I know this topic has been discussed a lot already, but now developers have also confirmed they’ve talked about it and that there’s real internal interest.

Personally, I think a walkable Speranza would be a great addition. The atmosphere and world-building deserve more than just menus and cutscenes.

That said, I really hope the fast menu system stays. Quick access to vendors and missions is important, and I wouldn’t want everything to require running around.

A hybrid approach would be ideal: a walkable hub for immersion, with menus still available for fast navigation.

I’m almost serious about the title….. ALMOST. Im fuckin done, can’t find the 3rd one for shit. I will trade someone on PS5 for one please… PLEASEEEEE. Name your price, only thing I won’t trade you is snap hooks. But shit maybe I would at this point 😭.

Anchoring is a super commonly used tactic. Here's the definition of it:

The anchoring negotiation tactic involves setting an initial price point to influence the final agreement. By making the first offer, a seller can set a high anchor, which influences the buyer's perception and makes subsequent concessions seem more reasonable. Conversely, a buyer can set a low anchor, like stating a maximum budget, to steer the negotiation in their favor. The first number presented acts as a mental reference point, impacting the entire bargaining range. 

Basically, give us really high prices at the beginning of the game then go "Oh we heard you guys! We lowered the prices by $5!" to influence content creators to create content about it being "unprecedented" and to influence us, the consumers.

People in the comments will filter in and state "They need money to continue making the game" which is a false corpo-speak argument. Microtransactions became a thing in games to make F2P games possible. Games with a low bar to entry and will attract a larger playerbase, while betting that the average player will spend an X amount to keep development on going.

A $40 game has no reason to do this. Arc sold 4 million units already, has made hundreds of millions of dollars in initial sales alone and will continue to sell (how Pay-to-play games typically fund on going development, through marketing). We also have *very* close games we can compare this to.

Helldivers 2:

• $40 base price with $20 upgrade just like ARCraiders
• Cheaper cosmetics ($5 for a skin + suit sometimes less cosmetics can also be mix and matched)
• Earnable premium currency

As you can see, these practices are much more consumer-friendly. I'm not suggesting the removal of microtransactions but right now it's a very unfair price point still, especially considering the base price of the game ($40) and the fact currency isn't earnable.

Also I'd like to point out how all the earnable cosmetics outside of one in the game are just incredibly barebones. Everything cool goes into the store and that's not okay. I know there will be a huge portion of people who downvote this because of the honeymoon phase of the game, and the obvious PR move that Embark are doing, but I wanted to post this all the same.

EDIT: I'm seeing a lot of comments that they need microtransactions to fund future game development, which is true and I don't disagree in anyway with. Which is puzzling because I'm not suggesting the removal of them, but rather a price adjustment and/or a way to earn them in-game.

Additionally, games with an up front price tag continue to generate income post release by up-front sales, with the updates being big marketing pushes to bring new consumers in. It's very strange that people are posting as if the game won't continue to sell on the 4 platforms the game is sold on.

Quickly tested with a noisemaker, W update

I understand everyone has their own opinions about PvP in this game, but this is speaking strictly from a game-theory perspective and nothing else:

ARC isn’t a zero-sum game like Tarkov where killing someone actually increases your expected value. ARC is a positive-sum loot economy, there’s more than enough gear on the map for every team to leave rich without ever shooting another player.

So from a game-theory perspective:

PvP is almost always a negative-EV move.

• You risk losing all your loot
• You burn ammo/meds
• You waste precious time
• And players rarely carry anything you actually need

But here’s the big thing players don’t realize:

When you start a fight, you force other teams to “defect.”

One gunshot triggers the whole lobby:

• Third parties collapse
• Everyone starts playing paranoid
• A chain reaction of aggression wipes out multiple teams

What you end up with is one final squad alive among 6–8 eliminated teams…
and that last team can’t even carry the loot that’s on the ground.

Three players physically cannot hold all the value created by eight dead teams.
Most of the loot is literally wasted, a massive destruction of potential utility.

From a pure economic analysis, PvP shrinks the total pie for the entire lobby.

Inventory slots make this even worse.

Because inventory is so limited, the time value of PvP is near zero:

Every minute spent fighting is a minute not spent gathering high-value environmental loot you can actually take with you. Even if you win a fight flawlessly, the “return” barely moves because you simply don’t have the slots to absorb all the loot that drops.

So what’s the rational strategy?

Don’t shoot first. Don’t shoot at all unless someone forces it.

If you ignore me and I ignore you, we both:

• maximize our loot
• avoid wipe-risk
• avoid triggering lobby-wide defection
• extract with more total value

This creates a natural Nash equilibrium where the dominant strategy is peace, not aggression.

The funniest part?

In ARC Raiders, peace isn’t the friendly play: it’s the sweaty, optimal, min-max play.

There is no body text.

^{I have looked for hours I know the crates I know the maps they don't exist don't believe them}

This is mainly a message to the embark team I hope this reaches them. Upvote it if you agree.

They recently said that they use an Aggro Rating system, to match pacifists with pacifists and pvpers with pvpers.

But I noticed after playing with my aggressive trio friends (I'm new so account is fresh) That my solo matches are way more aggressive now.

And maybe they already do it this way and I'm having some strong recency bias idk lol

Cheers!

The game has PVP for a reason.

We are days away from the wipe. This should be the time when we burn through our stash, equipping the most expensive weapons and armor we have because they're about to disappear anyway.

But because Skill Points are tied to Stash Value, nobody wants to risk their gear. The game is actively punishing me for using my best gear.

So here I am, sitting on a pile of high-tier loot, deploying with a Level 1 Stitcher and a Kettle because I need to protect my stash value for the next season.

Is this really the intended "End Game" experience? Turning us into hoarders instead of fighters? The Expedition system needs to change.

For me it's mostly 1, but sometimes at 0.

Most people I met ranging from 1 to 3. I don't know if behavior based matchmaking has anything to do with it, but I haven't encounter any 4 or 5 since the wipe.

The game has been out 30 days. So many posts here now where people are complaining and being upset that the game is becoming stale and repetetive. No shit you have maxed everything out.

Take a break and come back if you find the game fun, but complaining just for the sake of complaining or that the game cant feed you with new experiences every fucking hour is just unrealistic. Queue into squads for once and chat with people, I think most of you are missing out on a lot when you only treat the game as a spreadsheet with things to mark as done.

Also, watch Embarks documentary on YouTube and most of your questions/complaints will be answered.

Thats 5 million for the 5 skill points. That's just too much for me personally. Hitting 1 million took long enough

Change my mind. Never anything worth a spit in this place. I could pass by it 15 minutes in a Night Raid and it's still unopened.

Good Day, I am about to educate you on the ways of the "rat" play style.

Some stats on me

• I completed my expedition within the first two weeks.
• I haven't completed all the missions as they are not my main driver in extraction shooters. I do it for the loot.
• I am level 67 and plan on hitting 75 before the expedition window.
• I have 27 blue prints
• All my benches are upgraded.
• I participate in the trials. To get the loot I don't care about being number one.
• My current extract streak is 26 successful returns.

I have killed 19 players.
I have 130 hours in game.

I AM A RAT.

What makes a Rat a Rat?

They do not deceive you, they do not extract camp. We do not look to openly engage in any combat in these games with anyone. In fact if you ever see me I feel that is a failure on my part. My goal is you never see or hear me. If I tell you I am friendly deep down I am kicking myself for having to talk to you.

Here is the "Modus Operandi" of a true "Rat"

• We play in night maps, stick to the shadows and gobble up as much loot as possible.
• We never use the free loadout, the goal is to get loot out any means necessary. Give me my prison pocket.
• We use the shittiest guns known to man. In Tarkov it was shotguns and buckshot or SMG's with dogshit ammo. here I use the Hairpin Rattler and Ferro.
• We never hit the main loot areas. That is for the plebs and morons who think the good shit is actually in those areas. The only thing in there is salt and tears.
• We explore the maps finding all the nooks and crannies to hide in.
• Our character is customized to blend in with the environment. I will change my look based on the map I am going into and time of day.
• We set objectives to get items out at any cost. If that means waiting till the final 2 minutes to hit that bombardier or bastion and losing all our items just to get the cores out for bench upgrades so be it.
• We never get extract camped, If I know an extract is getting camped I will wait it out or go in a corner and die with everything so it can't be recovered when the clock hits zero.
• If we spot an extract camping situation and notice the camper. He dies. He has no choice. You can't out rat a fucking rat.
• Extract campers are just lazy, but I admire the hustle but you're never gonna get truly good shit in this game unless you go out and get it yourself.
• We will kill if we know we can get the kill but generally speaking I am the kind of rat when I see a player in trouble with Arc or another human you may hear a random shot ring out and your problem is gone. You will never see me but I will see you.

I craft most of my gear in match, I don't see the point in having stacks of bandages, I very rarely keep any weapons of value in my stash. I craft what I need and bring it in. All my guns are silenced. I rotate between hairpin, ferro, rattler. Yes all three are viable weapons. I never take more than one gun at a time in.

If you want an idea of the movie character I am most like I am like John Rambo in First Blood.

In that movie he isn't some super soldier, he is able to live off the land hide, and use his surroundings to his advantage to perform many non lethal take downs. He also ends up in a tunnel full of my kind.

TL;DR

A Rat is someone who hates confrontation, lives in the shadows, and extracts loot without you ever seeing or hearing them.

Comment with what BP you want entered for. One BP per person. Comments finished in 12 hours at midnight EST then Ill roll them tomorrow. Merry Christmas from John Raider.

Don't you dare tell me this is okay or that Embark needs to use these prices to keep the game alive.

EDIT: Typo in the title but you get the point.

Because I do not KoS. I'll heal you during firefights, I'll ""defibrillate" you if you go down and revenge you if you get knocked out, I'll drop you some loot and flash my flashlight at it so you know it's there if you need it, I'll shoot ARCs that are aggro on you, I'll hold the elevator for you, and I'll scream "Hey" if I come up behind you and you don't see me. "Be the change you want to see in the world". Because at the end of the day we all gotta go back underground. That's how I like to play and no elevator camper is going to change that.

I’ve been thinking about high-risk ARC boss fights, and how PvP pressure right now really discourages bringing legendary gear. Even though I enjoy the PvP aspect of the game, going topside fully geared for PvE usually just ends with my whole kit getting wiped by a third party… you know how it goes.

Let me introduce my fan concept augment dedicated to ARC hunting – Tactical Mk. 4 (Hunting) – designed to let players commit to ARC fights without removing risk.

• One secure slot dedicated for a single Legendary weapon only (Equalizer, Jupiter or Aphelion)
• No safe pocket – you keep the gun, but any loot is still at full risk
• Heavy shield only
• Not good for looting or roaming PvP

The goal isn’t safety, but encouraging real boss hunting. You secure the tool you need to fight the ARC, but you still risk everything you earn from it.

I think something like this could push more players to actually engage with end game PvE instead of avoiding it because of PvP griefing.

Just a fan idea, curious what others think. See you topside!