ARC Raiders Opens Free Playtest Today; Executive Producer Gives Players A Heads-Up On What To Expect
- ARC Raiders’ PvPvE “Server Slam” runs Oct. 17–19, featuring the huge Dam Battlegrounds map, giant ARC enemies, and player co-op and PvP.
- Players can expect to encounter dynamic weather, day/night cycles, and a variety of giant robots. The Speranza hub offers trading and quests.
- The game launches Oct. 30 with crossplay, no mandatory wipes, and optional Expeditions offering cosmetic rewards for resets.
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Giant Robot Action
ARC Raiders is the long-delayed but much-anticipated PvPvE online shooter from Embark Studios (The Finals), and it’s running a free “Server Slam” playtest from today through to Oct. 19. Players will get to experience a large starting map, battle giant evil robots, and be able to team up with other players – or fight them.
The game’s Executive Producer, Aleksander Grøndal, recently took to the official website to give players an idea of what exactly to expect, alongside a bit more info on how the game systems work. He also drew attention to the titular threat:
“The ARC come in many different shapes and sizes, but be aware, they are all significant threats to any Raider. You will face the small eight-legged spider-looking machine called Ticks,” he warned. “The Snitch can be seen in the air looking for suspicious activity, and if they spot a Raider out in the open they will call in reinforcements. “
“We also have larger machines like the Leaper, who patrols outside and poses a massive threat with its destructive leap attack. There are even larger machines, as large as an apartment building roaming the surface at times.”
“Taking on the Queen will most likely lead to a quick defeat, but for a seasoned Raider there’s always a way. There are even rumors of other large variants too…”
The Rust Belt
Players who join this weekend’s Server Slam will get to try out the game’s starting map, the Dam Battlegrounds. This is a huge map that dominates the area known as the Rust Belt, and includes locations such as the Buried City (exactly what it sounds like), the Spaceport (a derelict launch facility), and Blue Gate, a mountainous region with underground areas.
“There are even rumors of a place called Stella Montis, but what that is and how to get there is still unknown…” Grøndal hinted, before revealing that each area has its own dynamic weather and time of day. Raiders are warned to watch out for special conditions like Electromagnetic Storms and Night Raids, and perhaps even a visit from the Queen.
Players will also get access to Speranza, an underground city that Raiders use to live in relative safety from the surface threat of the ARC. Down here, players can trade, initiate quests, and select loadouts for missions. Embark Studios previously outlined how rewards work in-game, with the added promise of a free in-game backpack for everyone who takes part in the Server Slam.
Gear Up For Action
ARC Raiders launches on Oct. 30 and will retail for around $40, although Embark Studios has already ensured pricing outside the US is as fair as possible, for gamers in places such as Colombia, Vietnam, and China. The studio is also using previous player feedback (as it will after the Server Slam) to ensure ARC Raiders gives gamers more of what they want.
This extends to always having access to loadouts, so players never have to worry about going topside ill-equipped. “Being a Raider means that sometimes you run low on items,” said Grøndal. “Thankfully there are ways to get back on your feet. First, there are Free Loadouts, these are a set of items given to you by the citizens of Speranza to help you on your way – feel free to use whenever, no strings attached.”
“Secondly there is your trusty rooster friend Scrappy that has a very nice habit of collecting items for you. Thank him by training him or give him some nice cosmetics too!”
Server Wipes
Embark Studios has also confirmed that it won’t run mandatory server wipes, which are the bane of many online multiplayer games. However, it will still allow players to do this for their own accounts if they want, as the game’s Design Director, Virgil, revealed in a news post on the official site.
“Just to make it clear, we absolutely see the benefits a global wipe provides. Veteran players can experience the game fresh, the economy is reset to the baseline, and all players have about the same level of capabilities. At least for a little while.”
“However, one thing a mandatory wipe does not do is respect the investment of those players who do not have as much time to play overall. So, as we have done with several other mechanics, before mimicking other established mechanics, we’d like to try our own method. Ideally to the end that best suits ARC Raiders and a larger majority of its players.”
He then warned that, while the studio’s plans related to this may change post-launch, at the moment the idea is to offer Expeditions, which last roughly eight weeks. These are a series of objectives, which if met grant players the option to reset their progress.
“Essentially anything rooted solely in the metagame or involving real money will be preserved,” Virgil said. “For convenience, after completing an Expedition players will be able to skip the majority of the onboarding and tutorial steps they went through as a new player. This being things like unlocking certain features, maps, etc. as they play through the early game. These will just be available from the start of a fresh reset.”
Embark Studios are working on incentivizing player resets, which will likely include unique cosmetics and account buffs. “One point to drive home is that we are being very careful about the nature of these benefits. Completing a reset should never give a player a power or combat advantage over anyone who has not completed a reset.”
“Initially, these benefits will center around cosmetics and bragging rights, quality-of-life, and smoothing out some aspects of progression for those who have gone through a reset.”
ARC Raiders is available on all major platforms and includes crossplay. Anyone who wants to join in this weekend’s free playtest will first need to register an Embark ID account through the studio’s official site, or via the game when it first loads.
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