ARC Raiders Reminds Me What It Feels Like to Survive, Not…

If the reported strain on the game's servers is any indication, ARC Raiders is destined to be one of the year's biggest shooters, buoyed by the continued popularity of the extraction shooter subgenre. ARC Raiders is one of the better on-ramps into the world of extraction shooters, thanks to its more leveled playing field and willingness to embrace a more casual audience, but that's not to say that the game doesn't present a fair challenge. Quite the opposite, as my time with the game so far has humbled me in ways that aren't uncommon in the extraction shooter subgenre, emphasizing survival gameplay way more than its competitors.

As a PvPvE shooter, players have to commit to a multi-angled threat assessment, constantly on their toes and trying to gauge whether any fellow Raiders they come across are friend or foe. As much fun as it is to go in guns blazing and wipe out other players and the titular robotic ARC, personal experience has proven that the stealthy, quiet approach of heading to the surface, scavenging gear, and avoiding conflict leads to the greatest successes, at least in the early hours. ARC Raiders' harsh and unforgiving world requires its denizens to be equally tough, and it's doing a great job of making every encounter and conflict feel like a fight for my life.

ARC Raiders Players Really Can't Afford to Gloss Over the 'Free Loadout' Option

When you first get started in ARC Raiders, you'll feel like a very small fish in a very big, inhospitable pond. Gradually, though, you'll start to amass a collection of gear, weapons, and components that, cumulatively, contribute to a better chance at survival every time you venture topside into the "Rust Belt". But each time you take a step out into the great unknown, you're gambling with those hard-earned gains; you're rolling the dice on whether you'll make it back alive or come out on the losing side in a fight with ARC or Raiders, down one loadout of hard-earned gear. Fortunately, Embark's decision to include a "Free Loadout" option alleviates much of that risk.

Especially in the initial hours of the game, when runs to the Rust Belt are typically short and not much more than expeditions to acquire resources and escape intact, taking advantage of the Free Loadout is huge. The loadout itself is randomized, which might initially seem like a detractor, but is actually a huge blessing. A randomized loadout gives you the chance to experiment with many of ARC Raiders' weapons, all without needing to worry about losing any gear that you've previously acquired. You'll eventually amass enough gear to move beyond the need for the Free Loadout, but at least initially, it's an invaluable tether to survival.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race in ARC Raiders

But even once you've amassed plenty of shiny new gear and are dying to try it out on the computer-controlled ARC or player-controlled Raiders, ARC Raiders still makes it a point to underscore how observation, and not aggression, rule the day. I've been routinely impressed with how effectively ARC Raiders uses sound and visual cues to alert to the presence of competing Raiders or massive hulking machines. And as much as I might want to try out that new shotgun I just looted, chances are I'll never extract with it if I just start shooting before laying low and observing what any nearby threats are up to. Truthfully, taking that cautious approach to encounters has led to some of the most tense and enjoyable extraction shooter gameplay this side of Hunt: Showdown 1896.

Even when playing ARC Raiders with a squad, it's still important to know when it's best to simply avoid conflict altogether. That might seem counterintuitive for a shooter, but it only makes the eventual firefights that do break out that much more action-packed. I'm sure that, after some considerable time with ARC Raiders, fortunes will shift and allow me to be a bit more brazen with my approach to engaging with combatants, but for now, it's a reminder that sometimes, simply surviving is enough.

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