The latest update for Arc Raiders brings some changes to XP gain, nerfing the rewards across a few of the mechanical enemies you encounter, and the progression slowdown isn't sitting well. Some players now feel gaining rewards takes too long, especially if you're only casually booting up the extraction shooter.
Per the patch notes from Embark Studios, four Arcs now give reduced XP: Bastion, Bombardier, Rocketeer, and Leaper. Those first two give less experience points when looted as well. On the upside, looting the Rocketeer thruster and Leaper leg both net you considerably more XP.
The reductions are causing some irritation. "Why did they adjust loot, security breach lockers, and make certain items like Wolfpacks and Hullcrackers harder to make?" reads one Reddit post. "The nerf is gonna hit the regular folks that play two hours a day. Good luck trying to get XP now that Arcs give less."
Players who enjoy shorter sessions don't tend to lean towards the riskier fights, members of the community argue, and they've now been shafted. "Massive XP nerfs are a bit of an 'L' for average players who rarely take down things like Bastions; it felt pretty reasonable before," says another Redditor.
Another states it "takes forever" to rank up "unless you have no life." The changes will make Arc Raiders a bit more of a grind, but other fans aren't convinced things have become debilitating. "If you rarely take out Bastions then the fraction of XP you get from them is small so this nerf rarely affects you," says one comment. "The best way to farm XP is still going into a building with a lot of searchable containers."
Even if there is a starker imbalance towards more dedicated players, it's argued that's simply part of being in an online multiplayer community. "The nerfs are warranted and anyone who plays a game for eight-plus hours a day is always going to be ahead. You don't need to be ahead to enjoy the game," states another commenter.
Ultimately, Embark is trying to balance Arc Raiders for longevity and growth, and finding the right frequency of nerfs and buffs is a fine art. These alterations will eventually settle into normality, and then further patches will rejig the game again. Such is the cosmic ballet of maintaining a game of this scale.
