ARC Raiders Environment Drastically Changed, Rats Rampant | PvE Players Must Be Wary
Have you ever experienced this? You've acquired some decent loot, taken down some powerful ARC enemies, obtained some materials, and even opened a Key Room, only to be ambushed from behind and lose all your loot. You feel incredibly unlucky.
But when you re-enter the game, the same thing happens again. And again, you re-enter the game, and the same thing happens again—you're repeatedly ambushed from behind and have your equipment stolen. Don't doubt it, this is intentional!
Players can clearly feel that ARC Raiders game environment has changed recently. The previously casual PvE gameplay experience is being ruined by these people who enjoy ambushing—they are called rats.
What are rats?
Many players may not understand what rats are, so let's explain in detail.
Rats are a niche group of players who don't want fair competition with other players. They primarily disrupt other players by planting mines and traps in Lifts and Extraction Points. These players usually hide until you reach the map exit, then attack you when you're not paying attention, causing your extraction to fail.
Why are they called rats? "Rats" is short, easy to read, conceptually apt, yet unambiguous, and convenient to spell and type. Hence the name.
While PvP is a crucial part of ARC Raiders, and player conflict is normal, since Flashpoint update and the addition of Dolabra shotgun to Assessors mode, an increasing number of players have become rats.
They exploit the matchmaking system, refraining from firing for multiple consecutive rounds, only spending five to ten minutes in raid mode before switching players and repeating this process. This allows them to enter the more PvE-oriented friendly lobby, where they ambush and shoot players looting key rooms, effortlessly plundering equipment and high-value ARC Raiders blueprints.
Some rats even feign friendliness in the friendly lobby, never putting away their weapons, and shooting at you the moment you turn to open a crate.
The Real Impact on PvE Players
The ease with which they can obtain large amounts of strategic loot has created a rats-dominated environment, significantly impacting PvE environment. For players who only want to loot and avoid combat, the environment becomes extremely unfriendly.
Especially in high-value key rooms like Control Tower in Dam Battlegrounds, almost every round sees players forcibly breaking through barricades to steal supplies, with verbal warnings completely ineffective.
Be aware of common tactics used by rats: hiding in corners, setting up traps at extraction points, using ARC Turret to create fake downed signals, and then using Remote Raider Flare to lure other players closer before ambushing them.
Be especially wary of the following: the opponent keeps their weapon drawn when approaching, verbally expresses friendliness but behaves suspiciously, ignores warnings and forces their way into your key room, or camps for extended periods near extraction points or key rooms.
Many PvE players choose not to retaliate to avoid high-intensity engagements, resulting in the continuous loss of their entire gear set and a drastic decline in gameplay experience. Therefore, PvE players should stop passively taking hits and fight back when necessary.
How to deal with rats?
Rats mostly use free basic gear and are weak in direct combat. If you dare to fight back, your win rate is actually very high.
Keep Lure Grenades or Snitch Scanners in your loadout
Lure Grenades and Snitch Scanners can lure or summon ARC enemies. You can summon them to distract rats and escape with loot.
It's worth noting that if there are mini-bosses or other ARC enemies near Extraction Points, you can continuously shoot them to lure them near Lifts.
Bring a Raider Hatch Key
This is one of the simplest and most intuitive method. Few players will use a Hatch Key, preventing rats from attacking you.
Survey Extraction Points
Before evacuating, spend a few minutes quietly checking all rats' hiding places in Extraction Points. If you're unsure if rats are hiding there, you can throw grenades and shoot them down as they move through cover.
I also have suggestions for game improvements, hoping the developers will further weaken the free gear sets, such as limiting daily usage. Of course, I know they already did this with Flashpoint update. Free gear is more likely to be added to raids later than full gear. Adding a backpack indicator system is also a good approach, with green representing a peaceful inclination and red representing high aggression, allowing players to anticipate risks.
ARC Raiders is becoming a true extraction shooter game; a pure PvE mode is unlikely in the near future.
For ordinary PvE players, the only way to continue safely farming resources and acquiring large amounts of loot is to be vigilant, learn self-defense, and retaliate decisively.
Rats won't disappear. They're now almost everywhere in the game. Only by no longer passively accepting ambushes will their living space be compressed, and the game environment gradually return to balance.
