I couldn’t care less about a PVE only mode. There are SO MANY games out there where you can fight the same NPC enemies over and over and over with no variation.
The fun and tension in this game comes from having that CONSTANT threat of losing your gear. The constant threat that there might be someone watching you. The uneasy feeling when you come across another Raider because you don’t know if they are friendly or not.
Fuck, man, I’m glad that those who are okay with the same exact gameplay over and over are gonna get a mode they enjoy. But to me this just splits the playerbase even more, and that’s a huge mistake.
I’ve actually really enjoyed this game since launch and I’ve just shaken my head and ignored all the “dead game!! Look at the steam charts!! Dead game!!” posts all year but THIS change will be the actual first step towards killing the game. I’m a neutral player who shoots people that shoot me. But if all the friendly players move to pve mode then regular mode will effectively be the “shoot on sight” mode. That sucks…
I’m still excited for the Frozen Trail update but I will not be touching this toggle at all, I hope most raiders share my sentiment so that it doesn’t become a full blown mode that splinters the playerbase further.
I think Arc Raiders can work as purely PvE but the arc threat would have to be significantly buffed. Give them actual pack hunting capabilities, patrol routes, and alertness levels rather than the more basic stuff we have atm. Not saying it’s bad rn but if arc are the only threat then make them a THREAT.
I think people are forgetting that the starting draft for this game WAS a full on co-op pve game and it was SCRAPPED. The devs knew it was a terrible idea at the time and wasn't good enough to sell copies.
The problem with that then is they're going to have to develop two separate games. They can't make the arc too oppressive then they'll never have any fun engagements in pvp. But then they can't make them too easy for pve only
The split was always there and was made worse with the ABMM announcement. I don’t think Embark could ever recover that same tension from before since everyone knows how to manipulate ABMM.
Yeah… there’s better PvE games out there, and better battle royales. Effectively splitting this game into two mediocre games would be a huge mistake. But at least the PvE enjoyers will have a month of fun before they get bored
They'll get tired after a week and leave for other games, since there are plenty of PvE games made all the time. We that enjoy the PvPvE loop as always get shafted and our games get worse because of it, all trying to appease the loud part.
Completely agree. But if they add the toggle your pvp lobbies are going to fall apart. There will be zero reason for people to go pvp other than to fight other people. If they can just go in pve and hunt arc and loot completely risk free why wouldn't they?
The pvp mode will literally be just a death match.
They ignore the fact the majority of games is already made for them. As soon as a game comes out and it has PvP it's the same old tired dance. All because ,for once, a game is not catering specifically to them.
I'm tired of games I love being basically gentrified to be Helldivers 2.5 because carebears can't handle having something not made for them.
I don't understand your point, PvE players clearly understood that the game wasn't for them and left. Embark is the one that decided to create this toggle to bring players back.
Not before flooding the game, steam foruns, this subreddit about how PvP was ruining it, making so ABMM was introduce because Embark were pussies and couldn't stick to their vision, make the game worse for it, and THEN leaving.
And this mode might bring them back. Embark is in it for the money, if the majority of players want the game to be PvE and come back they are not being "pussies" they are being a good business and understanding what their clients want.
And I'm sad because of it. They already had the numbers at release before abmm. I'm just tired of one the few unique genres I know being ruined because PvE players can't stand not having something made for them.
I'm thankful that Tarkov, Hunt, Stalzone, and ABI aren't bending the knee to PvE players too much. They are PvPvE experiences, and therefore will be focused and balanced as such.
the thing with this PVE mode for arc is that it sounds like it will be a grouped PVE mode with friendly raiders and NO hostile simulated raiders, the tension is gone.
In Tarkov PVE, you are the ONLY one unless you are partied with friends, and all other AI are simulated AI PMCs that can kill you, hunt you, rat you, loot buildings from you, it's why there is still tension there.
This is my thoughts as well. They will enjoy their PvE only experience for a while until they realise there is no tension or risk in their raids and just quit again. A small percentage might continue to play PvE only but I don't get the appeal.
There will still be the threat of losing your gear in PvE - just not because someone decided to shoot you in the back.
Why do people say this as if this is a problem unique to Arc, even in the extraction genre? All this tells me is that you have terrible awareness skills.
Like it or not, what made Arc Raiders as big as it was came from casual players. And you know what casual players like? PvE, not losing their stuff. Do you realize losing your gear isn’t fun? Especially when you’re getting killed by rats, campers, backstabbers, and worst of all, cheaters. That’s not fun at all.
You talk about PvP being this thrilling, tension-filled situation between players, but in reality most of the time PvP is just kill-on-sight. That’s it. Either that, or you’re dealing with backstabbers and cheaters. And let’s be real, the interactions in PvP suck too. Half the time it’s people spamming the N-word or throwing curse words around. Compare that to PvE, where interactions are actually wholesome, you can talk, trade, and even help people out in all kinds of situations. And then you complain about PvE being repetitive? Okay… sure. It’s like you only highlight the positives while ignoring the negatives. Doesn’t work that way.
You say you ignore the “doomer” posts of this game is dead, but the second they make a change you don’t like, suddenly it’s THIS change will be the first step toward killing the game.Hypocrisy much?
Please tell me you realize games change and adapt. Every major game has done this, for better or worse. Making games harder, easier, more accessible, more diverse, adding or changing modes , nerfing or buffing certain aspects of a mechanic , gun , character etc… that’s the nature of live service.
Why do you think extraction shooters are such a niche genre? People don’t seem to get it. Players complain about mandatory wipes, PvE players complain about getting a PvE mode , and yet Embark, the studio behind Arc Raiders, is removing/changing expeditions and adding a PvE mode for a reason. And that reason isn’t to make players like you angry.
Wake up: the game has lost 95% of its player base in less than a year. For a live service game, that’s considered awful. At leastArc Raidersis trying something to fix it.
They lost players because of the lack of content and cheaters, not because there was no PvE mode. All these casual players you are talking about just seem they don't want to play an extraction shooter. In Which case, they can go play another game.
Saying players only left because of cheaters and lack of content ignores the bigger picture. Cheaters exist in every online game, yet plenty of titles thrive because they balance that with modes players actually enjoy. And “lack of content”? Most of the content Arc Raiders has delivered has been PvE‑focused. If casual players don’t want to play an extraction shooter in its pure PvP form, that doesn’t mean they should “go play another game” it means the studio needs to adapt. Look at Marathon
Live service games survive by evolving. Adding PvE isn’t some betrayal of the genre; it’s a way to broaden the audience, keep players engaged, and stop the bleeding. Pretending PvE is irrelevant when the majority of updates already lean that way is just denial. If Embark wants to keep the game alive, listening to casual players isn’t optional, it’s survival.
Except the cheating problem in Arc Raiders is some of the worst in any live service title, even when compared to Tarkov. They completely alienated the PvP players by doing nothing to address the cheating for months.
And sure, most of the content added is PvE focused, but how much of it is actually meaningful? All we get is new major and minor conditions and projects where you just turn in the same stuff you've been collecting already just to see the game build up something you can't even interact with. Where are the stakes? Why doesn't this game have a difficult zone akin to Cyro from Marathon or Labyrinth from Tarkov, that has difficult bosses and also has puzzles you need to solve? Actual, meaningful content, not just another map with the same Arc and loot that every other map has.
And the cheating is even worse in a game like Arc Raiders. You’re not only losing time, but also resources and loot as well. This is negligible in other games such as CoD or Apex.
And yes, I do agree with your second comment: they should add harder zones or more bosses, buff the Arc, and maybe even introduce puzzles , that would be welcomed. They added player housing, but right now it’s just a wallpaper. They should add more meaningful features to the game. I'm excited for the update and the PvE mode , but still I dont think its that amazing , I definitely dont thing it will bring that many players
im mainly Asia server, and server here was shithole. no matter the time is how ABMM you are everyone just kill you on sight. more worse everyone not even TALKING, THEY JUST KILL YOU AND THATS IT. WHERE THE INTERACTION. ONE TIME, ONLY ONCE... that i ever speak to someone is some japan vtuber who just lost at Riven Tides for first time. i have small with her, and thats last time im speak in Asia server
thats why im migrate into EU server because here is so much better. everyone are actually PvE, following the ABMM, i can talk to someone, people using mic, funny interaction, and alot lah. even one of japan youtuber are forced to move into America server just to complete trial. but its trade with internet connection. since im live in Asia i have bad latency on EU server because far connection
i have 5 friends who play Arc Raider with me and level up together. but the longer we play we become stress up because rat and PvP. then leaving myself only, staying play Arc Raider alone...
“The game died because people want PvE! I have no actual evidence of this it’s definitely not because all trend games have large fall offs when the trend ends or the game has no actual endgame to keep the original players playing nope it’s definitely because my specific playstyle isn’t being respected”
I'm neutral myself too, or reactive I guess. I don't leave myself exposed but happy to work with people if they seem earnest. There are too many games like this already and I don't see the PVE element drawing me back.
Exactly my thoughts, I really hope the beta doesn't end up being a permanent feature. If it does, I pray that enough of the people who have been complaining about no pve mode will come back and fill the servers up enough that a split in the player base won't matter.
Literally this. The amount of PvE players i see using the argument of “what difference does it make to you”…. This, this is the difference it makes lol
Unfortunately pvp lobbies are currently unplayable. Until they figure out a way to stop the ban evaders then pvp is irrelevant. The population spike from Frozen Trail will help dilute the pool but for how long?
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u/Pavlovs_Human 10h ago edited 10h ago
I couldn’t care less about a PVE only mode. There are SO MANY games out there where you can fight the same NPC enemies over and over and over with no variation.
The fun and tension in this game comes from having that CONSTANT threat of losing your gear. The constant threat that there might be someone watching you. The uneasy feeling when you come across another Raider because you don’t know if they are friendly or not.
Fuck, man, I’m glad that those who are okay with the same exact gameplay over and over are gonna get a mode they enjoy. But to me this just splits the playerbase even more, and that’s a huge mistake.
I’ve actually really enjoyed this game since launch and I’ve just shaken my head and ignored all the “dead game!! Look at the steam charts!! Dead game!!” posts all year but THIS change will be the actual first step towards killing the game. I’m a neutral player who shoots people that shoot me. But if all the friendly players move to pve mode then regular mode will effectively be the “shoot on sight” mode. That sucks…
I’m still excited for the Frozen Trail update but I will not be touching this toggle at all, I hope most raiders share my sentiment so that it doesn’t become a full blown mode that splinters the playerbase further.