ARC Raiders New Details From Server Slam – Everything You Need to Know

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Embark Studios’ ARC Raiders is launching very soon, and the recent cross-platform test was a big success! If you haven’t tried it yet, here’s what you need to know about this exciting extraction shooter, which arrives on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC on October 30th. It boasts impressive shooting mechanics and a compelling story, so there’s plenty to be excited about.

Please keep in mind that all details in this article come from official sources and the recent Server Slam event.

PvEvP Extraction Shooter

Originally revealed in 2021 as a cooperative shooter, ARC Raiders has changed quite a bit. It’s now a game where you compete with and against other players while also fighting enemies, all while trying to escape with valuable resources. The game takes place in a ruined, post-apocalyptic world where you’ll search for supplies and attempt to reach safety. While you might find players willing to help, beware – they could also attack you and take what you’ve found. And remember, hostile creatures also roam the dangerous Rust Belt.

The ARC

If you’re afraid of spiders, be careful when facing the ARC. These intelligent machines now control the surface and will attack anyone they find. You’ve likely seen the huge Queen, which can be deadly without the right gear, but watch out for other threats too. Rocketeers and Hornets attack from above, Ticks lie in wait to ambush you, and Snitches will call for reinforcements if they spot you. Despite the danger, defeating them is necessary because they carry valuable components.

Special Conditions

You’ll also need to be prepared for Special Conditions that change how you play. These can include things like electromagnetic storms, hidden bunkers, harvest seasons, and night raids. Each condition adds a unique challenge to the map. For example, the harvest season offers a lot of natural resources, while night raids have better loot but are more dangerous, with stronger enemies and a greater risk of losing your gear.

Weapons

ARC Raiders offers a good variety of weapons, ranging from assault rifles like the Kettle to light machine guns like the Torrente. Players can choose to snipe with the Osprey or Jupiter, use powerful shotguns up close, or master battle rifles. The game also includes special weapons, such as the Equalizer, which is particularly effective against ARC enemies.

Gadgets and Augments

The game also features Augments, which give you passive bonuses like stronger shields, but reduce how much you can carry and how many quick-use items you have. These let you customize your character to focus on scavenging or combat, depending on how you like to play. Useful Gadgets, like grenades and flares, offer creative ways to handle dangers. For example, instead of directly fighting ARC enemies, you can use a Lure Grenade to distract them and lead them away.

Locations

Players first experience the Dam Battlegrounds, which many tested during the recent server slam, but there are four other locations to explore. Buried City is a more urban area filled with abandoned buildings. Spaceport is a ruined launch facility with remnants of old technology. Blue Gate is set in the mountains, featuring a wide-open landscape with hidden underground facilities and towns. A fourth location, Stella Montis, has been hinted at, but Embark hasn’t shared many details about it yet.

Speranza

Speranza acts as your central hub, offering both quests and items from various vendors. If you lose your gear during a raid, you can utilize Free Loadouts to get back in the fight. Plus, Scrappy the rooster provides materials after every raid – you just need to trade him some items in return.

Workshop

Crafting is essential to any extraction shooter, and that’s where the Workshop comes in. You can use it to build new gadgets and weapons, improve your existing equipment, create powerful Augments and shields, and process raw materials. All the resources you gather will come together here. Plus, you can upgrade each Workshop facility to unlock even more advanced options if you put in the effort.

Skills

While finding good gear is helpful, you also improve your character with actual skills, broken down into three areas: Conditioning, Mobility, and Survival. These skills let you do things like recover stamina faster when hurt, take less damage while down, climb quicker, slide farther, or carry more. Each skill costs multiple points to unlock, and the more powerful options require even more investment. Feel free to combine different skills, but you’ll need to try out different combinations to find what works best for you.

Feats and Raider Decks

Okay, so as I’m completing Feats in the game, I’m earning something called Raider Cred. Basically, it’s a currency I can use in these things called Raider Decks. They’re like battle passes, inspired by Helldivers 2, with tons of cosmetic items – some free, some you have to pay for. The developers, Embark, have said they’re planning to add more Raider Decks over time, but not all of them will be available forever. There’s also an in-game store where I can spend Raider Tokens on cosmetics, but thankfully, I can also unlock cool new stuff just by playing, completing quests, and leveling up!

Trials

If you enjoy a good challenge, try the Trials. Your performance and the difficulty level determine your ranking on the leaderboards. While Trials offer a competitive aspect beyond just unlocking abilities, it’s not quite the same as a dedicated ranked mode.

The Expedition Project

Most extraction shooter games regularly reset player progress to keep things fair, but Embark’s Expedition Project offers a new option: players can choose to reset their own progress after reaching level 20 and gathering materials over eight weeks. While cosmetic items and achievements stay unlocked, things like skills, items, and crafting recipes need to be earned again. This system, which promises lasting account benefits and exclusive rewards, sounds promising, but its true value will depend on how it feels in practice.

PC Requirements

One thing ARC Raiders has been consistently praised for is its excellent performance on PCs. The game can run on relatively modest hardware – at minimum, you’ll need an Intel Core i5-6600K or AMD Ryzen R5 1600 processor, 12 GB of RAM, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, AMD Radeon RX 580, or Intel Arc A380 graphics card. Surprisingly, the recommended specs aren’t much higher: a Core i5-9600K or Ryzen 5 3600, 16 GB of RAM, and an RTX 2070, Radeon RX 5700 XT, or Arc B570. While details about the game’s installation size and how performance scales with resolution, frame rate, and quality settings are still coming, early tests suggest it runs very smoothly and adapts well to different systems.

Squads v Squads and Solos Matchmaking

Okay, so one of my biggest worries going into this new shooter, especially since dying feels so impactful, is how matchmaking works. They say you can play solo or with a small fireteam, but what if I just want to go it alone? Apparently, the developers are trying to make sure I don’t get stuck in a match against a bunch of coordinated squads. They’re aiming to pit squads against squads and solos against solos. Now, they admit it won’t be perfect – people could still team up even if they’re not supposed to – but it’s gonna be interesting to see how it all plays out in practice.

Cross-Play (Sans Console-Only Cross-Play)

Like many modern multiplayer games, ARC Raiders lets players on different platforms play together from the start. However, if you were hoping to limit play to only those on consoles to avoid cheaters, you’ll be disappointed – the game doesn’t offer that option. You can still disable cross-play altogether and play only with others on the same platform as you.

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2025-10-24 17:13