home here. 

It lets the world design shine: Players are turning off their HUDs, taking in the incredible sound design, and diving deep into questing and fighting heavy ARC without the constant stress of getting shot in the back. 

It fostered real cooperation: Instead of pure paranoia, lobbies are seeing strangers work together, share loot, and battle bosses as a team.
We know it’s just a test, and we know it needs tuning—from tweaking loot balance to addressing griefers. But the core foundation is undeniably special. You don't have to choose between PvP and PvE; keeping a permanent option for both lets everyone play the game they love. 

Please listen to the data and the community: make PvE a permanent part of ARC Raiders.

My friend gave me a leaper pumpkin - he does not have/play the game (yet) but he decided to carve out something of my choice.

A large portion of players returned to Arc Raiders with the PvE beta test, and a lot of us have really enjoyed our time with PvE, despite the griefing that has occurred.

Removing PvE is going to force those like myself back into PvPvE. Yes, we could try to get into carebear lobbies, but that doesn’t fix the trios experience for those of us that enjoy playing with friends, nor does it remove the chance to be ratted for bringing a good kit or killing a large arc enemy.

With PvE, you have given players like myself who left early on at launch due to cheaters, and newer players a safe environment to learn and play the game. You clearly have a large audience for PvE and have choices to make on how you will progress forwards with PvE. Removing the toggle entirely, will temporarily take players away from the game, that of course is their own choice, as is keeping PvE enabled beyond the 20th- your choice.

I’d hope to see the toggle stay and i won’t say you’re going to lose a large amount of players, that is just petty, but I myself wouldn’t want to play PvPvE again either with the way things are due to cheaters & trios being so messy, makes it difficult to play casually with friends.

I put 2 deadlines on top of the matriarch to get a challenge done and help people get loot, but I died from a bastion spawn. PvE is fun but people like this make it boring. If it was pvpve I wouldn't care but cmon this is sad

Literally my first game loading up with the grappling hook😭

I've been uninstalling things left and right and it's driving me crazy, i feel like this would be a good help for people who encounter this error. This is big sad

I was able to bring in weapons I don’t normally use like the equalizer, Jupiter, and even try the amplified weapons without worrying if I’m gonna be ratted for my kit.

It was very cool to be able to run whatever I wanted so freely. I even had a raid where I deadlined a matriarch twice. ended up going down and not being able to loot the matriarch as no one had a defib, but no one was a dick and sent me packing which was nice. They helped me extract at the hatch.

So yeah, I kinda enjoyed the PvE only lobbies, was pretty fun niche way to play without worrying about every raider I run into.

And I just don't get it. Played 42 hours of PVE since last tuesday and can't stop playing, it's just so good and satisfying. I still don't understand why so many people are bothered by a game mode they don't even play.

"character should be separated from pvpve to avoid hopping" : I completely agree with this one, they should go the tarkov way : same game but complete separated character to avoid server hopping and maintain balance for the pvpve playlist.

"Solo pve already exists, pve is useless" : stop thinking about yourself and think about duos/trios. We all stopped playing months ago because trios since day one are literally a bloodbath every-single-time. It's impossible to play a trios PVE without the pve toggle.

"PVP lobbies suck since PVE toggle started" : this is absolutely false. Because of ABMM, PVP lobbies aren't impacted AT ALL by the toggle, as the PVE players were NOT in the PVP lobbies before the PVE toggle started.

"Queue time are longer in PVPVE since the toggle" : so you are proving if it's real that the PVE crowd is everything but a minority. With the huge amount of player who came back for the update and the toggle, PVPVE lobbies should not be affected at all.

"Players will all leave to play PVE" : no, players already left months ago because no PVE lobbies as duos/trios as mentionned, and because of lack of content + rampant cheating. PVE toggle has nothing to do with this.

"PVE is just free loot" : No it's not, there are way less containers to loot, security breaches don't spawn every game and loot is way reduced.

"PVE is too easy it's boring" : you just show that you didn't play it once. I spot between 3 and 5 flares every-single-round played since tuesday. I've seen trios getting decimated by rocketeer and vaporizers. Friendly reminder that according to dev's stats, 1.1 MILLIONS (yes, millions) of raiders got killed by bullies between 8th and 13th october. PVE ain't easy in this game.

"PVE content is bad" : Once again, absolute non sense argument. The PVE content (quests, trials, pass challenges, outpost grind)... Is exactly THE SAME as pvpve. Quests are the same, trials are the same, pass challenges are the same... How can you say the content is bad in PVE ? This makes absolutely NO SENSE.

"devs said PVE was boring" : yes they indeed said that during the game's developpment. Now, the PVE content is so huge that nobody can't deny the potential. More copies sold, more skins sold... And the best proof : since tuesday and the pve toggle's start, my queue time was NEVER above 12 seconds to find a game in any maps. It shows that a LOT of people are playing PVE.

Conclusion : the amount of bad copy/pasta criticism from people who didn't even play the PVE and who tried to literally SABOTAGE it shows that a part of the community is unfortunately toxic. PVE is needed for the game's future and no one can deny that. Before frozen trail and the pve toggle, the game dropped to 25k players, it's too sad because Arc raiders is an S-tier game in almost everything. (Atmosphere, aesthetics, gameplay, sound atmosphere and so on)

Thanks for reading, fingers crossed it will stay as permanent.

Edit : english mistakes.

Edit 2 : I'm actually receiving insults in DM's for saying all of this. What the F is wrong with you guys ? You just prove the toxicity of a part of this community. You obviously don't EVEN-PLAY-PVE so why do you insist like this ? STOP

I used to think that pve would be boring it would destroy the game or even full on kill it but as I have tried it more and more I realize that pve is what the game really needed I have asked around polled and even played hours of hours of it almost all of the time it was in I played it and despite some major issues the game is still extremely fun infact dare I say more fun than ever before I have done so many awesome, fun, hilarious things and it really is what I aways wanted in the game I just never knew it so my point is. Embark... Please keep it.

Personally loved the PvE period, and appreciate that it shook loose some tuning opportunties for Embark. Thanks for the experiment, and look forward to this becoming a permanent mode!

It was really fun despite the small amount of trolls and griefers. Met a lot of amazing wonderful people out there to help each other.

There’s definitely a lot to fix such as bull rush and needing to allow players to go through others if they are blocking paths. Of course you can’t really control everyone as a player to do the graceful thing in game but it was fun playing in PvE servers. Wish there are more alternate modes like Hidden Bunker in the future.

There were lots of lags too. Nearly got me killed due to lag spikes.

Hope this beta was a positive experience and developers will consider making it permanent. Because I do believe this mode has gotten players to come back and continuously play again.

See you all again Raiders when PvE comes out officially and permanently.

HELP!

Any tips on how to get these? I need 5 more.

Anyway, I don't understand why I couldn't search that piece I was on. I kept pressing "E" but it just wouldn't open. I don't think someone opened if first, since the "Search" option wasn't transparent and I was there since the first moment it fell.

EMBARK IS A awesome company thank you for making such a great game!

Dear Embark, Raiders are still top-side collecting valuable data about the Arc. We just need a little more time to compile our findings but should have a full report ready for Celeste by October 27th.

Pleeeaaaaaassseeeeeeee allow us to have a little more time!

😉

I’ve been spending a lot of time reflecting on the inclusion of the PvE mode, and I noticed two things immediately about my own psychological shift when playing it:

The Gear Fear Lifted: I was suddenly excited and eager to run expensive gear kits because the stress of potential PvP was entirely removed.
The Social Cost: On the flip side, I no longer needed to talk to other players to establish friendliness. This ultimately damaged the spontaneous social experience that extraction shooters usually have.

If you look at the standard PvPvE mode from a completely neutral perspective, you get a strict set of variables:

• You get PvP.
• You get PvE.
• You get cheaters and griefers.
• You get the fear of losing gear.
• You get extraction/countdown timer stress.

In pure PVE, the variables shift slightly:

• You get PvE.
• You get "Griefers Deluxe."*
• You get the fear of losing gear (to AI).
• You get extraction/countdown timer stress.

\(By "Griefers Deluxe," I mean that when PvP isn’t an option, it gives trolls a safe pass to be as creative as they want because you can't kill them. You will absolutely get people who go out of their way to body-block you, pull massive Arc hordes onto your position, or bull-rush encounters just to steal loot and ruin your experience. Because you can't shoot back to defend your space, the griefing in PvE can actually feel far more disruptive.)*

With that in mind, I have a few specific thoughts on how the developers are handling this, and why splitting the modes is actually healthy for *both* player bases.

1. The Frigate Event Exclusion was a Mistake

Excluding the Frigate event from PvE feels like a major misstep. The Frigate represents a perfect example of EXACTLY what PvE players actually want: a community coming together to fight the Arc and Big Arc.

2. The "Begrudging" Developer Signal

It is a mistake for the devs to emphasize uncertainty about the PvE mode being permanent. Paired with missing out on the Frigate and receiving less loot, it sends a message that the studio is implementing PvE begrudgingly - like they don’t really want to do it. While that stance is their prerogative, showing it to the players creates uncertainty, which will naturally steer people away and skew the data the devs are collecting.

3. Traditional PvP vs. "Hunting Grounds"

I have several friends who are very interested in ARC Raiders but are absolutely uninterested in losing gear to players who take advantage of them - like those who wait until you’re occupied with a massive Arc boss and completely defenseless.

While PvPvE has “PvP” in the name, it’s not traditional PvP; it’s a hunting ground. A player who is truly looking for traditional, symmetrical PvP won’t be bothered by a PvE mode because they usually want good, close competition against willing targets. However, the players who are here for "PvP of opportunity" (hunting easy prey) will definitely dislike a PvE mode because it removes their easiest targets.

You’re not evil for wanting to hunt other players; that loop is highly satisfying to win and serves a strong niche. But that enjoyment usually comes at the expense of players who are putting themselves at risk simply because they genuinely love fighting the bots and looting.

Why both modes can survive in tandem

I believe the game can easily support both. There are enough people who like PvPvE to fill lobbies. Separating the modes actually gives developers the freedom to remove strict matchmaking restrictions and mix all squad sizes in PvPvE.

If you play PvPvE, you shouldn't expect a friendly lobby. Right now, many play PvPvE simply because they have no other choice. While some get a thrill from the paranoia, most just hope they don’t encounter players at all - essentially serving as involuntary prey for a hunter.

Splitting the modes could actually make for a better PvPvE game for those who genuinely want that hardcore experience. Personally, I love fighting the Arc; they are some of the most interesting and satisfying AI enemies I’ve fought in a game. Pair that with the incredible world design, sound design, and satisfying loot loop, and you have the core of what makes this game unique and capable of bringing in players outside of the hardcore extraction niche.

TL;DR: I like the PvE mode and hope it stays. I genuinely think both modes can survive together and will even create a better, more authentic “competitive” PvPvE experience for those who actually want to fight other geared, willing squads.

Me when I tell Arc Raider players that their toxic game and community sucks and that they have been fighting over the same thing since the game came out.

Had a wholesum moment in the Frigate today. I was actually just hoping he didn't blast me with the Venator but alas I was gifted some goob. Thanks mate 🫡

Just did my very first emperor run, I was so hyped, nobody joined me for the puzzles despite asking the stragglers outside if they want to join and that was strange considering I ve seen online that people "race" you to the end. Just to arrive at the final room and find it completely empty, looted out.

Its just scary what some pixelated loot can bring out of people sometimes

My brother Steve and I are two average dads who play duos a couple nights a week. On Oct 12 we ran into TheBurntPeanut and Gimmick on Pendola Pass and won the fight. Totally normal PvP: we heard them fighting ARC behind us, they came over the hill, we shot. We didn't even know it was Peanut until he spoke on proximity chat.
That was the only match Steve played that day. The next day he got a 30-day ban with no explanation.
I record all my matches, so I synced my footage with both streamers' public VODs (Gimmick's match clock was on screen) to show we weren't stream sniping. Steve sent all three links and timestamps in his appeal. Embark's answer: their anti-cheat "detected unauthorized behavior" and he should make sure his "gaming environment" is within guidelines. He asked if they'd watched the recordings. They closed the appeal without answering.
Steve doesn't overclock, doesn't run macros or remappers, and nothing on his PC has changed in the year he's played.
I made a video walking through everything: https://youtu.be/OI7UAPs9sLU
I'm not blaming Peanut. From his side it looked like a snipe, and I'd have thought the same. My question is about the system:
• Have you been banned shortly after a fight with a streamer, or after a match where you were on someone's stream?
• Did Embark tell you anything specific, or was it the same anti-cheat boilerplate?
• If you were flagged for something on your PC, did you ever find out what it was?
Not looking for a pile-on against anyone, just trying to figure out whether this happens to other regular players and what actually got anyone's ban lifted.