Does your choice of fashion say something about your behavior in Arc Raiders?
As I pore over this "Raider Outfit Danger Scale" created by Reddit user abeetabee and marvel at its anecdotal accuracy, it's hard to argue there isn't a correlation. Some threads just scream "this guy is totally going to shoot me when I turn around," and others carry an air of indifference, whimsy, or niceness. It's never polite to judge a book by its cover, and that's not what the author of this list is advocating for, but it sure can come in handy in this game.
"Wanted to make a chart of my experience since I've also noticed patterns in general behavior per outfit, based on this post from earlier," abeetabee wrote. "Obviously this isn't true for everyone that wears one of these outfits."
The tier list only includes outfits that they've personally encountered often enough to assess, but at 30 total outfits judged, it's a decent spread of Arc Raiders' current wardrobe. Here's the list in full:
I ran this tier list past our most active Arc players at PC Gamer to get more perspectives. Senior guides writer Sean Martin wears the "Boonie" outfit and confirms he's "defo the person who appears for one second of a Bastion fight." Group editorial director Tim Clark agrees that horns are a sign of someone looking for a fight, but argues that the default jump suit outfit in the "either chill or already dead on the floor" tier is more obnoxious than chill: "I feel like this guy is usually a dickhead with a soundboard."
Spelling out some of the highlights from the tier list:
Most dangerous
- Leviathan: The deep sea diver one
- Ryder: The infamous black and orange variant
- Macrame: Japanese ronin outfit
- Misthorn: The scary mask with two protruding horns
- Ombra: Full head wrap and dark pants
Most nice
- Driftcoat: Heroic, stylish pilot cosplay
- Radio Renegade: Nerdy head coif with an antenna
- Riot: Dorky shorts, short sleeves. "1000% the helpful person skin. You look like a mailman," according to Sean.
Naturally my eyes darted around looking for where my most-used outfit was placed. I'm almost always rocking the Driftcoat skin (yellow pilot jacket/helmet) at the bottom tier, and at the risk of sounding too proud, "stops what they're doing to help you and is super nice about it" is an accurate description of how I've been enjoying Arc Raiders.
As expected, the orange and black Ryder skin that some players have been insisting cannot be trusted since November ranked top among the "stops what they're doing to shoot you and is a jerk about it" tier. It's not lost on me that the jerkiest skins judged here are also the most aggressive looking—dark colors, face coverings, glasses, and horns. Folks who prefer to play Arc Raiders like a battle royale are dressing for the job.
One ranking we all agree on is that the bottom-tier fella with high-waist shorts and rolled up sleeves is 1000% always helpful, because it's just too dorky of a look to wear with anything but pure intentions.
What do you wear in Arc Raiders, and is this chart accurate to your experience?
