Arc Raiders players are waging a war of words online, in addition an actual war in-game. This war is focused on the matter of violence itself, or more specifically, is violence between players in Arc Raiders bad form?
As an extraction shooter, Arc Raiders is by its nature a high-risk, tense experience. When out completing quests, collecting resources, or grinding out points in your weekly trials, a single player shooting you can cause a loss of all your progress. This, as you can imagine, can be frustrating, leading a substantial number of players toward taking a friendlier approach.
So many players, in fact, that Arc Raiders has struck some as quite a friendly game to play. Many raiders have been opting to hash things out over voice comms rather than let their bullets do the talking. However, others who are staying true to the PvP portion of the experience feel otherwise, thriving in a game where proper aim and smart play can lead one to overflowing loot from knocked-out opponents.
Some players, including IncompetentCat on Reddit, have seen the value of kindness in Arc Raiders, noting how being revived or otherwise assisted by strangers are special moments in-game. Others have felt intense guilt with a “kill-on-site” approach to solo play, hearing verbal sadness flow freely from other players upon being knocked down.
There is, of course, the other side of the argument. User Garbaggiogreco stated outright: “As long as there is PvP in this game it will never change. Stop complaining and come up with strategies to combat against it,” courting lots of agreement from the community at large. Others note that the game is explicitly marked as PvP, and to get upset about that is a touch silly.
There’s also a degree of “toxic anti-PvP” behaviour, with the moderator of the Arc Raiders stating outright in a post that people who rail against those who engage in PvP are not welcome. They wrote: “You are allowed to have an opinion that such players morals in game are not good or they are ‘Villain players’ or what not, that is fine for that is what they are but any time an outside insult is going to be used on people over gameplay you are getting the hammer of doom.”
For what it’s worth, it’s clear at least to me that the friendlier moments in Arc Raiders are only as special as they are because there’s a risk of betrayal. It takes a lot to put your life and loot in the hands of someone who’d gain a lot from taking you out. Villainising PvP-focused players would lessen the magic of such moments, making the entire game a little worse. It is perhaps better to cherish those who lend an open hand, rather than decry those who stick to their closed fists.
