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The Latest Breaking News from Virgil Watkins

"When Arc Raiders was at its peak," Embark was burning 30 terabytes of data per day tracking every single bullet fired: "We want to know who shot first"

Arc Raiders is decidedly past its peak, but still generating tons of information

GamesRadar

Arc Raiders devs "still learning" what to do with PvP, but Embark design director says PvE fights are doing their job: "They make the player interactions even more impactful"

PvP v PvE

GamesRadar

Arc Raiders dev thinks yesterday's niche "can become mainstream tomorrow," and today's extraction shooters are simply "easier to step into"

The growing subgenre represents a shift in who these games are "designed for," Virgil Watkins says

GamesRadar

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"It's a slippery slope to try and build a game for an audience": Marathon, Arc Raiders, and Last Flag devs dig into the trend-bucking evolution of multiplayer shooters

Interview | Are multiplayer shooters enjoying a golden age, or becoming riskier than ever to make? GamesRadar+ spoke to four developers about their work in the genre

GamesRadar

Embark tells Arc Raiders players to expect "significant changes" to the skill tree, admitting many skills kind of suck: "I don't think by any means we nailed it"

There's going to be a violent week of skill point hunting

GamesRadar

BAFTA Games Awards: Clair Obscur leads the pack with 12 nominations

Clair Obscur, Dispatch and Ghost of Yotei are among the big hitters in this year’s upcoming awards ceremony

Evening Standard

Arc Raiders apparently had a legendary weapon "intended" for PvP all along, but it was so bad nobody noticed: "We weren't quite happy with the previous balancing"

The Aphelion has been buffed, for PvP of all things

GamesRadar

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Arc Raiders lead says "revisions are probably required" on uneven events like Locked Gate and Hidden Bunker, which have just become a camper's dream

"Now that we have tons of live data, we can go look at those existing map conditions"

GamesRadar

Arc Raiders players predictably tried to rig matchmaking by lying in post-match surveys, but Embark says those don't do a darn thing: "We get really weird graphs that don't match up with what we're seeing"

The survey "was meant to gauge 'of the PvP that occurred to you. Was it good?' Not, 'do you even like PvP or not?'"

GamesRadar

Arc Raiders devs love the self-described sheriffs of PvP, even if they do kill the wrong people sometimes: "Those are some of the better moments"

"And that's not something we can ever author or force to happen"

GamesRadar

If you want to keep some blueprints in Arc Raiders after each Expedition, the devs have good news and bad news: it's not "off the table," but it is "tricky" to do

My Survivor Mk. 3, I can't see without my Survivor Mk. 3

GamesRadar

Embark's plans to rework Arc Raiders' account-wiping Expeditions: 'We didn't have time to shift the system to what we intend to do next'

It may be an optional system, but Embark acknowledges there's work to be done to improve wipes.

PC Gamer

Arc Raiders full interview: 'Nobody whatsoever thought we'd have this many players'

Embark's thoughts on matchmaking, the state of PvPvE, and the future of its ambitious live-service extraction shooter.

PC Gamer

Saving blueprints after an Expedition isn't 'off the table', says Arc Raiders' director, but Embark is also looking at alternatives

Imagine the scenario: Do you keep the Looting Mk. 3 (Survivor) or the Anvil?

PC Gamer

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GamesRadar

Arc Raiders players are killing Queens and Matriarchs way too fast, devs admit, because it's "not intended" for entire lobbies to dogpile them

The rewards aren't balanced for it either

GamesRadar

Arc Raiders "needs that element of tension and risk" from PvP to work, dev says, even though Embark knows people are loving its "safer lobbies"

Room for PvP and PvE in this PvPvE shooter

PC Gamer

Embark admits Arc Raiders’ bosses are dying too fast because 'they're not intended for the full server to go up against' and 'we gave players too effective abilities'

"When we built that, we had an idealised way where we hoped people would try to engage with it".

PC Gamer

Arc Raiders' matchmaking isn't 'binary', says design lead: 'There's no such thing as a friendly lobby or an aggressive lobby'

"We acknowledge that people are having a lot of fun with these safer lobbies".

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news in one place.

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PC Gamer

Arc Raiders design director says players 'never worked together' in testing, but the emergence of care bear lobbies 'encourages us to lean toward giving opportunities to have friendly interactions'

Catering to both PvE and PvP-heavy audiences is a "precarious position".

GamesRadar

Arc Raiders adding Legendary guns aimed at PvP is "completely possible," but Embark bans any "one-shot" kills: "I think that gameplay is deeply boring"

Don't expect to be ploughing through enemies

GamesRadar

"It's emboldened us to keep going": Arc Raiders dev dives deep on plans for bigger updates, changing Expeditions, and learning from the best and worst in players

Interview | Embark digs into PvP, gear fear, matchmaking, player trading, and a lot more

GamesRadar

Arc Raiders devs have discussed special raids like high-value rounds where you have to bring in good gear, but "don't want to segment the player base too much"

This is the high ante table, so pay up

PC Gamer

Arc Raiders may finally change the late spawn mechanic, but in the meantime, its design lead tells players that late joiners 'economically profit way more'

I stand by my stance that late spawns suck for everyone involved.

GamesRadar

"That really sucks": Arc Raiders lead responds to complaints about late spawns, says late joiners are important and "profit way more" but Embark knows it's annoying to have no time for objectives

Joining raids late is more profitable on average, says Embark

TechRadar

Arc Raiders' design lead says Embark's 'ambitions are definitely large' when it comes to developing the PvE experience

Arc Raiders design lead Virgil Watkins has said Embark Studios is looking to "escalate" PvE further, saying it's something "we're looking at growing next."

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