In a blog post thanking everyone who participated in last weekend’s super fun Server Slam, Arc Raiders’ developer Embark Studios commented on a few topics of note, three of which address some changes the team is making in light of the experiences folks shared online.
Read More: Arc Raiders Is So Good I’m Worried It Will Completely Take Over My Life
Those who played during the Server Slam and previous technical tests have raised a number of questions and concerns, mostly over the fine edges of what is shaping up to be one of the best and most approachable extraction shooter experiences yet. So let’s get into some of what Embark is looking to fix, and some fun data points from the test over the weekend.
Flying Arc are getting a gentle nerf
Let’s jump straight into the most consequential change Embark is looking to make for launch: The flying Arc drones are too damn perceptive. While many people, including myself, felt that dealing with our robot overlords above Speranza was appropriately challenging, those damn drones were quick to find and harass enemy players. Embark is changing that. In the post the studio said:
It turns out their awareness was a bit too high, allowing them to essentially see through trees and bushes. This made their vision unintentionally over-powered, but we’ve adjusted what they can see now, so expect a fairer fight at launch.
As a multiplayer game, I’ve no doubt this isn’t the end of difficulty tweaks for Arc Raiders. But preserving the tension and difficulty of the game is important. I mean, Leapers need to be able to scare the shit out of us, as one does to some hapless players in this absolutely hilarious clip.
That said, diminishing just how quickly a drone can catch sight of you sounds like a reasonable adjustment.
Fairness adjustments
Embark is also making it a little tougher to get into the Dam Control Tower on the Dam Battlegrounds map. Seeing so many players easily access it during the Server Slam “was fun to watch,” the post says, “but [it’s] a bit too accessible for a key loot location. That’s been fixed to keep the challenge sharp.” That sounds like a wise change.
On a similar topic, it will be interesting to observe how the devs respond to the various ways players end up using in-game gadgets. There’s a fine line between an OP tactic and, well, griefing. While it doesn’t sound like there were too many abusive uses of gear during the Server Slam, one technique comes to mind as a possible indicator of things that might become controversial: Placing a barricade in front of a zipline.
There are plenty of vertical and horizontal ziplines all over the map, and if you place a barricade in front of one, it blocks an approaching player with sometimes hilarious results; watch the video above to see a downed player get stuck at the top of the barricade. I’ve seen other players just fall to their deaths with this. Is it fair? Is it ripe for toxic abuse? The devs will no doubt have a lot of interesting decisions to make in the future.
Addressing the “graphical downgrade”
Though it may have been the first time for some, the Server Slam wasn’t the first chance folks had gotten to play Arc Raiders. There have been two previous technical tests and during those, it seems the game had some more visual spectacle, a discrepancy some players noted.
Embark has replied to this concern, stating that it had “done optimization to ensure higher and more stable framerates on low and mid spec hardware.” As someone with a temperamental PC, I really appreciated how smooth the game ran. But the game does look notably fancier in previous builds. Embark says it will try to find the “right balance” to this discrepancy. And players have another concern regarding the graphics: Foliage.
On lower graphical settings, the dense bushes that are perfect for hiding just vanish. It brings up a serious concern about fairness. If I can just turn my graphics settings to low, then I can see anyone hiding in the bushes. It’s an odd situation in which having a lower-end machine could mean an advantage over someone cranking their RTX 5090.
800k ducks and everyone’s favorite single-shot menace of a rifle
Embark shared a number of fun stats from the Server Slam, including which Arc was deadliest (obviously it was the Rocketeer. Somehow, though, ya’ll took down 77 Queens. I only faced it once, and that was because some genius in my party said “Let’s go take the Harvester!” and I couldn’t muster an “Are you nuts?” in response.
That “77” number is put into perspective when you realize that collectively, we destroyed 58 million other machines. Yeah.
Also, the Ferro, the game’s single-shot gun that melts shields, was the most-crafted weapon and it sounds like rubber ducks were among the most commonly found treasures in the Rust Belt.
Honestly, I can’t wait for Arc Raiders’ release. One more week, ya’ll. Drink some water and spend time with your loved ones while you still can.
