ARC Raiders’ PvE Mode Is Exactly What the Game Needs, But There’s One Huge Problem

Extraction shooters are not for everyone, and that’s precisely what makes them so compelling to the people who love them. Every trip into a hostile world comes with an uncomfortable question: how much are you willing to risk for another handful of loot? Other players turn even a routine scavenging run into a potential disaster, forcing you to weigh the promise of a bigger payday against the possibility of losing everything. That tension is the foundation of the genre, and removing it changes far more than the difficulty.

ARC Raiders’ recent PvE mode test sparked such an interesting debate, that its worth talking a bit about what the mode showed, and where it fell short. It gave players a chance to explore the Rust Belt without constantly worrying about hostile Raiders and offered an appealing alternative, especially for those who want to take in the world at their own pace. But with the test now over and the PvE toggle removed, the bigger question is whether Embark should bring the mode back permanently, and under what conditions. There’s a massive difference between offering an alternative and making that alternative just as rewarding as the original experience. If PvE returns, Embark needs to ensure that players who avoid the danger aren’t walking away with the same rewards as those who embrace it.

ARC Raiders’ PvE Mode Shouldn’t Be a Free Ride

There’s a perfectly reasonable argument for giving ARC Raiders players a PvE mode. Not everyone enjoys the constant anxiety of wondering whether another Raider is about to turn a successful scavenging trip into a trip back to the loading screen. Some players simply want to explore the Rust Belt, fight machines, gather resources, and enjoy the world Embark has created without worrying about being ambushed by another person. That’s a legit way to enjoy a game, and offering that option could help ARC Raiders appeal to a wider audience.

However, there’s a catch: ARC Raiders isn’t just a game about shooting robots and collecting junk. The possibility of running into another player is central to what makes every expedition topside unpredictable, and even a seemingly harmless encounter can spiral into a fight over survival. Remove that threat and the entire experience changes. The same loot that feels like a hard-earned prize after surviving a dangerous encounter becomes much less meaningful when there’s no other Raider around to threaten your haul. The uncertainty is what makes a successful extraction feel like an achievement rather than another routine trip to gather supplies.

This not an argument against PvE existing. It’s an argument against pretending that both modes offer the same experience and should therefore deliver the same rewards. A better alternative can be worthwhile without becoming the optimal way to play, and Embark shouldn’t feel obligated to make PvE equally lucrative simply to appease players who dislike PvP. If someone prefers a more relaxed experience, that’s fine. But choosing to avoid a core part of ARC Raiders should come with trade-offs rather than an expectation that the game will bend over backward to make that choice equally profitable.

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ARC Raiders Needs to Stop Rewarding Players for Avoiding Risk

If Embark brings PvE back permanently, the biggest concern isn’t that players will have another way to enjoy ARC Raiders. It’s what happens if the rewards make that option more attractive than the original experience. If players can collect comparable loot without facing hostile Raiders, the incentive to engage with PvP starts to disappear. Why risk losing a valuable haul to another player when a safer run offers a similar payday? An extraction shooter can’t afford to make its defining source of tension feel like an unnecessary inconvenience.

Embark needs to establish a clear distinction between the two experiences if PvE sticks around. That doesn’t mean the mode should offer worthless loot or become a miserable grind designed to punish anyone who chooses it. Capping PvE loot at green rarity, for example, would give players access to useful resources while preserving the incentive to brave PvP for the rarest and most valuable gear. Risk vs Reward. Rather, the rewards should reflect the reduced danger, giving PvE players a worthwhile way to gather resources while preserving a meaningful incentive to brave the Rust Belt’s more unpredictable expeditions. The exact balance is up to Embark, of course, but the principle should be straightforward: less risk shouldn’t produce the same reward as taking on more risk. A separate mode should offer a different experience, not a shortcut to the same progression.

This is where the PvE-only crowd needs to accept that not every game has to accommodate its preferred playstyle without compromise. There’s nothing wrong with wanting a more relaxed experience, but demanding that a PvPvE extraction shooter remove the consequences of avoiding PvP is a different matter entirely. Embark built ARC Raiders around the uncertainty of other players, and that identity shouldn’t be sacrificed because some would rather experience the game without them. PvE can absolutely have a future here, but if it becomes a permanent mode, it needs to complement ARC Raiders rather than undermine the very thing that makes it an extraction shooter. The developers shouldn’t have to choose between offering players more options and preserving the identity that made their game worth playing in the first place.